Roses and berries in watercolor

Rose e bacche, 2016. 38x56 cm Fabriano Artstico 300 gsm - pigments W&N, St Petrsburg

I wish you a sunny August with this painting from last year.

When I'm teaching watercolor classes I certainly put the emphasis on a painterly style
and also in my own paintings I want to keep it loose.

Flowers are one my all time favourite subjects!
According to the season I can find a lot of inspiration in my garden or in the nature.
If there's not enough I'll combine bought flowers to what I find for free....
Here I was trying out my 3 new St Petersburg colors: yellow, red and turquoise green
that together mix into a cool purple grey shade.

The best thing is that when the flowers are gone - the painting stays and reminds you of the beauty!

Painting more bikers in Chianti

Ciclisti - 56x76 cm  watercolor on paper 300gsm

Another version of the bikers in Chianti. 

It's a full sheet painting and I've used black color for a more modern and graphic look. 

HERE  is a link to previous paintings and if you'd like to read more about what inspired me originally click here. 

And I'd love to know which one you prefer!?

At Lamole di Lamole 2017

Spring flowers in watercolors - how to paint

Narcisi dal giardino, 2016 -38x56 cm fabiano 300gsm

Lately I have been concentrating on urban sketching and painting, but I usually love painting florals.

It's easy - they grow in my garden or I keep them on my table.

Earlier I painted realistic, even if not really botanical flowers, 

while I now prefer to simplify and catch the essence.

On the painting above you can notice a clear influence by the paintings of Jean Haines ;), 

only an impression of the flowers!

Floreale, 2016. 38x56 cm

I paint quite big, real size, which means that I often just  can't fit everything into the paper. 

That's one reason why I choose to paint only a part of them; 

the main reason is that I find it more dynamic and expressive as a composition.

This is how I proceed: 

I use a big brush, a lot of water and bright colors. 

Once the first wash is dry I will add darker details, little by little - trying not to overwork - 

this is the hardest part!

Then I leave it to rest, and some hours later, or even the next day I will see if I need to add something.

I some areas are too bright, I will use a glaze, often with a complementary color.

Thank you for reading,

Hope you enjoyed my spring flowers?!

WARM AND COOL COLORS

A sketch of someone dear!

Painted with only 2 colours.

Enjoy the process!

Statue of Nettuno, detail - watercolour on paper Fabriano Artistico 300 gsm

As I've finished teaching most workshops for this year, 

I finally have time to go through all the impressions and memories.

 I feel lucky to meet so many interesting and wonderful persons from different countries, 

sharing my passion in watercolour painting!

I really enjoy every single painting session, and I hope - I feel - most students do, as well.

The hard part is to decide how much theory I should teach 

- I'd really want to invite everybody to just enjoy the moment: 

the fluidity of the watercolours, the incredible colours that emerge from the the washes

 and some accidental happy surprises.

The nature of watercolour includes accepting also unplanned results!

Of course some basic knowledge is necessary - but then I think you should just...

Enjoy the process!

The painting above is an example of an unplanned painting, a happy coincidence?!

a sunset wash on paper 300 gsm

The background  wash started out as a demonstration of fluid painting 

during an inspiring sunset painting session in August. 

The result was similar to this one above.

 As usual, I didn't have time to finish it in any way, but as I liked the colours I kept it for another moment.

Some time ago it emerged amongst other washes and paintings,

 while I was watching photos of statues from Florence... and...

Suddenly this detail of the statue of Nettuno hit me -  a moment of inspiration 

- and the painting was done!

Yes, in this case I worked in a quite unusual way, 

since I adapted the painting to a previously painted background.

Fortunately there was light (white) in almost all the right spots, 

but not everthing worked pefectly well.

To get the three dimensional look, 

I had to adapt  the position of the figure to the background.

Compared to the real statue I also made some simplifications.

Did you notice which?!

 I added some structure, a hint of the wall behind, on the right part, and that's what I like less. 

Probably I should try to wash it away...

Anyway, I'm quite satisfied with this experiment, and think that maybe I could paint something else adapting these finishes and colours?

Changing the colors for a different atmosphere!!

'A corner of Tuscany - red sky' - 28x38 cm Fabriano artistico 300gsm

If you  saw my previous post about the watercolor workshop when I painted the first version of 

 'A Corner of Tuscany', this is the same house... 

As I was waiting for the first painting to dry, I started a new one.

I usually like to change something when I paint a new version, this time I decided for a red sky.

Obviously I also had to change the other colors.

As you can see the tree is purple,

but for the plants in the pots I decided for a cool green shade, 

because I felt that I needed some contrast to all the warm colors.

It's not easy to show all the shades of color in a photo, 

but if you look at both photos you can see how the atmosphere changed!

I'd love to know what you think, which version do you prefer?!

Loose Landscape Painting

A corner of Tuscany - Fattoria Poggiopiano 2016

28x38cm

The last years I have concentrated on loosing up my paintings. 

It has been a lot of work: experimenting, making mistakes...

A lot of fun, 

but also frustrating when you don't achieve satisfying results...

Obviously I started with my favourite subject, florals.

I also aimed to capture the movement of cyclists, in an abstract way (more here).

To get a different approach to landscape painting I attended a one day workshop with  

Italian Watercolor Artist Luciano Boscaini. 

detail   

 It is always interesting to see other artists work and I got practical advice and examples that I also love to share to my students.

For example about soft and hard edges , and letting  color  bleed - like you see on the roof (detail above).

This is something I love to use, AND VERY IMPORTANT when you wish to LOOSEN UP your paintings!

But until you see it from real, you don't really get it!

(I'll prepare a tutorial on this, soon)

He's definitely not for beginners, and also the level of the other participating artists was high!

I had a great time, and actually painted 3 paintings,

- I just can't stop painting, so in order not to overwork, I usually start a new one while the first is drying! -

so I'll prepare  more photos soon!

Inspiring watercolours! Acquerelli per ispirare!

I've been busy painting and with workshops, and once again it's a looong time since I showed any watercolours! But I've been working a lot the last months so soon there will be more to see!

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E stato un periodo intenso, ho dipinto e lavorato tanto ma ho  presto mostrerò altri miei lavori!

This particular painting was a lot of fun exploring the negative spaces 

during the workshop with my friend and one of my teachers, swedish artist Monica Mansson one week ago!

To learn how to do the negative painting, go to vinca-rosea-step-by-step.

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Mi sono divertita tanto a realizzare questo studio (e altri)  dei spazi negativi, 

 partecipando al workshop di Monica Mansson, artista svedese, amica e una dei miei insegnanti! 

Per vedere come dipingere al negativo vai a  vinca-rosea-step-by-step.

Painting outdoors is always so peaceful and relaxing!

- 

Dipingere dal vero e en plein air è sempre bellissimo!

Cyclamen 1st part - Ciclamini parte 1

Close up - Dettaglio 

. I started very loose and wet-in-wet making sure to preserve some white areas for contrast.

Ho iniziato con il bagnato su bagnato, avendo cura di conservare del bianco.

More details... I'll upload the final painting soon - have to take a new photo! 

- Altri dettagli... A breve  invierò la foto del dipinto finito (è venuto sfocato!)

P.S. The finished painting is here.

Ps.  vedi il dipinto finito qui!

Vinca Rosea Step-by-step

Negative painting

Dipingere in negativo

One way to paint light flowers is by negative painting... Here is a step-by-step demonstration.

Per dipingere i fiori chiari, a volte uso il metodo di pittura al negativo...

Sotto vi dimostro come procedo.

I start by a first wash wet-in wet. I just put down the lightest colours that I want to blend together. I also added  the central part of the flowers.

Il primo passo è una stesura bagnato su bagnato. Qui uso i colori più chiari che devono sfumare insieme. Ho anche aggiunto la parte centrale del fiore.

When the paper is dry, I start with the dark parts and shadows, just painting the OUTLINE of flowers and  leaves, blending the colour outwards ...

Quando la carta è asciutta, comincio a delimitare i fiori e le foglie dipingendo il contorno esterno e sfumando in fuori...

Just continue until you reach the contrast that makes the flowers stand out - this is negative painting!

Si continua fino al contrasto voluto per fare risaltare i fiori - 

 this is negative painting, and this technique is used commonly in watercolours. I hope you liked this tutorial !

 questa è la tecnica al negativo, si usa spesso nell'acquarello. Spero ti sia piaciuta!

Last but not least! - L'ultimo è il 'Primo'!

Primo! watercolour 28x38cm 

Ok, this is the last cyclist painting that I'm sharing - for now! 

 I'm moving on to another project for a while.

If you want to see other cyclists click here and here and here.

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L'ultimo ciclista che mostrerò - per adesso - è ''Primo!'',

adesso ho un altro progetto in mente...

Per vedere altri ciclisti vai qui, qui e qui.

Cyclists in Chianti - Ciclisti nel Chianti

 watercolor 28x38cm on 300 grs 100% cotton paper

Another study of cyclists - starting to be an obsession? 

Well, when I get an idea I want to develop it further, and still have to improve ... 

Any suggestions?
if you want to see other cyclists click here and here 

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Ancora ciclisti - devo ancora sviluppare questa idea e migliorare...

Qualche suggerimento?
per vedere altri ciclisti vai qui e qui

Playing with watercolours... Summer colours!

Alcea Rosea, watercolour 24x30cm on Fabriano Artistico 300grs paper

I have either been very busy or very lazy lately, so it's definitely time for a new post!

I painted this hollyhock (Alcea Rosea ) from my fantasy, last week,

when the flowers in my garden were already suffering the heat of July...

And this is what I did first, an underwash just playing with some colours. 

To be honest I wasn't really sure what it was going to develop into!

And yes, I admit I was definitely inspired by Jean Haines, if you don't know her work, click on the link for lots of inspiration.

 work in progress

Lesson 5: Play with your watercolours!

 Take your material and start playing - it's easy and fun!

Start with any piece of watercolour paper and use clean water to wet it with your brush. Check the wetness of the paper by turning it and looking at it from the border : it should be damp all over, without pools!

Now choose 2 or 3 colours  and start dropping colours onto the paper! You can mix some colours, if you want, or just let them mix on the paper. 

Let the colours spread and see how beautiful the result is without  any effort!  This is the basics of wet-in-wet painting and You will enjoy playing like this even if you are a more experienced painter!

This is Wet in wet - It's easy!

 Wet-in-wet is one of the basic watercolour techniques - so now practice!!

This post will be continued...

Paint what you love! Watercolour Lesson 4

A couple of close-ups of a sketch of my orchids!

When you've managed to get the materials that suit you personally, success is only a few steps away, here's the formula 

1. Do something you love
2. Learn life long
3. Repeat steps 1 & 2

I found it here, link to Watercolour Painter, where you can get more information and find step to step instructions as well!

A lot of fun just playing with colours, capturing the pattern and colours of my flowers!

Watercolours allow you to play freely and get fresh sketches more than any other medium!

 While this is a more traditional painting from some time ago! Link to my post here.

Finished work!

This is the finished watercolor painting from last week. As I wanted to keep it loose, I just added some red on the flowers, and a few darker shadows on the leaves.

Work in progress - A Tribute to...

Work in progress...  Inspired by a beautiful painting of the great watercolor artist Kanta Harusaki.

The First washes, wet in wet.

I decided to add some red to the center of the flower and some plastic wrap for special effects...

I'll show you the final painting soon - I just noticed I didn't take a photo of it yet!

I decided to 'copy' freely the works and the styles of some artists I like, in order to develop my own way of painting. Especially I want to loosen up. I never liked copying artwork before, but noticed that this was a funny way of just painting without worrying about problems to resolve, like composition and choice of color! I really think that I'll be doing more of this!!

Sketching Cypresses!

A picture from my smaller sketchbook from last week!

Just playing around with colors and a common object -cypruses!

Painting challenge!

It's time to show my ltest participation in the painting challenge by paintanddrawtogether.blogspot :

 the entrance to Ottawa Parliament Building (click on the link for the reference picture).

This time I was quite happy with the colors (that I deliberately exagerated a little!), the light and the layers - but Oh! again: how hard isn't it to get a decent photo of your painting!?

A detail.

As so often, even now I did a few attempts!

Still life Challenge - Part 2 - loose watercolor painting!

The very first approach, this time I'm painting wet in wet. No drawing, just a light layer of color to mark the volumes and shapes.

What I adore most in this photo, is the blue shadow of the jar of water!

Usually I would have painted the light green tomatoe first, but since I had started with deepening the reds, I was obliged to let the greens wait a while, not to mix up everything. Since I couldn't keep my hands away, I went along with the browns of the jug meanwhile.

Here you can see the proceeding of the green color and the table. The background is still very light.

The result is fresh and loose and I left it aside to dry.

In fact, I wanted to paint a third one - THE painting, but because of my time restrictions painting was postponed ...

But, once this painting was dry, I went back on it with the finishing shadows and more details. I also painted the background darker, to make the objects stand out more.
I did enjoy the whole painting session a lot, especially sketching in a loose way!

You can click on the link of Paint and Draw Together to see the source photo and more paintings of the same subject, as I mentioned in my previous post.