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?!

Watercolour studies - more pears!

If you have seen my earlier posts (here and here) you can see how my paintings developed, getting simplier!

I also changed the accent colours, choosing from the real ones I would see.

 I painted many more, but already sent them as postcards! 

At the end I ran out of the ready cut  paper - and used some Canson 200 gsm paper for the last pears( as the one above). It dried much faster, and doesn't have the structure of the Fabraiano Artistico coldpressed watercolour paper, but it's also interesting.

Now - it was time to stop!

But I will definitely repeat this painting session as an excercise soon. I also recommend it as a watercolour lesson to everybody: choose a  simple subject, paint small size and repeat several times!

It's very meditative and zen - and you learn a lot!

Painting Endless Summer Nights...

Late evening: Summerhouse in the Archipelago

I'm reposting this painting I made from a photo a while ago. 

I kind of  feel nostalgic about 

Midsummer in the Finnish Archipelago and the long days and sunny nights...

Lesson 1: Part Two - Choosing the watercolour paper...

Oranges,  watercolour on 300gsm rough paper

So what paper should you use? 

A good watercolour paper should be acid free, and contain at least 50 % cotton. Also the weight is important - a 300 gsm (140 lb) is a common choice, and will suite most of your work. 

A lighter one (200 gsm/ 90 lb) can be used for sketching, but tends to buckle. 

A heavier paper  (640 gsm / 300  lb) is fantastic, and you should try it, but it's really not necessary for the works of  a beginner or most more advanced painters either. Also the heavier papers tend to absorb more of the pigment, making corrections difficult!

Now you have the choice between the different finishes of the paper!!

 Hot pressed is the smoothest surface, it's also great if you want to do an illustration or a more detailed work. A cold pressed paper is a bit less smooth, and the rough paper, as the name tells, has a rough surface, which will add some structure to your painting and will not allow too many finedetails. 

Also the finish can contribute to your painting, as you see in the detail above: 

the rough paper was the ideal choice for the surface of the orange peel!

I recommend trying different papers - and also different brands. 

You can find great paper in blocks, where the paper is glued on the sides and easy to use, especially when travelling or painting outdoors. 

Personally  I use single sheets. They are larger, can be cut into the size you want, and also it is more priceworthy when you paint a lot. But remember that the sheets have to be taped to a board before painting!
You can read more for example here or here.