Watercolours With Life: Blackberry Way : Blackberries in Watercolour 2016

Friday 12 August 2016

Blackberry Way : Blackberries in Watercolour 2016

"Blackberry Way"

What a fantastic week I have had in my studio. All the exciting washes I created using my Paint Yourself Calm exercises led me to some really wonderful paintings that were so enjoyable to work on. I haven't had time to share them all but I thought it would be a nice idea to show how those scraps of paper, I play with colour on each morning, can turn into something quite beautiful.

Firstly I had three washes that were similar in colour as I had been playing with texture effects. I started by painting one blackberry on the smallest scrap of paper but I find I can't really get " into" a painting when it is so small. This size piece of paper can be great for giving me ideas but once I have them I need to loosen up freely on a very large piece of paper to fully express myself and let my feelings out.

Below you can see the fruits of my labour from yesterdays painting session.

Excuse the pun!

Three blackberry paintings in my easel

I love the small scrap of paper with a single blackberry on it below. What a nice composition. Because I had a large piece to work on I wasn't tempted to overwork this smaller painting.

"Out Of Reach"

The one berry that is always out of my grasp! High up on a branch that almost laughs at you because you can't pick the fruit on it.

Below is the second painting of blackberries. Here I placed focus on twigs in the shadows rather than the leaves or fruits.

"Blackberry Way"

Of course now I am addicted to painting Autumnal scenes so its' going to be hard to leap into a new subject session today. Or will it be? No, because if I paint new wash exercises in different colour combinations they will lead me into a completely new painting zone full of ideas!

Do enjoy reading my latest book " Paint Yourself Calm" but don't throw those colourful exercise washes away. They can lead you to gorgeous and unexpected paintings.

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Artist Tips:

1) Paint in three paper sizes, small , medium and large and play with composition ideas.

2) Don't always paint small!

3) Try standing when you paint and use your whole arm, moving it freely to gain movement in your work.

Have fun!

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4 comments:

Siggi in Downeast Maine said...: love the blackberry...
I usually paint on YUPO but not exclusively...
thanks for sharing.; 12 August 2016 at 19:24
fairykin said...: Love blackberries. I grow them too in my yard.
This year they are not growing great, very dry. A couple of years ago they were an inch and a half large.
Do you start with the berry first, with the background color, this is where I get stuck in watercolor.; 14 August 2016 at 16:45
Jean Haines SWA, SFP said...: Thank you Siggi!; 15 August 2016 at 02:44
Jean Haines SWA, SFP said...: Hi Fairykin, no I paint a colourful first wash first then find the blackberries with in it. I find that way of working on this subject far easier. I hope this helps? Thank you for asking and for liking my work

Jean; 15 August 2016 at 02:45

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