I was recently inspired by the blossoms of our state flower~ the gorgeous and vibrant native Australian Waratahs! I am going to walk you through what I did step-by-step to create my impression of this amazingly colourful and lovely flower.
Step 1 Roughly draw out the parameters of the subject in pencil on watercolour paper. I used a full sheet of Arches Rough 300 gsm
Step 2 Lay in the background and shadow colours in the first wash
- Laying in the first wash for background and some shadow areas
Step 3 Start dropping in the local colour, keeping it as loose as possible for as long as possible!
Letting the colours mix and mingle without trying to control it too much!
Step 4 Let the medium work its magic by not trying to over control it and letting the paint mix and mingle with its friends.
Juicy vibrant colour! Using the Georgia Mansur Palette by Daniel Smith Paints~ the highest quality watercolors of pure delicious pigment!
Step 5 Cut out some custom shapes from old x-rays to create the lighter stamen areas
Using old X-rays to cut out custom shapes to lift and define some of the structure of the flowers
Step 6 Lift and wipe back the areas you wish to bring back some light, create form and volume with a natural sea sponge, x-rays and a paper towel
Creating a bit of form and volume using lifting techniques with a sea sponge, paper towels and old x-rays.
Step 7 Strengthen the design with darks and a pattern of dark and lights that lead the eye in and through the painting!
Lots of fun to push this along and bring it to a resolution.
Step 8 Voila! We have lift off!!
Waratahs by Georgia Mansur, watercolour full sheet http://www.georgiamansur.com to see more of Georgia’s paintings. This painting is now available for purchase ~ matted but unframed~ I am offering free shipping anywhere in the world if you would like this in your collection.
There are as many ways to paint a painting as there are artists but I like to approach each one in a manner that speaks to me~
I just have to be open to what it needs and how I can progress the work to the next stage of resolution. If you have enjoyed this demonstration and work in process please share it with your friends and make sure you sign up to receive more posts like this and many other exciting art related information on my brand new blog launching today! ‘
Passport2Paint.com‘. I would love you to pop over and check it out and leave me some feedback in the comments! Looking forward to sharing lots of interesting and useful stuff with you in the coming weeks.
Feel free to check out my professional art website: http://www.georgiamansur.com
Wishing you a creatively abundant week full of all the joy you can handle!
Cheers, Georgia
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Wonderful demo Georgia!
Thank you Sarah, I appreciate your support! I will be posting more info soon regarding different types of paint and palettes I use if you or your students are interested~ hopefully it will be useful for you all. Hope all is going well with you and congratulations on your new teaching post, fabulous news! : D
Georgia, I am speechless, I loove this watercolor. The colors are so rich and I love all the layering and free form yet there is structure. I have not done watercolor in such a long time – you are inspiring me to crank it up again. In fact this piece is stunning – I am going to check out your website. Thanks for keeping in touch!
TONI! Thanks so much for your positive comments on my work, I am really pleased to hear this is inspiring you to come back to watermedia~ there is a magic in the fluidity of this media that is so intoxicating~ I love working like this,it is very liberating to let it do what it wants to do, I just have to remember to get out of my own way! hahah Wonderful to hear from you, lets catch up next time i am in California. : D x
Bold , gutsy and fabulous. Oh and also INSPIRING 🙂
Why thank you my dear~ in the words of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, ‘What You Can Do, or Dream You Can Do, Begin it; Boldness has Genius, Power and Magic in it.’ Happy you are on board! : D
Thanks so much BT~ looking forward to seeing your exhibition in Sydney soon too~ please feel free to post a link to it here if you would like~ wishing you great success! : D
Love the work Georgia and watching the process enforces what you have already taught us.
Thank you Barb, it is great to hear from you and I am looking forward to judging the Warrumbungles Art Exhibition next year~ lets keep in touch and let me know how many pieces you want me to bring for the display. Hello to all the WACKI people~ keep painting friends!!! : D
Howdy Barb~ thanks for your positive feedback and energy ~ really love to know that my students are powering on with what I have taught and taking it to new heights! Hope all is going great with my friends out in the Warrumbungles : D Thank you for taking the time to comment and appreciate my new blog~ cheers!
Great blog. Very interesting to see the process!
Marti thanks for your positive words, I have a lot of fun experimenting and trying new things and hope to share this process with you all~ thanks for taking the time to comment! : D