Experimental Landscapes: Abstraction, Playing with Multimedia

The third week of the watercolor class through Winslow Art Center and taught by Cynthia Armstrong was about playing with multi media, watercolor, resists, using granulating mediums and ink as well as playing with different mark making tools.

Here I used a candle to create a resist and then applied water wash before adding watercolor.  The credit card is dipped in pigment and used to make marks on the page. 

Just playing with mark making using a wax candle.  The base was a wash of clear water and Brusho crystals sprinkled on the water wash.  Then watercolor applied on top with a brush as well as credit card.

Granulating medium used as a base,  then wet watercolor washes or brush strokes applied.  Stroke of the brush dipped into the granulation medium can be seen as white blooms.

Granulation medium as a base, ink, watercolor, graphite pencil,  rubber palette mark making tool.

A Study of a New York Street Scene in Six Views

For water color home work,  I ended up practicing painting a scene from a photograph 6 times.  Each time learning something different.  My goal was to be less literal and more abstract with my watercolors.  See what transpired.

First try at the scene try to capture a complex image and get the lighting but abstracting form. I overworked the darks with too many passes and it looked messy.

Second try on cheap paper.  Quality of the water color was really bad on the inexpensive paper. 

A little better paper and I tried to focus in to reduce the amount of information.  Still too busy. Some things I liked but not completely happy.

I liked the base of this one  but the upper portion I wasn't as happy with.

This one I did after talking to Tom Hoffman about my previous passes.  This was done in about 30 minutes got the major shapes and the feeling of the activity of the street without being literal. 

One more try at home.  Got a little more fussy but not bad.