This experiment is official complete. I set out to see what would happen if I mixed water color and pastel. Over all I'm pretty happy with the results. The most import thing, other than it being finished, is what I learned along the way -
- Have a plan. I struggled with when to call this "done" because I didn't set out with a clear idea of where I was going and what I wanted to achieve. It was an experiment, but because I didn't start out with any end goal in mind, I ended up feeling lost about three quarters of the way through.
- Don't wait to long. I let quite a bit of time go between when I started this and when I got around to finishing it. I lost my momentum and excitement for the project and to me that translates in the finished work.
- Dont use old fixative. Unless you really like that splattered look you see above. Adds to the vintage feel I guess.
Your new experiment into water color and pastel really made this a much different piece. It seems to me that both pastel and water color have a really fantastic rich vibrant feel to their colors.
ReplyDeleteI see what you mean about how you attempted to "paint in" the background around the bird to make it a finished piece- there is some white around the edges of the bird.
I really honestly like the flat background, because it draws attention to the subject. It feels impressionistic, as though the blue is there to remind us there is a sky behind the bird, instead of painting every single cloud.
How much thought did you put into the flowers? I feel like they are less detailed than the bird (which I think also adds to the impressionistic feel).
I promise to give constructive feedback as I keep thinking about it.
Paint on!