Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Painting Château Lanquais

Hmmm - the scanned picture via photocopier and below, the digital with no flash. The colour contrast is quite interesting! I think I prefer the brighter - though it still isn't very accurate of the actual watercolour...

June 15, 2008 ~ So I finally "finished" this little watercolour! Broke all the rules in the process, overworked it, had a ball with my new toy - the masking fluid. But had a LOT of fun in the process and I believe I learned a thing or two - which is the whole point. Using watercolour is going to be a slow learning curve - but I'm willing!

Memorial Day yesterday - and a few hours to try my inexperienced hand at watercolour again. I worked from a photo of my sister, Vivienne, painting the refectory at Château Lanquais (the Dordogne) during a painting holiday we (the three of us) took two years ago. I haven't finished this yet - sort of half-way... Not quite sure how to tackle the detail of that round grassy bush in the background. I was just about to ask Cathy for advice when I looked on her blog this morning and found the same subject on her most recent post!! If you are thinking of a painting holiday, read her blog... A Holiday to remember She painted this to contribute to Adam Cope's latest project, which I mentioned in my post Art Class at East London Tech (May 21.) Anyway - back to the painting holiday idea - we highly recommend the experience!

8 comments:

Vivienne said...

Hey Gin... back home and jet lagged and have not put anything up for a month!So it is good to see a rather pretty(thanks) version of myself on both sisters' blogs. in lieu . Love these last posts... the art class is especially fabulous, and not to be grumbled about one bit.Must go find something for Adam. I keep using that holiday for painting reference. So inspiring.

Phoebe said...

Hi Gillian ... I looked at Cathy's blog and then at yours ... typical of sisters to paint the same thing! Good to see you continuing on your art ... what a great way to keep the memories! I've hit a block after a critique class this spring and was almost ready to throw away my brushes. But, after studying the techniques used by the great masters, I'm ready to start again.

Gillian said...

Hi Vivienne - good to see you here again, dear sister. And HI PHOEBE!!! (I begged her to leave a comment in an email I sent her!) Thank you! I say get out the ax and chop that block into tiny bits. Good to hear you're ready to start painting again. Start a blog too?? It has been so encouraging and fun. There's a whole world out there right at one's finger tips. But your tiling project sounds huge and understandably time consuming... Stay in touch!

Cathy Gatland said...

Hello Phoebe!! How nice to find you popping in here and glad you're still wielding those brushes too - don't let them (critiques) get you down!
Isn't it typical that we both tackled the same subject, though Gillian has copyright as she took the photo - though she did say I could use it. We'll have to wait till she's back from Chris' graduation to see the finished version...

Cathy Gatland said...

Oho! finito!...it's lovely Gillian, sunny and full of life - I like how you've gone bolder with your lights and darks, and the textures in the grassy ball - and the shadows falling across the building - great! And I'm so glad you enjoyed yourself - the main point of the whole process!!

Gillian said...

I about ruined a VERY expensive brush with the %#@*$ masking fluid. Didn't know it would be so hard to get if OFF the brush!! Sheer panic till my Knight-in-Shining-Armour took it to the garage and rinsed it in a bit of paint thinners. There's still some M.F. stuck in the bristles... I guess I'll work at it slowly, picking it out when I'm feeling more calm! Next time I'll use a Q-TIP to apply the "magic."

Cathy Gatland said...

Oh no! I should have warned you - rule#1 with masking fluid - use an old, cheap brush (or skewer or Q-tip or whatever) - and if you dip it in washing-up liquid first it's slightly easier to clean, but not much. All hail the KISA! (hey - now there's a good acronym for you) but wash the thinners out really well too - can use shampoo and conditioner if it's animal hair!

Vivienne said...

Hello again. I'm glad you told us to come back here. Well done on finishing this bright and lively,sunny painting. Watercolour is often so wish washy... this sings in both photographs and scanned versions. I think painting- photography is a whole specialisation;and obviously scanning changes things. I'll ask when I go to my PHOTOSHOP class at the weekend. If I am better... really 'crook' with bronchitis and aching legs.GGRRRRRRRR.
Can also try Ammonia solution to wash latex from brushes, but once it has hardened I think they're history.
Other masking techniques include candle wax, white wax crayon... but cannot remove from ptg.