Monday, March 19, 2012

Sabel Brush direct watercolor wash. The Rooster, from Kauai

This piece was painted with a sable brush. The rooster was laid in using contour drawing, a must for successful watercolors. The light blue pigment came from Daniel Smiths Iridescent Blue. This pigment brings light and life to the Phthalo Blue which it was added to. The dark wash was  created by using a direct continuous wash throughout the entire dark's on the chicken. The wet in wet background was placed in by splattering water on the white paper and quickly moving color behind the Rooster. Because Phthalo Blue is such a bleeder or spreading pigment just a touch of water created a soft edge which other wise would have been hard and pushing the viewer visually out of the pictorial adventure. 
 A fun day in Kauai, Hawaii.
As you travel along the Waimea Canyon there are parking lots filled with roosters and chickens.
This particular rooster had a white head. I am sure many visitors have seen this rooster it is very striking.

1 comment:

  1. Beautiful examples of the sabel brush technique! And I'm a sucker for chickens. I love them! The colors in the rooster and the beach painting are so wonderful!! Now that I'm done with my BFA I'm so excited to get back into my watercolors!!

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