Tag: shapes

Morning Sketch 9 – Roses

Things are made up of shapes, and understanding their shapes and structures should – hopefully! – make them easier to paint.

I have a small rose garden, and it always pleases me to see it in bloom. Most of the roses I chose for fragrance, but some I chose because I like them. So, as my roses come back to life after weeks of rain, it seemed fitting to paint roses.

A few videos later . . . open roses are shaped like tea cups. For me, try a coffee up. Paint them like a series of C shapes, but vary the thickness of the C strokes. These made sense. As well, when looking at the roses, I realized my way of seeing things to paint has shifted over the past year and suddenly they became easier to “see” – if that makes any sense.

Above, first play with roses.

Morning Sketch 8 – Shapes & Shadows

Negative painting can only go so far as other things in watercolor need attention. Shapes and shadows are very important for both realistic and more abstract things if you want to make them somewhat recognizable! Consequently, I have been painting fruit and vegetables all morning, to the point I am feeling crazy. Some subjects are more successful, others not, but the lesson is to paint shapes directly and with some finesse, as well as to create shadows while the subject is either dry or wet. Click through at your convenience for a trip to the market.

One thing I have realized from painting all these things is that patience, once more, and mindfulness, is necessary to get anywhere with these things! What looks spontaneous often is not. Instead, it is made up of experience and thought and so on. Persistence is my only hope . . .