Tuesday, January 01, 2019

sometimes ...

it doesnt't work out so well!
When I painted the background, I wanted to keep it a cool gray, then I floated in a touch of raw sienna her er snd there and sprinkled on the salt.
You can see how much the snow effect varies, especially across the top....
The top left, dark and with a strong effect, comes forward too much; also the effect stops on the chickadee's back, forming a tangent--an awkward connection that subverts the illusion of volume.
Better to keep the background lighter (unless the bird is white! should've painted a snowy heron in there).

8 comments:

monne-floor said...

Dat vind ik mooi gedaan.

laura said...

Dank je!

Joyfulartist said...

Yes, but the chickadee is wonderful! Painting is a constant learning curve, isn't it? You may get frustrated but never bored.

laura said...

Than you, Janet. So true ... I hope to learn from every painting

RH Carpenter said...

Salt can be tricky - enough water, dark enough pigment, enough salt, the right grain? I play with it once in a while but find I don't like the grittiness it leaves on my paper even when I think I've gotten it all off. But I do like the look it gives to snowy scenes. Perhaps push it all back a bit with a light layer of cobalt blue?

Candy said...

Laura, you may be right, but I don't think I'd give up on this one. You got an absolutely frigid effect with the salt and the chickadee is quite lovely. Maybe as an experiment, darken up the chickadee, the branch and the berries until the color pops. Or... Rhonda's idea of pushing back the background is a good one if you want to maintain the delicacy of the bird. I'd pick an idea, try it and have fun with it.

laura said...

Thanks, Rhonda and Candy.
I like the light blue wash idea, Rhonda. I'm going to try it!
And Candy, it's true, if I'm not happy with something, I just put it aside, but it's good to keep working on it ... It might work out, or at least I might learn something!

JANE MINTER said...

Hi Laura I left a message before , must have made a mistake... you could try using white gouache otherwise