Skip to main content

The Experiment

Despite what many non-watercolor artists say, watercolor can be versatile.  You can make mistakes and you can correct them (to a certain extent).

Ripped up gauze detail.
I like to think of mistakes in watercolor as a challenge.  Yeah, I may have ruined what I had had in mind, but the mistake now pushes me to think differently.  How can I incorporate this "mistake" into a 'happy accident'.  

Since I am creator, I can now take that mistake and mold it.  How can I use it to create something new.

Hence the experiment.  Sounds like a bad B-movie, LOL!


Colors used:
French Ultramarine Blue
Quinacridone Gold
Quinacridone Red

In my latest watercolor, I wanted to play around with different textures and see what I could come up with.  

The final piece.

The first image shows the texture I used at the bottom of my paper.  It's just some gauze that I ripped up.  I put it in place and then saturated it with water and color.  When dried, you'll get a very cool textural pattern.  If you don't let it 100% dry, (like I did here), you can brush out certain patterns and add more color.  What this does it just softens the patterns hard edges.  You can then mold it to how you want.   

At the top, I played with placing cling film into my colors and letting it dry.  My mistake here was letting it dry all the way.  I was left with hard edges you can clearly see.  I did not like it and I couldn't easily lift away those hard edges either.  

This left me feeling like I should crumple up my paper and throw it away.  

But, I just couldn't do that.  I walked away for an hour.  When I came back, my brain finally kicked in and reminded me that this was just an experiment.  

I thought of the way tree branches looked against a colorful sky.  It kind of reminds me of stained glass.  The tree branches being the lead.  I wasn't exactly successful in recreating that, but non-the-less, I think my experiment was a success in making me think out-of-the-box.  

Those are the best kinds of mistakes.

What do you think?  Have you ever had a similar situation that turned out better than you expected?
I'd love to hear your feedback!

If you like what you see, follow me on social media:
Instagram: Rebecca L. Davis







      

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Forgotten in the Autumn Aspens

Autumn is a beautiful time of year!  It means winter is just around the corner and I LOVE winter!  Don't get me wrong, spring and summer are great, but, in the northeastern part of North Carolina, where I live, summer means it's too hot and way too humid to really enjoy the outdoors.  It's like a sauna outside in the summer! Anyway... Autumn is a lovely time out here.  It's finally slightly less hot and humid and my husband and I can finally enjoy the outdoors.  While the North Carolina climate may not support aspen trees, I can at least pretend!   Plus, the colorful foliage makes a nice contrast with the white bark of those trees. From sketch to painting I get inspired by everything I see, whether it be driving around out in the country side or just browsing pinterest... yeah, I know...LOL.  My landscapes are usually scenes I'd like to imagine myself walking in.  It's usually something that has been forgotten and so exciting to discov...

2024 Updates

January 2024 Update I have been quiet on social media lately.  There is a reason.  These cooler months are a good downtime.  I can get other stuff done, like resupplying and focusing on family.   It's not all sunshine and roses, however.  There were art exhibits and my framed pieces are on low supply as they are pretty much everywhere!   In January, there was a Wood and Fiber Art Exhibit at Arts of the Albemarle where several of my tree paintings were featured.   Also in January, I taught a workshop on Line & Wash at Arts of the Albemarle.  Line and wash is so much fun and everyone was delightful! Time for Wine - RLDavis 2023 I am currently taking a pottery class as well.  It's a nice diversion from painting.  And a chance to get to know another way to artistically express myself. Ceramic Bowl Four paintings went to the Nasamond Suffolk Academy's Annual Juried Fundraiser where two paintings were sold. Our Albemarle Reg...

The Old into the New.

 So... I've been browsing my old sketchbooks.  They date back years.  As I flipped through them, I realized there were quite a few sketches that caught my eye.  So, why not try to paint some of them up!   I love to draw, doodle, sketch, whatever.  It's easy and you can literally spend all day at it or five minutes.  My sketchbooks aren't pretty.  They're not perfect or colorful masterpieces.  They're things that get recorded from spontaneity or inspiration.  I've filled them with small sketches, mostly 2.5"x3.5", so there are quite a few on a single page.  Plus, notes and dribbles of my mind at wander.  It's a great thing, to be able to unload scenes and images that flash through my brain during the day.  If I don't sketch them, my ADHD will move on and a potentially great image will be forever lost! Why this particular drawing?  It has a good composition and nice tones.  But it really speaks of a warm summe...