Let's finish this Painting!

I'm temporarily putting aside some smaller paintings I've started so I can hopefully finish this 30"h x 40" wide piece that I started a while back.  My brain really has to do some adjusting when I make a switch like that. Do you find that's true for you? 

Here's my first wash (which means a layer of color).  I used Winsor & Newton Permanent Rose, Cadmium Yellow, Cerulean Blue, Ultramarine Blue and a touch of Holbein Mineral Violet.  The substrate is a Fredrix archival watercolor canvas, gallery-wrapped, so I've painted onto the sides of the canvas as I move around the painting to be sure it's integrated into the final result. (Notice that I've got some masking fluid in the white sections of the waves.)

First I painted the sky.  I used some Holbein Lavender Blue with cerulean blue.  After that dried, I taped off the horizon line (on the sky side, making very sure it was level) with blue painter's tape. I rubbed on the tape with my thumb to ensure no water could seep under it.  I painted the ocean a brilliant blue with the addition of Peacock blue, along with the other blues already mentioned.  I apply darker tones of the same colors into the wave at top (darker tones are achieved by using less water).  You can definitely paint over your first wash if you're careful.  It takes practice not to remove what you've already put down (more so than when you're painting on paper).  No amount of reading will make it magically happen for you.  

Here I'm working on the bottom area, getting it darker.  I've covered the top area with a plastic bag so I don't splash anything on there by mistake.  I sometimes tend to "throw" color into the paint puddles.  

Here's a close up of the darker water at the bottom.  You can actually SEE the texture of the canvas in this shot.

I'll keep painting now, and I'll keep posting.  Let me know if you'd like to sign up for my blog posts so that they come directly to your email inbox.  And definitely feel free to leave me Comments (if you're receiving this via email, you can click on the blue title at the top and it'll take you to my blog where you can post a comment).  I like it when Art becomes a Conversation!  What are you thinking?

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