12″ x 24″; liquid acrylic and DS watercolor on satin & bamboo fan

Blog Post 99

____ cm diameter; watercolor on porcelain plate

Blog Post 98

48 cm x 34.5 cm; watercolor on rice paper

Blog Post 97

___ cm x ___ cm; watercolor on rice paper

Blog Post 96

36 cm x 51 cm; watercolor on 140-lb Arches paper

Blog Post 95

This is the painting technique of Chinese painter Lian Quantizing Zhen–a mix of realism (for the focus) and impressionism (for the background images). I set aside this painting for a more urgent work which took several months to finish. Then I continued and finished it just lately.

I began this painting by determining where the focus should be–the fully ripe, purple bunch  hanging on the left side of the painting. Then I poured watercolor mixes on wet paper–yellow, green, and ochre on places for leaves; ochre on places for vines; and purple (mix of blue and red), blue and yellow on places where grapes should hang from the vines. I used my right index finger in forming bunches of grapes. Lastly, I finished the painting using a round, medium size sable branch.

20 cm x 18 cm; watercolor on 140-lb Arches paper

Blog Post 94

This is my take on Yuko Nagayama’s ‘Apples and Berries’. (See ‘You Can Paint Vibrant Watercolors in Twelve Easy Lessons’ (cover and pp. 2, 5, 6-11, 15. 16). I started t by sketching one apple, laying down a yellow underpainting but leaving some white spaces for highlights. After drying, I painted a lighter red tone over the yellow underpainting, dried it, and then touched a deeper red color to make the apple 3D.

A fresh apple which was lit by a desk lamp was my constant reference for painting shadows and highlights.

Brushes used: Silver Brush sable brush #s 2, 4, 6, and 8.

Watercolors used: Winsor & Newton, Daniel Smith, and Holbein

20 cm x 18 cm; watercolor on 140-lb Arches paper

Blog Post 93

I started this painting by reviewing how to paint Chinese roses. Then, I added an angry Maya to serve as the focus of the painting.

Brushes used: Silver Brush sable brush #s 2, 4, 6, and 8.

Watercolors used: Winsor & Newton, Daniel Smith, and Holbein