Watercolor on 14-lb Archers watercolor paper, 18 cm x 18 cm

Blog Post 91

This is my take on Yuko Nagayama’s impressionist painting of a bouquet of roses. I had a chance to watch her watercolor impressionism workshop session on January 5, 2019, from 10 A. M.-4:00 P. M. at La Fuerza Plaza, Chino Roces Ave., Makati City.

The painting above was not the one she demonstrated, but it was my study based on on one of her paintings in her book, ‘You Can Paint Vibrant Watercolors in Twelve Easy Lessons’.

Acrylic on canvas; 46 cm x 61 cm

Blog Post 90

I usually paint landscapes while on tour. This was the painting I started while in San Francisco, California in 2018. Good I took a photo before I left the place. So, whatever needs to completed, I was able to do, through the photo I took.

It was late spring when my family was in Land’s End, one of the most famous places in San Francisco, California–a bit sunny, but still foggy at a distance where the Golden Gate Bridge could be seen.

 

Acrylic on leatherette pencil case; front (left) and back sides; 27 cm x 15 cm

Blog Post 89

I painted White Chrysanthemums on my pencil case so I can easily identify it when ‘pack up’ time comes, ending painting workshops I attend.

I used five left-over artist-grade paints left on my palette: titanium white, lamp black, lemon yellow, yellow ochre, and burnt Sienna; i. e.:

-for the bamboo fence: a mix of burnt Sienna and lamp black;

-for the stems: a mix of lemon yellow, yellow ochre, and lamp black;

-for the leaves: a mix of lemon yellow and lamp black to make olive green;

-for the flowers: titanium white for petals; and lamp black for the outline of petals.

So don’t just leave left-over paints on your palette, especially artist-grade paints. Use them to personalize your things, like the painting I did on my pencil case.

 

 

Acrylic on boxed canvas; 30 cm x 30 cm

Blog Post 88

This was my first painting for 2019–an upward view of Magnolia flowers. I  painted this to apply one thing I learned from Yuko Nagayama’s advice: ‘You can paint shadows without using black.’ I attended Yuko’s demonstration painting on January 5, 2015, from 10:00 a. m.- to 4:00 p. m., @Warehouse 8, Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City, through the event planner: des_ art room @Instagram).

How did I paint the dark branches and sepals? By mixing yellow and black. Shadows of petals were done in three to four tones of mixed red, blue, white, and sometimes, raw Sienna.

I did this painting in one afternoon–from background to detail painting. It is now hung below a wooden Crucifix which came from a burnt, centuries-old church in Daet, Camarines Norte.

This one way of getting myself ‘to flow’ in painting–to offer a painting for a cause bigger than myself. Have you tried this ‘to flow’, too?

Watercolor on 140-lb Arches Aquarelle paper; 51 cm x 36 cm

Blog Post 87

This painting had many ‘firsts’. It was my first watercolor painting of peonies on Arches paper. My three previous watercolor paintings of peonies (Blog Posts 7, Pink Peonies; 8, Peony Diversity; and Radiant Peonies) were done on Chinese rice paper. This was also the first time that I used western-produced watercolors and animal hair brushes. And, my first time to sketch my composition using watercolor colored pencils–those that dissolve upon contact with water or watercolor. But, I didn’t sketch everything–just the outlines of the big branches, flowers, and leaves.

Notice that my painting changed in this painting. The branches, leaves, and petals of my peonies look different from my first three paintings because I used the layering technique. I dry the first layer, then I added brighter, semi-opaque or opaque colors. I also followed the rule of painting watercolor tones from light to dark to make each tonal value pop up.

Acrylic on boxed canvas; 91 cm x 66 cm

Blog Post 86

Acrylic on boxed canvas; 91 cm x 66 cm

Blog Post 85