Do Have a Cup

Tea pot and Cup by Janet Sargisson ( 7" x 10" watercolour on Arches Aquarelle paper)

This is a small water colour painting done very quickly, but I think it demonstrates how sometimes through speed we cut to the essentials and end up with a satisfying piece!  I like the freedom of this  and the colours.  It makes me want a cup of tea!

Far Away Places Right Here

I painted this based on another photo of Monet's Garden from my old calendar.  I guess you could say that it is more about the feeling of the image than the architecture itself.  The photo was much more complex in that sense. 

Still Life with Roses

Again, I was working wet on wet, then I used a dryer brush for more definition through line.  The challenge, as always, is not to close in all the forms, but to leave some breathing space in certain areas. 

Working from a photo

For this painting, I worked from a photo of Monet's garden, from an old calendar.  I worked wet on wet and then went in with a dryer brush for more detail and line. 

Simplicity and accidents

For me, the hardest part of water colour is knowing when to stop.  So often, less is much, much more.  In this painting, I worked wet on wet and then with a slightly dryer brush for more specific lines to define certain edges.

Trying to loosen up with wet - on - wet

From teapots to flowers, anything makes a good subject for painting.  Here are even more experiments with wet - on - wet techniques, some more successful than others.  The paintings vary in size, but all are water colour and were a great pleasure to paint!  Some are much looser than others.  It seems to take me a good hour or so to get to the very loose stage, when the best work happens.  I love the accidental element of this kind of painting;  it is very exciting to watch the paint flow and dry, if you can believe it!  I am trying to leave forms somewhat open and not to close all the edges, where possible, as well as to use white space and to allow beautiful accidents to happen.

More Experimentation with wet on wet.

Two small water colours experimenting with wet - on - wet techniques.  The top one also uses dry brush.