My Creative Space

I was planning on this being another update to the 30-day journal challenge, but it seems as though I haven't added any new pages since the last one! Oops! I'll catch up eventually, though probably not before July starts...

Instead, I've been working on a series of three paintings. My sister-in-law posted two photos on Facebook over the weekend, showing one of my nephews in the river and my niece jumping off the dock. The quality of the phone pictures wasn't the greatest, but the composition was awesome. Plus, I've been wanting to try my hand at painting water ever since seeing a bunch of awesome examples at the art galleries. I chose a random photo of my other nephew and "placed" him in the water to make this a sort of impressionistic summer swimming triptych. If they turn out how they look in my head, then I'll be gifting these to my sister-in-law for her birthday next month.

Here's my progress so far:

Step 1: pencil sketches (I haven't sketched out my oldest nephew just yet.)

Step 2: gesso then a watercolour wash in blue/green (I completed step 3 on the first two pieces before choosing a photo of my oldest nephew, so his turned out more green.)

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Step 3: molding paste "waves" for awesome texture

Step 4: sky and horizon on my niece's portrait

Step 5: first layer of "water"

Step 6: second layer of "water"

My next three or four steps will be more layers of "water" - so far I only have the darkest layer down. Layers, layers, layers are key for adding depth, interest and texture! I'm pretty nervous about painting my subjects though - I want them to be recognizable but still impressionistic. 


First though, I need to make a run to Curry's to pick up some more gel medium! The fluid medium I have is ok for the water, but I need a bit more control for my people and the final layers.

You can find more photos in my Flickr photostream and more Creative Spaces here.