Hi fellow Live Lesson participants. I have finally started. As is becoming more common however, I’m making some changes. First I love detail, but I felt to have a more successful painting it would be easier to capture those beloved details on a larger painting. That is why I changed to 11x14.
Next, I wasn’t liking how you couldn’t see the entire body of the horse on the right. I went to Pixabay and found the reference photo that Ashley is using. I will post that original Pixabay image here if anyone else is interested in seeing it. I made some more adjustments in photoshop, creating more breathing room around the entire image. That’s because I plan on matting and framing the completed painting when I’m done. A standard precut matt (from Hobby Lobby) will cover up 1/4” on all sides. Buying a precut matt is much less expensive than having one custom cut.
Now I was ready to start. I’m working on my favorite Arches 300# hot press watercolor paper. Hot Press is smoother than cold press so once again easier for creating fine details. I trace all of my initial drawings, and for this one I used a blue transfer paper. I can easily lighten the lines with a kneaded erasier.
I know that I always struggle with backgrounds and have found that for me it helps if I do some work on them first. Now that it is completely dry, I think I’m going to put in a light coat of the trees. Yes, this first coat is gouache, but when watered down it acts just like all watercolors. So I’m using the white of the paper instead of adding white gouache to the blue. That’s what I have done so far and my thinking.
Terri
