Friday, December 30, 2011

Wild Safari - Etsy Collection

KICKING IT UP
Original Watercolor
I love painting with a limited palette because it forces me to concentrate on the values - lights and darks - more than just the colors. For Kicking It Up I used combinations of the complementary colors yellow and purple, using shades of yellow ochre, burnt sienna and thalo purple. I started with wet paper and placed my background colors using salt at the bottom to give the illusion of dirt being stirred up. You never know exactly how salt is going to work but I was VERY happy with the final results. When everything was dry I painted the elephant, using alot of negative painting for the details.
I sell most of my paintings unmatted because they are much easier to ship and the buyer can then select the mat and frame that suits their taste and decor. I decided to take a photo of Kicking It Up matted and framed to give you and idea of the finished product.
This painting was included in an Etsy Treasury called Wild Safari - to see more of this collection click here. I also shared this with Paint Party Friday