Abracadabra – Magical Watercolor Effects
My latest painting called “Abracadabra” is a big one, 56 x 38 cm or 28 x 15 inches. It was a lot of fun to create so I want to dedicate this post to the magical effects that water creates when painting with watercolors.
Magical Mess
Right from the beginning, this painting had a mind of its own. And as you can see from the photo, I also used a lot of water to make the process even more uncontrollable. The more I paint this way, the more boring all the other mediums feel. Watercolors are magical companions, introvert when in pans but extrovert on paper!
Tip: Start with a plenty of water!
In this project, I was testing Arches Cold Press watercolor paper, new to me. It has a weird smell when it’s wet but other than that I quite like it!
Fun Appearances
When I add some sharpness and control, I try to do that gently so that I don’t put too much burden on flowers that have born naturally. The idea is to bring out the best details.
Tip: Add dark shapes to bring out the magical watercolor effects!
Fascinating Translucency
When painting with a lot of water, watercolor becomes magically transparent. I love how the colors get mixed when they are layered.
Tip: Let each layer dry properly!
Watercolors Can Draw!
I also like to think that watercolors can draw. When applying water, watercolor blooms with sharp frilly edges. These lines can be more than just lovely outlines. In the detail below, I used one to make a stem!
Tip: Use your imagination to make the most of what you have on paper!
Flow and Melody in the Safe Haven
I have had mixed emotions this spring. I have lost some old birds and my oldest dog has been sick. It’s been something that I have found difficult to share, it’s still so recent. But in the middle of all the worries, my studio has become a safe haven where I have been painting in the late evenings. The colors of the 16th-18th centuries and the pop songs of the 1980s have inspired me. Do you still remember Abracadabra by Steve Miller Band? A very superficial hit song but it has such a flow in the melody that it goes well with magical watercolor!
Come to draw and paint flowers with me – Sign up for Floral Fantasies in 3 Styles!
Painting Watercolor Still Lives
I usually have a lot to say but this time I can barely type any words. I am madly in love with painting watercolor still lives. They keep coming! It feels that any topic can be put in the form of
I think that art is this kind of a bonsai: even if it would be nourished very little, it keeps staying alive, producing flowers and fruit. It’s both ancient and fresh at the same time.
First a Mess, Then a Still Life!
I love how watercolors have a mind of their own. Especially, when painting without reference photos, the first brush strokes feel exciting and the possibilites seem endless.
The bonsai painting was just a mess after the first layers. I had a lot of fun making the mess!
But I even had more fun bringing out the bonsai.
I use an abstract approach, and it’s so exciting that it keeps me painting. What was first just a clumsy geometric shape is soon a delicate flower! I teach this technique in the upcoming class Floral Fantasies.
My Watercolor Set – A Mix of Brands
I like to use pans more than tubes because it’s much quicker to start painting right away, not wasting time for opening and cleaning the caps. But I also buy tubes because when a pan gets empty, I can use a tube to refill it.
My watercolor set of 36 pans is originally White Nights by St. Petersburg, but within
New Pans – Roman Szmall Aquarius
One of my latest purchases are pans manufactured by Roman
Drawing a Watercolor Chart
Always when I change the pans, I also draw a new chart in a notebook. This is how the chart looks currently (VG = Van Gogh, RS = Roman Szmal, DS = Daniel Smith, “Oma
I love to curate my palette. When one color runs out, I consider carefully whether I buy more or change it! I also like to examine what the best order is for the pans, and as you see from the chart above, I often change the order a bit! This is my way to bond with the supplies, and every time I begin a new painting, I feel that they are my team, working with me!
Painting Watercolor Still Lives Together
Come to draw and paint flowers with me – Sign up for Floral Fantasies in 3 Styles!
Early-Bird Sale – Floral Fantasies
“Paivi likes flowers,” I have heard many say, and yes, I do! A couple of years ago I built a comprehensive floral art class calledFloral Fantasies in 3 Styles. I am running this class again between April 29 – May 24th. I am also building a new module for it that is about painting still lives in watercolor – loosely without reference photos and that’s a lot of fun!
If you sign up before March 31st midnight PDT, you will get the class for the early-bird price. Watch the video below and sign up!
Freely Born Watercolor Florals
I love to paint flowers without reference photos. “What flower is that?” My husband asked when I showed a couple of my recent floral paintings to him. I had no idea! My florals are born
Watercolor Florals in Mixed Media
I have made these kinds of still lives for a long time, but I used to use acrylic paints, pencils, and pens too. Here’s one from 2016 (watch the process video).
Now that my skills have grown, I don’t feel the need to use acrylic paint to cover up some parts or a pen to sharpen others. I can just throw paint and water and then work from that. This kind of art is often more “the art of seeing” than “the art of creating”. Imagination is the only limit!
Painting a Layer by Layer
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I also like to imagine how flowers drop off the vase and start growing from the ground. In this dream, the vitality that the flowers have is tremendous.
Water and Paper Paint Too!
Sometimes I work with many projects at the same time. Often, I just leave the painting to dry and go to do other stuff. At the beginning, I usually feel unsure about the mess on paper, but become happily surprised when I enter the studio and see it dried. Water and paper play with the pigment as much as I do. I love this uncontrollable nature of watercolors that makes the process of painting more like sharing a discussion than giving a speech.
Look at that mess on paper and then the finished version!
My favorite details of this painting are the big white spot and the small flowers that bend down.
Coming Up – Floral Still Life Step by Step
Currently, I am making an extra lesson about this process of making a floral still life without reference photos. It will be available with the upcoming class Floral Fantasies in 3 Styles. The registration will open next week! I plan to make the new lesson a separate one so that if you have purchased the class before, you can buy the new lesson as an add-on when the class begins on April 29, 2019. Stay tuned!