Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday Morning: 6/4/15: Extreme wetness

Wetting the paper more than usual by soaking it or by working the water into the fiber with a big, wet brush does more than prolong the drying time. Not needing to take care to prevent blooms , for example, is tremendously liberating, and the exaggerated feathering of edges offers a wider range of interpretation of subjects.

The range of edges in these photos is very wide. You can control how soft or hard  your shapes are by making the paper wetter or the brush dryer. Experiment with these images or some of your own, or invent a scene entirely. You do not need to duplicate what you see. Concentrate instead on being decisive about when you let what the paint does by itself stand for your interpretation of the subject.

intermediate homework 6/2/15: Building on your work so far

Is there a place where you can pin up your figure studies from this past Wednesday? Stand back and ask a few questions that will clarify what you can rely on and what needs strengthening.

Value:
            Are the darks dark enough?
            Is the first layer light enough?
         
Color:
           Am I taking advantage of color temperature in the shadows?
           Are my intentions clear regarding color? For example, do I want accuracy or exaggeration?

Composition:
           Did I put the figure in the center of the page every time?
           Did I distort the length of the body to squeeze all the parts in?

Wetness:
           Clear intentions? What kind of edges do I want, layer by layer?


Using your paintings from the live session as starting points, you can refine your efforts based on    th answers to questions like these. Try making versions of the poses with the appropriate changes.