Personal Art Blog

Sharing the lessons I teach at the Artist Guild and the personal discoveries in my art.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Watercolor Weekend - Peonies


Peonies
12x9in watercolor on Yupo paper

Trying something larger and different on the Yupo. 

Artist Note.
Still busy, busy...BUT
I saw these peonies in a garden while walking with a friend and 
went and knocked on the door. When the gentleman understood why 
I wanted one to paint, he got a cutter and persuaded me to take a few.
Naturally I had to paint them pretty quickly, and already the 
pink ones are really droopy. 
I am deciding if I should go further with this making it 
more dramatic with some pattern.  
I really enjoy trying 
different approaches with Yupo.  I can wipe out any 
part I want to and start fresh. Very liberating. I also find Yupo
a completely different and difficult surface to work on. 
Only using it twice a week at weekends means it is 
going to take a long time to learn what I can do with it.

45 comments:

  1. Your peonies are so beautiful ! Very romantic...

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    1. Yes - I agree. the peonies have a romantic feel to them. Trying to figure it out.
      I enjoyed seeing your gouache sketches of the geese. Quite wonderful.

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    2. Inspiring ! Great and powerful technique... Il y a tout: l'espace, la music, l'attraction pour la beautee et l'amour !

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  2. Bonjour chère amie,

    Quel travail extraordinaire dans les nuances de couleurs, les formes, les profondeurs...
    Je suis conquise et j'aime beaucoup la fraîcheur de cette aquarelle.
    je ne connais absolument pas le support que vous utilisez, (je suis une bien piètre joueuse d'aquarelle!!) mais en vous lisant je crois comprendre qu'il faut apprendre à dompter ce support !

    Gros bisous ♡

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    1. Your visit is always welcomed and I thank you. I admire the lovely drawing of the church and woman on your blog. I hope to see it appear in paint too.

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  3. Absolutely beautiful, Julie! These peonies are gorgeous.....especially when I zoomed on them....the colors and texture is perfect!!

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    1. Pleased to hear you like them. They grow in abundance out in your area. They are rather rare around here.
      Thanks for the visit dear Hilda. Still loving the cat you painted.

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  4. that was nice of the man to donate his flowers for your painting...you did them justice, I am certain!

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    1. I agree it was...people are usually nice. I always ask and have never been turned down.
      Your artist painting is dynamic, Celeste

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  5. Very beautiful flowers painting !!!
    Have a nice day Julie !!!

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    1. And I hope you have a lovely day too. thanks for the comment.

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  6. I think yupo and peonies are a match made in heaven, this is gorgeous !

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    1. Do you? How nice to hear that, Jane. I find the yupo is excellent for many types of subject matter - just not easy at first.
      Love your abstract.

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  7. JULIE!!!!!!!!!! This is just absolutely gorgeous! I think you have Yupo nailed, to be quite frank. I think this is one of my new favorites. The intensity and way the flowers pop from the page is just stunning.

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    1. Thanks Sherry. I still feel I want to push it further and will mull it around for a while. How's the portraits going?

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  8. Beautiful painting Julie, you captured the fullness in them. Nice design.

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    1. You sound like you know your peonies. They are very full.
      Bit different than the great turkey you painted. love it!

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  9. This is a treasure! Just beautiful! Love your color choices!

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    1. Thanks Kaethe. Love your vineyard painting. Brilliant light.

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  10. Julie this is so beautiful...my kind of painting. If I can ask you - do you find that you use less water when painting on Yupo and more paint instead? Just love this and even though you are only painting on it twice a week - you are really getting gorgeous results. Hope you have a lovely day.

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    1. Glad you asked, Debbie. I am taking notes as I paint. I start of with a medium amount of water but if I want more painting on top, I have to puddle it and let it lie there to air dry.I do lightly dry brush in areas when dry.
      It is fascinating and different from any type of paper I have used before.

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  11. Beautiful Julie!! I love the transparencies.

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    1. I agree - this paper really allows for transparent washes of color.
      Your parsley is fabulous - oh, if I could only do those greens.

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  12. In my childhood home here in Kansas, we had the dark pink peonies just like these you have painted. They are a favorite flower of mine now and I have waited and waited and waited for peonies in our own yard. FINALLY we have some. They take forever to bloom...I think about three years before we saw a flower.

    I am not a yupo expert, but it seems to me you have the hang of it. It's beautiful Julie.

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    1. Thanks Lisa. You should see all the wipe-offs to know it has not been easy.
      Glad we share loving the peony.
      Your new furniture painting is great. love the color of that sofa!

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  13. Beautiful! You have a great handle on things already.

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    1. Maybe and maybe not. I fooled myself into thinking I did with the previous landscape...lots of wipe offs with this one.
      Great about the sale. Congrats.

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  14. Replies
    1. Great to hear from your Haidee-Jo. thanks.
      Love you adding people to your landscapes.

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  15. Like fine wine, each one just gets better and better.

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    1. I am aging too - just like fine wine!
      Thanks, dear Blanche.

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  16. Just beautiful, Julie. There definitely is a "batik" quality about painting on Yupo. Those lovely water/paint marks are so like silk painting. What wonderful effects!

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    1. I have not thought about it that way. Batik eh?
      There has to be a way I can make it look like my oils to the degree you can tell it is mine.
      Your pastels are really awesome and am waiting for another one.

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  17. Love this painting! Haven't played with my watercolors for a long time. Your lovely paintings on yupo are tempting me to take them out.

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    1. I still think of watercolors as the sketching medium. the one to work out idea for a painting. the yupo has given me new ideas. Hope you try it.
      Love your beautiful spoon.

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  18. There is a softness about this painting I really like. I do not know if you could get it any other way. And yet, your darks hold so well. Fascinating.

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    1. I think the softness is because no really strong area of dark. I am mulling it over. The softness is also appealing.
      Love the way you are mastering RED!

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  19. Beautiful work, Julie! Some areas definitely have the look of raised oils.

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    1. You are so sweet Dean. Thanks.
      I happen to really admire your work. The lioness is powerful with fab color.

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  20. Looks like you've 'tamed the tiger' or at least know how to work with this Beast called Yupo! This is a beauty!

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    1. I am afraid I find it too unexpected for me to feel I have tamed it. One of those things - the more you know, you know you do not know..
      What a great palette knife lesson you came up with. Roxanne.

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  21. I think this is the best painting on Yupo I have ever seen!! I think you are really getting a feel for this surface! I think being an oil painter helps while working on yupo, do you find this to be true? In a sense there are different though processes vs. what one normally has with watercolor.

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  22. Oh WOW! Thank YOU, dear Kim. I think I will print your comment out and place it where I can see it.
    I never made the connection about easier if an oil painter first. I know I am following the general rules - Light to dark etc.Believe me when I say it is difficult- for me anyway. You have such a marvelous technique with watercolor. I am in awe.

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  23. It is absolutely spectacular Julie, look forward to more on yupo from you!

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  24. Hello,

    Can you tell me if this watercolour has sold? I would be very interested in purchasing it - it's lovely!

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I love that you are taking the time to comment and thank you for it. I am sure other readers will enjoy them too. If you cannot comment through this format then email me at juliefordoliver@gmail.com
Cheers,
Julie