Falling behind

Watercolor on Arches cold press, by Vicky Christensen

Watercolor on Ampersand Aquabord sample, by Vicky Christensen

Watercolor on Arches cold press paper, by Vicky Christensen

Watercolor on cold press paper, by Vicky Christensen

I'm still at it, honing my watercolor painting skills. Above is a sampling of the paintings I have done in the past several days.

More watercolor practice

Still working on my watercolor skills. For whatever reason I am having a hard time painting loose with watercolor, but I keep trying. The top two were done on what I consider my practice brand of paper. I wish I had used Arches instead. The bottom painting was done on a sample of Aquabord.

Hydrangea abstraction

Painting by Vicky Christensen, watercolor on Canson Watercolor Artboard

I bought a Jean Haines video today. After watching I was revved up to put color and water on paper. Here's the result.

Ampersand Aquabord samples

I ordered some samples of Ampersand Aquabord from Dick Blick. The idea of painting on a surface that won't warp when wet is appealing, and you can varnish it so could hang the paintings without putting them behind glass. So far it's not as nice to paint on as good quality watercolor paper, but close. One big plus: it certainly is much easier to lift color back to the white than paper, without causing any damage to the surface.

Peeking through the picket fence

Painting by Vicky Christensen, watercolor on cold press paper 

Here's a flower I saw a couple weeks ago, peeking through the picket fence, begging to be noticed. And now it has been immortalized in watercolor.

Purple Coneflower

Painting by Vicky Christensen, watercolor on cold press paper 

Another day, another flower painting. The local season is winding down, so I'm capturing them while I still can.

Sunflower

Painting by Vicky Christensen, watercolor on Canson Watercolor Artboard

This is my first painting on Canson Watercolor Artboard. I had a few problems glazing the center of the sunflower as it had a tendency to reactivate the underlying dark pigments. It's a cold press finish and very thick, so it stands up to lots of water.

I keep running into hydrangeas

Painting by Vicky Christensen, watercolor on cold press paper 

I discovered another beautiful hydrangea bush on a walk today and had to paint it. There's no way I have enough skill to capture its beauty, but this painting tries to capture its essence.

Shrub roses

Painting by Vicky Christensen, watercolor on Arches cold press paper 

Trying to loosen up my watercolor painting style with this one. I passed these shrub roses on a walk a couple days ago and snapped a photo with my phone.

Another hydrangea painting

Painting by Vicky Christensen, watercolor and gouache on cold press paper 

Keep trying til you get it right. I didn't use masking fluid this time, painted around the buds but ended up  losing some of the highlights after an ill-fated attempt to glaze them. Fortunately I have a starter set of Windsor and Newton gouache so this gave me a reason to put the paints to use. Everything else is watercolor.

Hydrangea blooming

Painting by Vicky Christensen, watercolor on cold press paper 

Another flower found on my daily walk - a hydrangea just starting to bloom.

Another flower gets a close-up

Painting by Vicky Christensen, watercolor on cold press paper 

Still working on my watercolor techniques, this time with another floral painting. Thanks to a beautiful photo I found on this Facebook group.

Orchid

Painting by Vicky Christensen, watercolor on cold press paper 

Today's painting was inspired by a photo of an orchid I took at a botanical garden when I visited my nephew in Hawaii in 2014.