Friday, September 28, 2012

Watercolor 101 | Be Fearless

working with gouache II
It would be easy for me to say,
"Follow steps one through ten and voila! You have a painting!"
Only paint by numbers works like that. I can share the basics but the rest is in your hands.
You have to fearlessly jump in and start somewhere.
I'm doing just that with a series of new paintings.

working with gouache III
Actually, these are not watercolors. I'm using gouache and only gouache.
I've never done this before.
The paint is so rich and saturated with pigment. It feels different to me.
I have a brand new palette of  bright, bold colors and I'm just diving in.

working with gouache
Looking through some old painting notes, I had scrawled the words: paradise and parrots.
It was enough to get me started. I still love my soft greys and muted palette,
but I wanted to step away from my go-to colors and try something new.
I have no idea if these paintings will fully develop into something.
I'm not in any rush. I'm just enjoying the journey.
I hope you will too! 

19 comments:

Lisa Firke said...

I love it when artists who have a very recognizable palette such as yours start to mix things up! It then becomes clear that it's not only the palette that has unified the work--your "hand" is very clear in these new pieces.

Imogen Greene said...

Those colours are working so well and I like the way they flow into each other, one aspect I love about watercolour is the lack of control and sometimes the pigment just decides to do the work for you!

Chow Lee said...

Turned out lovely Golly! Like the new direction, have fun with it!

holly aka golly said...

Hitthosekeys: Thank you for the compliment. Your post reminds me of my favorite Oscar Wilde quote, "Be yourself. Everyone else is taken."

Imogen: I love that lack of control too! I purposely ordered tubes of gouache colors that I don't normally use and it is turning out to be so much fun.

Chow Lee: You are too kind.

mama bleu said...

I am a fan of your work and love that you aren't afraid to experiment. Some of the best work comes from trying new things. Love the colors!

lamina@do a bit said...

Ooooo...I am loving your new adventure in these bright happy colours... just gorgeous! :)

Line Katrin Moe said...

Oh, thank you soo much for sharing this! It is so inspiring! We often stop to play and with these photos all I want is to have fun while working. Please share more! Big smile from Norway and all the way to you!

belinda marshall said...

beautiful! perfect that you can go with the flow too and let it be what it will xx

annamaria potamiti said...

What fun Holly! I am loving gouache as well. They have both body and flow. Lovely, very lovely work;-)

MagaMerlina said...

Absolutely gorgeous new palette, suits your style.

Lynn said...

Beautiful, Holly!
As the first commenter said, your hand is definitely in evidence in these.

holly aka golly said...

Thank you all for kind words and encouragement. It's always so nice to hear when you are starting something new and different.

artist said...

Love your new colors!

I just finished a whole week of taking a Color Workshop in watercolors and now I am experimenting with bold colors. It's making me stretch and think outside the box.

Unknown said...

Really fresh and pretty, I love them.

holly aka golly said...

Thank you. I'm making progress on these paintings. Hope to post an update soon. :)

Robin said...

Hi Holly! I absolutely adore your "usual" palette, but I also love these new, bright colors. And I agree with everyone else, it's still 100% you and 100% lovely. :) I am looking forward to seeing more!

Allie said...

Always a joy to visit you. Love these bright colors. You have such an extraordinary gift. Everything you paint has such a vibrance and fluidity to it. -Al

holly aka golly said...

Thank you all so very much. Have a great weekend!

Jennifer said...

Dear Holly, Thanks so much for this 101 series. It is informative, inspiring, and beautiful! Best, Jennifer