Batik Autumn

Batik Autumn
Watercolor, ink, hot wax on masa, 8x5
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Trying to capture the autumn landscape with watercolor - which is new for me.  I have only been using the medium for three months now, and rarely in a landscape - I normally go to my oils.  After loosely sketching with my india ink pen, I fill in the local color with paints, then brush hot wax onto this.  For this one, I floated ink over the cooled and cracked wax instead of watercolor - and the ink spreads in a different way.  More blotchy, more unpredictable.  Not sure how I feel about this......I'll need to try a few more before I decide.  Painting number 665 in as many days.

Sailing in Pink

Sailing in Pink
Watercolor batik on rice paper, 6x7.5
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I was set up on the bank of Lake Perry, painting a landscape in oils when these girls walked out to their boat.  As they worked, I heard the story of their sailboat by another artist who kept his boat here.  These girls bought this sailboat in disrepair for a song.  Putting many long hours into it, they brought it back to life as a team.  They were laughing and having a good time as they raised the sails and headed away from shore and I knew then that I would one day paint them.  A pink sailboat brought back to glory by the work of their hands, and now they can enjoy the fruits of their labor - does it get any better than that?  I first sketched this out in pen and ink - rather loosely, then painted in the colors of boat and land.  Covering these areas with hot wax, I then painted the water highlights with the hot wax as a resist.  Next, adding the water tones - and then it was back to waxing the whole painting, wadding it up into a ball, pressing it flat, and floating the burnt sienna into the cracks. Putting it between layers of brown paper, a hot iron removes most of the wax, leaving the luminous painting on the rice paper.  This painting makes 643 in as many days.

Iris Magic

Iris Magic
Ink, watercolor, wax on masa paper, 7.5x5.5
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Another day spent in experimentation - just trying to see what I can do with this masa paper!  I think painting and iris is challenging - so I am studying one today!  Using the same techniques I have in the previous days, this time I am using colors from the painting for the "crease work".  Wanting a little more color harmony on this one and a little less "old world" feel, I step away from the browns and use indigo and green for this work.  Rather than work all the creases the same, I concentrate on the background ones and just touch lightly on the petals.  I like the effect and the color pop!  I am having so much fun on these - and I just got a whole roll of this masa paper in!  Painting number 641 in 641 days :)

Hummingbird and Rose Batik

Hummingbird and Rose Batik
Ink, watercolor and wax on rice paper, 12x8
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Switching gears today, I am experimenting again - this time with a thinner rice paper.  My friend loaned me some scraps of rice paper, and this one is so thin, I have to be careful not to tear it with the paintbrush when wet!  I first sketched this one in with brown india ink, then painted the hummingbird, roses and foliage.  Painting over this with hot wax, I next floated in all background color.  A second coat of wax, and then the crinkling begins.  I had to be super careful here - the thin paper would otherwise be easily torn!  I next painted around the edges and into the cracks with a cool brown watercolor.  This paper was so thin, that even the crack resisted the paint!  I had to crack it multiple times to get the creases to accept some more paint!  All of the other rice papers I have tried worked better than this one - and I think this one came in a tablet.  I will avoid this paper next time, but I have already a second just waiting to be wrinkled up and painted in the last step.  This painting is my 639th painting in as many days and the 29th painting in the 30 Day Painting Challenge.

Bold Sunflowers

September Sunflowers
Watercolor and wax on rice paper, 6x6

This painting is a bit of an abstraction using the watercolor batik technique on rice paper.  Bold and vibrant color reign in this small painting as I have mixed my paints with little water.  Experimenting to see if bold color can even be applied to such a thin, delicate paper, I have indeed found that it can.  I have left a little white - where I applied the hot wax onto the painted sunflowers and stems.  Laying in heavy, wet color for the background was fun!  I just kept dipping in more pigment with my brush, letting the water carry it over the surface.  Once dry, I cover the whole surface with hot wax (in a tiny crockpot).  Dry, and crinkle the painting into a ball, open and float another color into the cracks (brown - shown here).  Laying brown paper on top and bottom of painting, I then heat with a medium iron until no more wax comes off onto the paper.  I needed to change out papers three times to get the wax up.  Painting number 637 in as many days, and Day 27 of the 30 day Painting Challenge by Leslie Saeta.  It was her challenge in January of 2013 that started my daily painting journey!  I have learned so much in the last 637 paintings - and I have Leslie to thank for the nudge in the right direction :)

Sunflowers at Night

Sunflowers at Night
Ink, watercolor, wax on rice paper, 10.5x7

Today, I am playing with the watercolor batik technique, using hot wax as a resist between layers.  I have first used pen and ink to define the lines loosely.  The crinkly texture of this thin rice paper after the ironing off of the hot wax is so cool!  Each piece makes a completely unique pattern.  I am really trying to study the method here, pushing the various mediums in different ways.  I first used an indian red in the cracks of the wax, and then went to a sepia.  After the last step, I then went back over the high spots only with an almost dry brush and sepia ink.  There are many layers, and I simply added another layer when I thought some tweaking of color was required.  Experimenting like this just brings so many images into my mind - like a hundred paintings just waiting their turn at the easel!  So many paintings, never enough time!  Painting number 634 of 634, and Day 24 of the 30 Day Painting Challenge.

Sunflower Magic

Sunflower Magic
Ink, watercolor, wax on rice paper, 12x9
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The theme for the week is "sunflowers", as I have to decide on three paintings to enter into the Sunflower Festival by Friday morning.  So, another day of experimenting!  I first inked the composition in loosely on this very thin rice paper.  It is so thin I can easily see through it!  Then I added the watercolor to the flowers and foliage - with a paper towel underneath because that paint just runs right through the paper.  Covering these areas with hot wax, I then painted in the background colors.  Next, these areas are also painted with hot wax using a synthetic 1 inch bristle type brush.  Once dry, the crinkling up of the whole thing begins.  Pressing it as flat as possible, I next float a brownish watercolor paint into all of the cracks, which spreads in unpredictable ways that could never be accomplished the same way twice.  This step adds so much character to the painting!  Next, between layers of brown paper, the wax is removed with a medium hot iron until no more wax stains the brown paper.  Some wax remains in the paper, which is now translucent from this process.  Zoom in on the texture, because this whole wax technique adds such depth to the surface.  This painting makes 633 in as many days and Day 23 of in the 30 Day Painting Challenge.  So much fun to experiment - I can hardly tear myself away!