Today sharing with you for a change an abstract painting! Or two of them rather. I have been following an on-line class here with Alena Hennessy called “Watercolor Wonder” which is great fun and very inspiring as we learn to paint abstract using watercolor. Not often do we associate watercolors with abstract art, do we? And in this unit “Two Pairs” we take a step further and challenge ourselves with two paintings at the same time. How about that?
Getting the Flow Started
The idea of painting in pairs simultaneously sounded quite intriguing. Whilst Alena worked with two pieces of aquarelle paper loosely side by side, though, I prefered to secure mine down with masking tape to avoid the papers from warping. Paper used was A4 sheets from Canson’s Watercolor paper which is hot-pressed, although Alena went for cold-pressed. As for watercolors, I chose Kuretake Gansai Tambi sets from Japan, and look what vibrant colors are available! Used a large round brush firstly and simply began painting various shapes, trying to get the right side more round and the left one more linear as Alena suggests. Although it didn’t quite come out like that, it was more about “going with the flow” and watching how the colors move around and merge together in harmony…
Keeping the Flow Going
Gradually I introduced other forms like smaller shapes like arches, spirals and dots as well as more eye-catching colors like fluorescent pink and gold, also from the Kuretake range. Any areas I didn’t really like were then “disguised” or “distracted” with overlays and more layers on top. Important though is to wait till the paint dries first to prevent the colors from getting muddy. In some areas, I added tiny dots and streaks with a small white Uniposca Pen. I didn’t want to get too heavy handed with the layering because I didn’t want to lose the marbly effect of some areas. I just kept working on it till I was happy with it. Removed the tape carefully, and here we are!
Now that was an amazing session! It was all about going with the flow and just working intuitively as we experiment with color and practice with brushstrokes to see the direction in which the entire process goes. More intriguing, though, was working in pairs; two seperate pieces which are yet unified as one. Like an inseparable couple in fact! A rather meditative but also intense experience as it is my first time of using this method. Would definitely go back to it, though, and look forward to trying it out again, Who knows, maybe I may introduce some of my kawaii characters too?
For a closer look here is the left one:
And the right one:
Please click here for more about Alena Hennessy and her amazing classes!
My Kawaii Quarter 