Tuesday, January 3, 2012

TRIAL AND ERROR...MOSTLY ERROR








How do you go from this lovely, fresh, light-filled start...





to this monster of a watercolor, all muddled and muddy and strange?

Practice, darlings, lots of practice! ha ha

Oh, well, I guess even though I get a couple of them looking right, I'm still learning and there's a lot of error in the trials!



On to the next thing, then...I'm itching to start on the next revised Caw Girls painting but I don't think I'm ready yet because I want to do it more wet-in-wet; so more work to do before I start that one...

Back to the Ewa Karpinska book to see if I can change my working habits and impatience.


10 comments:

http://carolking.wordpress.com said...

I understand Trial and Errors! I have a lot of them. Keep going. Your work is great, even the ones that you think are muddied. I still think you did a great job.

irinapictures said...

Every new art work is the page in our life book. Can you believe all pages are same perfect? I don't))
I like this page of yours.

Carol Blackburn said...

Thanks for the chuckle today, Rhonda.....:) I've been there, done that!

Jeanette Jobson said...

I don't believe you should be so hard on yourself Rhonda. Yes watercolour is a difficult, moody medium with some technique and some luck involved in it. You're practicing and that's what counts.

It can be quite difficult at times to get what's in your head to match what comes out on paper. I know, I have a shelf full of proof. :)

Do a small study of your caw girl piece first. Work out colours and techniques, see how paint and water will work. Then when you've made your mistakes and had your triumphs, get out the big sheet and go to it. I know being patient is hard when we're so anxious to get at the good stuff, but believe me, its well worth doing the homework first.

Sadami said...

Hi,Rhonda,
Please never blame on yourself. Always celebrate any result as an achievement--is my mantra. Enjoy painting!!
Best wishes,Sadami

Jane said...

Great humor!....the thing is that it is difficult to know when to stop. I have hundreds of light and nice watercolors gone muddy cakes because I just couldn't stop.

Anonymous said...

I like it! Keep up the great work, Rhonda!

Cindi said...

rhonda.. this is what our journey is about.. a few steps forward and a few steps back.. and occasionally we slip in a few steps forward and its sticks.. woo hoo!!!

suzanneberry said...

i look up to anyone working in water color. muddied? i think not! patience is a problem isn't it? i have none. beautiful work. looking forward to more.

RH Carpenter said...

Thanks, Carol, Irina, Carol, Jeanette and Sadami - I think I am comparing this to Ewa Karpinska's version in her book, and I can see how it's lacking but it may not be as bad as I think.

Thanks, Jane, Sherry, Cindi, and Suzanne. My goal for 2012 is to stop being so negative about my own work and treat it like a friend painted it so I can get some distance and be more gentle (of course that doesn't mean I should let down my standards, as they are, but not try to label things as bad when they aren't as perfect as I'd like.)