Tuesday, September 29, 2015

BACK TO WORK

I have a student who was in the Carol Carter workshop with me back in spring of 2014.  She asked if we could do Carol's bicycle painting again because she wasn't happy with the way her first effort turned out.




So that's what Tuesday's lesson was about...


This is a photo taken at that workshop.  Carol had drawn out the bicycle on the watercolor paper, using the photo of her original painting above, and was ready to add the misket to block out the whites before putting down juicy wet color.

After that, the color goes on wet paper all around the bicycle in Aureolin Yellow and Shadow Violet to the outside edges, letting the paint merge.  Then paint the bicycle when the first wash around it has dried. 




This is my latest version to share with the class.  At this stage, the misket is still on and just Hansa Yellow Light + Shadow Violet were painted wet-in-wet on the paper and are drying.  










This was one of Carol's bicycles from the workshop, almost finished.








The trick is to make the shadow pretty but not too much red or it looks like someone was killed on the bicycle and bled out!!  (That's what my student said her first effort looked like.)





I reminded them that this is a copy of one of Carol's paintings using her photo - so no selling anywhere or putting in a show, but they can use it for their own home or give it away to a friend.  (I always tell my students the rules because it seems a lot of people don't know it (or that's their excuse). 

I was just looking on Etsy recently and saw an "artist" who splatters watercolor paint over prints of the Beatles and other famous folks and sells them.  The prints are just printed from photos of the Beatles taken in the past - not her photos or drawings.  I am no longer surprised that people still think photos are ok to steal and use.)





Here is my version from the workshop, finished at home while waiting for the other version to dry.  So the students will have the drawing and the 2 versions I've done as guides to help them along - plus what I remember from the workshop.  I've taken 3 workshops from Carol Carter and have learned something in each one.  I will never paint like her or have her bold color sense, but it's fun to add some extra techniques and tricks and colors (I always pick up a new color or two from a workshop) to your own style and techniques.


Remember, we want to paint like - US!  We just want to know how to do all the things we run into with watercolor.  And we want to have the best paints and paper and brushes, of course! ha ha

  

7 comments:

Deborah Nolan said...

Dear Rhonda- love your version of this photo. Good reminders too to use one's own photos or at least get permission to usr someone else's. Had to smile at your student thinking the red might look someone had been killed on bicycle. Thank you always for your insight. Hugs

Sadami said...

Rhonda, your last sentence has the key point as well as the technical stuff. Go, go, Rhonda!! Cheers, Sadami

Jennifer Rose said...

a lot of people don't care about copyright rights, sometimes its just lack of knowledge but sadly a lot of the time people just don't see a problem with selling copies or photos they didn't take :/

E.M. Corsa said...

Excellent post Rhonda. And thank you for talking about Copyright issues and photographs. I see so many artists using photos they like, copying them exactly, selling them and churning out another one. I too have seen them entered in shows. So again, thanks for doing your part to educate everyone.

RH Carpenter said...

Thanks, Debbie, Sadami, Jennifer Rose and Elizabeth. I cannot believe anyone can claim "I didn't know" when they copy someone else's work or photo. But it still happens. I have seen paintings in shows (locally) that were painted from photos on calendars!

Caroline Simmill said...

Your painting is lovely Rhonda I love the bright light and pretty colours you are using.

RH Carpenter said...

Thanks, Caroline. We will finish our bicycles next class and I think the students will be pleased.