Watercolor and airbrush

[Norm]

Here are 3 shots of a piece I'm doing now, which I believe to be a Calais lily.. but I'm probably wrong on that.. Help me out Denise, Sharon, Andy.. it is a plant that was flowering in the office. I combined hairy stick and airbrush.. not crazy about the background... but I'm at odds at what to do with it. the 4th pic is all hairy stick... watercolor on cold press illustration. Comments and critiques?

[Shade]

Did you do the background after the the subject?

I find when I do pics that way my paint is always denser around the subject which I think spoils the natural feel. It is unavoidable unless you mask off the subject as you have to work up close and slow to the edge of the subject to avoid over spray.

The plant is good especially the stamen it really has some depth to it. I find leaves always tricky myself but you did an excellent job with the hairy brush in pic 4 the highlight and sheen on the leaf is very subtle which is why I started to airbrush as I could not achieve that subtlety with the hairy brush. Nice depth on the moths wings and veins as well. How big was the canvas?

[mmccoy555]

Great work Norm. I never got to much into the flowers myself but you got em down.

[redanner]

Really nice work norm.

[maxxpaane]

lookin good Norm. MP

[Cowboy]

Nice Works Norm , Thanks for Showin .

[Norm]

Thanks Shade, I actually did the background first, but added to it afterwards.. I think it is going to get a rework... It is done on Cold Press Illustration paper, odd size, 9x12.

Thanks Matt, never did many flowers either, but figured I would try doing a few, so now I've decided that I need to do a series just to round out the portfolio.

Thank you Robert, Maxx!

Thank you Denise! Guess I should learn the names of some of these, but I usually just point the camera, and presto, some kind of flower... I have taken hundreds of shots, but don't ask me what they are. Just seems like a nice subject to paint. I might have to ask you what they are from time to time.

Thanks Cowboy!

[flyer615]

Great work, Norm. I wish I had the patience to do that sort of thing. For some reason I just don't have ... ooohh look, a squirrel ...

Good show. Thanks.

[Dizzy]

really nice stuff Norm!!
I agree that the stem of the flower has great depth!!
it is really looking good.... wish I could offer advice..... but I think it looks great!

[fontgeek]

The flower looks nice, for the background, maybe using something medium light, and on the warm side of neutral, something like a flesh tone. Having something that isn't competing for the viewer's attention lets the eye focus on the main subject. Keeping the baground simple and soft in texture helps too.

The flesh or beige needs to be dark enough so that you can see the petals of the flower clearly and cleanly, keeping it towards a neutral makes the colors of the flower and greenery come forward or pop. Subtle shading on the petals helps give them depth and definition too.

[Norm]

Thanks Ken, Dizzy! Yeah Brian, I was thinking something along the lines of stucco, medium amber or fleshtone... I knew as soon as I saw it with the current color that it was wrong... appreciate you looking! Wonder if I can blot off the color without damaging the flower... watercolor is not one of my strengths as you can see.

[fontgeek]

You might try a fixitif spray on the parts you wish to keep, use a freehand mask to help keep the spray off of the background, that way whatever you do, you will have some protection for the flower. You may find that trying to blot it will make more of a mess than it's worth. If you do try it, go at one of the bottom corners first, that way if there is an issue, it is in an area that's fairly easy to recover. You could spray an opaque white over the background with the flower masked, though the white wouldn't react the same way to the watercolors if you tried to paint the new background over it.
As I said before, it's not just the color to me, it's also the texture, it's so busy that it's distracting from the main subject.

[Cult airbrush]

very nice colors,the butterfly especially is giving great contrast to the flower theme

[airartista]

This is really sensitive and I love the color use!! It's always wonderful to see what you are up to! Wish I had more time to get on here ...don't these days! Really great to see what you are creating! Given me some inspiration Norm!

[AndyW]

Missed this Norm, see Denise got you covered lol...........................

Nice work mate, after you popped that last flower pic no doubt this one will be superb when done.

[Norm]

Thanks Gordon! That one was ALL hairy brush...

Thanks for the advice Brian.. still not sure how I'm going to approach that yet... I'll post the result in a few days.

Thanks Cult, Andy, Annette! There will be more flowers to come.. have to get a few of them out of my system before I move to the next subject matter. I have my son's race bike to finish too! That has been on hold due to the weather.