Crystal & Cherries Workshop

Attended Soon Young Warren's "Crystal & Cherries" workshop June 22 - 24, 2017, at Cottonwood Center for the Arts in Colorado Springs, CO. The 24 attendees all worked on the same subject with the drawing and steps provided. I surprised myself in completing this painting in a little more than two weeks and am rather pleased with the results. Learned that this seemingly complex subject can be accomplished by working it overall with glazes of rich color for a stunning effect. I will treasure this piece for the valuable lessons learned and because it contains Soon's masterful strokes as she demonstrated her techniques directly on the painting.

Crystal & Cherries, 15 x 22, Watercolor, J. Cellucci

the result of a workshop with Soon Y. Warren

PPWS 2016 Members' Show

This is the eleventh year I am participating in the Pikes Peak Watercolor Society Annual Members’ Show.  The Artists’ Reception was held on November 11 at the beautiful Pikes Peak Center.  I haven’t been painting but did not want to miss being a part of this show, so I pulled out a poured watercolor piece and had it framed.  I had redone it with better color results, but always thought this one had a certain appeal.

The show will be open for viewing through January 4, 2017, to ticket holders during regularly scheduled events.  There will also be two special receptions open and free to the public on December 9, from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM, and on December 17, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

Water Lily I, 11 x 11, Poured Watercolor ©J. Cellucci

First Attempt at Pouring

Water Lily Poured Painting resulting from

a workshop by Linda Baker

Put he finishing touches on a poured watercolor from a recent  Linda Baker workshop.  Using 300 lb. CP paper, the intention was to do only three pours because of workshop time constraints...light, medium and dark.  Therefore, I poured the paint rather heavily using quinacridone gold, red and indigo blue.  The gold disappeared, the red became overpowering, and the blue turned gray on the paper.  I found that the heavy paper retains moisture for a long time.  The texture in the lower left was the result of putting the masking on paper that was still damp.

I like the pouring technique, the subtle variations of color it can create, as well as the textured effects created by using a water spray bottle to move the paint.  When the frisket is taken off, the result will always be a surprise, and the painting will need some finishing with a brush.  Pouring is still a labor intensive process, but it is fun to have a piece almost paint itself.

When trying this technique again, I would do many more pours with much thinner paint using different primaries.  In between pours, I would mask out fewer areas at a time to create more layers.

Even though this turned out looking like a “block print,” I think it has some merits.  Although it is not a “show” piece, there is something about it that appeals to me.