December 2021 Monthly Challenge

[CMorPaint]

Joy - I really appreciate the feedback to help me improve. So I spent an hour last night adding a bit more to my dogberries. Here it is now, (Berries emphasized and some ice beads removed.) Hope it's okay to repost.

Hawkmoth - Yes I did use masking fluid. (I love this stuff! Lol) I really like your fishermen. Great work!

 

[KreativeK]

Claudia, it’s a fantastic watercolo! Smooth washes, and just the right amount of detail.

 

[Joy]

Claudia - This is wonderful; the figures look so natural! I would be thrilled if I painted this.
Cindy - I really think that delineated the berries better, and I really like the changes you made. But you have to be happy with them, of course. Many are so fond of masking fluid, but I always seems to use too much or too little, so I need to practice. Your snow looks very realistic.

 

[CMorPaint]

Thank you to everyone for your comments on my work. I do appreciate the help.

 

[ColorEnthusiast]

There was a lot of action going on here since I visited the last time.

Anne, nicely done. Looks like an illustration in a botanical book. Adding more color made it pop more.
Joy, your robin doesn't look like a mess, It looks really good and I like that the background looks blurred, that helps to concentrate to the bird.
Cindy, your seconds version of the berries is gorgeous. And it is a really difficult motive.
Claudia, the figures are excellent. If it was mine I would try to reduce the contrast between sea and sky at the horizon. I have the feeling it distracts a bit from the figures.

Now it's official, I can't resist a challenge . Means I painted on yupo again. This time it was going much better, I think on the first sheet of the block there were a lot of invisible fingerprints.
Tomatoes on yupo 22x32 cm

 

[Hawkmoth]

Lovely work Esther, great tones and colours. The Yupo really does create a distinctive look.

 

[Joy]

Esther, that is lovely!

 

[Hawkmoth]

Morning folks. Here's my robin. Watercolour pencils + watercolours on cold pressed paper. Only two more to go now!

 

[Joy]

Claudia - Wonderful textures. I am looking forward to your work on a daily basis.

 

[CMorPaint]

Esther - Great job on the tomatoes!
Claudia - Beautiful job on the little bird. Excellent detail on the tiny feet. (That's usually where I mess up. )

 

[KreativeK]

Love your fresh tomatoes, Esther!

Claudia, what a knockout bird painting!

 

[Hawkmoth]

Morning folks! Hope you are all well. Thanks so much for your comments, I'm really enjoying my 6-pic challenge! Here's number 5, the snowy berries. This one is small, about 6"x 4.5" Watercolours + Inktense pencils on Saunders cold pressed paper. Wax crayon resist for the snow, plus a bit of final scraping back (with a scalpel) on the twig.

Just 1 more to go now!!

 

[KreativeK]

Wow, Claudia, a most excellent cold winter view with the frosted berries! You have outdone us all, LOL! Love the wax crayon resist effects, too.

 

[Jo Castillo]

Esther, lovely tomatoes on the yupo. I have enough trouble just using watercolors. Great job.

Claudia, the bird sings! Lovely. And the berries are so real looking. Applause.

 

[Joy]

Claudia - The textures/composition on this are just lovely! I have to get some of those wax resist crayons.

 

[CMorPaint]

Claudia - Beautiful job on the frozen berries.

 

[ColorEnthusiast]

Merry Christmas to all,

Thanks for all your comments Claudia, Joy, Cindy, Kay and Jo.

Claudia, what a lovely robin and the blurred background fits well. The bird really stands out.
Wow for your berries, they are done excellently.

 

[Hawkmoth]

Thanks for your comments on the robin and berries folks, I really appreciate them. Here's number 6 so I'm all finished now! Hope you are all well.

 

[Joy]

Claudia, you have an excellent eye for value and contrast. How did you do the light values on the stems and tomatoes? Wax resist?

 

[Hawkmoth]

Claudia, you have an excellent eye for value and contrast. How did you do the light values on the stems and tomatoes? Wax resist?

Thanks Joy. I didn't use any resist for this one (I would if I were to paint it again). I just tried to leave some white specs on the tomatoes and also lifted colour out on them. I painted the stems quite clumsily and failed to leave any highlights so they weren't standing out at all against the tomatoes. I therefore ended up using my last resort - scraping back with a scalpel! That worked OK, and the fuzzy bit where I scraped too hard actually looks OK, as tomato stems are fuzzy!!