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hank1 — Coffee Break
Published: 2007-04-01 12:02:34 +0000 UTC; Views: 2722; Favourites: 62; Downloads: 0
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Description
Watercolor10 x 7"
1979
This was my first attempt with watercolor. All I'd seen was wet on wet technique. And didn't like it then, or now. Although I didn't know about dry-brush at that time, I did know how to be "tight" in all my work, defying convention and loving it.
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Comments: 22
that's an interesting composition and an amazing job with watercolors. (i couldn't use the watercolors like you have if my life depended on it.) i've also noticed that a lot of your other paintings include skulls--is there a significance?
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Thank you Captain.
My skulls. In some cases intrinsic to the theme and subject. However, my interest in the human skull was from the beginning to study the structure so as to know what I was seeing and doing when creating portraits. Making countless drawings of the skull, it got to be boring, as necessary as it was to make these studies. So I began to incorporate the skull in some of my subjects just to relieve the boredom. Not much more to read into it.
Thanks again,
Robert
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your very welcome! okey doke i was just curious.
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Congratulations! This piece has been FEATURED in my latest news article, "Powered By Caffeine"! [link]
Don't forget to give it a fave!
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Looks beautiful, a true watercolor... the way you worked soft shadows over the white is wonderful...
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Thank you very much. My first serious attempt with watercolor.
Robert
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I love watercolor in both ways - wet on wet and very tight. I also love working drybrush, though it's a killer for brushes! 
I love the composition of this painting, and I love the tight work of the watercolor in it. I've done watercolor work that people swear it is done in oils, so I completely understand what you mean by this. 
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April,
Yep. In our tiny apartment at the time, and two little girls in the house (that's their blackboard with chalk in the background) the only place I had room to work was on the kitchen table. It made me feel stoic, like a monk diligently and tediously illustrating a sacred text.
Thank you for your appreciation.
Robert
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Even for first attempt, it was so carefully rendered. I'm with you...being tight in watercolors, even though not as good 
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OH! Dry-brush. I load the brush up with water and the color. Then I press the brush down on my glass palette and let the hairs splay out. I keep at this (and sometimes have to carefully touch the brush to a paper towel) until it's almost dry. My way is to let it stay played out. Then I drag it across the paper. It leaves lines of color from each of the hairs of the brush. I can get maybe two drags with this one color before the brush is completely dry. Then the same process over and over again layer upon layer. It doesn't cover the colors undernieth (sp?) entirely, or at all depending on how many layers. Anyway, I find I can get the most detailed effects in this manner.
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Thank you for your long explanation. f it isn't asking too much, do you have any work in your gallery done with this dry brush technique so I could see what you mean? Thanks
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See [link]
Look at the wall, the hair and the lower part of the figure for the technique. It's not so noticeable in the face but that too is drybrush over an initial wet green earth color. In fact it's not ever really that noticable because drybrush is just a more tedius was of blending than wet on wet, but it's there to see if you get close enough.
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i read in one of your comments that you thought you didn't have much of a sense of humor... well maybe not verbally, but i think you are very ? droll? that's not the right word.. .playful? visually! this made me laugh... such a nice smile *>*
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I'll accept "playful" in some of my works. Thank you.
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Oh whow, you are really good with watercolors. Especially I like the brush and the cup. Nice arrangement.
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Thanks. This was my very first attempt long ago.
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I think it's still a pretty good job (for example with the transparency of the shadow of the plate). And it's a good composition too with the lines formed by the spoon and the brush and the red and dark juxtaposition in the back etc.
I completely suck with watercolour, and this strikes me as a technically-competent use of them
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Thank you for your comments. Much appreciated.
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It's still pretty amazing, and keeps the watercolor character...
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