I got several new watercolor pans for my birthday and decided to play with them this week. Scrolling through reference pics, I fell in love with this little frog.
I happily spent a few hours painting and called it done. The next morning though I hated everything about the painting. The flower was muddy. The colors and subject felt blurry and flat. It wasn’t a bad picture…it just wasn’t good either.
I went back in with watercolor pencils and gouache to add more details and depth and that made all the difference. It turned a failed painting into one I’m quite proud of.
Oh, I liked version 1! The end result is certainly quite lovely & interesting but there’s a charm in simplicity as well. Either way, both are marvellous.
I thought lil froggy was good before but now he’s even better!
If you made a tutorial on here I’d definitely do it. (Eventually lol) I’ve never guache, I’ll have to look into it!
@Bunny1kenobi, @Magpie, @thanate - Thank you! I know some people prefer version one and I do love the beauty of a simple, sparse watercolor painting. It’s hard to articulate, but for me, that first version falls into an uncomfortable middle - it’s not loose enough and with the white space and free style that I prefer in a simple watercolor (like these watercolor birds), but also not as detailed and layered as I like in a more complex watercolor piece (like Manelle Oliphant’s work, which I’m thoroughly obsessed with). In the end, it may just be a case of the artist being too close to the art - all I see are the original’s flaws.
@TheMistressT - He could hang out with Jemimah’s pool frog and make it a proper tea party!
@Manders - Thanks! Ruth Wilshaw has some really gorgeous, free gouache tutorials over on YouTube. Gouache is just watercolor with a white pigment base built in. It has this gorgeous luminosity, but blends and acts like watercolor.
I recieved for Frog sake this week in the mail. I just love it. Thank you so much. And the included stamps with thank you card were a very nice little addition.
