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silentsketcher — Perry City Hall watercolor
Published: 2008-10-24 16:28:41 +0000 UTC; Views: 1264; Favourites: 14; Downloads: 25
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Description
A painting commission I finished early this October of the city hall in my hometown.Related content
Comments: 27
woooow... i really thought that that was a photo at first... of course then i realized it said 'watercolour' in the title
it's wonderful though^-^
you're amazingly talented!
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Glad you like it.
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oh, i definately do!
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Everyone's mentioned its likeness to a photograph, so I won't do that.
Watercolors are so haaaard to control!!! You must be really experienced to manage something like this.
It's so beautiful.
My favorite parts are the trees and shrubbery. And that grass is amazing. How did you do that with watercolor? Whoa.
Do you use masking fluid? I'm still trying to figure out how you managed to do this xD hahaha. Awesome.
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Firstly, I work with Windsor & Newton watercolors and try to paint on watercolor paper that's coldpress and around 300-400 lbs. or more, else the paper might warp. As for brushes, I always go for small bristles to help with details, and I understand sable is usually the best material.
The trees and shrubbery were done mostly with little dots of paint, somewhat like pointillism, to give the effect of all the leaves and such. Before that, though, I'll do a general color wash, adding some darks here and there. After it dries, then I start dabbing. Watercolors, if anything, is about layers. Occasionally you might want to paint in some faint lines through the leaves, giving the impression of branches.
The grass, similarly, I did a wash and added darks. Instead of dabs, though, I simply used short strokes. It gives the effect of grass blades, like the dabs do for leaves.
*A good rule is to paint from your lightest parts and work towards your darks.
*Try to paint as a purist, which simply means avoiding white and black paint. They tend to "flatten" your painting.
*If you want a good dark, use a rich amount of indigo. Be sure, though, to go over it with some alizarin crimson to warm it up.
I hope I'm not going over obvious stuff, but it's still useful to know. If you have any more questions, I'd be more than happy to oblige.
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Wow, thanks! I've been experimenting with watercolors for a while now (with not much progress), so thanks for the help! I think my problem is that I use waaaay too much water and have no patience. Haha.
I use a lot of oooold art supplies, so it's probably time to get some new ones. Especially paper. I have yet to find 'coldpress' paper. It's kind of hard to find it in Korea.
I can't wait to try experimenting some more... as soon as I'm done studying... *sigh*
Again, thanks for the tips!
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you actually painted that?!!! 
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Hell, man. At first I thought it was a photograph. I guess I'd never be patient enough to do something like this.
This is utterly amazing, wonderful job! It's a kickass piece, OMG XD
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Thanks! It was trying on my patience, believe me. I was just glad to finish it.
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I totally believe you XD I love the feeling of finishing something. It is almost breathtaker or however we say it. It makes me feel liiiiiiighter 8D
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Or relieved, like after passing a kidney stone. lol.
But yes, there's certainly satisfaction in accomplishment.
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LOL XD Yep, that's what I meant XD
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Thank you! It took a few months, so I should hope so.
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Holy cow, that looks real! Real professional work, great job.
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Thanks! One of my first real commissions since college, so that's what I was going for.
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whoa! I wish I could say that I have been there but I can't lol! Anyway this is awesome! And I agree with the others who said that this looks just like a photo! great job!
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Thank you! 
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...
I believe the greatest compliment for an observational painting is that, I thought it was a photograph.
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Thanks! It actually is based off of a photograph, but I took the picture myself and it still takes skill to render the colors and details, even when working from a photo reference. Glad I could create the effect of the original.
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it looks like a photograph when it's a bit tinier... awesome stuff man.
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