March 24: 2019

The first three of these have been finished up or the tones have been adjusted. That is the best part about watercolour. People think that you can’t go backwards and to a small extent that is true.

For example in the little painting of the man collecting toddy, I had inadvertently made a splotch on the white background. I gave the blotch a good scrub and it lifted out but the mark still showed.  So I thought about it and added some palm fronds over the splotch. (Definitely to work over a scrubbed spot the painting has to be totally dry).

In the second sketch, I felt the person had too much light on her short black top and it looked like she had breasts on her back. To this one, I just added shadow.

The third one was an unfinished quarter sheet watercolour started in the market of Trincomalee. I finished it up.

Then,I did the little painting on smooth paper. I like the smooth paper because it holds the line beautifully but it is a bit more unforgiving than the rougher, cold pressed paper. I use a little essential brush called a fitch scrubber, for going backwards. ( a worn out small oil painting brush would work as well). I put the brush on my palette for the scale ( and the Lion beer cap, well it is after noon so time for a cold beer)

Second sketch

The fitch scrubber

The first sketch

The quarter sheet watercolour now finished