L'Eté Fleurit, Watercolor by Linda McCoy

1.      The drawing is done with an H pencil, easier to erase if you don’t want your pencil lines to show. It is on an 8”x8” Sennelier watercolor block.

2.      I used Winsor Newton colors;  Cobalt Blue, Cerulean Blue, French Ultramarine Blue, Antwerp, Windsor Yellow, Aureolin, Paynes Gray, Windsor Red, Permanent Rose. (If you have never used Windsor Red, use caution, making sure it is well mixed with water.) It can create a beautiful glow but try it first on a scrap piece of watercolor.

3.      The round brushes are Windsor Newton red sable series 7, size 1, 3, 5 and 7. The flat is a Raphael sable.

4.      For the first wash, I used Cobalt Blue, Windsor yellow and Windsor Red, I activated the colors with water, but didn’t dilute too much.

5.      I sprayed the paper surface with water, and let the excess drip off

6.      I applied the paint to the wet paper, yellow where the sunflowers were, pink on the Gerbera Daisies, and blue where the Delphiniums are placed. Working quickly, I lightly sprayed the surface again and allowed the colors to run together, tilting the paper until I achieved the saturation I was looking for, and allowing the colors to blend. I never play in the wash with the brush. I apply the colors once, spray to achieve the desired effect and then leave it alone.

7.      Let the paper dry. This may take a couple of hours if you are using watercolor block. How do you know when it’s dry? When it is no longer cold to the touch.

8.      I then began to add glazes of color to the flowers. Permanent Rose for the Daisies, Aureolin for the sunflowers. Cobalt Blue and Cerulean for the Delphiniums. The greens were made with the yellow and cobalt blue or Antwerp. Ultramarine blue was also used to mix greens. A brighter green was used for the Bells of Ireland. The bottom of the jug is Paynes gray, the jug is Windsor Red mixed with one of the green mixtures and a little yellow to make brown.

9.      A little more than half way through the painting I darkened the line where the table met the wall. I also used that same color for the shadow under the jug. I allowed that to dry and then began to glaze the jug and flowers again. Copyright Linda McCoy 7-21-2012