Child Watercolor Painting Process "Boy Reaching" - Continued

CAUTION !!!
You are about to see a painting in its adolescent stage! Beware! You will be seeing the good, the bad, and the ugly! View at your own risk! Hope that you enjoy seeing this daunting process.

 

 

Once I decided on the portion of the photo that would be most effective for this painting, I lightly sketched in the important details. Now I take the plunge and put paintbrush to paper.

 

I started by lightly painting in the background and the boy to get a sense of the colors I would be using. Next, I started on the tile floor. Here, I used richer colors that will eventually be toned down.

 

 

Still in the preliminary process, I start to refine the hair, shirt, pants, and sneakers, as well as lay in some turquoise for the beginning of the copper patina on the drinking fountain.



 

Here's where it starts getting UGLY! I'm laying in colors for the stone wall with its green algae.

 

As you might have guessed by now, I am very slow and deliberate in my painting process. It takes me a long time to complete a watercolor to my satisfaction. At this point, I am nowhere near being done. Once all of the colors are "in," the refining begins. There must be "dark darks" and very "light lights" to make the painting have depth. Once these "values" are established, I can attend to the most difficult and time-consuming part, adding all of the minute details.

 

Can't wait to hear from you!

 

 

Linked to Watercolors by Barbara Etsy Shop, Watercolors By Barbara Website, Fine Art America, IShouldBeMoppingTheFloor, BoogieboardCottage, Alphabe-Thursday, Join the Party {Linky}  Fall into Fall, and Pink Saturday, Five Days Five Ways, Friday Flair Linky Party, Friday Favs, Fancy These Friday’s, Friday Link Party, Saturday Show & Tell

 

 

New Adventure Watercolor Painting Process "Boy Reaching"

Thanks so much for sending in photos! I can still accept a few more for this New Adventure Series.

As promised, I am using photos that were sent in to create a series of special childhood memories. The photo should show your child or grandchild looking away from the camera and into the new place they've found to play in and explore.

My end of the bargain is to share the entire process with you! There is absolutely NO obligation to buy.

Here is the first of the photos. As you can see, the little boy is absolutely adorable! Even though he is too short to take a drink from the fountain, he has fun reaching up into it!

Once I saw the potential for a painting in this series, I cropped the photo to make it a more interesting composition and focus on the child.

 

 

The next step is to start a drawing that includes all of the essential details. As you can see, the lines are very light, so that they don't show through the transparent watercolors too much.

 

 

I look forward to sharing the next stages in this process with you! If you have any questions at all about this process, I'd love to answer them.

 

Linked to Watercolors by Barbara Etsy Shop, Watercolors By Barbara Website, Fine Art America, IShouldBeMoppingTheFloor, BoogieboardCottage, Alphabe-Thursday, Join the Party {Linky}  Fall into Fall, and Pink Saturday, Five Days Five Ways, Friday Flair Linky Party, Friday Favs, Fancy These Friday’s, Friday Link Party, Saturday Show & Tell



 

Beach Girl Friends Seashore Painting

"Beach Girls"

What could be better than girls having fun together at the beach, especially if they are best friends, sisters, twins! Here, they are delightedly looking at the seagulls, toes tickled by the foamy surf! 

This watercolor painting turned out to be an accidental commission. When I was at an Art Fair, I spotted absolutely adorable twins. I asked their mother if I could take a photo of her children. I was so brazen about asking because I love to paint kids! She agreed and I told her that I would send her an email of the finished painting. ...and the end of the story is that she loved it, wanted the original, as well as matted fine art prints for other family members!

When I looked at the photo, I decided to set the scene at the powder white sands and emerald waters of a Florida beach. It's so much fun to let your imagination soar and not stick to the reality of a photo!

 

I started with a sketch of the twins, but moved them apart. Next came the sky and beginnings of the water, surf, hair and skin.

Adding waves, refining clouds, deepening the color of the water, putting in the shadows of the blouses came next.

When I started to paint the skirt stripes, I decided that the original colors in the photo were too close to the colors in the water. I wanted drama and fun! I started with pale purple and a hot pink, but felt that deep purple and bright red would work better. The wave on the back right was really starting to bother me. I think that I mostly paint from my gut, not my head. But I just couldn't let go of the fact that I hated that wave, even if I could balance it with others on the left side of the painting. I tried to stop thinking about that wave by adding the three seagulls that the girls were looking at.

 'Couldn't stand it anymore. Out went that wave! I felt much better and then worked on making the emerald waters darker at the horizon to give it depth, refining the hair and skin color, correcting the left leg of the right girl, adding the purple hair clip, deepening the colors of the stripes, darkening the shadows of the clothing, and creating the children's reflections. Done!

I spent so much time on this painting, that I have come to love those little girls. As you might have guessed, I have no grandchildren yet! I had a hard time parting with it, but knew that the family would cherish it. I do have 15 fine art prints that I've made and one will be framed for my home!

I hope that you've enjoyed "listening in" on the decisions I made during my creative process. I'd love to hear from you!!

Size

Art Print 8x10 /mat 11x14 $37.00 USD Art Print 11x14 /mat 16x20 $52.00 USD

 Linked to Watercolors by Barbara Etsy Shop, Watercolors By Barbara Website, Fine Art America, Alphabe-Thursday, Fall into Fall, and Pink Saturday   

Beach Girl & Red Shovel - New Watercolor Painting

"Beach Girl with Red Shovel"

Deep in concentration, this little girl is intent on creating the perfect sand castle, ignoring all around her, even the crashing nearby waves! This fine art print of my original watercolor painting will bring back memories of family beach vacations and brighten up your child's room. It's also perfect for your vaction home decor.

Linked to Watercolors by Barbara Etsy Shop, Watercolors By Barbara Website, Fine Art America, Alphabe-Thursday, Fall into Fall, and Pink Saturday 

BEACH GIRL WITH POLKA DOTS - New Painting

I just don't know what it is. Walking the beach, I love seeing children playing. I don’t know if it’s because it brings back wonderful, warm memories of my own childhood or those happy days with my kids.
I hope that you enjoy my newest painting.

Beach Girl with Polka Dots

Fine Art Print of Original Watercolor Painting

by Barbara Rosenzweig

 

Linked to Watercolors by Barbara Etsy Shop, Watercolors By Barbara Website, Handmade Tuesdays, Alphabe-Thursday, Potpourri Friday, Pink Saturday 

Revision - LITTLE BOY BLUE IN THE CORNFIELD WATERCOLOR

I don't usually do this, but I've "updated" my Little Boy Blue in the Cornfield painting. I've been looking at it for a number of months and a few things just kept bothering me. I decided to rework his left arm, making is fall more to his side, darken the shadows on the back of his clothing, shoes and arms, and give the cornstalks a bit more interest for a hint of depth. It also bothered me that the string from his hat went under his lip and not his chin. This was because the little boy I "captured" kept putting it there, so that's how I initially painted it. I was able to move it to where I felt it belonged. He can't change it now!

Do you think that any of these changes improved this painting?

Little Boy Blue in the Cornfield

 

Before the Changes

 

Linked to Watercolors by Barbara Etsy Shop, Watercolors By Barbara Website, Tell Me Tuesday, Handmade Tuesdays, Alphabe-Thursday, Potpourri Friday, Pink Saturday

NEW PAINTING - LITTLE GIRL WITH CHEEKS OF TAN!

"Beach Girl with Big Hat and Polka Dots"

by Barbara Rosenzweig

As soon as I saw her, I knew that I had to capture this adorable little girl trying to keep her mom's hat on her head with the strong ocean breeze blowing! ...and I just love polka dots!!

Please let me know what you think of my latest watercolor painting. Does she remind you of anyone you know?

Website: http://www.WatercolorsByBarbara.com/

Etsy: http://BarbaraRosenzweig.etsy.com

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/barbrosenzweig/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WatercolorsByBarbara

Posted by Barbara Rosenzweig

Linked to Share the Love Wednesday, Handmade Tuesdays, Alphabe-Thursday, Fabulous Friday,

PAINTING IN PROGRESS - PART 2

Analyzing how a painting progresses is a constant process. With my little girl in the daffodils, a few things really started to bother me. For one thing, I found the small purple crocuses in the foreground distracting. For another, I don’t find the horizon of trees in the background pleasing. I will try to remove both and see if I can come up with a solution that will unify the painting and help focus more on the little girl and flowers.



Once I carefully removed layers of watercolor paint, I was able to rethink my composition. I decided to blur the background in soft greens.

Finally, I added layers of golden yellow to give a sense of light, created a shadow under the child, carefully redefined each of the daffodils, and deepened the shadows of the jacket. FINISHED!

I hope that you enjoyed seeing the decisions I made and why as I created my "Girl with Daffodils" watercolor painting!

Linked to Alphabe-Thursday, Handmade Tuesdays, Fabulous Friday, Pink Saturday, Look Whoooo's Snapping, Tell Me Tuesday, Handmade Tuesdays, Share the Love Wednesday, Winter Blues Wednesday, Primp Your Stuff Wednesday

Website: http://www.WatercolorsByBarbara.com/

Etsy: http://BarbaraRosenzweig.etsy.com

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/barbrosenzweig/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WatercolorsByBarbara

Posted by Barbara Rosenzweig

PAINTING IN PROGRESS - PART 1

Here's a new painting that I thought you would enjoy. It's of a little girl getting ready to pick her first flower of spring - a daffodil. It's still chilly, so she has her coat on.

I'm going to show you a few steps at a time to my creative process. This really takes weeks to complete, but I'll speed up showing you the process.

Here's the beginning of the painting. I have the little girl with the start of flowers - the basic composition.

Now, I've added more color to the flowers and grass to add depth. Not sure that I am pleased with the horizon or the distracting purple crocus in the foreground.

Although the shadows on her jacket are not done yet, I want to see what a line of trees would look like in the distance at the horizon.

Don't think that I am pleased with the horizon trees yet. I'll have to think about it and work on another part of the painting.

That's all for now. I'll bring you up to date in a bit. I'd love to hear from you and learn what you think of this painting so far. Any suggestions?

Linked to Primp Your Stuff Wednesday, Share the Love Wednesday, Alphabe-Thursday, Potpourri Friday,

Posted by Barbara Rosenzweig

 

GIRL INTO THE SURF

GIRL INTO THE SURF

My wonderful scene shows the pure girlish delight at being on the beach. I tried to capture this child's independent strut into the surf to fill her bucket! Can you smell the salt air, hear the surf, and feel the sand between your toes?

Linking to Tell Me Tuesdays, Handmade Tuesdays, Share the Love Wednesday, Wow Us Wednesdays, Fall into Fall, Primp Your Stuff Wednesday, Fabulous Friday

Christmas at the Beach
"I am in Colorado, looking out the window at a foot of snow and its still snowing! I am longing for warmer weather and the beach. If only I could spend Christmas at the beach this year...," says Dawn Hitchcock from DawnHitchcock . My watercolor "Girl into the Surf" looks right at home here!

BEACH BABY

BEACH BABY

This adorable baby was mesmerized by the ocean waves and had no fear as the surf rolled across the beach. This fine art reproduction of my original watercolor painting will brighten up a child's room or a home at the shore! Remember family vacations at the beach?

Peace on Earth
Andrea and Toccoa Meadows from HeartFeltbyAndrea made these selections to portray Peace on Earth. Enjoy each one!

BALLOON FANTASY

BALLOON FANTASY

Balloons always fascinate, especially if you are a child. Wonder and fun, that's what I tried to capture in this fine art reproduction of my original oil painting. Although it's not a watercolor, like most of my work, this oil painitng is a true expression of childhood joy in any artistic medium.

Linked to Handmade Tuesdays, Share the Love Wednesday, Wow Us Wednesday, Fall into Fall, Primp Your Stuff Wednesday

BEACH BABY PAINTING

BEACH BABY

This adorable baby was mesmerized by the ocean waves and had no fear as the surf rolled across the beach. This fine art reproduction of my original watercolor painting will brighten up a child's room or a home at the shore! Remember family vacations at the beach?

Gift Guide on fire for the Beach under $50

JimAndGina from JimAndGina created this wonderful collection of fabulous gift for under $50!

BEACH BABY - NEW PAINTING

BEACH BABY

This adorable baby was mesmerized by the ocean waves and had no fear as the surf rolled across the beach. This fine art reproduction of my original watercolor painting will brighten up a child's room or a home at the shore! Remember family vacations at the beach?

Linked to Potpourri Friday 2805, Fabulous Friday, Motivational Monday, Motivate Me Monday, Mellow Yellow Monday, Life as this Mommy knows It, Tell Me Tuesday, Handmade Tuesday, Share the Love Wednesday, Wow Us Wednesdays, Fall into Fall, Primp Your Stuff Wednesday, Wordish Wednesday, Alphabe-Thursday

SECLUDED LAKE WATERCOLOR PAINTING

SECLUDED LAKE WATERCOLOR PAINTING

by Barbara Rosenzweig

Serenity, solitude, and peace, with greens and blues, are the feelings I had when I painted this scene. With the small boat pulled up to the shore, pine trees back to the horizon, a lake reflecting the blue sky, what can be a better place for relaxation? This framed original watercolor would be wonderful in a rustic vacation home, as well as a sophisticated apartment!

Annie's Wedding
Curator Corey Sue from CoreySue created a wonderful collection! Be sure to check it out.

PAINTING PROCESS - LITTLE BOY BLUE in the CORNFIELD

Over the past few months, I had gotten a lot of questions from people who wanted to learn more about my painting process. So at the end of August, I posted my first demo about my “Devil's Trumpet” watercolor painting.

Now, instead of a flower, here’s a new painting that I would like to share with you.

First, I took a number of photos of an adorable child who was at the local farmers' market where I was showing my artwork. After chasing him around trying to get a good shot, he stopped for a moment, slowly looked behind him to see if I was still there, and I finally got the shot I had hoped for!

Once I had sketched the image of the boy from the photo onto heavy weight 300 lb Arches watercolor paper, I had to decide where I would have him standing in the painting. For me, the parking lot and Jeep just didn't work. In my mind, dressed as he was, the best setting would be in a cornfield.

I worked on the figure first, starting to roughly put in some details like the shirt, jeans, and shoes. I left the face only lightly filled in. For the hat, I put in jagged lines of a darker straw color to indicate its woven nature, with the suggestion of a hat band. However, before going too far, I wanted to create a sense of light and the feeling of a cornfield to help me maintain the goal that I was striving for.

I then continued to slowly work on the clothing, concentrating on the dark folds to give the shirt and jeans depth and dimension.

From there, I finished the preliminary painting and then started to fine tune it - most time-consuming part of creating an artwork.



There are many, many stages of this process that I will not be showing you because a lot of them are subtle. From the painting below, you can see that I had started defining the cornstalks, glazing (adding light washes of paint) to the clothing, and reworking the face, which I continued to do for quite some time. Although in the photo the light was actually coming from the back of the child , I wanted it to come from the front in this painting. Because of this, I had to darken the back of the child, putting shadows under his hat and lightening the front of his face and body. For the cornstalks, I added the tassels, but didn't want to make them as distinct as the child to give it a dreamy effect.

The process continued with adding shadows to the back of the hat and back of the shoes, as well as lightening the front of the shoes.

Little Boy Blue in the Cornfield

by Barbara Rosenzweig

The final steps involved a lot of tweaking. For the face, I corrected his eye and the shadows to show his rosy cheek and the light coming on it at the proper angle. It was also necessary to better define the ground the child is standing on, the corn stalks, and the dimples in his elbow. Adding more stalks farther in the background I hoped would give a sense that the cornfield might be a vast one.

So here it is, "Little Boy Blue in the Cornfield." What do you think? Do you have any questions that I haven't answered? Do you have any suggestions for other subjects that I should try?

Thanks for coming along on this painting journey with me!

Linked to Tell Me Tuesday, Handmade Tuesday, Share the Love Wednesday, Wordish Wednesday, Sizzle into Summer Wednesday, Alphabe-Thursday.

NEW PAINTING - LITTLE BOY BLUE in the CORNFIELD

LITTLE BOY BLUE in the CORNFIELD

by Barbara Rosenzweig



This child is full of energy! I caught a rare tranquil pose for the split second he stopped running around and slyly turned to see if I was still behind him. For my original watercolor painting, I worked from his photo, since there was not a chance that he would remain still long enough for me to paint him!

This fine art reproduction is a charming portrait of a young child raised in a farming family.


Linked to Alphabe-Thursday as X-perience little farmer, Fabulous Friday, Share the Love Wednesday, Stuff and Nonsense, Mellow Yellow Monday.

BOY INTO THE SURF WATERCOLOR

Boy into the Surf

by Barbara Rosenzweig

My exuberant scene shows the pure childish delight at being on the beach. I tried to capture his sense of freedom and absolute joy! It will brighten up any child's room or a home at the shore! This is the perfect companion piece to "Girl into the Surf!"

Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.
Curator Stephanie from BlackbearyMountain created a wonderful collection of great items that will put a smile on your face!

BOY INTO THE SURF!

"Boy into the Surf"

Limited Edition Fine Art Reproduction

by Barbara Rosenzweig

My exuberant scene shows the pure childish delight at being on the beach. I tried to capture his sense of freedom and absolute joy! It will brighten up any child's room or a home at the shore! This is the perfect companion piece to "Girl into the Surf!" or "Beach Children Feeding the Birds"

Summer Vacation Memories
Curators Adrienne and Dave Zavalick of ZavalickDesigns created this stunning collection of handmade and  fine art items from the EtsyLush team. I'm honored that my "Boy into the Surf" painting was included here!

Blue and Green Patterns

I love the great colors in Rustika's visually beautiful Etsy Treasury. My "Boy into the Surf" is in excellent company!

GIRL INTO THE SURF

"Girl into the Surf"

Limited Edition Fine Art Reproduction

by Barbara Rosenzweig

My wonderful scene shows the pure girlish delight at being on the beach. I tried to capture her independent strut into the surf to fill her bucket! Can you smell the salt air, hear the surf, and feel the sand between your toes?

This painting will brighten up your child's room or a home at the shore and is the perfect companion piece to my "Boy into the Surf!"

EtsyLush Art Collection - well mostly art!
"100 % Etsy Lush Team - some beautiful items I discovered on my browse through Etsy Lush members! (http://www.etsylush.com/) I just love art and all the feelings it can invoke when looked upon...enjoy being taken to many different places with this treasury," says Curator Eric Kincaid of EricKincaid of his collection. I'm honored that my "Girl into the Surf" is in this beautifully colorful treasury!