Friday, May 15, 2015

Teal Tusker _Watercolor Elephant

16x20
Having recently acquired a couple of sheets of Two River NOT paper, today was the day to put them to test. I was stalling this for quite some time- the paper being pricey and I have not really been in my element lately.But  the 'test'  went well, after all.I chose a subject that was close to my heart; which I can paint without even thinking(though you can see- I went a bit too wild!)
This paper has a lot of texture and tooth- more towards 'rough' than a "NOT"; but it responded very well to my 'fast and furious' approach. The weight was 300 lb so there was no need to stretch.I am definitely going to use it again.Try out various styles and techniques.Lovely paper.

15 comments:

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    1. Thanks Tony..it feels good to produce something nice after a long time.

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  2. You are a Master with painting elephants arti! The colors are awesome and such a wonderful size! Love this!!

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    1. Yes I do know them well enough now, Hilda :)Thank you for your kind comment.This blue really suits him!

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  3. fast and furious? I never pictured you as that type of artist, Arti! I'd like to see a video of you painting some time! How do you like the new paper? Will you be exploring it more, or trying something different? Or going back to the paper you used before? I'm always interested in what other artists do when they try out new things, whether they go with the new, or revert to the previous ways. Neither is better or worse, it just depends on what you feel works best at the time!

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    1. :) Actually Katherine, I AM fast! My best paintings turn out to be the ones that were completed in single session . And no points for guessing that most of the paintings that I have trashed so far, are the ones where I tried to be thorough and slow and patient ( never worked!) This new paper is good in the sense that it not only has tooth and texture, but is very good at taking colors.Even Arches at 300 lb starts absorbing paints ,but this paper gave me time to push it around, and the colors looked fresh.I am yet to test the 140 lb version but 300 lb was great.Of course I don't think it would work for detailed paintings but it works for me when I want to be spontaneous.

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  4. Arti - this is so gorgeous. I understand about being apprehensive when using a more expensive paper. I have a 300# that I have been saving for quite some time. Maybe I will get brave and give it a try. Looks like your bravery paid off. Hugs!

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    1. Don't save it, Debbie.Use it ASAP :) I have even gone ahead and bought some more.

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  5. Beautiful and colorful! I do love your sense of color - the choices you make work so well because you know your values and use them well in your paintings.

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    1. Thank you Rhonda.The funny fact is, I don't plan very much before I start painting.The colors are chosen randomly.I have seen people plan their paintings, draw thumbnails and create color charts...but it does n't work with me..I l always end up doing a very different painting than my study.

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  6. Arti - wild is good! I looked at the Two Rivers website. There is a place in Indiana called Twin Rocker - very much the same type of place, only not 400 years old! Took a tour there some years ago and purchased several sheets - have only used one so far because I didn't feel like I was "good enough" to use such special paper! Eventually I'll use it up, I hope!

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    1. Well I feel good now as I have 'conquered' that fear!I have now bought a few more,even.Sometimes I am so impulsive !

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