Enjoying Venice II

© Sophia Khan

I am beginning to appreciate more and more the use of the role of water in watercolor painting. Experimenting with how much to use, when to continually apply it, how much to let it dry before adding more pigment, etc. is part of the fun and process of using the medium to ones advantage.

With this study, I chose a vertical orientation to a scene that is intuitively landscape oriented to see where it would lead me.  I like the results in that it almost looks like a section showing the depth of the water rather than the viewers distance from it.  

I'll surely be continuing my studies into this subject.

Update

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Enjoying Venice

© Sophia Khan

Yesterday, I went to my local art supply shop to buy a new block of Arches paper. There, I found a small landscape oriented watercolor journal that I just fell in love with and had to buy.  My mind thought of all the small landscape studies I could do of the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice.  (My previous study can be found below, or by clicking here.)

I got up this morning, ran some errands, and happily sat myself down to start having some fun.  I purposefully decided not to use a pencil sketch as I didn't want the paintings to be planned, but more intuitive.  I ended up doing three of the same subject and these are the ones I liked the most.  

I absolutely loved using a small sheet and not worrying about the outcome so much as simply enjoying the process.  I enjoyed every brush stroke from laying the water down for the lagoon to apply wet on wet paint, to working my way upward to the sky and architecture.  I enjoyed figuring out the proportions of the church facade as I painted it.  My favorite moments were finishing off with a slight hint of a dome and campanile.

I feel like the methods I used today were almost a complete opposite of my usual way of painting.  I didn't even mind not using a watercolor block and having the paper slightly buckle before me as it dried.  

Time well spent.  

Ca' d'Oro, Venice

© Sophia Khan

watercolor on tea stained Arches paper

I decided to work on a painting following my earlier quick study.  I have had Arches rough paper for some time (which is more textured than cold pressed paper) and didn't think I would enjoy working on it as much as I did.  I also really enjoyed working with my new Kolinsky Sable brushes, which I find are well suited to this type of loose work.  I am debating whether to add the arches to the bottom of the arches shown.  I think I am liking the square composition.  

Ca' d'Oro, Venice

© Sophia Khan

watercolor study on tea stained paper

I have been spending much time on a highly detailed watercolor and decided last night to take a break.  I loosened up and painted the Ca d'Oro facade, without the use of an underlying pencil sketch.  I have also been meaning to paint on the Arches rough paper I had stained with tea some time ago, so this was a good opportunity to test that out as well.  I am pleased with the results enough to perhaps try developing this for a finished painting.