Deb Ward, GWS, OWS, PWS, WSI - WATERCOLOR/WATER MEDIA - My passion is teaching adult “beginners”. Weekly classes in my home; workshops; classes for Cincinnati Recreation Commission. My work is nationally recognized and published - see “Featured” on my sidebar. I’m a Signature Member of Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana state Watercolor Societies, Cincinnati Art Club, past-President of Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society. Contact info below under “Class Information”

Sunday, March 27, 2011

SHAKER FAST FOOD - 2

These cans were set up on an old table in a dining area and the colorful labels caught my eye. It was a revelation to me that they had canned goods “back in the day”! (This is the source of the painting’s name). I’ll have to do some research on this! So this painting captures both a happy memory and a little slice of history in a colorful way!
I applied the miskit on the words, which took several hours! I used the miskit since I want to remove the graphite before I apply the last layer of paint to the background. When I remove the miskit it will take off most of the graphite and then I can erase any residual before I apply that last background layer.

I put on a few layers of green and blue over the background.
Then I began layering on browns in the table area.

Then I started on the cans.

7 comments:

Carol Blackburn said...

What detail in those labels, this is coming along beautifully.

RH Carpenter said...

This is looking so good!! Were the words actually in the scene or did you add them - and what are they about? Where the Shakers had communities? I can't read them well (maybe if I click and enlarge them). I love that you're doing this - makes me feel part of the painting because we went there together, the 3 mouse k'tears!!

Watercolors by Susan Roper said...

Oh my! This is a wonderful subject to paint and I am enjoying seeing your process. What colorful can labels!

A few questions, please. When doing the writing with miskit, what instrument do you use to get that consistently fine line? Is is a stylus? Also, do you have to think the miskit, if so with what?

The reason I am asking is I use Pebeo Drawing Gum for the masking fluid and a stylus, but I think I have trouble keeping the thickness of the lines consistent enough for good "writing". Might be a skill set problem with me rather than a supplies problem, but I thought I would at least ask!

debwardart said...

Thanks Carol.
Rhonda - I added the names of the various Shaker communities. Glad you feel a connection.
Susan - I used Pebeo Drawing Gum which I always prefer. (If I run out, I will use Winsor Newton which I can get locally). I used a very small steel tipped plastic bottle for the words.

Watercolors by Susan Roper said...

Thanks, Deb...I am thinking that might be like a masque pen or something else I have that has interchangeable steel "needles" for thin lines. I think it is called an oiler boiler? Something like that, anyway.

This is going to be wonderful!

Kim Vanlandingham said...

Can't wait to see the finished work. It's looking so good!!!

debwardart said...

Susan - you are correct (wasn't sure that if I said "oiler boiler" you would know what I meant!) I tried a masque pen before but it gummed up too quickly and became unusable - hope you have better luck if you try one.
Thanks Kimberly!