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July 11, 2023

Pink hydrangea heart


This was painted on 6x8 inch hot press watercolor paper.

What went right?

  • It took excessive reworking but the heart finally looks pink. I like how it looks with the other colors I chose.
  • Layering certain colors on top of each other. Pale mint is a wonderful base for light green and leaf green. It makes me wonder what other color combinations are out there.

What went wrong?

  • Used crappy washi tape. It was all fun and games until it was time to peel it off the paper. There is significant tearing at the top, and the tape tore off paper everywhere it covered.
  • I am not a fan of the way the sparkly gel pen was used here. I shouldn’t have used it for outlines. It would look great for small details, but not outlines. It doesn't show up in the scan, at least.
  • Didn’t consult the reference photo much, resulting in a lot of guesswork.
  • Frequent reworking. I became increasingly agitated and listless. “Wait, I can fix this! Just one more thing!” 

What should I do next time?

  • Stick to base colors as if coloring digitally. Much like drawing, focus on the main idea first and indulge in details later. Approaching this like my other paintings will not work here. The paint needs to be laid down in layers. Start with the base colors. 
  • Take a break from hydrangeas and re-evaluate how I approach them, because this isn’t working.
  • Experiment with color layering to see who plays well together and who doesn’t. Much like with markers, certain colors work well together. If you put the wrong color on top it will look bad.

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