I do SO love watercolor.... but sometimes it can cause me such headaches!
Bill and I fell in love with the Vireya that grow and bloom in the Hilo Zoo. (I'll do a post soon about the zoo itself. It's a wonderful place to visit!) Having lived for many years in the Pacific Northwest, we had seen and grown rhododendrons for many years. But the brightness and colors of these tropical rhododendrons is amazing!
A friend, who grows and shares many plants gave us our first Vireya. I'm sure it won't be our last. It brings a spot of sunshiny brightness to a shaded spot near our coconut trees.
But, back to watercolor headaches....
This first picture is from my work desk. The painting was almost complete, but... I had one leaf that was totally wrong. Can you find it? Right there in the center right...
The painting sat for weeks, as I completed the surrounding areas and I debated and debated what I could do. I even set it aside to work on some mini paintings. I tried a bunch of changes to the shadows... but it was just no good. The problem was the shape of the leaf.
If this painting was acrylic or oil, I'd just paint over the spot and straighten the edge that was causing problems. But you can't do that with watercolor. With great trepidation, because the step I was about to take could totally ruin this painting and cause me to have to scrap it... I began working on removing the leaf.
I used a variety of techniques... applying water, magic eraser, more water, careful scrubbing with a special brush. As I went, I had to be very careful not to ruin the paper or it wouldn't be re-paintable.
What do you think of the final result?
I didn't scrap this painting! Though I haven't titled it or put it up for sale yet, I'm pretty happy with how it portrays the brightness and joy our tropical Vireya bring us.
Aloha til next post!
