Jane-Beata Watercolor

Monochrome Watercolor Portraits: A 7-Day Challenge for Artists

I'm still learning to use skillshare, I was hoping to upload each day individually and write my impressions of each. I wasn't able to do that from my phone, so here are some of my thoughts on each painting: Day 1 (Lady on the grass) This was the second watercolour portrait I had ever done. I used Fabriano 1264 paper and Daniel Smith Quinacridone Burnt Orange. I was fairly happy with how it came out, considering that I am so new to the medium.  Day 2 (Cowboy?) I think I used Sepia, which was not as dark as I probably needed in some areas. My sketch and painting look like two different people, but I'm not too worried. I tend to focus more on where the paint is taking me than achieving perfect likeness.  Day 3 (Young woman with eyes closed) I used Dan Smith's Moonglow. It is a beautiful three-pigment blend but quite hard to control when building shadows and depth. The face ended up being a little two-dimensional, but I felt like the moonglow gave the picture a mystical air.  Day 4 (Quirky lady in a hat) This was my favourite to paint. She has so much personality! Admittedly, the colour I chose did make the darks difficult to achieve, and I needed to add in a darker shade to get the dark darks. I had fun trying to capture the texture of her skin while trying not to overdo it.  Day 5 (Indigo Woman) I struggled more than I expected with this one. First with getting a likeness - my proportions were pretty off, and she ended up looking a lot softer than I'd intended. This one also really highlighted my fear of overobscuring or adding too much dark in watercolour. Her eyes should have been in almost complete shadow. I'm used to working in oils, where I start with darks and add in the lights over the top, and any mistakes can be fixed. With watercolour, I need to be braver!  Day 6 - I'm sorry, I skipped this one. I know, I'm a bad student, and I should do it as an exercise. I just really didn't like the reference. Day 7  I knew this one would be tough. Foreshortening takes a lot of technical skill. I don't hate how it came out, but I need to do a lot more practice drawing and painting references from different angles. The Takeaway Overall, this was such a useful exercise, not just for learning a new medium, but for shining a light on exactly where my weaknesses are so I can actually work on them. Sticking to one colour forced me to get to grips with tone in watercolour, and pushed me to experiment with pigments I might not have reached for otherwise. Doing these as quick sketches (I actually set a timer!) meant my mistakes showed up fast, which was a great (if humbling) way to see where I can improve my proportions and accuracy. I will continue doing daily sketches to gradually improve. And lastly, watercolour itself is teaching me to be way more deliberate and accurate from the start. With oils, I can keep adjusting as I go, but watercolour doesn't really give you that luxury. This has taught me that I need to be braver and more decisive.

<img srcset="https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/fc46cefe.jpg 600w, https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/fc46cefe.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 600px, 100vw" src="https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/fc46cefe.jpg" loading="lazy" alt="7 Day Watercolour Portrait Challenge Days 1-7 - image 1 - student project">
<img srcset="https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/d70c868c.jpg 600w, https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/d70c868c.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 600px, 100vw" src="https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/d70c868c.jpg" loading="lazy" alt="7 Day Watercolour Portrait Challenge Days 1-7 - image 2 - student project">
<img srcset="https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/4b9f325a.jpg 600w, https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/4b9f325a.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 600px, 100vw" src="https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/4b9f325a.jpg" loading="lazy" alt="7 Day Watercolour Portrait Challenge Days 1-7 - image 3 - student project">
<img srcset="https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/a219d78a.jpg 600w, https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/a219d78a.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 600px, 100vw" src="https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/a219d78a.jpg" loading="lazy" alt="7 Day Watercolour Portrait Challenge Days 1-7 - image 4 - student project">
<img srcset="https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/3c4112a4.jpg 600w, https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/3c4112a4.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 600px, 100vw" src="https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/3c4112a4.jpg" loading="lazy" alt="7 Day Watercolour Portrait Challenge Days 1-7 - image 5 - student project">
<img srcset="https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/ce48f897.jpg 600w, https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/ce48f897.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 600px, 100vw" src="https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/ce48f897.jpg" loading="lazy" alt="7 Day Watercolour Portrait Challenge Days 1-7 - image 6 - student project">
This is the second watercolour portrait I have ever done. I used Fabriano 1264 watercolour paper and Daniel Smith Quinacridone Burnt Orange. I'm learning so much with each new portrait. 
<img srcset="https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/2a4f25a6.jpg 600w, https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/2a4f25a6.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 600px, 100vw" src="https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/2a4f25a6.jpg" loading="lazy" alt="7 Day Watercolour Portrait Challenge Days 1-7 - image 7 - student project">

7 Day Watercolour Portrait Challenge Days 1-7

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