To finish off the painting, I gave the shadows another thin wash and darkened the underside of the overhang. This helped solidified the window more securely in the wall. I was careful to keep variation within the shadowed areas as this was very important to the realism of the work. More work was done to the front of the overhand and also to the wooden window frame on the right. Now that it is darker, the edges are more defined helps pull it away from the wall. Now it seems to jut out into space as intended. Then I just went carefully over the painting looking for areas that needed subtle tweaking. That part didn't take long and when couldn't find anything else to do, I declared the painting finished.When I started Afternoon Sun IV, I was remembering the hot sunny days spent exploring old villages around Hong Kong. I was fascinated by the architecture and style of the older homes and temples that I came across. So the window here is a pleasant reminder of that time and although the main subject is in the center of the painting, it still has a somewhat abstract design caused by the shadows that I like. Sadly this building is no more, razed to make way for new homes. I suppose that is the price of progress, still seems a shame to me. Size is 30" X 22".
2 comments:
Great watercolor! Thanks for the step by step. Was your paper coldpress?
Thanks for the comment Peter. Yes, I did use coldpress as I like the slight texture especially when working on large sheets. Most of my smaller watercolors though are done on hotpress. While this surface is rather difficult to get used to, one can get some interesting effects and I like the way that the paint tends to sit more on top of the surface. Great for finer work too.
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