# Nelson Watercolor #3



## Scott R Nelson (Jun 26, 2013)

Our plane got in on the island of Kauai a few hours before we could check into our timeshare, so my wife and I hung out at a local shopping center. While she was out exploring the shops (i.e., shopping, which I don't enjoy), I was sitting there enjoying the nice weather and tropical plants. I noticed what I would have to call a hibiscus tree. Normally they're bushes, but this one was big. I snapped a close up photo of a bloom and later decided to try that one as my third watercolor painting attempt.

I've decided that accurately painting a flower teaches you an awful lot about what that flower looks like. I understand a lot more about what all hibiscus flowers look like after dealing with this one.

The first issue was finding paint to make a proper pink color for the flower petals. Quinacridone Magenta is the only one that I've found that makes a decent pink. I didn't try anything major new with this one, but the subject matter was quite a bit different from the previous paintings. I spent a lot of time trying to get the branches and leaves right, as well as getting the right feeling to the flower petals. It was also a bit tricky to get those pollen thingies to look right.

The only thing left was to do the background and you can tell that I hadn't put enough thought into that. I left it this way for several months, and eventually saw a painting in a restaurant that gave me an idea of how to fix it.

I'll show the fixed painting in a couple of days.


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## DLeeG (Oct 20, 2010)

Great job Scott. If you leave the background as it is, The focus is more on the flower.


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## DLeeG (Oct 20, 2010)

Kauai a great vacation.


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## Scott R Nelson (Jun 26, 2013)

DLeeG said:


> Great job Scott. If you leave the background as it is, The focus is more on the flower.


You're going to have to wait until Monday, but I think the revised version puts more focus on the flower.


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## DLeeG (Oct 20, 2010)

I'll wait but when you look at something from as close of proximity as your flower is, then distant backgrounds are out of focus.


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## pencils (Feb 10, 2012)

When I`m not sure what I want to do in a background, I just let a piece sit for a while...I keep it out so I can look at it everday, I`m always working on more than one piece at a time anyways so I just move to another...eventually, something will come to me though it might take days or months. But it ain`t a race for me....no piece is ever finished, I just stop working on them.


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## Scott R Nelson (Jun 26, 2013)

The painting that I saw at the restaurant had a black background and it was quite striking. I don't like using black, so I used Hookers Green mixed with a bit of Quinacridone Magenta to darken it up. Getting the fine detail out around those pollen thingies required a great deal of patience.

This one is now my favorite of the ones that I've done.

Sorry I couldn't get the same lighting for the photograph as with the previous one, colors that haven't changed aren't quite the same.


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## Scott R Nelson (Jun 26, 2013)

DLeeG said:


> If you leave the background as it is, The focus is more on the flower.


Do you agree that the revised version focuses a bit more on the flower now?


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## pencils (Feb 10, 2012)

I do, too bad about the lower left hand side patch...distracting to me...can`t you just go over that and sign it again?


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## Scott R Nelson (Jun 26, 2013)

pencils said:


> I do, too bad about the lower left hand side patch...distracting to me...can`t you just go over that and sign it again?


I think you're right. That part doesn't show up in the frame I currently have the picture in.


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## AZACRYLIC (Feb 12, 2014)

Much better! Sometimes i will add a patch of opaque white, let that dry then paint over that with a dark color and scratch in my byline with a fine pointed object.


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## DLeeG (Oct 20, 2010)

Scott R Nelson said:


> Do you agree that the revised version focuses a bit more on the flower now?


yes, but i think that it was better before. i am wondering were the light that lights the flower is coming from.


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## Master Snowy (Mar 10, 2014)

That is an amazing painting Nelson! I mostly use water colours myself, but I'm no where close to the wonder you can do! It is inspiring to see this. I shall concentrate more on water colour paintings this summer.

And I'll make sure to put up my water colour paintings on the forum. That way, I'll learn more.

Thank you for showing us your work.


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