I am having so much fun with these. I hope you find this dainty display delightful.
Enjoy!
These tiny 2 x 2’s are fun to paint. A nice change. I think my favorite size hovers around 8 x 8 inches. Or 10 x 10. This weekend I will be continuing work on the bear. And I have started two other canvas pieces. One is 4 x 4, and the other is 12 x 12 I think.
The skyscape below was inspired by a real sunset. When I stepped away to get my phone, the light changed, and I missed getting the shot. The clouds were all shades of pink and orange, The sky was blue and lavender grey. Storm clouds moving through.
I first learned about the color Green Gold from Angela Fehr. She is one of the artist ambassadors for World Watercolor Month. Laurie Mueller uses it often in her work also. Or maybe it is her own blend, but it has the same jaw-dropping effect. Diluted, it is almost blindingly neon. But you can get a deeper, rich hue as well. It’s a favorite in my palette.
I am sharing two revisions with you. The scans came out too dark, and I was not happy with the “black” band at the bottom. I was behind, so I went ahead and posted them. In reality, The indigo was softer, and blended to a rich, dark green. The color bled into the wet areas above, and there are some soft “finger” like details. But I needed to blend the dark with the rest of the foreground.
I added a few more blades of grass, and I think they work much better now. What do you think? The revised scans are true to life, not as vivid as the first scans. The setting wasn’t right. I like them better now. To me, I think the green gold stands out more. The oranges are not overpowering. Do you like the first version better?
My new scanner arrived. Yipee! I had to wait about a month for it. I played with the settings to get a true to life image. I used a piece that I had scanned on the older machine.
There are over a dozen combinations of settings, the interface is very easy to use. I do like that it is powered by USB. So I just need to connect it to the laptop, and it is ready to go. No need to wait for it to warm up. Nice! It was recommended by a couple of artists I follow.
I need to get used to having to preview first. It really is useful, as you can change the settings if the image is off, and then scan for the final saved image.
Two Pots was painted on a spiral-bound pad. I didn’t realize the scanner lid is removable, it expands to hold books. On the left of the image, I can see that it is blurry. Where the rings are. I will need to be more aware of that.
Below are some of the different settings. You might not be able to see much of a difference in some of them. The first one is an illustration setting. That was interesting. It simplifies the image to color “blocks”. More like a vector image. Or cartoon.
Below you can see the Epson scan and the scan from the old machine. The Epson is more true. Haha. Well, the blooms are. The vase and the background in the original are closer to real life. I’m fine with that. I know I will need to make adjustments in Photoshop as usual. It is just how the different colors reflect the light. I will work with the settings and see how close I can get them. But I’m sure they will be different for each piece. I have scanned about a dozen photos, and they came out true to life.
This scanner is so slim. About an inch and a half. And it is so lightweight! About 3 pounds. It has a kickstand and you can scan while it is standing on its side. I love that I can tuck it away, and pull it out when needed. I don’t need to sacrifice valuable desk space.
It is so light and easy to connect. It will be perfect for travel. Visiting family, and sharing old photos. Oh, did I say? It is an Epson Perfection V39.
