A series of firsts this one. First large piece in some time. First time working with watercolor canvas. First attempt using my watercolor techniques with acrylics. First “commission”.

My cousin Michelle requested this in September. She recently purchased her first new home, and I am honored she wanted my work on her walls. We have been discussing motif’s and palettes. She had originally chosen a larger canvas, but decided she wanted to have the freedom to move it in the future. She was very definite about the yellow she wanted, and it had to have her favorite light turquoise as well.

I had a slight heart palpitation when we got the canvas home, and it was for watercolors. Perfect for what I wanted to do, but having never seen it before, I was not sure how to work with it.  I had a hard time finding any information. This video is about a different brand, but will give you an overview.

The canvas is very smooth, and thinner than regular canvas. In fact, we had to return the first one because it had some indentations that were not visible under the shrink-wrap. (Palpitation #2, lost a night of painting time.) We had checked it very carefully. When I went back for the exchange, I opened the canvas before I left the register to be sure it was flawless. There was no line, and the cashier was very gracious.

I have to say this canvas was a dream! I love it. Colors mingle easily and mistakes wipe right off. I had an “OH NO!” moment when I noticed that some of the paint had migrated to the sky area. The area I was working on must have had a slight slant. There were three long lines. You can see a bit of it here.

I grabbed a wet paper towel, and wiped off the drips. I did not have to scrub, so there were no bits of paper left. One drip was quite dark, and the edges remained. When I laid in the sky, the new color absorbed the old, and there was no evidence of the goof.

I started by splattering clean water on the lower part. I wanted to encourage the paint to move on its own. I painted the stems, then the blooms. Splattered more of the indigo and turquoise and added some white flecks as well. I painted in the sky, and had some ugly hard edges at first, but as I continued to work, they softened. The sky is a mix of blues, not really visible here.

It was a two-day trip to California, but I ended up only have one morning to paint. I was not sure when my ride home would pick me up, so I was under the gun!

My inner critic says it is not finished. I left white around the blooms, and I think I should have taken the blue all the way to the bloom edge. Or maybe outline the blooms with soft scratchy pen work for definition. Also the sky looks a bit empty. I wouldn’t add clouds, but maybe the blues should have been different values so there would be more variation. Just thinking out loud. I can always go back in and work some more. But my cousin loves it, and that is all that matters. (To that critic – Shoo fly shoo!)

I had a heart stopping moment in the end. Thought I had sealer, but it was blending fluid!!! I had already poured it on the dry canvas!!! I had brushed most of it on, when I noticed that it was staying slick, and a bit of yellow lifted. I had no choice but to smooth it on gently, and hope it did not turn into a pile of muddy goo.

I used a blow dryer, but the fluid was not drying evenly. Michelle works from home, and I had to leave without telling her about the goof, before it dried completely, and I did not get to see her reaction to it. I will return to seal it, so I can be sure the finish is even.

For all the flubs and missteps, I had so much fun working on this. My visit with Michelle was so much fun! One night we even had a donut and a glass of wine! Don’t worry, it was a dessert wine, LOL. I was able to visit with my Aunt and Uncle, two more cousins, and Michelle’s daughter as well.  Good trip all around!