"Ode to Matisse"

13" x 18" Watercolor on Arches paper

This was a demo peice I did for the Tuesday morning watercolor class I teach. It was based on a Matisse landscape, which staretd very simple and loose. I sort of went wild with it .. using Friskett to block our areas and just enjoying the process of using transparent washes of "Matisse" colors... hope you enjoy.

Below are the stages as this watercolor evolved.

Stage 1

To get started, I wet the paper, front and back, taped it to my board, and "stained it" .

Stage 2
Here I began to work into the painting with transparent washes, defining the landscape. After the paint dried, I worked into it with Friskett, masking out areas that i wanted to remain light.

Stage 3

At this stage, I had already worked abck into it with paint, and removed the Friskett (a fun process!) and was left with this. I worked back into it to bring in more darks and definition.. but I like how it looked at every stage. Unfortunately, as it is with art.. the early stages are now gone forever, buried under the final painting. Thank God for digital cameras and giclee prints!