Boy With Blue Hat – Watercolor on Canvas, Part Two

Quick follow up on yesterday’s post about different undergrounds for watercolor painting. I already showed you a little painting on Gesso board. The following is painted on traditional canvas primed with Gesso. You can buy it like this in any art store. I put the label in the picture, so you can see what exactly it’s called.

It’s available in all kinds of sizes, different qualities and from several companies. I actually chose the cheapest I could find, I simply wanted to see what happens when I paint with watercolor on Gesso canvas. I might try different qualities in the future, we’ll see if it makes a big difference. This particular Gesso canvas did not suck up the watercolor as readily, the paint stayed on the surface for a while. Once dry though you can carefully add a second layer. It does have the tendency to lift the previous layer to a degree when applying the next one, so, it does take a little practice and patience. The upside is, that you can fairly easily correct mistakes, it’s easy to lift the paint, even once it’s dry, simply use a moist brush. Also, creating colors by layering was a bit of a challenge, but it is possible to a degree. In this picture, I used Cadmium Yellow, Permanent Alizarin Crimson and Indigo Blue. Some I mixed on the pallet, some on the canvas. I’m particularly happy with the hat and the folds on the shirt. Some parts of the skin turned out a little too green. Overall though, it was a good learning experience. A definite upside of canvas is the weight, which allows for very large sizes, and which inspired me to search for a canvas that can be used for watercolor. I have experimented with other types of primer and underground, stayed tuned for more on this subject in my next post.

I hope, wherever you are, the weather is as sunny as it is here today and you are safe and healthy. Stay curious, keep creating. xoxo, Lilo    😘