Reflections … One of my early watercolor paintings, when I was not yet conscious of the differences between acrylics–where paint is dabbed into the scene with many little brush strokes –and the minimal swirling brushstrokes of loose watercolor. Plus, there was a plastic wrap experiment. Altogether a busy little scene.
In the Biesboschen
Four hundred begettings ago,
Hunting, fishing and gathering
We people followed the narrow under-tree paths
of deer and swine.
Otter-Wijf might then have been my name.
Hung with bones, herbs and a wisert’s skin
I walked and walked and walked the cool under-tree paths
Of our home range.
— — — —
With this painting and poem I’ve tried to manifest a dream in which I had the clearest sensation that I walked through sand–making those little squeaks–in an ancient Dutch setting. Otter-wijf was my name and I wore a leather shoulder bag with dried herbs in it, and a leather wrap about my shoulders.
It was the uncanniest thing when I woke, no longer wearing the wrap or the bag when only seconds before they felt as real, as the bed-sheets a few seconds later.
I can’t believe how well this watercolor sketch I did a few years ago illustrates an alien cloning bath. The warmth with steam rising in the left foreground, the bleak winter weather in the background.
My painting of the week is nowhere near done. Credible mountains, white snow, a melting glacier and refections in the lake at the base are the objectives, so far anyway.
An unusual start has made several of the objectives quite hard to achieve. While painting with water colours paper towels and or paper tissues are vital for mopping up spills or too much water/paint.
So you get patterns on these used scraps that are too good to just throw. I glued a bunch of such in my A4 art notes book, using some 50% acrylic varnish I happened to have standing around.
When thoroughly dry, I started painting. I used gouache for the snow and will probably regret that. Could’ve used water colour ground. Some parts of the reflections are looking good. Everything in the foreground needs greying down.
The long steep rocky slope into the water is of course a wrong reflection, can’t be helped. By me, anyway. The boulder and its reflection need toning down a bit but the way the water ripples just there … I like very much!
Doing this painting I’m reminded again that keeping a scrap of paper to dab on all the colours I’m using, for a record, would’ve been a good idea. But I forgot. Never mind, I shall wing it.
The minute I painted a 25% strength hi gloss acrylic glaze over these stilt dancers, to see what would happen, this became my test painting.
The glossiness of the glaze was cut right back I was glad to discover. The suggestion to glaze came from johnlovett.com …. I may have said before that I’m not keen on framing pictures behind glass.
I have a couple of paintings on the go where I’m scared to touch the good stuff with more water, and so destroy them. though they bothneed more work. What to do?
Got the test painting out. Touched up cartain areas with acrylic paints. Let them dry overnight. Did it work? Did the acrylics rub off? Yes for the first question. No for the second.
The dark red fronds were overpainted with acrylics. The deep gold ditto. The greenish base, also. And none of it, upon scratching, comes off.
So, I’m good to go with sealing my Geriatric Aviatrix, and touching up her scarf with acrylics, because touching her up with water color over gouache might be a disaster …
… is a way of painting with watercolors, I’ve discovered. And I’m in the throes of experimenting using the technique.
First came across it on Susan Cornelis’s blog. https://susancornelis.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/googleeye.jpg
So I’ve fallen in love with granulating paints. My first effort was Miss Tabitha…
Ordered a couple more tubes of granulating paint and washed out a fine spray bottle originally used for a deodorant.
Second, this fish. I call it a bottom feeder, but may rename it … I’m having so much trouble getting this from my mobile … might have to do magic. Like, abracadabra … OK I’ve got it. Ended up saving it to the desktop … isn’t she beautiful? A spatter and spray painting barely touched up. Well, OK, I painted the scales. The rest is dabbed. Not yet sealed.
This is the top half of my third effort. I’ll tentatively call it The Aviatrix. The bottom half of this painting is still a problem. one thing is for sure, I’m learning a lot about gouache.
It’s hard to believe what you can get from spattering paint onto the paper then spraying it with water. But that’s only the first layer. You let it dry, then the next day, if the pattern you have doesn’t yet suggest anything to you, you do it again. Like I did with this one. The third day, this aviatrix lay there waiting for me. I painted some of the areas to increase that likeness and here she is.
The bottom half of her face needed work of a different sort. After my efforts first with gesso, then with gouache that’s still in the thought-pan, and another post.
As well as the spatter and spray technique, I’m experimenting with sealing my watercolor paintings with an acrylic varnish. I hate the look of paintings behind glass or the whole process of framing. Miss Tabitha has been varnished and the look is good.
And plus, I don’t have enough wall space to hang everything I paint. Nor will I foist amateurish experiments on my nearest and dearest. So, most must be stored. Varnishing them seems like a good option.
The varnish I’m using is water-based so easy to cut. A mixture of 25% acrylic varnish in 75% water seems to be working pretty well. Ideally this should be sprayed on but since I’m still only experimenting, I’m laying the varnish on the painting with a watercolor mop brush. A time-consuming procedure but the only one I can afford at the moment.
Rita de Heer 
