I choose to paint Special Supper because I felt I needed a challenge! Jeepers! Designing a poured watercolour around lobsters sitting on a lobster platter may not have been my smartest move.
Wing and a prayer
The thing is, I could see the finished painting in my mind. Which when you start a painting you should be able to do. Breaking the colours out into layers in this case was very complex especially since the painting is basically monochromatic. And red. Once the values started to get deeper, I actually lost my roadmap. I was unable to distinguish between critter and platter. You see, both the real lobsters and the lobsters on the platter have many legs!
And I had to start winging it, crossing my fingers and offering up a prayer. This was tough. The slideshow below will show you what I mean. Once that final pour was ready applied I basically had to hold my breath. Did I mention red is tough?
Unsure of what to do
Once I removed the masking compound, I hid it away for awhile until I could figure out if it was going to work or not. Apparently I hide things from my view if I don’t want to deal with it.
Just the other day, I pulled it back out and the path forward was so clear. It was like a real aha moment. Oh, I am not showing the painting with the mask removed on purpose.
