My mother loves bright, beautiful multi-colored bouquets of flowers. And who doesn't? Lately I've been bringing flowers home to her quite frequently. Just that little drop of nature seems to lift our spirits while so many of our usual activities are on hold. Besides, she enjoys painting flowers. It runs in the family.
Recently I bought a gigantic bunch of blossoms that crowded even our biggest, baddest vase. I thinned it out by removing the tiny white baby's breath that florists use to pad out their arrangements. Maybe I'm alone in this, but I've never thought that baby's breath did much for bouquets anyway. So I put the little flowers into their own mini bud vase and casually set them in front of a blue screen. And there they magically transformed into a twinkly, star-like vision that became the inspiration for a painting.
Only thing is, how could I possibly paint a nice blue watercolor wash around all those teeny tiny little white flowers without going mad? Then I remembered that some watercolorists use liquid masking fluid (also called friskit) for just such a purpose. They brush the frisket onto paper, and wherever it lands it resists the watercolor paint. And abracadabra, it reserves the white of the paper. So cool.
However, I once used friskit with disastrous results, probably because it was way past it's sell-by date. Instead of rubbing off nicely when I was finished, it turned a nasty gray and stuck to the paper. Not only that, but it ruined the brush too. Ugh, I wasn't looking forward to a repeat performance. Nevertheless I persevered. This time with a brand new bottle of Schmincke liquid friskit that came highly recommended. And it worked like a charm. Thank goodness.
In the the language of flowers baby's breath is a symbol of everlasting love, pureness, and innocence. No wonder they're often found in wedding bouquets. Here's my homage to their celestial beauty. You can click on the image to see it larger, to purchase, or to contact me about the painting. Thanks for visiting!
Recently I bought a gigantic bunch of blossoms that crowded even our biggest, baddest vase. I thinned it out by removing the tiny white baby's breath that florists use to pad out their arrangements. Maybe I'm alone in this, but I've never thought that baby's breath did much for bouquets anyway. So I put the little flowers into their own mini bud vase and casually set them in front of a blue screen. And there they magically transformed into a twinkly, star-like vision that became the inspiration for a painting.
Only thing is, how could I possibly paint a nice blue watercolor wash around all those teeny tiny little white flowers without going mad? Then I remembered that some watercolorists use liquid masking fluid (also called friskit) for just such a purpose. They brush the frisket onto paper, and wherever it lands it resists the watercolor paint. And abracadabra, it reserves the white of the paper. So cool.
However, I once used friskit with disastrous results, probably because it was way past it's sell-by date. Instead of rubbing off nicely when I was finished, it turned a nasty gray and stuck to the paper. Not only that, but it ruined the brush too. Ugh, I wasn't looking forward to a repeat performance. Nevertheless I persevered. This time with a brand new bottle of Schmincke liquid friskit that came highly recommended. And it worked like a charm. Thank goodness.
In the the language of flowers baby's breath is a symbol of everlasting love, pureness, and innocence. No wonder they're often found in wedding bouquets. Here's my homage to their celestial beauty. You can click on the image to see it larger, to purchase, or to contact me about the painting. Thanks for visiting!
Baby's Breath
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