Watercolor Clementine - Jan VSD

Caught in a State of Undress
9.5" x 7" watercolor on paper
Stacy L. Rowan

Here is my entry for the January Virtual Sketch Date. Thank you Jeanette for the beautiful and challenging reference.

I thought the reference this month was a little daunting, and I was concerned because I knew I wouldn't really have time to work on it until later in the week. But I have to say that once I settled in with my paints, I really enjoyed it and I am pleased with the outcome. I especially like the cast shadows where I let the paint "do it's thing" then resisted the urge to go back into that area. Another favorite part is the front piece of peel and the feeling of form I managed there.

Be sure the check the blog tomorrow for all the result links. Also this month we added a Flickr group. Participation is voluntary, but it gives people a place to see many of the images together.

I know I haven't been posting much lately, but I am busy working. Some of the things I did this week include...
- Worked on a commissioned painting - All that remains is the finishing touches and approval from my customer, then I can share it here.

- Attended a local portrait drawing group - It was my first time joining the group and I really enjoyed it. The location is great (In a church no less! Well... in the fellowship hall of a church.), the other members of the group are nice and the atmosphere is supportive. Unfortunately, my portrait turned out pretty bad so I won't be sharing it here, but I will be returning to this group for more practice.

- Started collecting references for a new project - I took over 50 photographs and over 4 minutes of video to use as references. To prepare for the photo shoot, I also learned how to use some of my camera features that would allow me to get the effects I wanted.

All of this was in addition to my VSD entry. So I had a pretty productive week, despite my strong desire to hibernate until the cold temperatures have passed.

--------------------
The background on this painting is showing up a little more saturated than it is in real life. Adjusting the background properly caused the clementine to be under-saturated, so I balanced the two the best I was able. This painting is available for purchase and will be posted on At The Moment in the next week or two. Prior to that, feel free to email me for purchase information.