For this painting, I wanted to try a few things differently. First, I didn't use any masking fluid. Masking fluid is a special type of thick paint (it resembles Elmer's glue) that you use on any areas you would like to preserve as the original white of the paper. However, it is tricky to get the tiny details I require and it occasionally ruins the tooth of the watercolor paper. Since this painting, I've gone back to using it again for specific sections, but it still is tricky to get fine lines. I also used gouache ( an opaque watercolor-like paint) in the leaves of the tree, details on the front porch and garden, a technique that I will continue to explore more in future work.
Here are a few in progress snapshots... this house is particularly important to me, because it is where I grew up!
Pencil sketch outlining the key features of the painting. The tree in the front yard was shifted to the right and slightly enlarged to disguise the garage on the side of the house.
Beginning stages of watercolor washes
Finished! The lilies on the right got pushed back a bit and some extra foliage was added to hide the garage. Small details, like a few ferns and two red rocking chairs were added in gouache to the front porch.
Cheers!
Katy