Sunday, January 08, 2017

30 Paintings 30 Days - Day 8 --- and Part 16 of Adventures with Brusho

You are probably saying, "but I haven't seen eight paintings?!"  However, some of the previously posted Brusho ones I counted.

And here are three more.  I watched Sandy Allnock's "Watercolor Flower Series #11: Paint a Brusho Garden"    She had good advice and made it look easy.  I highly recommend checking out her other videos on her channel.

I tried three times with these, with varying results.   Part could be perhaps the paper was too "grabby" with the Brusho and I could not dissolve the pigments fast enough, despite sprinkling and quickly trying to blend onto already wet paper.  Some of them were more staining and less movable/forgiving.  Or they dissolved too much and I couldn't achieve enough value/contrast to make the petals pop.  With the last one, you can sense my frustration as I gave up and just randomly shook the canisters, sprayed more water on top and wadded up Saran Wrap and walked away.  I hardly think that is painting per se.  While watercoloring is unpredictable as a rule, Brusho can be fun, but off the charts random.  I think some of my best pieces over the past few weeks were my "mistakes" or "what the _ell" moments.

Too pale and blended - added extra Scarlet strokes
Frustrated by the Leaf and Emerald Greens attaching/attacking the paper and not letting go

I couldn't get the greens darker or blend again, so I sprinkled Brown over it!
A little bit better control with the rose, though

I still couldn't achieve more value in the rose I wanted.
I even sprinkled Brown in it - not a good move in hindsight.
On the positives -- I discovered Brusho plays beautifully with Yupo paper. If you want to make pretty backgrounds for cards and journals, another point in Brusho's favor. Leading a Girl Scout troop or camp art activity - they would love this! Especially with the different options of using shaving cream to make "prints" and spray starch to disperse the colors.

However, in trying to paint-paint, I think the pigments are too random and hard to control, at least for me at this point in the Brusho learning curve.  I have difficulty with the colors, even with twelve, to achieve darker values.    They can be staining and unforgiving.

I would still definitely recommend buying a few colors and playing around with them.  There are lots of videos/YouTubes, Facebook groups and blogs available with good advice and tips.  I hope some of my posts were helpful in showcasing my Brusho journey in discovering what it could/could not do for me.

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