This is my first entry on Karin Jurick's excellent blog, "Different Strokes from Different Folks." Jurick challenges artists to draw or paint their interpretation of a photo she posts weekly. This is from the Nov. 19, 2008 challenge, "Buddha and Hydrangeas."
I initially planned to do a representational version of the image, but then I found others had done it much better than I ever could, so I started playing around with the large shapes in the composition in search of another approach.
This was painted primarily with Winsor & Newton Artist's Watercolor. I created many layers of grey for the solid figures in the image. For the foreground figures I used Winsor Violet and Cadmium Yellow to create a warm grey. In the images near the top of the painting, I used Alizarin Crimson and Viridian to create a cool grey. The hydrangea flowers are painted with Winsor Yellow, New Gamboge, Quinacridone Gold, Alizarin crimson, and Burnt Sienna. The brilliant colors were created with Posh Rainbow acid-free non-toxic ink.
