Spanky's Fantastic House

For lack of a better name I called this one 'Spanky's Fantastic House' as it was this painting that inspired 'Lab Book #6, Spanky's Fantastic Cathedral". Here, in the distance lies a realistic cathedral reminiscent of the one appearing in LB#6, while in the foreground is a romanesque house and a garden filled with abstract statues. The viewer is drawn into the middle ground by a walkway, where their eye can wander into the flamingo-pink sky streaked with blue cotton-candy clouds (that should be an ice cream flavor?). The house has a heavy dark outline which makes it stand out from the rest of the drawing and gives a surrealism feel to the piece. The dark outline was an innovation I first used in "Birdman" using Chinese black ink, although here the outline is done with paint, and was applied over top of the finished work. Sometimes outlines can be used as an effect, while other times the outlines just need to disappear. In comic book format, or some movies (A Scanner Darkly) outlines are used to create the character, convey emotions, and define the form. In fine art, outlines are often meant to be unseen. Traditional watercolour painting begins with a light pencil drawing, which can be (gently) erased when the paint dries. I prefer to use paint for outlines, using light greys or other neutral colours, which mostly dissapear as you apply washes over top. In the doodle technique I make the initial paint outlines heavier, so they show through in the final work, helping to convey the detail and the energy 

Spanky's Fantastic House, watercolour 16 x 12" hot press, 2003 (No. 1782)