Keeping up with the Spain paintings, here is another one from the '98 collection done in Salamanca, Spain. This city is best known for its cathedral, and its very romantic vibe. Now that I am posting this painting, I guess it should also be known for its ducks! Painting ducks or birds is always tricky because they don't really sit still long enough to capture the drawings. I usually try to make a quick outline to get the shape, and then fill in the colours the best I can. If the animal leaves completely it is tough. Here it looks like they were mostly sitting down near a fountain. Painting fountains is really hard so maybe I wanted to paint the ducks instead- as I recall I was quite tired of painting fountains and statues towards the end of the trip (this was in the final two weeks of the 2 month Spain trip), and so focused more on other interesting things.
When there is a shadow next to a brightly coloured object, the shadow will pick up reflections and take on a glowing effect. The underside of a duck is normally a cool purple/beige tone, but with the intense sun reflecting off the grass the shadows took on a yellow-green tone. I quite deliberately create this effect by putting the purple/beige shadow first. While it is still wet, I dropped in some of the yellow/green from the grass. If you get the amount right and judge the wetness, they will blend together and give the reflection effect. In Spain it was hot and dry and the paint dried fast, so these wet-in-wet techniques had to be done fast. Faster than a duck can waddle!
5 x 7 " cold press, watercolour, 1998
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