Vibrant Violet Watercolors

There is nothing quite like the vivid audacity of violet purple. Its breath taking, mysterious and altogether satisfying!

 

 

Its Silly Saturday

and Vibrant Violet Watercolor is my response.

 

My need for a Color fix, after the monochromatic Oil landscape painting and a soft delicate zen watercolor was calling. Loud and clear.

 

So,  in a sense this was,  inspired by my early yesterday’s bushwalk.  Which,  resulted in  the oil landscape ‘Dry Bushland.’    Just in a round about way.

 

Be sure to see part 2 of  my Silly Saturday,  Watercolor Collage, in lovely lilacs and vivid violets.

 

Materials

• hot press Saunders 100% cotton paper
• watercolors:
• featuring several Blue paints
• cobalt blue genuine
• french ultramarine
• cerulean blue genuine
• permanent alizarin crimson
• permanent rose
• glad wrap

 

 

Color Mixing

To create my rich violet purples,  2 Key watercolors were needed to ensure the color mix was dark enough.

• French Ultramarine blue pb29   and  Permanent Crimson Alizarin.
• I mixed in the others, in small bits here and there to add inflections, nuances and suggestions.

 

If you’d like more information on Watercolors,  Watercolor Color Mixing and Techniques …. a great Page to get you started is Your Watercolor Basic Tips.   There’s plenty there.

 

I do see a little bit of Zen,  Wabi Sabi coming out in this painting.   Perhaps,  with the  7 Days of Zen  Water  Reflections  still so fresh,  that deep rich intensity just has not left my mind yet.  Oddly, the Dry Bushlands reference photo and the Water Reflections location…. was in the same area. Just a different day, a difference in a few days longer of no rain.

 

‘Vibrant Violet’ has a similar thrilling purity and richness of color that Magical Monday and Ways with Watercolor also possess.

 

 

 

Vibrant Violet Watercolor, the Process

I applied the colors onto the papers rapidly; Then placed the glad wrap over the dripping wet paints in vertical style folds with another slight diagonal at the base.

Hoping for some darks to pool at the bottom.  Hoping to get perhaps, a look of reflections.

Hoping for the best,  and then  ‘rolling the dice!’

 

With this specific watercolor technique it really is the luck of the draw.  I can choose my colors, my tonal values, and try to influence the directions the plastic wrap folds in….. and thats about it.

 

 

Watercolor Finish  The Reveal!

Once the paint is completely bone dry, just peel back the glad wrap.

 

Deep, dark, intense purples and violet gathering and pooling together created for me, a Happy Place.

“Vibrant Violet”  Watercolors for Silly Saturday.

Works for me…. how about you?