Deborah Stachowic demonstrating how she paints "Dramatic Reds" using DANIEL SMITH Watercolors

Deborah Stachowic demonstrating how she paints "Dramatic Reds" using DANIEL SMITH Watercolors

 Deborah Stachowic at last Saturday’s FREE demo at the Seattle DANIEL SMITH Store showed everyone attending how she gets her “Dramatic Reds” on her large watercolor paintings.  When you visit her website, you can see, especially her “Red Tea Leaves #2 “ great examples of what she was showing us at the demo.

 
Deborah paints in what she calls “layering” to build up rich, deep colors.  She lets the watercolor paint dry in between layers, then re-wets the area, and lays down more color with her brush.  This layering gives a lot of depth to the surface of her watercolor painting.
 
When applying the watercolor paint, Deborah uses a very large, round, soft watercolor brush (she especially likes the DANIEL SMITH Black Gold Watercolor brushes ) and told us that she “lightly” (!!!) applies each layer.  Don’t use flat brushes or heavy brushwork or you will have to remove color.  Deborah told us to make sure the paint on your brush is a little dryer than the surface of your painting or you will get “blooms” in the area you touch your brush to.  Other tools she likes to use are the Soft White Color Shapers.  
 
A TIP  from Deborah when painting in watercolor, use a roll of toilet paper to “blot up” excess watercolor on your painting.  The edge of the roll has a sharp edge and you can blot in a clean line.  Be sure and remove those sheets that blotted the excess watercolor after every blotting session, or you will lose your edge as the watercolor continues to spread or bleed.
 
Deborah also shared with us one of her favorite watercolor paint mixtures to get a rich black.  It’s her workhorse color: DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine Watercolors in Prussian Blue, New Gamboge , and Alizarin Crimson are mixed to create deep, rich blacks.  Deborah also likes to use a little bit of Prussian Blue to darken her reds. 
 
Because Deborah prefers to work large, she uses full sheets (22×30 in.) of 140lb. cold press watercolor, either the Lanaqarelle or the Arches.  She soaks them in the tub to get the paper wet then stretches the paper using a water soluble glue (like Elmers’) and runs a bead all the way around with her finger onto her gatorboard.
 
Deborah often does demos at both the Seattle and Bellevue DANIEL SMITH Stores, so check the FREE demo schedule to find out when. 
 
Thank you Deborah!
 
 
Every Day,   Express Yourself  with  ART….
 
~Deborah Burns