Previously, in Part 3 of this mini series, I showcased my 1st watercolor (seen below) keyed off an original oil of 2001, itself keyed off an original photo of the same year. I know I’ve got the version numbers reversed in terms of when I painted them. A goof up uploading the pics of the paintings to Fine Art America on my part 😏 But, maybe, for the lesson for me I’m writing about in this post, just as well, lol!

Though, when I practice repainting the same figure in my sketch book, like a person on a surfboard, I’m first trying to get the image to look decent 😊 and second seeing what surprises arise as I do each variation. These surprises are usually in the realm of posture or gesture suggesting some emotion or feeling, and those often become more important to me than accuracy to the original image (often a photo or old painting).

Similarly, I’m doing a short series of hearts I might offer closer to Valentines Day here locally, if anything’s open or available (if not, I’ll hold them for next year), and I’m seeing a similar lesson, but in slight variation.

Like my figure practice work, I need “something” that looks at least a little like a heart, lol! ❤️ Yet, I also want them slightly different from each other – in color, texturally, and in some intangible manner. What I’m finding with these is niche visual patterns I like and think work well yet are repeatable with variations. Some variation-ideas are presenting themselves to me slowly, with each new variation, suggesting shapes and forms I hadn’t contemplated to begin with at all! I’ll eventually show them later into February I think 😊

Now, with these two watercolor samples, themselves variations off a 2001 oil of mine, which is off a 2001 photo I took in Giverny, France, what’s emerging is something entirely different and unexpected.

From a probably predictable sense of boredom, repeating the same motif, I’m forced to improvise my technique to stay interested. I thought just switching from oil to watercolor alone would be enough. It’s not. And I still plan on doing a gouache (in-progress) and an acrylic! So we’ll see how far this goes.

But the interesting surprising thing to me is – as I loosen up more and more in implementation, I’m reminded of – visually and with memories – how I painted with oils in the early to mid 2000s.

Layering, scumbling, scrubbing, stabbing, layers over layers. Of bridges.

What’s different is, this time, I’m varying my images with varying mediums – watercolors, gouache, acrylics, and maybe even eventually oil.

I think, when I next post again in this little series, I’ll have my gouache, and it’s beginning to look more and more like Walking Bridge Zilker Park above, at least in terms of texture & expressiveness.

And I do think too, as I get past the rustiness of old painting habits + combine that with the innovations I’m discovering in all the above mediums I’ve been trying since oil, there may be some interesting pieces. I hope so anyway 😊

Plus, as per the tweet below, my digital image work off my originals will also give rise to new physical art work I can do. It’s a nice interactive loop —

And then, I believe, I’ll be ready to do something combining my new love of figure work, with new expressiveness particular to all these wonderful mediums now so abundantly available (in numbers of colors and forms, ie, brush pens, tubes, pans etc) not available to me even a couple decades ago.

It’s an exciting time to be creative I think 💕

Take care everyone, stay healthy!

Adan
This series – Monet’s Garden April Rain in Giverny –
https://felipeadanlerma.com/tag/monets-garden-april-rain-in-giverny/

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Direct link to the image in above tweet at Fine Art America –
https://felipeadan-lerma.pixels.com/featured/monets-garden-april-rain-in-giverny-watercolor-v1-digital-felipe-adan-lerma.html

Monet’s Garden, my Google search

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My Related Posts Here On My Blog

My Latest Posts On My Website!

• August 03, 2021 – Working a New 16×20 Acrylic, Working Title : Testing the Water, Refining the Figure, Developing the BackgroundAugust 3, 2021
  I wanted to do more on this but things are happening re Covid, in my life. I’ll have more on this very soon – nothing w/me or family here in Austin (despite horrid #s lately), but nearby, also here in Texas. Wonderful how fluid and flexible art is, giving us challenges one day, inspiration on another, and solace even when needed.
• August 02, 2021 – Prepping a New 16×20 Acrylic, Working Title : Testing the Water, 1st Figure Lay-inAugust 2, 2021
  I included my most recent updated image from a post a few days ago further below. Besides the figure work (not yet complete), you can see where I continued to rework the area around the figure, setting her off more completely.
• August 01, 2021 – Some Interruptions in Life are BlessingsAugust 1, 2021
  Just back from an incredible trip to the Galapagos west of Ecuador, wife & I got the opportunity to have the youngest grandchild over. This is from our mid-morning walk in warm dappled light ❤️ I only wish I’d realized the value of this with our own children more fully…
• July 31, 2021 – Prepping a New 16×20 Acrylic, Working Title : Testing the WaterJuly 31, 2021
  The initial goal was to simply select and mark the area for my figure. Then I freely applied Golden’s light molding paste, leaving the selected area for my figure much more level, and forming the paste into potentially vegetative designs as inspiration and malleable ground meshed —
• July 30, 2021 – What a Difference a New Keyboard Makes : LENRICH iPad pro 12.9 case with keyboardJuly 30, 2021
  This is an older now discontinued keyboard, but one of the few still available for my IPad Pro 2nd generation model (current model is 5th generation I believe), but I’m impressed with it enough to post about it and (if all continues well) my renewed ease of use not having to use the onscreen keyboard for blog posts, emails etc – that’s a big deal for me, lol! 😊
• July 29, 2021 – Whew! Yesterday Was a Day of Plowing Through, lol!July 29, 2021
  Above is a picture of me November 2019 (notice the weather is warm but hot, finally 😊) and I look just a bit worn out? I’d just climbed the 218 steps to top of Old Baldy near Wimberley Texas! That’s kinda how I felt yesterday, only without as nice a view, lol! I’ll just say that….
• July 28, 2021 – New 25×40 #Acrylic on Canvas In-Progress : Barton Springs Greenbelt Indian SummerJuly 28, 2021
  A chore heat filled day where my keyboard evidently is deciding it’s had it, lol! Hopefully I finish this post 😊 Basically I started the groundwork for my newest painting, acrylic, wanting to settle on my composition before hand, unlike how I handled my just finished watercolor, same size, where I inserted my figure at the end.

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Thanks again, everyone! 😊

Adan

Twitter / Instagram / FB @FelipeAdanLerma
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Fine Art America (FAA, Pixels) – https://felipeadan-lerma.pixels.com/