Watercolors by Celia Blanco

 I started this painting to experiment with texture creation. I first poured a diluted wash of yellow and blue onto the paper. It was raining, I let the rain fall onto the paper. I then poured salt onto the wash to see what would happen and I laid down different items onto to the paper to create patterns. I exposed it to the outdoors on a table for about a day and a half to dry. I drew the eggs and then masked them out while I worked the background. Next, I painted the eggs and finished off  the grass by adding more splashes of color. I used dental floss and a hair comb to create the "blades of grass" effect. All in all, I'm happy enough with the finished painting to share it with you! "Egg Hunt" watercolor on paper 11.5" x 8"/ 29 x 20 cm Best wis hes of serenity and happiness to everyone! work in progress pictures

"Lily" watercolor on paper 10" x 7"/ 25 x 18cm.     SOLD   Imagine the delight to discover this flower growing in your garden. I painted this from a reference photo, once again inspiration was provided by the Wet Canvas image library. I am trying to work on loosening up my edges more, but it's not as simple as I would hope it to be.  Spring is here, spring is not here - the weather doesn't make up its mind and I have a terrible cold to boot!  I wish everyone a happy Monday!

"White Roses" watercolor on paper  10" x 7"/ 25 x 18 I have been struggling with flowers. I started a painting last week which wasn't working out and ended throwing it away. There was too much going on and no inspiration. It's also a  nice feeling sometimes to be able to separate oneself from what we are creating and have the courage to start over. Next, I chose this image for its monotone color palette, attempting to simplify things for myself.  I've been noticing that I get more hues when I use less colors in my palette. Funny! I think it's the magic of watercolor. Gratitude goes to the fantastic free image library at Wet Canvas where I found this photo reference to work with. Today we celebrate Father's Day here in Italy. It's celebrated on the Feast of St. Joseph. I wish everyone, especially all the fathers and Joseph's out there a special day!

"Poppies alla Jan Kunz" watercolor on paper 11.5 x 8 inches / 29 x 20 cm.    work in progress, developing the flower shapes and adding detail my wash drying  I  recently acquired a copy of  Jan Kunz's   watercolor art book "Painting Watercolor Florals that Glow" . I've been pouring over the abundant, valuable information she offers: she is an excellent teacher. I have followed up with an attempt at one of her demonstration paintings which can be found at the end of the book. This excercise contemplates "discovering shapes within the composition." It means trying to pull out shapes in a background, in this case leaves and stems within a charged wash in the watercolor. She provides step by step instructions on how she approached this particular task. It was a huge challenge to attempt to emulate her work - mainly because I wished my painting to look somewhat like hers, I felt discouraged when it did not. At her suggestion, my palette was...

"Here Comes the Sun" watercolor on paper 11" x 15" / 28 x 38 cm. I took the photo in December, the sun just couldn't manage to stick around for long. It must have been around 3pm, the sun was already setting. I was hiking in the Monti Simbruini mountain range, in central Italy even though it looks like it could be anywhere in the world.  These mountains are a beautiful protected area and great place to enjoy the peaceful sounds of nature, healthy air and sun. I wish everyone a great weekend and many thanks for the attention!