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Put your hands up...

Hand Sketches-watercolor on paper 41 x 31 cm
I have been unable to post in a while. My kids are on summer break and there is a lot of activity in my house. Finding the time to paint in the summer is always close to impossible. My posts will be sporadic until September.

 I recently bought some paper from a local art store that only carried Cartiera Magnani paper. It is made in Florence and it is called "Portofino Acquerello". They have been making paper since 1404! The odd thing is, on the internet you can't find much information about this paper and the little I found were bad reviews. I thought the  DPW Painting challenge  would be a good way to try it out and see how it handles. I have never worked with hot press before so this is also new to me. This paper soaks up the pigment immediately no chance for any mistakes! A nice thing is I can achieve very dark darks which I have had a hard time with other papers, I always thought it was the paint. You can't rub any of the paint off the paper , no getting back the whites. I still have nineteen sheets to go so I can practice but I am finding it fustrating so far. 


 It is fun to practice painting hands, they can express so much. I've included some of my favorite hands in art history. Can anyone identify these artists?
Hands by the Masters

I hope you are all enjoying your summer so far, it is my favorite season. :-)
The most famous hands in art history, in my opinion!

Comments

  1. Quelle délicatesse... C'est vraiment magnifique, chère Celia.
    Je vous souhaite un bel été!
    Bises :)

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    1. merci Olivier, c'est toujours un plaisir de lire vos commentaires!

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  2. Celia, these are outstanding. Hands are not easy to do, especially in watercolor. BJ

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  3. Sentido y sensibilidad. Beautiful!!!

    Un abrazo, Celia.

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  4. Las manos son siempre difĂ­ciles de dibujar, añadirles color le da mĂ¡s complejidad... bonitas manos.
    Saludos.

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  5. Your "sketches" are incredible! Wow! I so admire your skill and expressiveness, Celia. I agree that Michelangelo's hands are truly the most memorable of all time. But yours are right up there too!

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    1. Your generosity is overwhelming Katherine! Thank you!

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  6. Is that Michelangelo's? I recall reading a bit on him after reading Dan Brown's Inferno. You have an amazing talent and I am sure you will soon have a painting you are happy with.

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    1. Hi Ramakant, thank you for stopping by and leaving such a nice comment! The bottom picture is Michelangelo's the Creation of Adam.

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  7. Your hands are all really great Celia, and to think you used such difficult paper ! Really great values and the veins in the first one made me think of my own hands LOL ! I am very ignorant about famous hand paintings, so I have no idea who could have painted these. xx

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    1. These are not my hands, Jane, mine would be too scary to show!:-[
      Thank you for stopping by and leaving such a nice comment!

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  8. Hello, Celia. Your hands are really beautiful ... very delicate, but with bone structure; the gestures are beautifully captured!
    Hm. Wild guesses: Top left, perhaps Raphael? Bottom left, I'm thinking Northern: Bosch, Breughal, Cranach?
    An interesting challenge: I look forward to finding out the answers!

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    1. Hi Laura, I was trying to focus on the gestures so I'm happy that is what comes across. I'll reveal the answers next post!

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  9. Great rendering of the hands Celia! Great gestures and movement! Also great skill!
    Glad to see you have a bit of time to paint and post!
    Hugs to you Celia!
    Michael

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    1. Hi Michael, thank you for taking the time to leave such a nice comment!

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  10. Ciao Celia,splendide le tue mani,hai lavorato bene,quella carta l'ho provata è molto difficile da usare,come hai detto tu non si puĂ² sbagliare,perĂ² è molto bella...per le mani famose credo la prima sia di un dipinto di Ingres e l'ultima di Sargent...credo...le altre due non me le ricordo....la terza sembra di un fiammingo....vabbè aspetterĂ² la soluzione:-)))
    Ciao,un abbraccio e felice settimana!

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    1. Ciao Franz,
      mi fa piacere sapere che anche tu hai provato la carta e hai avuto la stessa impressione: continuerĂ² quindi ad usarla! Grazie per il complimento, hai indovinato tutto, bravo!

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  11. Celia - for having trouble with the paper - you would never guess - the hands are excellent. I think one of the hands is from Michael Angelo's painting. Beautiful work my friend. Hope you have a happy summer with your kids.

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    1. Thanks Debbie, you are much too kind! I'm happy you are back!:-)

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  12. Un bellissimo lavoro. E' vero che le mani sono molto difficila da dipingere, ma tu ci sei riuscita benissimo

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  13. This is such a wonderful practice, Celia. I have found that painting hands is difficult...at least, I have problems with them. I recently went on "how to paint hands" on u-tube and it helped me (somewhat..LOL) but I guess all we need to do is practice!!! You did an amazing job with these hands!!!!

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    1. Thank you Hilda!! It's funny you mentioned it, because I found some great advice on drawing hands from You tube too!:) Thank you for stopping by!

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  14. Hi Celia,
    You did an amazing job on the hands - they are very expressive. I also loved seeing the famous hands in art history. I particularly love the one draped in pearls. I agree with your assessment of which is the most famous. Great post!
    I hope you enjoy the summer holidays with your kids.

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    1. Thank you Wendy, I appreciate your kind comment! I'm happy you enjoyed my post.

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