This week I decided to get a bit rusty. As my friend and watercolor coach said, “Of course, every watercolor artist loves to paint rust and old wood.”
There’s just something about how rusty metal and old wood seem to inspire me to paint and sketch. Maybe it’s because I’m a history enthusiast and seeing old things rotting and rusting away makes me want to wish those old items could talk and tell their stories.
Take the Blue-Green Door here for example. This photograph was taken by a fellow I follow on FaceBook who goes by Finius the Skinniest on Quartzite Happenings.
In his photograph, all the rust is on the ring and lock. The door itself is old, worn, and weathered and reminds me of the doors I’ve seen in old mining towns in Arizona. I think the word that best describes the door and lock is “character”.
This was my first try at rust and I watched a couple of videos to get an idea of what pigments to use. On this one, as well as the next one I used Daniel Smith paints and worked with a couple of my favorites. On Blue-Green Door I used Phthalo Turquoise and Viridian Green for the door and Quinacridone Gold and Burnt Sienna for the rust.
You’ll also notice I didn’t paint in the leaves although I was tempted. Maybe I’ll include them next time.
A Bit Rusty Again
Friday was Nan Henke’s day to docent at the Fredericksburg Art Guild. When she docents she invites previous students to come over for an open studio to paint with her while art lovers come in and browse pieces on display by local talent.
I had to come up with something to paint so after reading your compliments on Instagram concerning Blue-Green Door I decided to paint another rusty lock this time one I found on a license free website. The challenge here would be to use a “limited palette” as I was working with my travel bag.
The colors on this painting were pretty simple Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Payne’s Gray, and a bit of Ultramarine Blue and New Gamboge. All colors in my mini-palette.
I used Yellow Ochre and Ultramarine Blue for the weathered planks. A bit of Payne’s Gray in the right spots and Burnt Sienna and we’ve added depth to the planks.
Rust was a combination of New Gamboge and Burnt Sienna. I really liked the orange rust it gave me and I could deepen it a bit by adding a bit more Burnt Sienna. When I say rust, I mean the rust both on the lock and the planks. The more yellowish hues come from lightening the rust with more of the yellow in the New Gamboge.
As you can see in the photograph Castle Lock this is a bright photo with deep shadows. Shadowing was pretty much accomplished with the Payne Gray.
Looking at the photograph now, however, I think my next attempt will be to go a bit closer to red on the rust. I also want to look into some texturing for both the wood and the lock to rough them up a bit.
Like Nan said, “What watercolor artist doesn’t like rust”? I know I like it and am looking forward to photographing more old barns, fences, etc. on our travels so I can practice being a bit rusty.
I hope y’all have a great week. Now go make some art!
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