Coke Addiction 3 (AW-29)

22" x 15", watercolour, 2002, private collection

My next painting project (for this year's Prince Edward County Studio Tour) will be getting underway tonight, so I'm continuing with the figurative watercolour posts for now.

A key concern with this new project is maintaining the level of dynamic contrast I enjoy employing in my work. With watercolours, this involves leaving key areas of the white paper to be the brightest end on the Contrast Scale (let's call that level 1) and mixing blues and browns to get rich darks at the opposite end of the scale (let's call that 10). In between I can play around with all kinds of delicate glazes, showing off what the medium does best. AW-016 is another great example of my love of contrast (also featuring Ashley).

No mid-range-only wimpiness here.

The challenge with this new project, and hence my concern regarding sufficient contrast, is that I'll be using a new medium. I experimented last year with a test painting which turned out pretty well, but there were some issues when it came to getting severe darks from the medium. My new approach will involve a bit more science than last year...

And yes, that's the Coca-Cola logo in the background --chosen for it's colours and, quite honestly, brilliant design.

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The Naked Silo

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