Strawberries at Echenevex

Hummm! juicy and look real too.

Thanks very much Beatrice. They were also pretty sour at that stage!

Agree with Beatrice they look so yummy. Like the complicated ground work.

Thank you Carole. Learnt a painful lesson from the groundwork, which is that handmade paper doesn't take masking fluid well and therefore all that stuff had to be done manually!

I agree with Beatrice and Carole: this is a very good painting. I admire your patience on the painting of the foreground!!!

Thank you very much, Mia.

A very nice painting, it makes me want to try watercolour but I am still coming to grips with acrylics so it will have to wait a while, but I can still admire yours.

Thank you William! I'm sure your watercolors will be very successful once you start. Your acrylics base will serve you well and you look like you've already mastered that.

Great negative painting! Did you draw in all the grasses first? I have a super subect to paint with some fishing net in one part but am rather lost . Any advice please?

Hi Avril, thank you very much! Yes, I drew in most of the straws, which was hard work(!) although I improvised along the way. Not sure if you will find my advice helpful, but I always find negative painting difficult, so I try to give myself a headstart by drawing in some of the lines first. I lay a first light wash, varying the colors. Then I add a second intermediate wash for the negative space. Then I add the darkest layer for the corners, pushing out a third layer of straws from the intermediate wash. I used Two Rivers paper here, which helps, because I cheated by washing out some of the straws, and if you don't use staining colors, they come out easily on the paper, and the paper can handle a lot of washes. I hope this helps.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this long explanation. Obviously no short cuts so I'll have to be very patient and persevering..... a challenge.

I missed this one too. What patience you have to do all that negative painting. Is there any medium you are not proficient in?

Thank you very much, Diana! It wasn't so much patience as being caught in a position of not thinking ahead. After I started painting, I remembered that I could not use masking fluid on the handmade paper, so negative painting was the only route out of that one!

Having a little early morning browse and found this gem - it's such a lovely painting. You have drawn and rendered the straw and berries so well. I love the unripe white berry too. I shall have to go and have breakfast now !