Step-by-Step Watercolour Painting - Part 4

This is Part 4 of my watercolour painting. I have been photographing each stage to show the development of a watercolour painting step-by-step.  You can click on these links to see Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3

Figure 16

Figure 17

In these photos, I am starting to put in the washes for the bowl - very nerve racking, as I am quite happy with how the bugs have turned out, and don't want to mess up at this stage!


In a perfect world, I would have used masking fluid on the bugs and on all the little openings in the bowl, laid over a perfect wash, removed the masking fluid and then painted the bugs at the end - a bit late now.  So the wash is a bitty affair as I try to get around all of the details.  I have never had much success with masking fluid on watercolour paper, I find it tears the surface a bit - pity, because it is such a great idea.  If anyone can tell me what I am doing wrong with the stuff, I would love to know!


I have a terrible habit of leaving the backgrounds until the end, and getting myself into all sorts of trouble - don't do what I have done - paint from the back to the front, it's good advice!


That said, I quite like the backruns in the wash, and truthfully, am over the moon that the painting is working at all!


The legs of the ladybird have bled a bit into the background - the fault of the gum arabic, I think.  They will need to be touched up at the end.  The gum arabic has given the paint a wonderful sheen - I love it - quite unlike the surface of a watercolour painting - I am planning on glazing a thin layer over the whole painting at the end.


Can't wait to see how it all turns out! (See the finished work here.)