This Was a Challenge

I knew that when I chose this photograph for this week’s #brushobuddies inspiration, that it would be a challenge. Maybe not for everyone, there are so many talented artists in our Brusho Fun group. But certainly for me, this was a challenge. Here’s a look at the photograph, first.

CELEBRATION

Since it’s the first week of the new year, I chose this royalty free photo – I can’t remember if it was from Pixabay or Unsplash.

I liked the glittery streamer and gold in the background. The challenge for me was to capture that sparkle and create the dark background.

MY VERSION

First, I sketched out the glasses and champagne bottle on my watercolour paper. Next, I used a masking fluid pen for the gold streamer. Then I wet the background with clear water, avoiding the bottle.  I should have avoided the glasses as well! But hey – lesson learned, and hindsight is always 20/20, isn’t it?  I used Ultramarine for the background.. I should have mixed some black into it, for a deeper colour.

Next I painted the bottle with Black and Grey. For the band on the bottle neck, I used my silver Posca Paint Pen.  The Yellow Brusho wasn’t bright enough for the champagne, so I used my Brusho Gold SprinkleIT for it, the streamers and gold in the background.  The SprinkleIT is heavier than the regular Brusho crystals, and doesn’t work into a liquid state as well. This makes it a bit trickier to paint with; it’s more like ‘applying’ it, rather than painting with it.

ANOTHER LOOK

Here’s another look, below. I tried to capture the reflected light on the bottle by leaving the areas white, then applying a very light layer of Grey. Then I went over the outer top edge of the bottle with a white gel pen, for a bit more highlight.

If you squint your eyes, and look at it from a distance, it’s not too bad! LOL.  Well, I did admit that this painting was a challenge for me. But that’s what it’s all about – taking on a challenge to teach yourself something new, get out of your comfort zone and give it a try.

SUPPLIES

If you’d like to give this painting a try, I’ve linked the supplies in the list, below. If you’d like to join our Brusho Fun group on Facebook, we’d love to have you! CLICK HERE, and please be sure to answer the 3 simple questions, so that we know you’re not a ‘spam’ account.

Thanks for spending some time with me today! See you tomorrow.