Every year I spend a few afternoons painting pumpkins. This guides me into the season of fall, which is needed when our temperatures really haven't changed.
It still feels like summer here and I thought this exercise would get me in the fall mood.
I went for soft colors with the idea to just focus on blending. This has become a great way to relax and the music playing in the background which is always important was...
I was introduced years ago by my brother, he had an impressive collection of LP's. Everything from hard rock to well, Melissa Manchester.
Soft Blending with Silver Brushes
To begin, I used my favorite materials from Silver Brush. These brushes are a game changer and don't let the price scare you off.
I started with a three pack several years ago and I'm still using those same brushes. I have since added a few more and I love the results.
Silver Brush has created a design like no other, a comfortable fit while gliding with little effort.
My preferred painting style with these brushes is dry and then add water. For me, this offers a more relaxed painting environment.
Keep in mind these pumpkins paintings are practice pieces and I used my Black Velvet Dagger Stripe brush in this piece.
All of my brushes can be found here in my favorites.
This pumpkin was a lot of fun, I love how everything blended and the cauliflowers made this painting.
Soft and Darker Blending Pumpkins
Even though I prefer the lighter and soft colors I do recognize that over time watercolor fades and it's important to paint darker. This means more layering which I tend to dislike.
This approach offers a heavy appearance which can sometimes be good but not always. This painting wasn't a favorite but I do like the color blending that took place towards the bottom.
The simplicity and burst of light that filtered through made it worth sharing.
Back to Softness & Blending
With this approach I went back to lighter colors for continued softness and blending. The shades of blue added a sense of surprise and there was a bit more layering than I desire but it seems to work.
The point of this was to practice because you can never get enough of it. There is so much you can learn about your own creativity by playing with paint with no pressure to perform.
For me it's just a fun afternoon where paint, paper, some grand brushes and good tunes connected.
I hope to have encouraged you to give this a try. Take the time, just an hour and see what soft watercolor blending with pumpkins might look like to you.
Let me know, I would love to see what you create, just tag me on Instagram.
Now as much fun as this was, I must return to painting something that has been pulling at my heart.
Encouraging goodness,
Carole West
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