“Benevolence Yet Breathes”

Massachusetts, 2023

Medium:
Surface:
Size:

Holbein Watercolor
Arches Cold Press, 300gsm
16x20 in

Benevolence Yet Breathes - Vextera, 2023

Benevolence Yet Breathes - Vextera, 2023

  • When malevolence chokes you, foul and dread,
    Please plant a seedling in my head
    And nurture every greenling thread—
    So benevolence breathes through me instead.

    —

    This painting is the first I made with the intention of documenting the process and making prints. This is also the first painting I completed after officially moving to Massachusetts.

Starting point! I sketched my design out then used light to trace it onto the watercolor paper. The yellow parts are masking fluid to protect the lighter areas.

Starting point! I sketched my design out then used light to trace it onto the watercolor paper. The yellow parts are masking fluid to protect the lighter areas.

I did a general wash in the background and started to lay out some colors. As you can see, the masking fluid did its job! I didn't have a solid plan for any of the finer plant detail work to start with.

I did a general wash in the background and started to lay out some colors. As you can see, the masking fluid did its job! I didn't have a solid plan for any of the finer plant detail work to start with.

Here I started building up the colors and values, and added some texture to the background wash. I liked the idea of having a soft sunshaft filtering through the trees to illuminate the focal point, so I chose the lighting with that in mind.

Here I started building up the colors and values, and added some texture to the background wash. I liked the idea of having a soft sunshaft filtering through the trees to illuminate the focal point, so I chose the lighting with that in mind.

Detail shot! I did the mushrooms before moving onto the skull. I knew they were going to have similar colors, so I used the mushrooms to test hue. The more I paint, the more I'm able to mix colors correctly on the first try.

Detail shot! I did the mushrooms before moving onto the skull. I knew they were going to have similar colors, so I used the mushrooms to test hue. The more I paint, the more I'm able to mix colors correctly on the first try.

The red is here! At this point, the focal element is more or less done, and we have a bit more detailing in the background. The whole composition still felt very empty to me though, so I had to brainstorm what I wanted to do about it.

The red is here! At this point, the focal element is more or less done, and we have a bit more detailing in the background. The whole composition still felt very empty to me though, so I had to brainstorm what I wanted to do about it.

The final progress photo! I decided on some nice ferns and other foliage to help frame the focus. I also added some finer details and the translucent drop shadow on the red plant. I boosted some of the contrast and added some more defined sunshafts b

The final progress photo! I decided on some nice ferns and other foliage to help frame the focus. I also added some finer details and the translucent drop shadow on the red plant. I boosted some of the contrast and added some more defined sunshafts before putting down the brush.

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Chewie