This is the second 'After Sunset' painting, this time a watercolour.
I have used the same reference picture that was made by my husband when he was having a celebration in the city of Rotterdam. (see my previous post)
Of course there are differences compared to the 'white on black' painting, the used technique is very different and I really like to compare watercolour to one of the other techniques I use for painting or drawing.
This time the white of the paper still shines through my layers of dark blue for the clouds and the river. The city is painted in very thick paint, so there will be not much of a background colour visible.
The buildings were painted after I had made my clouds and river and I have been able to give them some more depth by adding some brushstrokes in another dark colour. The city lights are added between the layers of dark grey and sepia and the result is what I aimed for.
The differences in colour are not only explained by the difference in background, I also use a different set of watercolour paints when I am making a watercolour painting.
For this I am using Professional grade watercolours and for my 'white on black' paintings I am using a different palette with the white gouache on it so I cannot contaminate my other paints.
More information about this watercolour painting and the 'white on black' I am referring to can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com
A few months ago (last September) there was a celebration at my husband's work. The festivities lasted until late, very late at night and all took place in Rotterdam.
My husband had a great day of course, but he also found the time to make some beautiful pictures of the views he had from the Cruise Terminal, where the evening was spent.
He made pictures at the time of the sunset, some before and some after. The sky was beautiful and of course I had to paint this.
Usually I paint the night scenes on 'all black' paper using a mixture of white Gouache and watercolour paints and as much water as I think is possible.
The black paper still shines through the painted scene, just like the white paper does when I am making a pure watercolour painting.
This quality is what I like about this technique and it really adds to the atmosphere I want to paint.
There are some limits to this, the paint will not flow as beautifully as watercolour does on watercolour paper, so I have to follow the direction of the 'movement' in the clouds with my brush. No vertical lines to define the buildings, these will always be visible and look very unnatural in the clouds. The buildings are not painted, only the light windows.
I have thought about painting this scene in pure watercolour (on a white background) and now I am already planning this in my mind. Painting it will come later.
More information about this painting (materials used, size, availability, etc) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com
Hong Kong (by night) has been painted before and will be painted many times more.
Some years ago I made a watercolour showing a very, very rainy day and this time I used a nightly scene.
The reference pictures for both paintings were made by my son Martijn, who visited Hong Kong while he was in South Korea for an internship.
The pictures for this painting have been 'waiting to be painted' for almost four years now.
I am not very at ease with a cityscape but over the last few years I have painted them more often and I am learning to really appreciate them.
Working like this, with white gouache and mixing it with my watercolours is really fun for a change. I also have to work with a different painting technique so I learn a lot while working like this.
More information about this painting (and the watercolour I mentioned) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.co.nr
