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WrendingRae — 2012: Grandmother
Published: 2012-07-03 23:48:43 +0000 UTC; Views: 1750; Favourites: 216; Downloads: 17
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Description
It was my grandmother's 80th birthday this past Sunday, so in celebration, I painted her a tiger (she loves tigers, and she loved the painting).
I tweaked the digital copy as best I could to reflect accurate colors, but computers just cannot do this painting justice. There is an almost ethereal vibrance to the colors of the original painting. It is one of those works that, even after you finish it, you just can't stop looking at it. I wish I could see it right now, but I am glad it is safe with my grandmother. :3
I'll upload some detail shots in a bit.
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This was a very special gift to a very special person on a very special day. DO NOT USE.
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Comments: 45
Lovely, with the tiger being moving by the tenderness & trust of the dove. Quite symbolic. The waterfall behind and the whole scenery is lovely!
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Thank you so much! Glad you caught the symbolism. My grandma loves tigers, and the symbol of the dove is especially important to her.
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Wow, a truly amazing piece! The water looks great.
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Thank you, Silver. I think the water is what gave me the biggest headache. I'm still not entirely happy with it, but these things take practice. ^_^
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You're welcome!! I think you should be very happy with it, it's amazing!!
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Simply amazing! Could you give me a tip or few on how to paint with watercolors?
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I am not good with -how- to paint tips, but I can give you some information.
Supplies are very important, of course. Painting is often very enjoyable with quality supplies, but that isn't always cost effective. Especially if you're just learning.
For paper, make sure you use something heavy and absorbent (like, you know, watercolor paper). 90lb watercolor paper is cheap and good for experimenting on, but it will warp horribly if you don't stretch it first (you can easily google how to stretch watercolor paper). Heavier papers (140lb and 300lb) are more warp-resistant, but also more expensive.
For paint, you could probably start experimenting with any ol' watercolor set. If you're serious about learning, though, Sakura Koi tube watercolors are extremely nice student-grade paints, and they are much cheaper than the professional stuff. I use these paints myself, but I'll be upgrading to professional paints as soon as I can. If those are too expensive, though, just work with whatever you have until you feel ready to make an bigger investment. :3
As far as brushes go, the cheap little plastic brushes that come with crayola watercolors probably aren't very useful (I always hated them, even as a kid), so if you can, I'd suggest picking-up a watercolor variety brush set (something with a couple of rounds and at least one flat brush). Make sure you do some online research on how to clean and care for your watercolor brushes.
Now to the actual sort of information you were probably looking for...
The following two links are ones I found useful when I started seriously painting. The second link (the one on color mixing) focuses on high quality paints, but the same basic color rules apply no matter what brand you use. See the rest of that site for other useful information, too!
Basic watercolor techniques: [link]
Color mixing: [link]
Hope that wasn't too long-winded, and I hope it helps! ^_^
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Thank-you! 
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This deviation has been featured here: [link]
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Thank you for the feature, and thanks for letting me know!
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Wow, the colours are so delicate and beautiful.
Really amazing job. The scene and style look like they have the perfect balance of style and realism!
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Thank you very much! I am glad the painting strikes such a balance. It is right around where I want my art to be.
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<3 Beautiful traditional piece. I really love how you did the trees in the background, as well as the water - the tiger and bird are gorgeous as well. I very much would love to learn how to paint like this, it just came out so well. :3
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Thank you, Kohu. The water was such a pain in the butt, lol. I wasn't 100% sure what I was doing as I painted it. Trying to include reflections, shadows, ripples, and suggest the color of the water all at once can make a yucky mess if one isn't careful. x.x
I am actaully working on a walk-through of my fox painting, so keep an eye out for that.
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It can be, it's difficult, and it's 100% more difficult if you're doing it in traditional media - you have so few chances to mess up. I think it came out gorgeously.
And awesome! ^^ I can't wait to see that.
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Wow, this painting is so beautiful ! I really love the warm colors and the tiger's stripes ! 
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I love the tiger stripes a lot, too, hee hee. ^_^ Thanks, Bumbee.
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It is very beautiful! I like the soft lines and the inviting colors. The whole thing looks very serene and peaceful.
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Thank you! I am glad you find the colors inviting. I don't think anyone's ever said that about anything I've ever done before. :3
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I'm surprised they haven't! You have a very good understanding of colors, what goes well together and how to combine them. It makes for such a pleasant effect.
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Thank you! I understood the basics of color for a while, but last year I had a class that was all about color. Since then, this year has pretty much been all about that, which is probably why I've been really interested in painting. Pigments in paint interact a little differently than digital color. They also act differently from light itself, so learning how to work with them has been a lot of fun.
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I just love color...I don't necessarily understand it, but I love it. I'm loving it even more as I experiment with watercolors.
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Yes, watercolors are a lot of fun. I loved to play with them, but trying to do anything intentionally was frustrating. It still is, but after watching a lot of videos and reading a lot of sites, things make more sense. ^_^
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Right now the videos and stuff confuse me since I'm at a very beginner level, so for now I'm just experimenting.
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What sorts of videos are you watching? How to do a whole painting, or videos on basic watercolor techniques?
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Mostly the basic watercolor techniques. Wet on wet, wet on dry, stuff like that. I'm finding that I can watch and read about painting, but the best way to learn is actually doing it and making mistakes.
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That is certainly true. ^_^ If you're up for it, I'd highly suggest leaning about the techniques mentioned here (if you haven't learned them already): Watercolor Techniques
I found their explanations to be pretty useful, myself.
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Thank you so much for the suggestion! I will look at those!
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Beautiful, I can only imagine what the original looks like^^
I love it
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Me too, lol. My grandmother lives an ocean away from me, so I doubt I'll get to see the work again anytime soon. XD
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Aww><
I think it's great that you did that for her, the love really shines through with the incredible detail and color
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Thank you, Aqui (again, lol). It means a lot to hear so.
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You're welcome^^ (again)
it's a magnificent piece
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Yeah - you painted this with love, and it shows :3
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Thank you so much, Pang! That makes me so happy to hear.
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