abstract goldfish by negative painting

 

watercolour goldfish using negative painting

Near my house there's an historic lavadero - an very old laundry area and a natural spring. The big, old wash tub is now a beautiful pond under some huge plane trees. Someone put some goldfish in the pond a few years ago and they've multiplied and grown. I love to go sit and watch them. Its calming and meditative.

When I thought about painting the fish, I had a number of ideas. One thing I really wanted recreate while painting was the peace and meditation they make me feel. Painting abstracts can feel like this, so does painting vibrant colours and wet-in-wet washes.

In this lesson we explore the concept of negative painting. This is when we don't paint the objects themselves (the positive shapes), but the shapes behind them (negative shapes). Painting the background shape reveals the object.

Painting in this was is very absorbing. It's almost like a building a puzzle. And it creates paintings with a lovely sense of depth.

Happy painting!

Find the full step by step tutorial on Patreon and Renee's Studio : www.walden.co.nz/learn