This is the last step - almost. I have built the whole painting up to a level of completion I am happy with. The values match, and the colors are good. I finish it off with what I like to call dots and dashes. These are strong marks of almost pure color that add detail without drawing attention to themselves. I say I am almost done, because in a few days or weeks, I will look at the finished paintings with a fresh eye and see if there is anything else I need to do, or areas that need a little more attention. As I am writing this, I do see a few areas that could use a little more definition, so I’ll get to those, but basically the painting is done.
Since it was painted on such heavy paper, I didn’t have to tape down the edges, and was able to paint on the whole sheet. This will allow me to have the painting “float” in the frame, showind the deckled edges. It is a nice way to present an original watercolor painting. I’ll put it in a 30 x 40” frame, and have it float over some canvas. It’ll look awesome.