Likeness and Freshness

I couldn't get my computer to log on to the internet yesterday but I got my stitching done.

Joanne at Journeys in Art posted interesting thoughts by Edgar Whitney on painting watercolor portraits.

Read the book here.

Whitney talks about the nature of watercolor as a medium and the need to avoid overworking. Freshness is the goal. Good advice for stitched portraits. A watercolor labored over loses freshness. But the other issue is likeness. How to get a likeness but maintain freshness. Whitney says it takes 5-6 attempts to get down the shapes/elements. After 4 or 5 studies he has the architecture down. To achieve freshness, he works quickly.