Chocolate At Last

Starting to shine.

Deep dusky truffle .

A glimmer of gloss.

Almost there.

Rarely have I shown this kind of step by step in watercolor. And it seems funny to show an unfinished watercolor, but here we are. Many steps along the way. I held my breath yesterday when I added the sepia wash over the two layers of color on that dark left hand box. It goes on much darker. Will the layers show through? Well, look. Beneath the sepia that green and purple are hidden, but they are the cause of the glow. And the "red" top to it is actually a mixture of brown and a red violet wash over the magenta and cobalt violet. That makes the top and bottom both related yet contrasted. And there's depth. Look at the reflection.

I couldn't wait any longer to go into the chocolates. The ones inside the box still have some finishing to go. You can see I am using warms and cools. But there in the front, we have a 5 inch or more puddle of wet in wet sepia truffle. There are hints of some local color within it. And it waits for its raspberry stripe. That was water laid down and tube color added to disperse, just gentle guidance. Like playing in a creek.

On top of the golden box, the shadows beckoned and that sharp shaped bon bon said paint me, paint me. Those shadows are part of a flow down the front of the brighter box, through the seal, and the shadows that will be painted below that. Analogous yes, but look at what they can do with just a subtle shift of hue. Yes, all yellows and cadmium orange, some violets, some green. Secondary harmonies. Each color is found elsewhere in the painting, too, so again, related, but contrasted and shifted into another context.

More, there's just a bit more to do. Golden washes, more chocolate, and that dark background which should shift the colors again. But here you have us where we are. With the shimmer beginning to fall into place. And chocolates asking for their own kind of browns. And me wondering if that dark I thought I would do is the right dark to make it all pop. We will see, won't we?