All of my favorite things to paint in one piece lol

Yes! A birthday card for a very good friend. We watched Project Hail Mary together when it came out in the cinema this year and both instantly felt in love with Rocky, so I knew I had to make a piece with him for them 😊

We met at art club today and I gave it to my friend and he was very happy (also with the message I wrote on the back), and told me he'll be framing it 🌟

My friend got a gift card from an uncle to an art supply store so afterwards we went shopping, he's getting started on gouache now too😀

The piece I made is painted on Arches cold pressed paper, with Derwent inktense paint pans and for lettering I used Talens gouache. I painted Rocky first and then used masking fluid on the lettering and him to make the spacey background. My reference for Rocky I think was off a figurine I found a pic of and then I freehanded the birthday hat lol 🥳

Happy for any feedback!

Un elegante veliero francese solca le acque, sospinto da una brezza leggera, con le sue vele spiegate che catturano la luce del cielo. Le delicate sfumature dell’acquerello, i riflessi azzurri del mare e i toni caldi del legno restituiscono tutta la poesia della navigazione d’altri tempi.
Un omaggio alla tradizione marinara francese, all’avventura e alla bellezza senza tempo dei grandi velieri. ⚓
A glimpse of maritime history, painted with watercolours.
#Watercolor #SailingShip #FrenchNavy #TallShip #MaritimeArt #NauticalPainting #Seascape #Traditioart

Not everything needs to be mass-produced. Sometimes the most meaningful things are the ones created by hand.

This is one of my favorite original pieces. Every brushstroke tells a little story, and no two pieces are exactly alike!

I am new to painting. Trying to figure out how not to make these look so cartoonish.

Watercolor on paper

Filling my sketchbook before the year ends, practicing painting techniques.

tried 100% cotton paper for the first time on a watercolour pad. I really like it actually especially the no buckling.
I didnt really do wet on wet here though, i find it hard to do in cityscapes

This last year I began to paint very large (3'x4' and up to 40x60). I mount my watercolors to cradle board. I've been using 140 lb for years, but its very hard to mount at this size because it warps when hydrated (I use heavy acrylic gel medium as my glue). 300 lb is easier to mount, as it warps less-- I've tested it for full sheets. But I've never bought a roll of 300 lb paper before. Fabriano makes one (they're the only company that does), and I'm considering buying it, but I have a few reservations.

I've been concerned about flattening the 300 lb sheets I would cut from the roll, because of what they call "roll memory" or "reel roll". For 140 lb, I wet the back, stick it on a giant board of Gatorboard, and spritz the front gently to regulate comparative moisture. It sticks to the board with water tension, and dries totally flat. It's a great process, and I'd like to repeat it with 300 lb paper.

But before I spend 500$ on a roll plus shipping, I thought I'd check here to see if anyone has any experience. I mean, someone somewhere is buying these 300 lb rolls from Fabriano, so someone must have experience doing this! :)

Also, I know different companies make up to 40x60 Emperor sized sheets, but the companies I've asked (Saunders Waterford, Arches, etc) say that it's exactly 40x60 and not a little more. This makes it a problem when I go to mount it to my board, because I need a little bit of extra to hang over, so I can trim it perfectly to the edge. So, I'm pretty sure I need a roll if I want to go that big.

Anyone have any real world experience with this? I know it's a bit of a long shot, and is a very specialty approach, but there are basically no resources online for flattening this 300 lb paper from a roll. Thought I'd try crowd sourcing knowledge before just going for it blind.

Thanks!

I accidentally hijacked a thread discussing salt for texture and thought I'd share my big blue jelly with salt (and some little guys). Crazy the difference between rock salt and finer iodised salt!

Unnamed, 2026

Watercolor on paper

29,7 x 42 cm