Watercolor and ink on 9X12 140 lb cold press paper
When I saw this wine bottle on the store shelf, I knew I had to at least try to paint it. How could I resist? So fun and colorful and full of tiny details. Well, there were quite a few times when I almost just gave up thinking I had taken on too much. There were details on the label that I hadn't even noticed until I started to paint! The artist that designed this label is so talented. As usual, when I took a few steps back from the watercolor, I liked it more than up close. I need to do that more often- when we paint we are too close to the painting to really look at it. I left out a few of the tiniest details and that was the key- knowing when to stop. I did decide to add the wine glass when I was finished with the bottle and it seemed to need something else. When I added the ink outlining (on the label) with my rapidograph, it really helped make the details stand out.
This was one of those times that leaving the background white seemed right to me so I just added the shadows.
I forgot to mention the bonus- the wine IN the bottle was really quite good. I was buying the bottle anyway- it wasn't the least bit important to me how good the wine was. Sometimes, it is just about the label. The cork was even worthy of painting, with the elephant on the end!
