Amazing what a holiday can do for you!

A holiday with my husband and I return to my studio full of inspiration! It's not necessarily that this cobweb painting was something I witnessed while I was away (more of those paintings to come) it's just that a week of beautiful countryside, reading and quality time with my family has freed up my head.
This painting (w.i.p. above) was created while the lovely Wyndham Art Group visited my studio this week. A small group of very enthusiastic painters, they have a huge sense of fun and vitality and wanted to come along and paint with me for the day. Oh, such a chore!
Together we created this piece, concentrating on using a ruling pen with masking fluid for precision blocking out and combined it with very loose, dark washes to show off the pale areas when the making was removed. There were many in the group who really hadn't mastered masking (try saying that quickly) and it was a pleasure to help them overcome their problems and unleash them on the possibilities that masking out can reveal.
Below you will see a close up of where the masking was used for the cobweb to give a sense of a stained glass window when combined with my favourite Daniel Smith watercolours in Cobalt Violet, Green Gold, Prussian Blue and Lamp Black.
Do you enjoy masking or is it a technique that has eluded you so far? Let me know and I'll help where I can, have a great week everyone.