Yellow Contest: Market Lights in Tokyo

[noellesevilla]

"The color yellow is a mystical experience shared by everybody."

- Tom Stoppard

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This is my entry to @deemarshall's Yellow Contest, celebrating the color yellow. As promised, I FINALLY got around to joining a contest of hers! Check her page out, because it is always fun to join. 😍 I saw a lot of entries saturated by the color yellow, but I decided to submit something more subtle. At first glance, your eyes may be drawn to the bright red tarpaulins and dark blue sky, but after a while, you start to notice the yellow light coming from the market lanterns, complementing all the other colors in the picture.

This is how I chose to celebrate yellow in art: To show how this color brings to life everything else around it.

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Process: 🏮

Pencil sketch

The media used are Watercolor and Ink on Canson Watercolor Paper.

I started with a pencil sketch using my Staedtler mechanical pencil (very precise and eliminates the hassle of sharpening it so often). This scene is a combination of different market pictures that I put together.

First layer

I add the first layer of reds, yellows, and oranges.

I mostly use round watercolor brushes and switch between the sizes 2, 4, and 6. It is important that you put in all the light colors first, since the darker shades will be used for the other elements in the pictures later on, and light colors can't be added onto the darker ones once they have been added.

Artist Tip!

If you're not constantly broke like me, you can choose to invest in a masking fluid. This can be added with a paintbrush and protects any part of the paper you don't want to cover with paint. It has a slightly yellow tinge which helps you see where you applied it. The brand pictured here is Winsor & Newton. ^{(Source: https://www.amazon.com/Winsor-Newton-Masking-Fluid-75ml/dp/B005P1ROEY)}

Building layers

Darker shades are added, including navy blues, darker reds, and even black.

It takes all my patience to carefully add in all the colors, going around the yellow parts and trying not to paint over them. I layer on as much as I think is needed to get the right values. I usually don't keep track though.

Details

The last part is the details. I use a #2 brush to put in details like the Japanese characters on the stalls.

Another detail added here is the texture of the ground, achieved by dabbing a mostly dry round brush onto the paper to create a grainy appearance. I would add a cat later on, on the right side, because why not?

Don't forget to take a break!

I finished this painting in about two to three days, with many coffee breaks in between. ☕

I have since had this framed and it hangs by my Dad's little office space in our house.

I'm thinking of entering it in an exhibit or art sale soon. What do you guys think?

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Bonus (?)

There is another Japanese inspired painting hanging beside it, but I'll tell you guys about it another time. 😁

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You've reached the end of the post!

Thanks for viewing and I hope to post more on Steemit and make more art for contests. See you guys soon!

Comments

[cryptoandcoffee]

A great painting and a colorful one at that. I think you are very talented and maybe should start entering your paintings in exhibitions as people will buy them. Maybe leave that one for dad and do another one as I wouldn't want to sell that one.

[noellesevilla]

Thank you so much! 🙏 😄 I'm trying to complete enough good artworks so I can participate in some bazaars or art sales.

[lildebbiecakes]

This is so gorgeous @noellesevilla, definitely worthy of entering it in to an art exhibit for sale, yes absolutely! So long time no see! I’ve thought about you often
throughout these eighteen months I’ve been on Steemit. You where the first person that talked to me coming here. You where very nice and charming, and I soon fell in love with your artwork and your tremendous kindness my friend. I’m so glad to see you back here, I’ve missed you... here’s a hug ❣️

[noellesevilla]

Hello, hello Debbie! I had to step up my game when you posted your entry; it was so good (as always)! I'm grateful for all the support you've shown hugs back. Hopefully, I can post more soon.

[deemarshall]

Your work is spectacular, as always.

I enjoy your posts and have missed them.

Thank you for the tip about masking fluid.

[noellesevilla]

I'm grateful for your contests @deemarshall! Thank you for the kind words and please keep up the great work that you do, proud of you! ♥

[road2horizon]

hey @noellesevilla, great post!
your painting is beautiful !! it's really true: the yellow color embraces the whole design and gives it life, because light is life. so delicate in a daily scene of people in the market, like a sweet poem.
congratulations on your curie vote and thanks for sharing, keep it up

[noellesevilla]

Thank you so much for the kind words and positive feedback! 😘

[jacinta.sevilla]

Yayyyyyyyyyy she posted again!!!
Shared voted yayy

[noellesevilla]

Yussssss! Thank you Sent! Hehe

[curie]

Hi noellesevilla,

This post has been upvoted by the Curie community curation project and associated vote trail as exceptional content (human curated and reviewed). Have a great day :)

Visit curiesteem.com or join the Curie Discord community to learn more.

[noellesevilla]

Thank you so very much! 🙏

[jacinta.sevilla]

Excellent writing! :D

[angelro]

Art is always born out of heart, not every can do such stuff for sure and these are inborn talent and the way you made this blog looks really simple but quite understandable...

But I am sorry dear...I am not sure...but did you really meant this photograph for this contest.

your eyes may be drawn to the bright red tarpaulins and dark blue sky, but after a while, you start to notice the yellow light coming from the market lanterns, complementing all the other colors in the picture.

I can see blue sky little bit and red carpet too but doesn't seems that there is yellow lantern that is spreading over yellow light, is it invisible...

Sorry if I am mistaken and apologies..if so..

Nevertheless the art work is great

[noellesevilla]

Hello! That's true, you can't see the lanterns, though markets like these usually have them, which is why I assumed a lot of the yellow light comes from some lanterns nearby.. Thank you for your comment and for dropping by! 🙏

[angelro]

Thanks for the reply...Let me make some fun on it....hahah

Do you really believe people those who watch that photo would investigate their mind to realize that there was yellow light from near by shops and the photo have really yellow light for the contest... I dont thinks so...

You are smart enough to make it like that...

Cheers