Xeroxed

"Xeroxed" photo & detail of watercolor on paper, c. 2013 Tina M. Welter

If you have ever wondered if an artist can exactly duplicate a painting that they have created, then you are in luck, because I am showing a little example of my own exploration into this question.

I wanted to send two thank-you watercolor cards and to "save time" I thought I would try using the exact same reference photo.  The original rose photo is from morguefile.com, a great reference library with images artists can use for free.  My thanks to photographer Cohdra.

I transferred my line drawing onto both cards with tracing paper, so the images were both the same to start.  I started out with the usual light shades first, reserving the white highlights.  The first card, I was thinking more about the dark background.  The second card, I decided I wanted it lighter.  I liked the rose in the first card and tried to repeat it exactly in the second, but I don't think I succeeded in an exact match.  I just realized that I actually deleted a whole leaf on the second card!  Talk about mind tricks.

I think both cards are successful and I had a hard time deciding which I liked better.  Perhaps with oil paint I could be more exact, but it wasn't easy for me to do an exact copy with watercolor paints.