Pastels ? Guoache ?

Hi all , picked this up recently and don't really know what it is . I always have a hard time unless its oil ! Its 9x6 ,signed but I'll be damned if I know who , and any and all help is much appreciated .
PS...it was almost IMPOSSIBLE to photograph !

 

Surname looks like "Faith"

 

So that's photographed directly, not through any glass, right? It's kinda shiny, huh? So pastels are hardly ever fixed or sprayed to that extent of shine. Gouache can be so dependent on weird stuff people put into it as binder, but I think that's a possibility. I wouldn't rule out acrylics or oil, actually, those can be cut with oil or water, respectively, for a more water-colory effect, especially if sponges are used. I'm guessing you can smell that it isn't oils, assuming it's not tooooo old. Do you know how acrylics smell? If so you could try that, or even let a tiny bit of warm water touch an edge and then smell it, same with oil. If advertising it, I'd have to say I really wasn't sure of the medium, unless one of the options above gives it away.

I see the name as "something Faith"?

I would add that I think it is very, very pretty, and would be a nice addition to any number of décor options.

EDIT
Mr. Fun and I both saw "Faith"!

 

I think its like a gouache / watercolor mix . It photographed shiny , but its really not . Definitely not a print . Thanks for the lead , off to try " Faith " .

 

Good luck, Johnny... you inspired me to start a thread on identifying paint media!

 

Pictures really aren't sufficient to tell for sure. I think some kind of mixed media using watercolors and something else.

 

Hi,
I have a watercolor that someone sprayed with lacquer and it is very shiny like that. I took it to an art conservator and she said it could not be removed with damaging the watercolor. She suggested waxing it to cut down on the shine.
greg

 

That could be a mixed media piece. It almost looks like part of it was silk screened. The artist could have painted on a silk screened background or the reverse where a transparent color is screened over a painting or a combination of both.

Another possibility is the mono printing process. The artist paints on a piece of metal/glass, places the paper on top and runs it through the press. Usually, only once but the same paper can be used again to add other elements. The trick is to line up the paper.

Along the edge on the lower left corner of your close-up photograph, you can see where a layer was added that didn't go to the edge, the edge is darker. It looks like the top layer added is very transparent wash/layer. I also see a line on the right side running through where the orange was not completely covered with the transparent top layer.

Mixed media can be any combination of things, painting, printing, screening, pencil, pastel and collage or all of the above. Unless the artist describes the process, it's difficult to tell exactly what was done. But I vote some type of screening/printing/painting process combination on this one. JMHO.

 

That's what I call great detective work, Millsie!
Thanks!

 

I think your exactly right ! I noticed the sun felt raised , as well as the water felt layered ! Thank you so much Mill ! Still haven't found the artist ,and I do feel its a bit better than an amateur . But it could be a gifted artist who never got recognition I suppose .