WATERCOLOR PAINTING IN PRACTICE

painting a snowy landscape in watercolors

the scale of broken colors, and their cold
feeling in this watercolor, are the product of a
mixture of dark sepia and ultramarine blue,
which gives a basic neutral gray that can be
altered (as it has been) by mixing with carmine,
ochre, emerald green, and Prussian blue,
in order to obtain the different colors and
nuances visible in my interpretation of the
scene. For example, the sky was painted with
the two basic colors mentioned above— ultra-
marine blue and dark sepia— by adding carmine
a little bit a time, using a lot of water, of
course.

431
/ customarily test color mixtures on a
separate piece of paper, or in the margins
of the painting itself, as you will see I am
doing in fig. 436.

1 begin painting the sky with the color men-

tioned above, applying it to the group of houses,

the mountains, and the sky itself, painting with

the tablet of paper turned upside down (fig.
437) in order to achieve a wash that builds up
color in the higher part of the sky and leaves
the horizon slightly lighter. While the wash is 437 438
still damp, I "draw" some white clouds with a

paper towel by pressing on the area of the 436-

Fig 1 select from the sam-
horizon and removing color. Without waiting ples of colors in the white ena-

for the sky wash to dry completely, I rapidly meled palette, but before ac-
tually painting check the col-
it I

paint the mountains with a darker gray-blue or on a separate paper or in

wash, consistent in color but softened and the margin of the paper on
which am going to paint the
diffused at the edges with a clean brush. This
I

watercolor. as you can see in

wash extends to the group of houses and to this picture

the village. On the edge of the house at the left

hand side of the village, I "open up" a light
spot like a cloud of smoke, using a small stick
with a cotton swab on the end (of course, the
cotton absorbs the water, and with it, the
color: fig. 439). Now I must wait until the Fig. 437— To paint an even col-
ored sky. one trick is to turn
second wash— for the mountains and houses the board upside down.
439
—dries I speed up the drying by using a hair
Fig. 439-Now with a small
dryer, and then begin painting the houses, stick with a swab of cotton on
the end, I absorb color and
open up bright areas like clouds
ofsmoke on the top edge of
the houses.

Fig. 438- When the gray of the

sky has still not completely
dried. I paint the darker gray of
the hills with which also cover I

the forms of the houses and

the town

180
 WATERCOLOR PAINTING IN PRACTICE

fences, and yards of the village, with different I paint with this technique in the areas men-
nuances and with similar but diverse colors. I tioned above (testing it on a separate piece

continue to use dark sepia mixed with ultra-
marine blue as the base, varying the amounts
and proportions to obtain grays which are either
bluer, darker, or more neutral, without forget-
ting the possibility— the necessity— of bringing
into play the ochre, carmine, Prussian and
cobalt blue tones. I paint the doors and win-
dows of the houses without outlining, without
too much fuss, and call this second stage over.
of paper order to know how much to
first, in
dampen or dry the brush), controlling the dry
brushstrokes with light and precise dabs of the
paper towel, pressing and absorbing color,
blending more or less, etc. Then I use the
blue-gray mixture to paint the shadows of the
trees and the graduation of this same color
which appears on the right hand side, as well
as the shadow of the ridge, always using the
dry brush technique (fig. 441).

In a watercolor such as this one— but ac-

tually in all watercolors— which uses a
scale of colors with a notable blue-gray
tendency, the artist must always feel the
need to enrich the colors, painting with
different paints and different nuances,
trying to attain a tonal unity within the
variety of colors and nuances.

Third stage: resolving the uneven ridge in the

center (Fig. 441)
First I paint the trees, starting with the trunks,
using dark Sienna and a little blue, finishing
the fan-like branches afterward with a no. 6
sable brush and controlling the intensity with
light,absorbent touches of the paper towel.
Next, I turn my attention to the shadows in the
gulley and the gray-blue shadow on the ridge
or uneven land next to the gulley, where the
long shadows of the trees also appear. I made
this gray-blue color by first mixing a base of
Sienna and ultramarine blue, and then adding
cobalt blue and a pinch of carmine. I will paint
the upper edges of these bands with the frottis
or dry brush technique.

The frottis or dry brush technique—also called

"scumbling"-(flg. 245-247) demands constant
tests, carried out on separate paper of the same
quality and grain as the paper being used for
the painting. Naturally this technique cannot >

be used on recently painted, damp surfaces.

440

Fig. 440-ln this second stage

it is possible to see the need to
diversify the color, particularly
on the fronts and roofs of the
houses, on the land, and on
the fences. This diversity, which
is always a good idea, is partic-

ularly necessary when, as in

this case, the subject suggests
a marked gray tendency.

181
 WATERCOLOR PAINTING IN PRACTICE

painting a snowy landscape in watercolors

Fig. 441 -It is important to paint
\. f
straight off. without stressing
anything, trying to achieve suc-
cess with the first application
and brushing without fear. This i
also involves the technique
known as scumbling or dry
— :
-
%

brush, which makes possible it

to blend with mimscule dots or

spots caused by the rubbing of
the half-dry brush on the grain
of the paper. The success of
this technique depends largely
on trying the effect out on a
separate piece of paper first,
&**
and on working carefully with
the blotting paper to eliminate
or remove color if necesarry. IB^^^^^H
%

'•';•

441

Fourth stage: finishing the gulley and resolving First I wrap the eraser end of a pencil with a
the foreground (Fig. 447) piece of sandpaper, then I energetically rub
To finish off the middleground of the gulley, the area just above and beyond the limit of the
I paint in the interior with grays, Siennas, and area mentioned above, in a movement parallel
blues corresponding to the rocks and clods of to that area. This "opens" and widens the
earth not covered with snow, the bushes and white area. Afterward I clean the area with my
clumps of grass, etc. This is a laborious task eraser (fig. 442, 443). Then I touch up this new,
1
calling for a fine brush, but there is still room "open '
area and blend it in.

for interpretation and

sythesis. But, hey! Wait I begin now to paint the wall of the lower
a minute! The crest
of the ridge, at the edge of right-hand side, as well as the snow on the
the blue band, seems poorly explained and land in the foreground, resolving them
left

narrow. It would be better if I could extend it, with the dry brush technique. Attention should
and I will, using the sandpaper technique. be paid to the direction of the brushstrokes

182