WATERCOLOR PAINTING IN PRACTICE

painting an illustration in watercolors

Fig. 426— Here is a curious
anecdote connection with
in

this picture. Maria Rius had not

planned to paint the white foam
on the peaks of the waves
Something unexpected hap-
pened: on finishing the last of
these blends, Maria forgot to
dry the edge of the stencil, and
when she lifted it, seeing these
small stains as dots on the crest
of the second wave (see them
in fig.424), she was desper-
ate. 'The whole job wasted,"
she exclaimed aloud. But at that
moment she found a solution
and said smiling, happily,
"Good, shall paint the foam of
I

the sea waves. remember the I

master Corot, who said that

when painting there is always,
m addition, happy acci-
'the
dent' which sometimes brings
about a change, an idea which
"
enriches the painting

426

the skin and dress, Maria uses the same tech-
nique she will later apply to the sea-gulls, and
earlier used to create the bushes and trees at
the bottom of the painting. This is how it
works: Maria applies a layer of watercolor.
Almost immediately after she partially removes
the color by blotting the area with absor-
bent paper. She applies a new coat and blots
again, over and over, until she gets the desired
intensity. At the same time she is modeling
the figure, shaping the form with contrasts of
light and shadow. This procedure reminds me
of the method employed by the old masters of
oil painting, the Flemish and Renaissance
artists, who painted with fine transparent
glazes, one layeron top of another, achieving
a transparent, even finish.

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 WATERCOLOR PAINTING IN PRACTICE

Figs. 427. 428- The final stage

in illustration is finishing up. ad-
. justing, profiling, touching up,
completing. The technique of
Maria Rius. and of many con-
temporary illustrators, involves

applying liquid watercolor

glazes, using colored pencils
(Caran D'Ache brand) to shape
volume and heighten color and
using a hard 4H grading pencil
to accentuate forms, graying
and toning down areas with
extremely fine twirls invisible
to the naked eye

T
-•
Oty'

427

Fourth stage: the finishing touches (Figs. 427 noticeable at first which will give
glance, but
and 428) the illustration a warm pebbled texture
finely
In this figure and the next, we view the last when it is reduced for reproduction in a book.
stage, realized with a procedure that is truly With the lead pencil and color pencils, Maria
unique: the intermingling of three mediums Rius models and completes the hair. She draws
—watercolor, lead pencil, and color pencils. the features of the face, she models the delicate
With these tools the artist models the forms, folds of the dress, the girl's hands and feet,
and strengthens contours. Both the lead pencil and gives volume to the swallows... All a diffi-
—4H, which happens to be a very hard pencil cult task, requiring technique, craftmanship,
—and the color pencils, will create subtle gray and creativity.
hues, applied in minuscule strokes, dots, hardly

175
 WATERCOLOR PAINTING IN PRACTICE

painting an illustration in watercolors

-•

176