Techniques for still-life textures

Follow these steps...

1
To get started, I sketched
out the flowers and jar with
a green water-soluble pencil,
and added a loose wash in
watercolour. It is a good idea to
completely eliminate the white
of the paper at this stage, as
small parts peeking through can
disrupt the textures and
patterns in later stages.

2
Here the leaf shapes
have been added using
Flowers watercolour mixed with
gouache. Shape can help convey
FLOWERS COME IN MANY different shapes and sizes. This texture and structure; even at
simple bouquet shows a variety of larger, floppier petals and this stage, the difference Techniques for
stiffer small ones. The yellow roses and pink dianthuses have between delicate stalks, thicker
flat petals, whilst the blue irises curl in on themselves, even stems, and flat leaves is fairly still-life textures
crinkling at the edge in places. apparent. Another layer of the
One challenge of conveying the feel of petals is how thin and background black has been
delicate that are. Each petal has very little thickness, so lateral, applied to define the shapes of
form-sculpting marks are of little use. It is better to make marks the bouquet as well.
in the petal’s growth direction – this is especially effective when
a petal bends over on itself.

3 4 5
Like the leaves, it is important to Here, the light areas have been Watercolour pencils have been used
define the silhouettes of the flowers added using gouache mixed with to add some extra textural details,
before adding details. The fine little watercolour. The reflections on the jar including some indication of the veins
petals of the alliums are already different to indicate the glass, whilst light helps define on the irises and dianthus flowers – these
the larger, curving ones of the irises and the leaves and petals. The thin, delicate tend to radiate from the centre along the
roses. Petals are very thin and flexible, but structure of the petals is more obvious, petal to the edge. Gouache was also used to
are also light, so they are more self- especially where the petals fold over on further refine shapes, such as on the roses,
supporting than fabric, for example. themselves, like on the irises. and push the lighter tones on the alliums.

47
Develop skills
Bitesize
Whether you have half an hour or an afternoon to spare, follow these
quick, simple and fun tips and start experimenting with your art today
STEVEN HUGHES
Michigan, USA
Steven is associate professor
of illustration at Northern
Michigan University. His
paintings and illustrations
have been featured in many
exhibitions and publications
including the New York Times.
primaryhughes.com
1
Block out key shapes
Starting with a layout drawing, I loosely
identify the big shapes using straight
lines. In the next step the subject will be
reduced in value to just black and just white.
In order to plan for the difference between
dark and light, or as the Japanese refer to it,
‘notan’, I think of a greyscale and split it in
half. Everywhere in the subject that is a 50%
grey or lighter will be left white. Conversely,
anything darker than 50% is represented as
black. So, in this step I’m beginning to
identify that line of separation on the forms
or between elements.
48
Designing compositions with limited values
ONE OF the most difficult parts of
working in colour is controlling the value
contrast, because it’s so easy to be
seduced by the hue and saturation of the
subject or paint. That’s why studying the
pattern of light and dark in the early
stages of a new composition is essential
to a successful final piece. Simplifying
your subject matter into two, three, and
four values establishes a strong
understanding of the compositional
balance and heightens the awareness of
low contrast areas that may need to be
reconsidered. Personal preference
should dictate the choice of black and
white media that is used to develop these
value plans. The sketches can be highly
refined, or quick shorthand notations as
thumbnails. Grey and black markers, ink
wash, digital media and charcoal are all
excellent media to lay down values
quickly, but I prefer graphite for the more
developed work shown. The extra effort
needed to layer the pencils and create
the values allows more time to assess the
image and walk through the stages in a
way that is similar to how I would paint. It
comes down to a personal preference; if
you find an approach that feels right, then
it’s more likely to become routine.
2
Two-value
approach
Leaving the white
untouched, it’s time to fill in
the black. I lay down the
graphite in layers with 6B,
4B, and 2B rather than using
heavy pressure with one
pencil, so that I can search
out the right shapes and
refine the edges. If the
balance of the composition
suffers from a pure black and
white interpretation, I can
make adjustments to it
before moving to the final.