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    31 views148 pages

    Various Authors - Exploring Watercolor Step by Step Basics

    Uploaded by

    ElsonB

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 148
    \ or STEP BY STEP, Contents Antreduction Exrtomine WareRcocour 1 Materials axed Equipment 2 Rasie Watercolour Techniques 3 Paint 4 Separating Tone and Colour 5 Exploring Colour 6 Building Up a Painting 7 Creative Composition 8 Wetin-wet Techniques ‘in Moniarome Evotvine Your Own Styur 9 Sketching with a Purpose 10 Drawing and Perspective 1 Simplifying the Landscape 12 Planning a Painting 13. Rescuing Watercolours FeAruRes OF tHe LaNDSC 14 Painting Interesting Skies 15° Water and Reflections 16 Trees in the Landscape 17 Pastoral Scones 18, Light on the Landscape 19 Motta Scenery 20 Coasal Subyets Gausewy oF Pannanes Useful Addresses Index 58 68 a 80 88 oa 96 102 no us 126 ne 40 las Iss 59 EXPLORING WATERCOLOUR q [ths sti you ae induced othe sc echnigesof waters painting. At this stage you will be carefully guided along the way. while you become familiar with your materials. The essential groundwork is covered here, inchiding such topics as application of paint, snixing colours using tone to maximum effect, and building up a painting gradually. The imporiance of keeping your painting methods simple is stressed and you are also shown compositional techniques which, if applied as demonstrated, will add power and appeal t your work, By the time you have completed all the exercises in this section your ‘work shouild be starting to show definite signs of improvement. For greatey benefit, try 10 put aside regular time for doing the exercises. Don’t despair if you do not progress as fast as you would like; you can always redo some of the exercises to ensure that you are confident enougit to proceed to the next section, Nobody finds painting easy. so you will not be alone! unacunny Hannovr, Coury Maro 1 Materials and Equipment For thoxe about to embark on the adventure of painting in watercolou, tntenial can prove to bean expensive ‘tay. The materials jungle emt a Dewildering array of gores totem unwary, ad many presentation boxes eoduced by manufacturers contain alot fof amnecessay items ~ for example tubes or pans of Lamp Black ond White Some colours may never ee the Fight of your studio, an in the hoginming, having 2 vast army of colours Available to you makes like complicated, The temptation isto try a litle of each in the misaker assinpiion that they have tobe used np, Forget the brighily coloured boxes! Choose a few goxnd materials and et 0 know them well The main eancern here isto Leach Your how o use watercolour inthe best way pssle with minaium complications Let us begin by looking a afew of the most used materia. You realy do 0 ‘peed much 19 begin working. You may fever already have some materials wich will ft he bill if you own a No. 12 ‘oud bash, for example. it ismot at this stage worth buying a No. 10, ausiies “The main quality 1 look for in a \watereolou brush isa good spring i the hairs, which mast come to a fine point and be capable of holding copious Amounts of water. The best brushes for ‘watercolour are undoubiedly those made ‘wil Kolinsky sable, bat these are ‘expensive and ot really essential Go Iginners. These days there are excellent Uushes with synthetic filaments Firstly, you will ned a large brush for laying washes. The se ofthis depends, ‘a eats, on the sizeof paper that you will be using. These large brushes come ‘neither Nat oe round shapes. With flat Urushes, unless you are painting on paper that fs ball imperial size or larger, 8.25 mum (Lin) brush enables you 10 lay ‘ite a large wash you are nsing a ound brash then yout need o large mop. “These are not as cammon oF as pops asthe lat brushes. Next you will need some smaller round brushes. To tan wih, a No. 6 an! wbination point, The other brush recommend isa No. Laer, yi has long haisand Is excellent for fine, detailed work. The Figget hs the advaniage over a fer-haired rush as i ean bold more ‘and therefore dacs not noel tobe recharged so often. These are the absolute minimum number of brushes 10 Start you ofl Other useful brushes area Monin Mise 12 mim i) flat and a No, wig. 390495 mm (13419% 0) PAPER ‘watercolour paper comes na variety of svelghis surfaces and sizes, To begin with ‘a good idea lo work reasonably sinall and Htecommend a sizeof quart Jmperial, which s aproxinatcly 280380 mm (11415). You can Sheets of imperlat-sae waterenlour paper an cut therm up into quarters, or ever fights if you wish. Alirmatizely yout can buy pads or Blacks of watercolour oper. AU fistit is advisable wo stick «0 fone mamulacurer’s paper. but once you hhecome move comptemt Jo eat explore all the ranges aval whiel suis you bes, Everyone has their individual preference ‘Most mianlacturers produce watercolour paper in dee diferent surface extares that iy Rough, Now ‘whic s nor quite so tough) and Hot Pressed (which is very smooth) ta the USA the Not srace i called Cold Presse. Gain experience before trying Hot Pressel paper hecause it demands moze contol andl sil wth your washes, “Throughout this course Ihave wsed ‘examples of Not and Rough popers, and where iis important Ihave explained the reason for ‘Watercolour paper comes ica Wtidty ‘ofswoighss, which traditionally are ‘calculated om the weight of a ream (300 sheets of paper). Many now ore also ‘calbrated in grams per square merce “The lightes and cheapest paper is 90 > and this wl t would recommend for ‘eso smalscale exercises and getting 1 rach civics, know you paints, Hiwever, far working ‘om panings recommend 140 tb paper atleast, because this wll tot cockle 30 Inch Byen sof you ase a Hot of water ‘you will probably meed wy streic L40 Ib ‘paper in the laeyer sacs. 1 shal discuss sieetching paper later on. recommend that, to sant with, you buy a pad ora Few sets of Boekinglord 140 Ih or 200th paper, Hockinglord paper has a hic wil take quite a bit of ‘punishment Personally Lust Saunders ates, wlich i lightly more expensive erly rus ait hha ai interesting surtace text PAINTS Watercolour paints are manutactured from patieles of pigmen bound wether bby am agent such ay gum arab. Mest manslacurers produce watercolor painis of stademts” and artis” quality The students’ quality point(s much hieaper but is not as finely ground as anists. Atisis’ quality pais tend on the tohole tote more intense, more permanent and mich better grond, at for the omen you are sarting ‘watercolour pasting ts just aswell buy students pains. Once you slat soln paiings gly yous oie Hw {your eusiome's to use te best materials vale, so then you can change aniss' quality 1 yout obtain a colour chor from your 41 shop it will show the range of coleits Svailable an! cr permanence tating — that whether they fade quickly or are ‘sie sumer Ki for watercolour pala ‘This lees wtf pod, thes of Daler Rowrey Georgian (dons) waterelou, No.6 and No. 10 round rae, 25m (1 in) Hat br No. Paper. bole of masking fd pol and forge a patee igre permanent, Some charts will also sive you am idea ofthe transparency of "he pigment: some pans ate more ‘opaque than oters and therelore have srcater covering porwr, whereas other paints when applied in a wash are more Transpatent. Panis may be bought in tubes or pans. I really isa matier of persona preference as to which you use but personally {prefer tubes because 1 «an squeeze gut as much as [need and the pain is beauiully moist. Some people. however, find pans more convenient to hari The students" enlours {siggest you start oll with are Ultramarine, Raw Sienna, Burnt timber, Crimson Alzann, Gadi Yellow (te), Ligh: Red, Payie’s Grey, Cobalt Blue (Hue), Burnt Siccna and Scarlet Lake. have deliberately exclude greens onder to encourage caloue mising. lost geeens are staining colours aad nol easy 10 remove i things go rong. The colons listed wll give you an excellent range to work with during your inital paintings. ‘You can gsoidually inioduce ew cokes ‘nice you ate faniiar with these oviier rrems [At Teast one drawing bowed about 4455610 mm (18924 ip Is essential tnnless you work solely on blocks of watercolour paper. A nuinber 38 oe 448 pencils, plus a putty eraser which su istry the paper surlace less than 3 hhonal eraser ate necessary. Asc Median, Solt and Very Soft grades of MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT Karisma Aquarclc water-soluble penis wil be needed to compete sone ofthe ‘exercises in this book. These are discussed in more detain Chapter Paletes come ina varity of shapes and sles, lt in the beginning you ean quite casly use a white scer or plate, Some supermarkets sell plastic ays which can be elective subsites bat make ste they ate plain white, Mast ‘manulacwieers of an material produce palettes with numberof wells in them. ‘The round wells are superior to the squate oes hich cael pati the corners. Inthe studio Tse a large butcher's tray a6 a plete, which gives sme ample roomy on which 40 mix my colors, For demonstrations use a ‘Spencer-Ford palette ~a large plastic one swith ighsfiting hd contains my zmess whilst traveling so that other maria don become contaminate ‘wih pain. This would be an excellent palette Tor those with ne permanent studio, as open, wet palettes do not make suitable bedfellows with sketehes, hooks ana the like ‘There area number of ether materials ‘which Hfnd useful sponges ae good lor soame techniques. Its not essential 19 buy 9 natural sponge although tney are the best Masking fluid ean be ellecive ‘when working on some features ina ‘watercolour painting. ts u later. Some stent Hind an ease) Indispensable. do not generally use one, althougt for demonstrating I use 2 Daler-Revwniey Westninster easel hich will adjust to any angle. an esseia iscussed ‘Ar ondoorshething group with Desi Bellamy at Se Brides Bay, South Wales Buaesanin Enve Brass Gunn Cor 3204535 nm (154209 A rainstorm 8 pain er te farther eof the mountain. and ts ae bridge ad ‘ouage gue small in he mide dance, the ‘moun appears mere mprasve suaTeRi41s AND EQUIPMENT Feature when working i oF 0 of doors, Seing metal and quite heavy, it does not blow around easily. Indoors I work on 2 desk, For those wlio are interested, thee are various desk easels available STUDIO ORGANIZATION ving 9 room dedheated 0 your painting gives you a tremendous adsantage over those wha have te resort ‘o limited periods atthe ichen table You are able to eave thing in posibon, reauly to start again at a moment's notice, ‘and also have somewhere w store your paintings. equipment and materials. The tlesk or table you work on should have a large enough flat surface to take carnforiably a drawing board palene \Water-pot paints and brushes. Cramped places will not enhance your watercolour rechmiques Tally, a pinboard above he desk can be used to hold sketches and photographs of the scene yo are tworking on, as well a perhaps your work schedule and planning ehans. 1 that height sketees are easy Lo view and less likely to be envered in paint. You may ako need room fora table fap for evening work or when the light poor. Daylight simulation bulbs ae far prelerable to ontinary ones ‘plan chest iso remencdows value in storing your watereolour paper paintings. moursboand and any other lange sheets of paper. (dally water «colour paper should be stored Hat Fuse a te-drawer ees Ue fat wp a makes an excellent surface for eating ‘mounts and framing pictures, though naturally tees tobe protected Ho «damage. Storage space in the form of shhlues and eabinets ents dove the utter ia your work area, of ease. anc! 28 you acquite move photagrapis you ‘may find the need fora metal drawer cabinet which canbe used to file your photographs in area or subject order. Try to arrange the studio set-up s0 that i takes minimum amount of ine to get 2 painting under way. ‘Without somewhere permanent 0 work, life can be dificult, Even a commer ‘ofa room or a closet shared with the ledgers cat is better than nothing. A Jarge. stout ipped poral case isthe ideal way of varasporing untamed paintings, but itis aso an excellent storage deve for those without a studio Falling tha. cardboard folders clipped tightly will suffice. Watercolour paper ‘an be chopped to size nies youu work fn full imperial, of, of course. you cout ‘ny blacks which obviate the nee! for siretching. Some sationer sel large plostic rays which fit nto drawers and these can he sed to hold all your brushes. pencil ‘on. This way they can all be extracted at ‘once If setting up fo pain becomes too rich lke Simo wrestling with a bctopus. chen your painting wil sult, so keep everything sssimyple and ‘nganied as possi ‘The materials and equipment you will need when out sketching are described. In chapiet 9 2 Basic Watercolour Techniques Basic watercolour techniques sound shout as exciting as playing lado wth 9 fe kipper! The temptation here is 10 skip overthis bit and-dive imto the more dhe paper. Practise holding large rounst faerestng chapters. However, without a brush inthis way. Make sire your paint rounding in he ot of brushwork your watery so that wil ow wel the landscapes will become glorified dip the Bruch in water and pick up sone mdse. sith res taking on the Imoist pai, Brush across a serap of Noval eas stoke ppeatarce ol yone-to-sced cabbages So, wateseolour paper, parallel with the Lop Thy exe wh the Br held ke 3 tomake this chapter more atraciivel ol the paper, for 90-75 mum [23 in). sonal at an angie of abou 45 degrece have designed the exereses around Provided you have sulficient water on cesttemely simplified compositions. Ate brush sheze wil be a cea shar thisstogeit sof tremendous value 10 edge along the top of the stoke pmaduce these litle paintings to provide practice in laying washes whilst ot the same time prodhicing what iselle ya painjing, We ate not concerned wil Colour musing at this point bat simply laying ou colour in ls washes Coloule Now try another brush siroke. Hs Rage brosh stoke riving wil he tackled ater. We sh ‘you want a soler less regular edge along Creag ragged edge by dragging tke brush row consilertwo fundamental aspects the iop of the stroke, so this time, hold acs the pper a fw angle, fom kf fl waictcolour painting: applying the the brush at mich more shallow angle, eight prin tothe paper and practising hush te handle parallel with the tp edge of Strokes, the paper. Genly apply similar leat 0 the tsk. Depend on RUSH STROKES. the pressure applied sad the amount of water on the brush you should achieve 2 How you use the brush vital in rain loss of definition. Do several odvcing the desired effects, yet the sires a this type, varying the pressure Importance of ths grossly anders and anoint of water each time so that CLIFFS NEAR Divas Fac, Peameoxs toni ‘estimated. The most Frequently used you achieve shal ilerent elec. ss360 mm (1632 i) Innis stroke Involves holding the brush Nataly, by changing the pressure ‘vd seas ad stunning coasie comune inthe hand as you would a per or Within the stroke you can produce ere ddr, with rong detail othe ca pote Peni at an angle of about 45 degrees to interesting variabans along. the ede, ler rks tacentuae the asa Sometimes the sealing stoke wil be come 0.4 sharp point suitable for detail an aves of variegated textures, sch 3s Indistinguishable rom the frst type and work. Arguably tipping ~anplying dows rock. This works best on rough paper acothers quite diferent, This secind type of pant with the beush ~ also comes because the brush touches ony the Slbnush stroke is wseel for suggesting under ths category. The fourth method raised parts athe paper suriace. This tistnt hillsor ridges, oramywhere you ol applying ie pain is by scrubbing with method! is described later but here we ‘wis tw avoid a hard unbroken line the side of the brush to render oughly shall eoncentrate on the frst ste. Even when you ate experienced iis won dong a dry run’ on a srap of paper here commuting yursell 10 the real thing. This is especialy roe ol tie second typeof brush stroke, a5 varies = se-much, Furr brash siaes wil be fntrodiced during the course, bur sbese are sulfcient for now APPLYING PAINT TO PAPER ad ad sft ces In watercolour painting, application of rig the Bras erate ard edge onthe the paint onto the paper is done basically ita by casing of the presser and In four ways depending on tequite Aexpig the ip of the bru ews, asf ge rns, Firstly, thete ithe wash, that most characterise of watercolour techniques. This is used to cover the per areas and fs generally lid across the paper in avery wei manner, whieh, expt the transparent nature ofthe medium. A wasin ss best carted 0 boldly, quickly, and without poi ‘round in it mee i aks —shinply leave in dry. Secondly, there are small areas tobe filled in from ine wo tine. These are blocked in usually with the tp ofthe Ibrash, Thirdly, shere ae deta to be put in Doors, windows, Fences, es, figures rigging an soon have toe applied With Laying a wash ‘aban in mh the same mantras Tals soe by work quay and Sawing with a pencil For this, ase a muted dv dhe paper wi pleny of fine bras: a rger is exceller, lung dud enour ov the bres, whi eld at iF you are wsingsablesever a No. Hanan ange of about 43 depres taste wareacoroun reenniques LAYING A FLAT WASHL (ALLaying aa wate ae and rocks ‘A. once se paper is complet dy, pick up Wi a large round brush, pick ap so some Payne's Grey. take sere fis dark in Haves goat laying a flat wash aaa Cobalt Ble (ue) and creat tone ftmst black) — if oe be tito graduated wash in conjunction with the fbespanese po! of medm-strnsth paint scrap paper frst With diagonal iroke, pint iMlustrvionshere and overeat. The flat an your pale. Recharge the brs aud lay a_i he dark rocks, making the bosom amos svash is done i wai sages. For this you wah ofofbur abot 100 nt wide on aria andthe top iran ah will need 2 pece of watercolour paper the paper, worn gukly dow dhe paper aed Use hein emg for is about 180% 125 sam (7% 5 4), Th Wath viontal strokes and fishing with yeu wish, yu cae ie sight gaps here ‘Should he tilted at an angle of shout Straight, ard ged line 9s he baton ad there sags lighter pats ofthe recs, 30-35 darecs, ws enable the wash 1o Make sre you kep the wash eet and ‘asthe done Them rcharge uh brash with ewe dinen evenly. Dravy the outline flowing. without any tnmatural is Nex, mire Payne's Grey and pain inthe lighly i pei fest you feel ns ‘ppl weak wad of Payne's Grey st Fipple eft ou he eriginal wash of wk ssl be ep. Bowe Bue wash, exact a: shown ahve. Payne's Grey. You lave mow comple yer Apar from the fs lf tie, esp this wos fs ‘ping the sini wil coud agin ih ith hav ie ot te ote. Lae his Ay samples fore yon ow the neat uae thesia eset ast of watercolour palaring Laying graduated wash: pastoral scone Crea a po! ofoour on your patene with oome mednndark Ulraomaine and ing large rus apy che sky wash guy ‘tha i aes nor ha we dry. Keep the ‘nash flowing across the pers you ‘rang it down, gradually adding mare water ‘othe brush This wil cause the was 0 ecm lighter at dhe oto 0 prvi sratuaed woh, Pain che wash down ‘yond the fne of he ander ei sy completly Once dhe inl was is dy take up a init amorant of Payne's Grey ow te brash ‘id pain he bit. The toe should be darker tha the darkest par of te sky ave. ‘About oe third ofthe way doe the hil, Introduce sme more water inthe mixnure ‘o-weaken which wil again produce a _dradnated fe. Arcana the hedge fine the “nash should be dows pase water. Ths gives the amprescon 3 me ao the ower pat of ‘he fl. Prom he wi lean brush stn Inoscing some Raw Soma ny the wash, ‘weakly at fr, Working horizontally, retail sores the aunt of sour 50 Thai bscomes darker a the baton. This Joie the efit of ep in ue pcre. What ae ming fori sft transition been ‘he dl aad he fel Was or is wus 0 sty comply before contning [BASIC WATERCOLOUR TECHNIQUES Wah a strong was of Payne's Grey, atest a is derket, draw in the ee, wing lye ound bras wth is point. This an ‘evampleo the third math of apcaion of the pnt devin in te detail. Pai the ree sone atten the hedge ‘aking the lne of she hedgerow reasonably ‘straight ae Yost. Te a sol bess regular, sngysting bushes here and there With a No ger pik up some more strong Pape Grey and indicate te bs of near. Sorat, rose soe wrong Rene Siewma, mie with ver lite water eco ihe foregroend For this ase the side of he rush a creaea soir edge LAVING A GRADUATED WASH For the graduated wash, use any lamas Sicrma, No colour mixing = Fayne's Grey and Kaw is involved, hawever A piece of watercolour paper about 200% 125 mn (85 suiable. again p 28, 38 oF 4B, i wll be J on a drawing board, Asthisscene ia lie more complicated, inthe outline lightly before you ‘veg painting, using a soft pel such as Try not to fee inhibit in any way. ‘yall means use cael paper instead of watercolour pap lose your inhi the back ofa used envel than not stating at alt ¥o lush of you watercoo AH ths wil help you ans: even starting on better ow can ase the paperas well unless, of course, yor hhave a masterpiece om he Irn Belore ‘you begin, play around with the brush ‘on sera paper, Get the feel of how the ‘waterenlou washes behave. Five minutes of wet doodling can be valuable in loosening you ap belore you start the proper masks Use generots blobs af paint. ‘Once yaw have practised your firs. staduated wash, wil ison extremely sell teehinique, note how watercolour Hightens as rie out. Ths 6 particularly appareat with Payne's Grey. There will be times wien you need 19 compensate lor this by making the sil wast a hale sttonger than seems to be necessary Fxperience will teach you haw to cope with this problem. ln order really 1 ger to grips with these vehinigues you should ry several of these simple sti, based perhaps on simplitied versions of painings inthis book. This will have the ‘wo-lold purpose of giving you practice at brushwork and asa encouraging you tw simplify the composition, From tis monser, keep all your paintings even if you do not Hike them AAs you progress. your earlier works will Indicate how your standard is gradually Ipeowing. BY che time you have wor ‘your ay to Chapter 15 you may well have some material n which wo pracise the sexcue techniques describe here. ven when you reach the end of the ‘book you wil find it helps to retain some: ‘ol your eabiest work, Yew may fled by then that your friends and relatives al be snapping up your beter eflons ed 3 Painting in Monochrome rlour, eens the paints are parent yo have wo pur on the then the darker ones, ceding with the very darkest I you tied to pint alight colour over a dark one i ‘would hardly show up and would be almost guaranteed to help fling ike mud Soa this stage it is mportant 10 consider tones. Even students who have heen pointing ler some time find it dhe to come fo terms wth Foe and Colour simaltanvotisly. For absolute Tagine thi can Become contusion of fnightmate proportions. So here we ate ning t forget about colour and Concentrate simply on tone. Tone ts the Adegree of darkness ofa colour when ii applied on the paper. Not all colours will Ihave the same range of tones THE TONAL RANGE ‘when working from nature you need 10 nodiy your tome sale to some degree bbecanse the range in nature fs much than what can be achieved In any ‘vediumn. The sun itsll, for ‘example, the brightest tone imaginable {5 for brgiter than sshite paper. I helps ‘enormously when viewing seein Front cf you to ignore colour ad look a it cole from the point af view of tomes. Look atthe scene through ball closed ‘eyes this belo dilfuse distracting etal Seareh ou the lightest and darkest tones in the subject. Your lightest tone will be represented by the bare paper ‘nl your darkest by the darkest mixture that you can produce, All the other tones have to.came it between these 1s important to reserve the lightest pant of your painting and make sure that they ate not covered up. The biggest {anger ofthis happening. Ufind. s during the exchement of laying the lange washes. Ins always moe dificult resnove paint ad tey to eeenver the ‘whiteness af the paper. M you find! uhisa Fann Lente Laweoate, Cuamis fof interest (or foal point) an the Tn fvey sie, wh te farmfous of 230380 mm (x 4) ‘bee! 1 use dumb sketches to ‘ype! Lakeland archwcre a focal poi, army pain U have ignored the lack of strengthen a work Shon aden the hearts of mst Sky ~ isnot aways neces. Facing oa Paudapiss. Hower there i no the farm, i hae tof out theo td, INE FOCAL POINT ‘rather dwelling cases aco of terest sro citer Th ter icc eter te oregrnnd ‘bee sanpliied. wth Te focal poi ur centre of interest. fs wh walls ad fang. a presen gute @ th ck amo ‘anda he fan fo thai par ofa painting whick draws the halen aa pang sus strand the composition. The got i fromt save ofthe viewer. 183 landscape the howe iors in ring the palming i can be a con.age. bridge, te. ewer tose emt of interes siream, moumiain, a pal of lish. or Ath ts i no at se exerci, on may any feature you think is sila. To get ws 19 hea a the cmon. Work the best ou ata focal poien you shen fiom she plscraph ater than the emphasize it with contrasting tone sang, and compare resus afer ards ‘Srengthen the detail on it, oF perhaps tenance t by the use of strong lighting | sent en | Breaking up horizontal lines ‘Too many focal po ty pats te carl po The ano yg lc cmon mae a ring Abo! teen Ase folate eo Tht sets pba op tom ofc hrm hae von a he ii ‘By doing 0 0 re ofthese simple tundra sews, based on your original sets or phowaraph, yoo can rearrange and {improve ihe camposton 1 sa our neds Too many coineldences Ishi she the fa re oe mows ridge ~ 1 sould be puss abo owt te righho re i ie Felou the mou semi and ate the lye ofthe curve inthe road ~ i sou moved sgh othe right our pitures Soh or lina ‘Compositional diagram The dread fence acres he frcaround here This diagram a and to strengthening your no only ais the ee of te viewer ceompostion. The 049 agonal fn reaching the foal point the mee buts ground the ees dea anger areas where ooo rer. fit a say, make it tere should be te ordeal The four les eve. perhaps by breaking i up with shaded areas near the cere ave the best dnusis or wndet grows alteratily.wiry ples 10 pot our fol pont. The the distance btn te Jencepos make sates ar ate the our inersetions of seme of them ean sigh and subdue overs nes drain from points toe hid intervals ing arose Tony each ye ‘without a focal point the passing wil lose its way there willbe nothing for sewers 19 tes thelr eves upon, Compositions are more elective when thece ae no competing areas of interest so neue oy ane fal pin it a painting. Subdue or remove any gas features tha pull the eye aay frm the centre of terest oF alternatively, sh them closer to he focal point so that they lead support rather than competition, ‘THUMANAIL SKETCHES ‘On many occasions a composition will suggest sell The move experienced you became, the more often that wil ayper. However, even professionals nee! 1o use devices at times to work ou the optimum composition or determine how far they can siteteh convention. The best tol here isthe ahurabnal sketch. ‘excellent pracice to draw io thee fl these simple monochrome o linear ‘koiches before deciding onthe final form ofa painting. They need not be Jagger dian postcard size; hall that i quite adequate. Pencil, ehareoal or Karisma water-soluble penis are all excellent for these, whether you need a tonal sketch or jst fin DANGER ZONES The extremities of a painting =the ees ancl i particular, the earners ave the ager zones. Any dual of significance fn these aveas will weaken the CREATIVE COMPOSITION ‘ompesition because wil ake she eye away from the centre of interest. Slight Suggestion of detall might work, but anything stronger detrats from the ‘lysion of harmony. All paintings need passages bot just in the cites. bu these ave patil ulnerable places. Study the paintings in this book with these areas ln mn When you are working om a painting. do not feel you have fll up every square centimietce with riveting deta 8 hat ‘sil be too hard on the viewer's eve ‘here ae, of course, exceptions, but that {sno exeuse for making every painting an exception, BASIC COMPOSITIONAL All rules about composition ate broken successfully at times, but generally only ‘wher the artist has mastered the basic problems associated with constructing 3 Dict, for only experience will sugges how far these rales can be aisreganded, Here we are primarily concerned with rodcinga pleasing: harmonious srouping ofthe various elements withio 8 pointing. For the moment it will help ‘your work you keep to a set of conventions as shown in the CCompesition Checklist, which in due ‘ours you may sesh to ignoee a times. COMPOSITIONAL CREATIVITY Some poopie fel thay any foun of interterence with i ‘ctu! subject, or exereising a litle “reative influence, & unforgivable Cenainly greai masters such as Turner tok tremendous hiberies in thee compositions. almost completely ‘changing the topography en aceasion, eal ay the landscape, is hecesary 2 nes to aller the eer a things Ms then a ease of deciding to What degree the changes are acceptable to the invidial, Whilst maybe fe 1 ave or omni the old stone or boulder you will need caren trying to do the Same thing th a mountain, Mist oa igeaed could oblierawe a mountain Positioned beyond your focal pin. io lab cane it cod be ome To take at specific example: you were to look Up tine Ogwen Valley in Nosth Wales with the eragay peak of Tras a your subject, yo end actu fave ont Foe Gooch 4 ts right a this mountain beyond Tryfan ~ with mist oe a btzzard i would not be vsile anyway. However, Yo would ced 1 be caetl an a Feally clear doy! ‘As well a large-scale Features there re, of cause, smaller ones sucl 3s gates, ‘Hees, baens, etages, caravans, walls snd hedgeroms, and you must consider how vo treat these. H you are doing a portrait ‘of someone's hose for them, you need th he reasonably faithful 1 the place vor are going va name a place — whether loom, mountain, lake or villoge~ thew again you noed ta take eare with your freaive msinets. Peeps Leatures can be moved slightly exaggerated, obscited oF played done in sone way. Shadows or ‘st cat he used 1 tea ect ere, You Here ms ofthe ners io hee and Bide, 50a couple of pos hae bei added on te right give baae can sometimes avoid a problem by carefully positioning yourself whe te tal sketch, but do rememler thatthe deal companion #8 rare bird. And shen it hits you. the sal esul is chat you are 10 axioundes foro proper jot Such site Suilably vagie ites sich as Morning Mis, Laktond Barn and Cot nor ‘lahguard can hide 34 of creative misdemeanors and send you off nto wild ighis of inoginaive rear fol the topgraphy. Here you c let younsell go ad use the or sketet or pha o5 just a begining, fon which to hase your fantayy oF ‘composition, INTRODUCING PROPS. In some of oy paintings Lintrentace peop to balance the composition. By charac withthe seene being painted Examples of this are one oF tw posts placed to break up shoreline and balance the focal point; Or a post or bit of fencing strategically positioned to cause a = 0 you wil often find published rellecon ina puddle. Padules Draw three or foursimple dnumbnait | photographs that meet improving themseives are ase props to create sketches from the Gabway thatch — | compositionally Dig out photographs meres i an otherwise boring passage: | picture (below, ‘of landscapes fom calendars. ashes of all shapes can be se 1 magazines or books: Take some interrupt the line of a ropa hedgeree * examples ofthe more complicated ‘or all, and boulders can be useful, to. Using the thumbnail seta with the subjects and ty three o four ‘be careful where you pst your most promising composition. paint the | dnumbnail sets from each one. This boulders, thowish = in he mide ata Galway thatch scene. The ‘model ill quickly train your compositional Hanpshive fell uhey are nor very “answer” ison page 151 sense Ifyou have photographs couvincing! Sketches of your own, then have a ‘On few occasions {have Ierlly is ‘90 at those as well Try a number aided prop toa scene wanied to Photographers are liited in how far ‘of paintings based on these Point. Daring the filming of Noten they can alter the impression ofa scene tumbail setc ‘Adventures in Wa Fallen tee and hicoved it back up, holding tie ime {as only a smal ne, # should pethays a tom with tape whilst we As you gain experience, your strategy for tea composition sl he greatly allected by the sketching you do outsoors, Whilst sketching you can move feanues, ter ‘ut bac elements 2 composition, sul 25a caravan bese traditional ul, ‘ugly laste bogs and anyahing else that jars and take advantage of the more promising ones, Sketching is dealt with Im more detail in Chapter 9. So, stat thinking about the fia competion svhen got are ot sketching Your subject, 1 il make the bate in she 8 Wet-in-wet Techniques Wien it works, wet-in-wet ia marvelously atmospheric technique ‘hich takes full advantage of the ojeties of watercolour. If yo have ‘not yet come acres this jrocess it simply means applying wet paint onto ly wet surface ~ an exci technique that is excellent for achieving inisty, moody elfeets t does take some practice though. so do not expect perfect results overnight. The technique can be used! over large areas or restricted to sanall nassges. I should not be used 3s excuse for unimaginative skis Basically there are two cies points to wateh when using wee-in-wet Fisly. hhaving lad on the fest wash, is Important to charge your brush with the Fight consistency of paint. The opt 190 mach water onthe brush, with the result that the second wash i too weak an almost invariably presduces an obscene ‘cabbage effect, or un-back. Whilst the pain aust tuot he too thick, there shold be only 8 Tle water on te brush when app, the second wash, Secondly, you need 10 lay om the second wash atthe right times too early and it wil dissipate weakly into the wet steace: to late andl ease Funsbacks or eee md. Lok at the ‘wet area from the side and against the light. and apply the second wash just ‘nefre the sheen eaves the surlace. TESTING THE WATER ‘by practising on srap paper you vill become more adept atthe technique and avoid the possibly a fouling up a masterpiece. When working on the Bctual painting, check the eal polos — the timing ancl the paini-to-water rato — Ly uyiaig out a wash ether on a separate scrap ol the paper you are working on, Giron a small area to one side of the painting I ys de this nam area that later either by a mount or some feature in the painting — se Ft goes Wrong. Some pigmenis behave slllrently fom others when dropped ino a wet wash, so do be aware of individual characteristics ‘As with ordinary wasies, do not fiddle with werner passages while they ave lil wet. One or two quick strokes can ‘sometimes halt a potential criss, but any mote and the died wet-in-wet wil ‘become blobby and uply. Far better. let it dry completely, sben fewer the area and have another atemp perhaps, though even this sraught with hazards {see Chapter 13), Sometimes itis best to revwet small areas with clean water and ‘en intrce the second Wasi in a limited say. Tis works well for such things a¢ wisps of mist on mountain ‘rags or reflections in pues, Misty Poo ‘Thi studio sew rans the wer wet ‘ecique where the sky and water have been aimed i with ¢ weak wh of ren Uamarine. 4 song miu of rose ‘tramarine and Bure Umber was then plicit ws sage rec ik ms, with buhes tthe right Therein ne onder ee Wher the paper vse ary strony freyound details were ade 0 pus Back the misty ee — wers.wertecuniaues ——— William Hil, Derbyshire stage 9 Sie Wuusase Hu, Denaysnine 200305 foriziy sige ‘Tis was pated om Sounders Worn 140 Tb No paper. “The shy was put invith single wah of Pond Uliramarine ad ‘Buren Sion it een withthe misty environment ‘kaw Sienna was brought down over Ie verge ad ight ad drppes nto the vet foregrw Thew ihe nse move deta toes were dist de wot skys wih French Ultramarine sand vent Sonn, 2 stage 3 Strong ei on the sv i he JForeround wseher wt warn lors othe clase verger. dvng forward ese estures and so ‘acentuate the feng of recsion inthe work, This ic ‘enphasced urtior Iya wash of Frees Ultramarine ana ase Sirona drawn sar the foresround roa, stage 2 Wher the paper was asoltely dasa Une cos tos were dsr nails ‘ih rend Uterine and aur Sena The sensi of the lft nee pst pas the yo artor back, as do the wali ACCENTUATING WITIE DETAIL THe use of masking laid combines well wih the wetter technique. When You ae iy fll lor the last ching yous reed to worry about isin Being able 1 wash rapid wis preserving your highlights wate deta preuces eleanor, more protesional Finish, Strong, sharp detail infront othe Wetin-vetafea wall accentuate its softness. In misiy woodland scenes, for example, where the background ‘auely suggested by dim, sft shapes fated withthe weL-in-wet mietbod,the the wash has died. can bring 2 real scase of depth to the painting The technique als works wel in stream scenes ast can eliminate mot ackgrond citer and enhance the focal polar in or near ihe foregeourd, You can have immense fun ‘experimenting with ths procedure on Scraps of paper. prodicing min-paintings extremely quickly Wet in. wer is superb for eeating tmospneric skies, misty seenes, cloud shadows actos te landscape, reflections in water aida host of other elleds, I. fone ofthe ment poswerf tecniqus in the watercoloarst’s repertoire. ace mastered it ean realy adda new “Trysome small, quick paintings of misty scenes, scl as Misty Pon, sing the wet-in-wer technique . Paint a picture of Crook Gil packhorse bridge. Vorkshive clo), introducing werner dino the background to ise some of dhe extraneous detail there. My ersion isn page 151 Vou will nt sce misty senes crying out for the wet-in-wet weclnigue everyday, ‘0 go out and seck a wondtand seene th a path, poo. stream or slade (se Chapter 9). Paint with a weteai-wet Ihackground and trong detail nthe foreground to sugges recession: in other words. impose your oun ‘mist ‘on the subject. aut EVOLVING YOUR OWN STYLE [ities yo take mae oft tative. You ae encour ty slightly more complicated work, with more challenging exercises. The as in the previous section, since the object is Jo stimulate you into thinking. observing and planning your work for yourself. The crucial importance of sketching and carrying out studies directly from navure is emphasized. You are further shown how to render subjects with a firm foundation in drawing, which is vital 1o all hose who. ‘wish to paint the landscape in watercolour. The mystique is taken out of perspective before you progress to the chapter on simplifying the scenery in front of you, Olten not enough emphasis is given to the actual planning fof a painting and this subject is considered in depth, before you try out techniques that will enable you to rescue a watercolour that hhave lost its way ‘Once you have completed the exercises in this section you will be well armed to launch imo your own painting projects and will possess the fundamemals for developing your indiv ual style, 9 Sketching with a Purpose alm ad lve wld ps1 feel privileged, for so ray stents relate han hey one ‘with overbearing teciniqes will substtate fr dis method ofl thot able to get outs is best about for bene to sth 200150 mm Ix), psa election rade ron 208 0 4B. Tanger A be a use addition, hut the is compact and easy to cary rou These items, together with 9 sharp knife 0 keep good points on the penis, will sulice for the sil few legs, There ina need for any expensive Dutlay, Onlookers often dt not realize ane sketching when working with 1,50 this sa dead The Karisma water-soluble pone enables you to itrexiuce atmosphere ‘mio a penal sketch, Charvoa or Comte crayons are excellent altematives. lth charcoal tends be messy thas a sympathesie quality a useful for snow scenes when there i itl colour and you do not want Wo hang round 10 long, a6 ange areas ome Can be applied suiekly. I you are using charcoal a damp rag or pack al antsepite wipes forcleaning bands. anda Spray te preven oss of definition in the finished work ate useful, Conte crayons ‘ene i penis and halk. fori, in sewer ‘clones, They are very good for pricing quick monochrome siadies, ‘should be fixed ike creo ‘Whete colour or atmosphere i Important. Hfind waterenlour ideal ‘Watercolour sketches are best done on olour pauls o¢ good-quality corti pH, however, yous wish to ‘fll pamtings out-of-doors then watercolour blacks are excellent as Hhese slo not need streiching These Wicks are [tune all ud he edges avd oem a finn sipport so that a drawing aad is not required. A few watercolour pains, Uheee 0 four brashes and 9 aster ‘camainer ate al tha is needed to extend the sketching kit for painting, ‘An alterative 1 pare wavercolour are watercolour pencils, compact and versatile sketching medium. They ae superb for rapid colour work, t normally tse these pencils in conjunction with pure watercolour washes. but ofcourse they can al be used an dete ane BEING COMFORTABLE OUTSIDE “The weather fn Hain 6 so varied that Im the depts of winter the occasional day occurs when conalitions ote etter than in stmimer: wi seater, tow sunshine casting Jong shadows. and ore eolotr than the overwheltng fteenery of mid-smomer. So you shou be ready to go out sketching at any time, ‘ing prepared isthe key: have all your equipment ready for action, with pencils sharp and your bag devokd of ‘unnecessary gear. How often see Students oke 20 minutes to get ready to sketch, by which time they ae cold and the lighting has changed ~ even in summer, You should always be ready for fnstant skerching and be 3 well organized that you know where to find every perl or a of pai Proper outing for siting around is the col is vital. Mostar students are probably unaware f the vast range of ‘outdoor gear avalable to thes in ‘mountaineering shops. These gar ave specially designed to Keep yin ‘warm and they work jst as ellecvely lor the artistas they do for the belayer swho has stand, ted on toa rock for ages whist protecting his climbing ppariner, Thesnal esis and fon johns sve supreme conafor in cod conditions one thermals nov available draw away boy perspiration, an invaluable feature ‘wher you are cartying a rucksadk Fibe-pile jackets are the enon, ‘omlortale and some ate especialy designed to combat those ley blast, Cociea. As this ekerel was oman sraing ‘town, ated for ham pase sore api drawing him in pen. When moving sreawures adopt anew yose abandon your ‘rawing and sar another om the sme sheet Sf paper Usa ey return tsa air pose. when you ct re your eign sath Keping a number of drawings on ‘he Bl ice he kyo htc animale aa gures Zipping up high to protect your neck Goretex jackets allow your skin breathe sist you expend energy fecing that Turkish bth feeling you get inside a cagoule ka mild wet weather They tend io be expensive, thowgh, aad I you are not so active and need 3 «cheaper but stil ellective outer shell whit ising around sketching ther Took for garments made of aquatol, another high-perloemance nd ‘eitemely confortable fabric, The range ‘of sot bats with really imaginative signs is neceasing rapidly these are Useful in the cold as one third of body heat i lost through the head, Ever waterproot socks are avaiable Acwell ac promiding for your comfort, rmounaincercg shops usually stock 2 ‘good range of pouches, bags and Accessories thal can make working foiside less of a hassle. Rucksacks, of ‘cours, are invaluable you intend walking any distance w your subject as they leave your hands fee for blancs Small day sacks are suitable for 9 day out sketching and with some designs yo ea clip 01 your stool. Alternatively, there Aare some stools which inconporate abs with ingenious designs so de explore Your local fishing and mountaineering shops before making your choice Pessonaly, Luse a elosed-cel loam mat for siting on: tia ight a5 feather and impervious damp. SKETCHING WITH A PURPOSE A. Corraces, Cainswonrn Dean, This pn sketch of abandoned eager shows dhe pa ackened stonen0rk of Sou Yorkshire. Tae squigle above the buildings sa rough nda of he uneven nanve ofthe rf ties ¥ Bunoo Sit, Kusioun, Nowriustnent an ere the dark trees how boon wed 0 deine the uligs, as wel as suppor ake fecal pod. This is a deal ready-made SKE HING TECHNIQUES Thete are many dilfeent appre sketching and what suis one stent ‘nay not suit another You will ned (0 discover what teciniques you respond 10 bes Fuse vatlous approuehes depending ‘on the subject and canditions, but forthe ‘ment will outline a few sound methods forthe newcomer to sketching You can gradually modify your approach to suit yoursll ‘with a sketchpad and pencils you can achieve rapid progress. concentrate an Bira Moss Bre. Lane Disrwicr ‘Ths sketch was carried nt with Karim Aauarelle water-soluble penile his mod fora wile before tying something more arabtious. Do not be {ox fussy when out looking fora subject {orpaint Jenny, my partner, says that twber we frst went sketching ‘pene her eyes 3610 how ile was needed to produce a subject. For years ‘Se had always searched for the teal, ready-made subject, which, of coors rarely appeared. Ty to pick ou a leatute that looks imerestng regardless of whether ifs surcounded by rabbish oF completly isolated. I often helps ‘arin up’ by doing 2 quick study of 2 sille or gateway, for example. You may then teil the scene around this foc point, Once you have found asc - moments to comser ‘shat you wish to michide. A sip ewing rane fs useful for this—a rectangular windovr eu ou ola pcee of cad about the sive of 9 postcand is fine vena slide mount with the uansparency romaveat sill sufice, This device helps to isolaie your subject fromm any surrvunding detail Penclisare, af course a inear mien, bts shoud ot be taken as an excuse to exci tenes, Tones ate fnporant whatever the medium, as shown inthe illvstrations in this chapter. Drawing. considered in moore deta sn the next chapter, vial w the watercolour landsape artis. On pencil sketches, colour nates can be added sn the margin or on the relevant feature Edward Lear used pencil on loation and filled in with colour wanes, based on his colo notes, on returning home Before saming i skeie, consider what first caualn your eye: Maybe it was te tight, the textuze a stone walla cottage. or perhaps mist weaving it and ‘out of crags. Move around to find the est viewpoint: do net aeeepe ie fst ‘ne olfered until you have checked the scene. Regn withthe eentee of interest that ist excited you, Discipline yoursell ‘o producing a close a likeness to the eriginal scene on you can, Obxervation, 28 shall keep stressing isthe key 10 success in sketching ftom nature. Look Ford a both shapes and oa dy it fora relationships. You will probably work on 2 lager seal back home. so your sketch ‘needs io imi suliient detail tobe able w fila larger sheet of pap With many sbjecs Ind it propitious 0 {gn close and work inthe deta! and texture frst of all, then rete io draw the surrounding cle 1 vital importance isthe discipline of ‘comnparing everything in che subject, Defate you Mowe dak i te el ‘compared tothe lighter wal infront? Haw mich higher the ree above the

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