Winter 2013 – Watercolor

Project: Still Life, Clay Pots Week 2

Before I go over what I did in class (this was in the PV class but it does apply to everyone) I want to talk about how you watch a demonstration. I know it can be confusing, especially when it is something new and there will be a lot of trial and error on your part as you learn a new technique, so understanding what you are seeing is critical.

As I walked around the class I saw that many of you really didn’t understand either all or part of the concept of values I was trying to show by starting my painting with values of gray. I saw many of you painting around the pots or going over areas that should have been left unpainted with the next wash of value.

Part of that, I think, is due to not understanding the nature of watercolor. Yes, you know it is transparent but what does that mean and how can that work for you when you paint? The other part is the whole concept of values from dark to light. This transition from a light area to a dark area is important if you want to make something look 3 dimensional on your paper and to give a sense of light. Change in value is all we have to trick the eye into seeing a third dimension when we are working on a 2 dimensional surface.

Before I started painting the first thing I did was to find where my whitest whites were and I determined where those areas were by squinting my eyes and looking for the brightest areas in my subject. What I saw was that my brightest areas where the highlights on SOME of the peppers because of their shiny surfaces. These areas I protected with masking fluid before I started. EVERYTHING else was grayer in value. This is the part many of you have a problem with understanding: That next light value is in EVERYTHING that isn’t the bright white I protected at the start. It not only will be the next lightest areas but that value is also part of the darkest areas of the painting. This is where the transparent nature of watercolor comes in. I can literally use the same value of gray –or any color that will get dark – to go from the lightest gray value to the very darkest value just by adding layers of that light value to increase intensity to my dark areas.

We have done this in class before when we made our value scales and when we did the ink washes (for the students who have been with me for a while), this is a very useful exercise and it teaches you a lot about the nature of watercolor or any other transparent medium. As a watercolorist, you will use this technique throughout your painting life because it is the most useful tool in your box of knowledge, so it is very important that you understand exactly what is going on with your paint.

When I started my painting, I mixed a light gray value with what was on my palette along with a bit of blue and a touch of orange and I went over EVERYTHING. Let me repeat that: I used that light value of color and I painted the entire surface of my paper with it – background, pots, chilies, foreground – E V E R Y T H I N G! The entire paper was now a very light shade of gray.

The next tricky part is what do you leave next? This value you just put down becomes the next lightest areas such as the highlights on the pots, the foreground and the chilies. These areas are big enough to paint around so you don’t need to mask them but you do need to note them in your mind so you don’t paint them because whatever isn’t this next lightest values gets the next wash of the same value. EVERYTHING! You are only painting around the next lightest areas, not just the pots or the chilies or the background but everything.

You will do this with each wash, leaving the next lightest areas unpainted until you get to your deepest shadows. So as you are getting darker and darker, you are leaving more areas unpainted but you are still painting everything with that value if it needs it. I will try to come up with another demo to clarify this a bit more, but I hope this helps.

Now back to what I did in class.

I added another couple of washes of value on my paper using a bit darker mix of paint. I had been using cerulean blue and orange to make gray when I ran out of “palette gray” so I went to my next darkest blue which is cobalt with orange. You can use the ultramarine and sienna if that is all you have but if you have light blues you might want to start out with one of them and work down to the ultramarine and sienna as you darks get darker.

Once I felt that I had established my values, I then started to add color. To the background I added blues, if you have pthalo blue on your palette, it is a god color here, greens, purple and turquoise in in a very mottled way. It is very strokey, it is also very dark. The pots I started with a mix of yellow, orange and a bit of mud from my palette and lots of water for the lightest areas and as I painting I added more orange, sienna and touches of purple as I got into the shadows. I also dropped a bit of very thinned our red into some areas. You will have to look at the pots to see what works best for you but remember you are still working from light to dark.

The chilies I under painted the entire bunch with yellow and a touch of orange and came back in on the shadowed side with red and alizarin crimson. Please note that all my colors are washy (thin) at this point because these lighter values (there’s that word again) will become my highlights as I add more color to the area.

The foreground I started with a mix of yellow, sienna and a touch of purple to gray the color, again keeping it very diluted for the first wash. In areas where I know I will have shadows, while the paint was still wet, I added more purple and sienna in small doses. You always want to sneak up on your watercolor, it really doesn’t like to be hit over the head and you won’t like the results either. Watercolor requires patience but in the long run, you will be happier with the results.

That is where I stopped. I may be able to finish my painting at our next class, we will see, however, I will bring the set up in for another class or two for those who want to finish their own paintings. If you want to move on, please find something of you own to work on and I will help you as needed.

Winter 2013 Watercolor

Project: Clay Pot Still Life

Original set-up at home.

This project is going to be a bit different from other projects we have done in the past. There is no reference photo. There is no drawing, there is only the set-up in class which we will all be working from and it is going to be different for everyone depending on where you are sitting in relationship to the set-up. I want to be a bit more methodical with our approach to this project though I do encourage students to work at their own pace, some are going to find this easy but most others will find it a challenge.

Set up at PV. Note change of angle, better lighting.

It is totally different working from real life whether it is working plein air or working from a set up in a studio, the artist is faced with challenges you do not have when working from a photo everything from how do you crop your subject? WHERE do you crop your subject? Composition of the subject on your paper/canvas and other things you don’t usually think about when you work from a photo that has a lot of that already taken care of for you. It is also easier to draw from a 2-dimentional photograph then to draw from the 3-dimensional world, this is where drawing skills come in handy and you will see how important they are if you want to improve as an artist.

Detailed sketches from home set-up

I start out doing what are called “thumbnail sketches” both vertical and horizontal of the subject. This helps me with a couple of things: first of all it helps me see my composition and to define the boundaries of my painting and where my light source is. A common problem when you are working from life is to make your subject too small on your paper or canvas including too much of the surrounding space that has little to do with the subject. By drawing in a couple rough rectangles on your sketch paper and placing the elements of your subject within those rectangles you can “fill up” the space that will eventually translate to your paper or canvas. The sketches themselves can be as detailed or un-detailed as you think you need, they can be anything from some basic shapes to a detailed drawing or something in between, as long as it works for you, that is all that matters. Write down any information in the margins you think you might need next to your thumbnail such as where the light is the angle (high or low) how many peppers were in the bowl to start…Whatever you think may be needed as your painting progresses.

Quick sketches from PV

The other thing about doing thumbnails, it lets you see is whether you want to do it vertically (portrait) or horizontal (landscape). I look at the negative space to see which way I want to paint. My subject should take up the biggest percentage of my paper or canvas, if in one direction my negative space is nearly equal to or greater than the space my subject occupies then I need to look at the other position or if there is some way I can adjust my design to fill up the space without compromising my composition. There are many things to work out before you ever set brush to paint.

This is also where your camera comes in handy. You want to take your photo from where you are working, if you have a zoom so much the better you can use it to crop the subject taking both vertical and horizontal photos. Remember if you work standing up take the photos while standing, if you are sitting take them while you are sitting. If your camera does not have a zoom or can’t get in close enough you can come up to the set-up but try to take the photo from the angle you see it from where you are working, it won’t be a perfect reference but it will be close.

Acrylic "sketch"

Once you have your design settled you may want to do some color sketches or a rough painting to give you an idea of what colors you will be using. The background on this one is going to be up to you so you might want to experiment with just blotches of color to see what you like best. Another thing you might want to do before moving on to your watercolor paper or canvas is to do a line drawing on regular drawing paper that you can use to transfer your design to your paper, this will allow you to do as much erasing as you need to do without hurting your watercolor paper and can be more efficient when trying to get your design on a canvas. I usually work out my design on the paper then use a Sharpie to make my lines clearer before transferring to my paper or canvas.

When working in watercolor, I tend to choose how I am going to start my painting partially by instinct forged over decades but also by subject need. It is about 50/50 and by need what I mean is what I feel is the most important aspect of what I am painting, in this case, for me, it is the light and dark of the subject the color – while important – isn’t as important as establishing the light and the shadows. At PV I am going to do a gray-scale under painting to start my painting, at Torrance I will do a different technique so you can see the difference. There are countless ways to approach a painting and I try to show you different way so you can find what works for you.

Used gray washes to find my values.

I started by first masking out my whitest whites. I squinted while looking at the subject and it turns out that the only things that really showed white were the highlights on the peppers. Their surfaces are shiny and reflect the light better than the soft mat surfaces to the pots. Everything else got a wash of a very watered down gray. EVERYTHING! This wash becomes my next lightest value. With each wash of gray, I leave a bit of the previous gray wash untouched, building to my darkest darks. I will eventually introduce color but not until I feel I have my values established. The string of peppers don’t need to be a meticulous chore, they are just shapes and all I am doing is adding shapes that will become the darker areas of the peppers by making quick slashes and dabs with my brush. Don’t over think this.

Please remember to sit where you were sitting in the previous class so you have the same perspective as you continue working on your painting.  

Happy New Year!

I hope that everyone had a good holiday and New Year and are now ready to get back to work.

I have had many requests to do another still life, your wish is my demand. I spent part of my vacation looking for what I hope is a perfect setup for the still life but you need to be aware that because it is a still life - meaning that you work from the actual things - there will be no line drawing for you to copy or transfer. I do suggest that for the first class that you have paper and pencil to do some sketches to determine whether you want to do vertical or horizontal, a camera preferable with a zoom to take a photo  from where you are when you start the painting and maybe set your paper up to do some quick, thumbnail watercolor sketches before you start you main painting.

This is good practice for all paintings including if you want to do plein air. It is a lot different working from a subject that is in the 3 dimensional world and working from a flat 2D photo, even under the controlled setting of a studio. This will be a challenge for many of you but one I'm sure you are up to.

I am posting a couple photos here to show that there is a difference between a vertical and horizontal composition and you may use them as reference only because they won't be in the same position you will see them in class. I'm not even going to use them for the painting I will be doing in class.

Another thing you may want to think about is what kind of background do you want? This is a suggestion especially for my students who have been with me for a while, yes, you can follow along with what I do but you may also want to find something different for your own needs. I will talk about that more in class.

I am looking forward to the start of class, I really want to get started on this project. See you all soon.

  

FALL 2012 WATERCOLOR CLASS – More Splattering

(Torrance the following will be what we will be doing in class this week. The drawing is on the picture page and the reference photo is in my Class Reference album if you are going to do the exercise.)

My whole purpose to the splatter projects is to make you less afraid to try something out of your comfort zone and see that you can make something wonderful.

This time I started with the drawing already on my paper so if I want to be a bit more selective on where I drop my paint, I will know where things are, then I wet the entire paper. I want the splatters to run and spread so my paper needs to be wet, the color I used to splatter or drip into the wet paper were very dilute so when they dried, they were just very pale suggestions of color. I noticed that some of you were having problems with this one, because your paper was too dry second, the paint you were trying to splatter didn’t have enough water with it. This is call “wet into wet” for a reason everything needs a lot of water to make it work.

While everything is still wet and running, you can tilt your paper in any direction you want. Notice that I didn’t tell you which colors to use, that is totally up to you, they just need to be very watery.

Now comes the hard part: Letting the paper dry completely. You can use a hair dryer if you want but let the paint do its things for a couple minutes before you drag out the dryer because it will stop all the subtle action that is going on, on your paper as paint and water mix so don’t get trigger happy with that dryer.

The other part of this lesson is contrast. Most of you are just so timid when it comes to getting really dark that your paintings look flat and lifeless. To make this poppy stand out from the background, you need to get dark. The darker you can get the negative space around the flower, the more that flower will stand out from the paper. Also note that I was using a variety of colors in my background. While it was predominantly green, I added colors like blue, purple, sienna, orange, yellow, red almost every color I have on my palette, this gives the background interest it creates soft shapes and suggestions of “stuff” happening around the poppy. Also note that I started with the leaves under painting them with a yellow wash and not really worrying about if I stayed in the lines or not. The background will be dark so what does it matter if I paint outside the lines?

Therest of the poppy I painted normally using blues and purples for the shadows, yellow and oranges for the center, this part you should be able to figure out by now.

Once the painting was as done as I could get it in class, I asked if anyone could see the splatters? There was a universal “Oh!” as people realized that you didn’t see the rainbow of colors that I started out with but a white poppy that seemed to glow. Is this the way you should paint all the time? That is a question only you can answer but you should keep it in your “bag of tricks” and pull it out every once in a while, it will make you happy.

Please have your own project for class next week, I will do demos as needed. See you in class.

PV Watercolor demo - More Splattering

Torrance Class - Finished Scotty's Truck.

FALL 2012 WATERCOLOR CLASS – Scotty’s truck

Torrance class you will need to go to the previous blog entry for your class notes.

PV class we are up to finishing the truck, how you finish it depends on you, I will go over what I did to finish mine.

First, I wanted to make sure that I had enough intensity to my color. The truck should pop off the page if your color is intense enough. Your darks need to be dark – and cool. Many of you had shadows that were too brown making them warm. The rest of the colors need to be rich in color. If your truck looks washed out it is because you need to increase the intensity of your color. You can keep your light areas light and still enrich the colors, always start in the darker parts of the area you are working on, rinse you brush and move the paint towards the lighter area. By comparison you will still have dark and light areas but your colors will intensify.

Watercolor is all about layers and it will take several to get to the point you need. Some may take 2 or 3 other times it may take 5 or more but you do what you need to, to get the intensity of color your painting requires.

For the shadows on the ground I used mostly blue and purple with a touch of sienna in it to gray is slightly. The shadows are important in this painting so don’t overlook them.

When I got to a point where I felt I was done with the painting part of the project, I looked to see where I could start adding – or in some cases – lifting detail. In the shadows in the cab and inside the engine compartment there is “stuff”. It is a bit hard to see but it is there, remember that all that stuff is, is shapes. You don’t have to figure out if it is a carburetor or whatever, just either add some dark shapes or lift out some lighter shapes. Lifting you just use a clean damp brush and go over an area. Rinse and dry your brush often.

You can lift out some detail on the fenders as well. If you want a dent, lift a light area off the fender, then on the left side add a touch of a shadow, look at your reference photo for details. Or where the hood meets the lower part of the engine compartment, you can lift a bit of highlight along the top edge of that lower part. Detail is up to you on just how much you want to put in or leave out.

Lastly, if you want to go over some of the edges and do some of the detail with a fine point Sharpie pen wait until your paper is good and dry before you start then you can go around all the edges or just parts of the edges if you want. Add some detail with the Sharpie if you want. There is a chain hanging out the door on the floor of the truck, make some marks that look like chain or add some wood texture to the wood frame. Add some bolts or some rocks or ??? what you do is up to you at this point, whatever you do have fun with it.

I may have another quick project for class when we meet again but please have something of your own to work on from this point out. I will do mini demos to help with problem areas. See you in class.

Torrance Truck Week 2

PV Truck Week 3 Finished

Fall 2012 Watercolor Class – Scotty’s Truck

Torrance students please refer to the previous blog entry, you are about a week behind PV.

You should have the first wash of color on your truck from here until the end it will be about intensifying the color and deepening the shadows. Remember watercolor works best if you do this in layers of washes rather than trying to do it all at once. Before you start, please look at the reference photo of the actual truck and not the place where I left off in class that photo is there so you can see where we left off and where you need to be before you start the next step, the actual truck shows you where you need to go.

Look at each part of the truck before you try to paint it. What you are looking for are highlights and shadows also where the rust might be a different color or have some texture. The more detail you can observe in your subject the better the outcome of your painting even if you are wanting to be more impressionistic, the devil is in the detail as they say, most painting go through a stage where they look very impressionistic it is where you take it from there with the amount of detail you put in that will make a more realistic painting.

For instance, look at the front fender. If you will notice around the outside edges it is a lot darker than the top, it isn’t a sudden change bot a gradual one with very soft edges. To paint the fender to get that look you start where it is the darkest with your color and using water on your brush move it towards the lighter area, this is called a graded wash.

The basic color for the metal parts of the truck are always going to be burnt sienna, a touch of orange and a little touch of purple. That will be the base color that you can add other colors to or more of one of the 3 basic colors depending on what you are trying to accomplish. There is some water in this mix and it is still a wash but it is not as thin as the first couple of washes, you paint should not look or feel pasty or thick when you put it on, it still needs to feel like painting with water. Some of you were using your paints way too thick a problem that can happen when you use them straight out of the tube.

I use my ½” angle brush and load the color on the tip and first third of the brush, you can use any brush you feel comfortable with but will have to practice to get the same effect. I put the tip of the brush where the color is the darkest but my whole brush is on the paper. I paint around these darker areas, and then I rinse my brush, take off the excess water and with just the damp brush I go back into the darker paint and start working it into the lighter areas. If you do it right you will have the edges darker and the top of the fender lighter. Yes, you may have to do this more than once because watercolor dries lighter but each time you will repeat this step just don’t got as far into the light area each time and you will see the fender start to pop off the page.

I know that it is tempting to go into the dark area with a very dark color and get it over with but please try to resist that urge and build the shadow just like the lighter areas of the truck. With your dark color – which is the above mix with more blue and purple added, BTW -  once you start to get the area dark enough to suggest shadow, go back in with more shadow color and just make some shapes especially in the cab of the truck and where the engine was because there might be “stuff” in those shadows and it will make your dark areas look like there is something there besides just dark.

The rock needs to have a shadow on it this is going to be a mix of blue and purple, again look at the rock before you start to paint, it is darker further under the truck and along the sides. If you “pat” the brush to the paper it will create a bit of texture the rock will need otherwise it could look like a smooth river rock, rather hard to find in the desert.

I have not done my shadows yet but if you feel like you can paint them, use the blue and purple mix with just a touch of sienna in it and keep your edges soft.

We will be finishing up the truck in the next class so if you want to do some detail with a pen, have a fine tipped Sharpie with you at the next class. See you all next time.

Torrance Watercoolr class

PV Watercolor Class

Fall 2012 Watercolor - Scotty's Truck

Torrance Students: The PV class is a week ahead of you so you will need to use the previous week's blog entry for the class notes after we start the painting.

PV Students: I wanted to show you that you don't always need to have your drawing on first before you started a painting but if you have something specific in mind, it is important to have your reference handy so you can make adjustments if you need to.

Starting a watercolor by splattering the background can be a very effective way to loosen up your painting but also yourself. It lets you see that you can do a lot to a watercolor and still get great results.

To start this process I spritz my paper in a few places with my sprayer. I DID NOT WET the entire paper! I only spritz randomly to hit it a couple times with water though most of the paper was dry, otherwise all of my splattering would become very soft and blend in with what was around it. That is something to keep in mind for another painting.

You can use a tooth brush or a paint brush or both, I was using my 3/4" angle brush with lots of water and color on it as I flicked it on my paper. I sorta kept the warm colors (reds, yellows and oranges) in the upper 2/3's and my cooler colors (blues, greens and purples) near the bottom but there was plenty of mingling, some of which I caused by tilting my paper.

After my paper dried,  I transferred my drawing onto my paper using graphite transfer paper but you can rub a #4 pencil on the line of the back of your pattern, place that side down on your paper and go over the lines, works about the same. Putting your drawing on after painting your background often works better than doing it before all the water and paint hit it because graphite can dissolve and you will need to draw it on again.

When you have your drawing on your paper you will start the under painting process. Remember that in watercolor we go from light to dark so we will be building up to those dark shadows with layers of paint.

You will need your reference photo so you can find the lightest areas on the truck, they will be on the hood, fenders around the door and parts of the frame. On those areas you can use a light wash (little paint, lots of water) of either orange or yellow or a combination of the two, the most important part of this is to keep it light with lots of water.

Next, over the rest of the truck - that includes the shadows - mix a bit of burnt sienna into the orange/yellow mix you just used, keep it to the orange side but still keeping it light then go over everything that is metal on the car including all the shadow areas, we will pull those out with the next wash but because they will be very dark we need to build the dark layer by layer. Watch out for the wooden frame in the door and in the cab, those should be painted with a blue/green mix but wait until the surrounding area is dry. The rock below can also get a light wash of this color.

Let this layer dry completely, you can use a hair dryer to speed up the process, then once it is dry, use you sienna, with a touch of purple and water into that color you were using and go over all your shadow areas with this color. We aren't trying to get our final darkness yet all we are doing at this point is finding our light and dark areas. This color can also go on the tire.

This is where we stopped, I hope that everyone is at or near this point when we meet again.