Summer 2010 Watercolor Class

Glass and Metal – Watercolor

Now that we have practiced painting metal and glass, we are going to put what we have learned to practical use by organizing our elements and adding a simple third element into a pleasing simple composition.

You need to draw your still life on your paper but before you start drawing, check your composition. First and foremost, you want to fill up your paper with your subjects. If you have something tall like my wine bottle and you go with a horizontal (landscape) placement of your paper, you are probably going to have a lot of wasted space around your subjects when you get finished so a vertical format will probably be better for tall things.

Again, rule of thirds. I placed the bottle close to the left vertical third line as well as the candle and the bell of the snuffer very near the bottom third intersection and the handle running near the bottom horizontal third line. This I usually do in my head but if you need to, divide your paper into thirds before you start drawing. Also, overlap elements in your composition. When there is space between objects they compete for attention, connecting them visually makes them a unit. You should be using at least a #2B pencil and a soft eraser when you need it.

Add as much information as you need or want to create the elements of your design just don't be so committed to them that you are afraid to improvise when you need to. Use masking fluid to protect your brightest highlights and be sure that the fluid is totally dry before you do the next step.

I know just how tempting it is to jump right in and get started on the main elements that matter most in a painting and worry about the background later, the thing is the background is like the stage set. Yes, you can act out the play without the set but it is very difficult to move the set in or get the props on or adjust the lights once the play has begun, I know, been there, done that and had to be physically held back from running on stage with forgotten props =-O (I still have nightmares). While you may not have nightmares if you don't get the background in first, you are going to have trouble trying to get the background to look like it belongs as you try to paint around your subjects leaving halos and hard lines and odd colors you may never get rid of, so trust me when I say" If your painting is going to have a background, do the background first, it will make your painting a lot simpler.

The background I demonstrated is simple but can be very effective no matter what color scheme you use.

The first thing I look for is my light source and which way the light will be traveling. In this case the light was in the front right so it will hit the upper left third of my background. I went over the "the rule of thirds" in class and if you do a search on the Internet, you will find a lot of sites that can give you more examples and explanations so I won't go into it here except to say that it is important to my composition to use the third lines when I am designing my painting and that includes the background.

Now that I have determined where my light will be the brightest on my paper, I can start painting. First I use my water sprayer to spray the entire paper and with my big wash brush I can add and spread the water to wet the paper evenly. When my paper is totally wet, I start in the area where it will be the lightest and pick up a tiny bit of the color I want to use. I did three different backgrounds in the three watercolor classes because I wanted to show these backgrounds can be any color you want or combinations of colors, it was the technique I was demonstrating not the color. For this explanation, I will go with the colors I used in my Torrance class.

This process moves pretty fast so don't stop between steps. I picked up a tiny touch of yellow on my brush and started working it on to my wet paper where the brightest light would be on my background. I was using a 1" angled shader but can be done with any large brush you have, save the small ones for detail. If I thought it was too yellow, I added more water because I want to keep this step light in value.

Next, I picked up a bit of orange and on the outside edge of the pale yellow worked the orange out a bit more making another ring of color. Blend the two areas together either with light strokes from your brush adding touch of clear water if necessary, you want a nice gentle blend. Keep working.

Next, pick up red, sienna and repeat what you did with the orange. You may find that on the left side you have run out of room for a complete ring, that's okay, just get your paper covered and be sure to blend the area where the two rings come together so you have a nice gradual transition.

The last step to the background will probably be mostly the corners maybe down the right side and bottom, use sienna and purple to create a dark color work that color in the corners. Again blend the touching areas so you don't have a hard dividing line. Now it must dry before you can start painting your objects. Note: on the green background I painted around the candle and snuffer (negative painting) because I didn't want the green to influence their colors in following washes.

When my paper was completely dry, I started with the wine bottle because it was the thing that was furthest back in my composition. I based it in with sap green and I was careful to paint around the candle to be sure that the bottle will look like it continues behind the candle. This is negative painting the candle. Looking at my bottle I added in yellow in the lighter areas, and sap with blue or just Hooker's green into the dark areas. I was using my ½" angle brush. Working other colors into the bottle while it is still wet – wet into wet – lets the colors soften into each other, just don't keep going over and over an area or you will stir up the color underneath and your colors could get muddy this is especially true if you are working with a complimentary color like I had with the red background and the green bottle.

The candle is translucent, keep this in mind because its shadows won't be as dark as a solid object. I used a mix of blue, purple and sienna and water to make a gray then starting on the inside where it would be the deepest part of the candle, created the shape of the edge I saw on the actual candle. Rinsed my brush and with a damp (I wiped out most of the water) brush, I went along the outside edge of that color (where it would be the inside of the candle not the outside edge) and spread it out towards the far edge of the interior of the candle. I rinsed my brush often because I wanted to keep it light. I used a similar technique for the shadow on the outside of the candle, starting with the gray color and bleeding it out with a clean damp brush. In some places I used the little bit of color on my brush to indicate shadows in some of the melted wax.

The center of the snuffer was the same blue, purple and sienna but with little water so it was very dark. I started in the darkest part of the bell then rinsed my brush and with the damp brush teased some of that color out to the front of the bell. This is much darker than what you did on the candle because of shadow and soot so you don't need to thin the color too much. This takes practice, if you have some scrap or test paper handy, you might want to practice first. The rest of the brass was painted in with yellow and a touch or orange or sienna. I used the same color mix on the candle holder.

Depending on how fast the class works – and I am by no means trying to rush you – we may get done with the painting next week and for sure the following week so please start looking for something you would like to paint. It can be any subject you want. Also, think about what you might like to do next semester so I can plan for something you want to learn or feel you need more instruction.

Summer 2010 Watercolor

WATERCOLOR CLASS – Glass and metal

There are similarities between glass and metal that will be apparent when you really look at the two, glass has the added element of being transparent for the most part, in both cases it is good to know where you are going with them and that requires a good road map.

You will hear me almost every time talking about drawing skills, my hope is to get a few of you to take it to heart. Like anything else you have to learn, the more practice you get the better you will become and if you concentrate on creating shapes rather than the thing you are drawing you will see improvement. Shapes are important in creating a road map for your glass or metal.

First, draw the basic shape of the glass or metal you want to paint. The outline and some basic "road signs" like a label or a corner is all you need to start. When that is done now look at your object and look for all the shapes that are reflected that are reflected. Don't worry about what is causing the reflection it is truly unimportant even if it is you that is reflected, just draw what you see. If it is glass you may see the shapes of things behind the glass such as the table and that will have its own shape. You may even see shapes within shapes, depending on how detailed you are going to make your drawing/painting will determine what you put in. Remember you do need to suggest enough of what you see to tell your viewer that it is glass or metal, beyond that is up to you as an artist.

If your subject is burnished metal or glass that is not as transparent you still to look at your subject carefully. Whether it is a tarnished copper pot or a ruby glass vase, it you look close, you will see that the things around them do reflect into them, maybe not as strong as something highly polished or transparent, but it is there and you need to be able to see it.

Once you have your "road map" – it could be a simple as a few basic shapes to note the most prominent things you see or it can be highly detailed, your choice – now you have to fill in the map. It doesn't matter where you start just hold off on your highlights until the very end. Even light shapes in a very reflective object aren't pure white so you will want to gray them down with a bit of mud from your palette or a touch of blue and sienna – teeny tiny touches – you just want to take the white down a bit.

When you are painting this for real, it will be to your advantage to mask out the highlights before you start. For the new students who don't know what masking fluid is, it is a rubber cement like latex that watercolorist use to protect their white areas so you can paint right over it and not worry about painting around small areas you want to leave white, then it rubs or peels off when you are ready for it. I will have some you can use in class but if you are going to continue in watercolor it is a handy thing to have in your art box. For now just be sure that you have marked where your major highlight is and worry about the small ones at another time, remember this is just practice.

If you are painting clear glass, really look at your glass. There is very little actual white, in the thickest parts it could be green or blue or gray and the overall color will be a very thin glaze or wash of that color so start off with that color and keep it handy you will need it to build up density. Don't get too dark too soon, in watercolor we work from light to dark and we need all those in between values to help us create three dimension on a two dimensional surface.

Don't be afraid to test a color next to your glass or metal on your paper to see how it looks. It is much better to test now and know if it is too dark or not the right color on your paper, than when you are working on the real thing. Test those washes, they should just be tints. If you get things too dark too soon, it may be hard to lift the color back off to where you wanted it and you could end up damaging your paper. Better to do it right the first time than fretting over it later.

Again, have the thing you are going to paint in front of you and put in as much or as little as you need to tell your viewer what it is, the detail is up to you. Just work in layers and let the layers dry before you attempt to add more layers (washes). And feel free to experiment, this is the place where you can learn how to use your brush, how to add washes, how to lay down paint then rinse your brush and use water to bleed the color out. Or play with the color of your object to get the right mix. This is just practice so practice!

We are going to put these objects all together this week and create a simple still life so you will need a fresh paper and bring in your glass and metal along with one other thing for your set-up. It can be a piece of fruit real or not, a silk flower but keep it simple, your glasses if you don't need them to paint, a book, a candle…What ever you think would go with the other two objects that isn't a project in itself. I want it simple for your sake, this third item will help you compose your painting easier than with just two but it should be something you are familiar with painting-wise.

Watercolor Summer 2010

Getting into Our Right Mind. Glass and Metal

I know that most of my students thought that I had lost what little mind I had left with our first assignment of the semester, but as you later found out, there is method to my madness.

As a teacher it is my job to help you along your artistic journey. I watch as I see my students struggle with even simplified scenes, I know what they are going through because I've been there myself, but until they understand on their own, the struggle will continue.

Most of that struggle comes from how our brains work. Students who have been with me for a while will get tired of hearing me mentioning Betty Edwards' "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" but it is an excellent book on how we see things and how our brain processes the information dividing it up into the left and right sides of the brain. It is the right side we need to tap into as artists but more often than not, the left side just won't let go of the brush so we can get closer to our artistic goals. This is the struggle and we need to find ways to convince ourselves that it is okay to let that creative side take control, which was the purpose of the exercise.

The left side of your brain has a very short attention span, if you will. It wants to name things and move on. If it looks like a chair or a flower or a car or whatever, that is what it is now let's move on! It is your right side that sees the difference between a delicate rose bud and a wilting daisy; or a beat up old Vega and a hot new Porsche. It sees the beauty and nuance of the world around you but with the left brain in charge, it is like driving on the freeway with someone with a lead foot and you are trying to look at the scenery. You need to find a way to make it stop.

Fortunately, we do have ways to slow that side down and the more you feel that shift in your mind, the easier it will become. One of the best ways to slow your brain down is to turn your picture upside down adding the element of the opposite hand brings it to a stand still! What you are left with are shapes and color, the very thing that interests your creative side. When you get right down to it that is what all painting is about: Shapes and color.

You will hear me say quite often that it is just shapes: Shapes of the highlights, shapes of the shadows, shapes within shapes. If when you get done putting those shapes together and those shapes are similar to the original shapes you will have a painting that looks close to what you pictured in your minds eye, the picture will be there.

All in all, I think all of my classes did a great job. It was different and a challenge but in the end what we had surprised everyone and that is a good thing. It is also good to know that if you do have problems with a painting, turn it upside down. You don't have to paint it with your opposite hand unless you want to but it gives you that option to tap into your creative side.

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We started a bit on what we will be doing for the next couple of weeks and that is working to create glass and metal. I want to just do some studies to begin with because it is an important step to understanding how everything goes together.

As I mentioned in class, most beginning and intermediate artists want to get right to the business of painting their masterpiece but more often than not, there are elements in that masterpiece they are at a total loss as to how to proceed. Rather than stopping and doing a few studies to work out the problem, they will work and re-work the areas that cause them problems until the rest of the painting suffers and there goes the masterpiece.

I just did a quick demo on focusing in on certain areas of the subject like a glass bottle or polished metal vase, neither are as they seem. Glass in particular can be reflective, transparent and have its own color, things you need to deal with if you want a convincing piece of glass in your painting. Even if you are doing a more impressionistic rendering, you need to see what is going on in that glass so what you have will look transparent instead of solid. Glass and water have a lot in common so this is good practice for both.

Metal is much the same with out being transparent. Metal has its own color but it also picks up the color of things around it, even burnished metal or tarnished metal, they will still reflect the things around them.

We will work on this more in the next class so don't forget to bring something glass and something metal, I say this because it helps to have it in front of you rather than going by a photo alone.

Spring 2010 Watercolor Class Week 7

Watercolor – Week 7: Borax Wagon

Torrance students you are a bit behind the PV students but you should finish the wagon up at our last meeting, so do not despair.

All classes, before I painted the dark shadow under the wagon, I used masking fluid to protect the sun streaks that are in the shadows. While this was drying, I worked on some of the detail on the wagon. Torrance students I had to paint the iron bar that attaches to the wood beam that comes from under the wagon. If you haven't drawn it in, do it now, all I has was a curvy line and used the edge of my ¼" angled shader to get the width of the bar you can use a round brush if you like. First I painted the bar with just water. While it was still wet, I picked up burnt sienna and tapped my brush into the center of the wet area and let the paint do most of the work. Then I picked up blue and lightly touched the shadowed side of the bar, again while it was wet and letting the paint do the work. I rinsed my brush and picked up some orange for the sun lit side of the bar (it should still be wet) and touched the orange to the left side of the bar. LET THE PAINT DO MOST OF THE WORK!

Torrance students you will need to look at last week's blog for the detail on the beams under the wagon and on the hub so I don't have to repeat myself, your photo will be your best reference, it is mostly doing what you have been doing – dry brush texture, adding intensity to your colors and shadowing – you can figure out what and where if you look carefully.

The bolts on the wagon and on the wheel are not long involved detail work, they are quick and simple shapes. We just need to suggest to the viewer that they are bolts or what ever and they will fill in the rest.

You may want to use a small round brush for this, I used my liner brush because it comes to a fine point and hold a lot of paint so I can do more than one or two bolts before reloading. I was using the dark shadow color and where I needed to suggest "bolt" I just drew 3 little lines like the shadowed side of a bolt and a small dot in the center. Notice where the blots are placed on the wagon: they are on the vertical boards on each side of the spaces between the long boards. I did the bolts on the wagon wheel later but in the same way. That is it! Don't get carried away thinking it is more than it is and all it is are some basic, simple shapes that suggest "bolt".

While you have that smaller brush in your hand, there are a few other things you can do with the dark color: There is a bracket on the wagon that holds the chain and at the bottom of the wagon there is a metal plate you can suggest with a couple of quick lines to indicate a shadow, this plate also has a could of bolts holding it on, two seconds and it is done.

Near the top of the wagon is an "M" shaped piece of metal, while we still don't know what it does, we did figure out that the metal bar slips over it and it acts like a lock or stop to hold the bar so the driver can handle the mules, at least that is what it looks like, anyway, with my ¼" in angled brush – you can use any small brush you feel comfortable with – I started in the dark shadowed side next to the bar with my very dark color. Near the top of the first point, I rinsed my brush and with just water, dragged tome of the color up to the top of the point. I then picked up a touch of sienna and touched into that wet area, rinsed and found some lighter version of the dark color on my palette. It just needs to be a gray color and I tapped this color almost down to the center, skipped the center then went up the side. Look at the photo to see where the dark and light areas are.

When that was done, with the same brush and the same dark color, I painted in the shadow that is under this metal strip. If you need to pencil it in before painting, that is fine, just be very aware of the shape of the shadow. I'm not so concerned with hard lines this time because the hard lines actually help give a strong sense of light to the painting. We are artists and we have a license and we need to use it upon occasion.

There is also a shadow from something off camera that looks like another metal bar you can paint in now as well as the shadow cast from the metal bar we can see. Notice that at the bottom of the wagon there is another hunk of wood that rests on the beam that hold the metal bar and the shadow from off camera changes position as it falls over it. Paint in that dark shadow while you are there that is under this hunk of wood, I think it is a support for the metal bar.

Detail isn't hard but it can be time consuming. Just keep in mind that a few simple shapes. a few lines here and there can bring a whole different look to your painting. Don't be afraid of it, just take your time.

On the beams under the wagon I suggested some of the paint on the beams, I kept it mostly to the sides and left the top light. The color was sienna, a touch of red and a tiny touch of purple and I just dry brushed it on here and there, leaving bits of the under painting showing to look like exposed wood.

There are several chains on the wagon and while it may look complicated, it really isn't all that hard. Using my liner brush again and a mix of sienna and a touch of purple, I made a series of loops and bars to create the chains. I didn't draw them in first but I did draw a line that I could follow so I knew how it draped over the bar. This "o-o-o-" looks more like chain than just doing a series of loops strung together (ooooooo) because the loop you are seeing the full shape of the loop and the bar is the loop on its side (see photo page). It doesn't matter if the loops are exactly the same, these chains were made by hand one link at a time plus they have been abused and used for over 100 years. When you get to the shadow of the chain on the side of the wagon, pay special attention to the distortion of the shapes as they fall on the wagon. Torrance students, I think this is about where we stopped, PV classes carry on.

We managed to finish the wagon in both classes at PV (yeah!) at this point you need to be sure that all the shadows on the parts of the wagon are where they should be, we have a little more to do to finish just review the photo and your painting to see if all is as it should be at this point.

On the hub, there is a metal band around it, if you have your center painted you can paint in the shadow of that band on the recessed end of the hub. If you need to paint the center, it is red, orange and sienna and starting from the outside and pulling in creating a mottled look, let it dry before adding the shadow. There is also a shadow under the next band back.

Please look at the photo before starting the shadow on the center of the hub. The wheel is canted slightly in so we aren't seeing the wheel straight on. You can see a bit of the lip of this band on the right side that is in the sun and the shadow cast from the left side. There is also a slight shadow where the wood in the center meets the lip. Just make note of this before you paint.

The lug nut in the center is created by negative painting and lifting. I negative painted the shadow on the left side of the nut and lifted a highlight on the sunlit recess it sits in. I also lifted a little off a couple of the corners of the nut and it was done! No drama here, just in and out, simple steps.

If you want, you can put in some deeper grooves on the wooden rim using your liner brush and a dark color, this is just some extra detail you can do and you can also use it on the wagon if you want, it is up to you. Also add a few shadows behind some of the paint chips to give them depth if you want, do as much or as little as satisfies you.

By this time your masking should be dry so once again I mixed up a dark color of blue, purple and sienna keeping it to the blue side and painted all of the shadows I saw under the wagon. There is a stanchion right behind the wheel that I ignored and just painted in shadows, that was much more interesting than what was there. I used my ¾" brush for the large areas and my ½" for smaller areas. Refer to the photo if you need to and while you have this color handy, make sure that all your shadows are dark enough. Watercolor dries lighter and these shadows need to be pretty dark to get the contrast we need.

When the shadows are totally dry, you can remove the masking. With a damp brush, just soften the lines of these shapes just a bit. If you want to add texture of the dirt, use the shadow color and stipple some into some of the light areas.

Some final detail are the bolts on the wheel along with lines and cracks, I also added a long metal bar under the wagon because I liked it, do or don't, it is up to you. I think that is all and from what I was seeing in class, everyone is doing a great job. This was a challenge because of the detail but if you have patience with yourself and take it one step at a time and keep a positive attitude, you CAN do detailed subjects. Don't set yourself up for failure by saying it is too complicated, or it looks tough because you have already been defeated. It is a challenge or a puzzle you need to figure out but you can do this!

Registration is now open at both Torrance and PV for the summer session. Please get signed up early so we can continue our classes. Torrance students this is especially true because we need at least 10 to keep the doors open.

PV students, I will figure out something for our last 3 weeks, Torrance students after the holiday we will finish the wheel and we will also have a critique so please bring in one or more paintings on our last day for critique, they can be your best or something you want a second opinion on what ever you want to bring. See you all soon.

Spring 2010 Week 6

Watercolor Class – Borax Wagon

Depending on what class you are in, you may need to reread the end of last weeks blog to get details, I am going to pick up where I left off in the Tuesday afternoon class but will review here what is needed to get caught up.

I dry brushed in the texture of the sides of the wagon and the vertical beams that hold it together. I also under painted the shapes under the wagon with sienna and under painted the wagon wheel and did some texture on it along with the beginnings of the worn paint and I put in a few shadows. See the photos I posted and read the blog to get to that point.

The lines that represent the spaces between the planks on the side of the wagon can be done with either your liner brush, a round brush or a flat brush, choice is yours what ever you feel you have more control over. Just remember that the line will look better if it isn't perfect so don't get out a straight edge. Same with the shadows behind the vertical boards on the wagon, this is a very well worn wagon there is nothing on it that is perfectly straight.

The paint on the wheel is redder on the front than it is on the spokes or the inside rim where it tends to have a lot of orange, if you need to enhance the color use sienna with a touch of red to brighten the color and hit and miss along the edge and make sure that you vary your shapes: Thick, thin; large small; wide, narrow – It is old paint.

We will be using that terracotta color along with orange so don't wipe it off your palette.

On the inside rim start out with that terracotta color at the top spoke and work it down to the next spoke the change to orange all the way to the bottom. Don't worry about the shadows just yet, we will get to them later. If you want, you can wet the area first it might make it easier for you.

Each spoke is going to be painted the same way but with any luck at all, each will look a bit different. This will be wet into wet and there are a couple of ways you can start. I was using my flat, ¼" angled brush for these smaller areas. First the obvious, paint each spoke with water first, then orange then the terracotta. Drop the colors in by touching the tip of your brush to the paper and letting the paint do the work. The other way is to wet the area with orange and touch the terracotta into the orange. The paint should do most of the work and again, don't even think about shadows right now, we will get to them later. This takes time and patience so don't try to rush it. If the red color gets into areas you want lighter, use a clean damp brush to lift off the color a bit, but that is about all you should have to do.

On those wooden beams under the wagon use a mix of sienna with a touch of purple to make a dark red color and dry brush on some texture on some of the beams that are in the sun. Avoid the tops of those things to keep them lighter.

The support beam right under the wagon that has that bar attached can be a bit tricky because the side of it goes from the light into the shadow and it has some reflected light on it. That light is that reddish color you were just using, just wet the area first then touch the color into that area. The metal bar may take some practice on a larger scale so you know what you need to do but I first wet the bar with water then with just straight sienna touched the tip of my brush down the center of the bar. Rinsed and picked up some blue on the time and touched that to the right (shadowed) side, rinsed and picked up orange and touché that to the sunny side (left), all while it was wet and I let the paint figure out the rest.

The rims on the hub and on the outside of the wheel were done in much the same way: Wet the area then touch with color (sienna, blue, orange)

Now we get into some of the shadows. The color will be the same throughout and it will be a mix of blue, purple and a touch of sienna but mostly to the blue side. I am still using my ¼" flat angled brush and it is very important that you have your reference photo handy because you sill be referring to it often.

On the wheel, I looked for spokes that were near ones that I have in my painting (remember we only have 10 and there are actually 14) so I knew the shapes I would need for the shadows. On the left hand side of the wheel next to the spokes, there is a shadow that runs from just past the top of the wheel to the bottom. It is just a thin line but an important one to add depth. At the top on the inside it is very dark then lightens somewhat as it gets next to the spoke at 1 o'clock, this is because there is some reflected light getting into the shadow. The rest of the shadows are pretty dark and you will need to check the photo to see where they go. Some are thin, some only go down a little way, others go down almost half way depending on how the light is hitting other parts of the wheel to create the shadows.

Under the wagon, use the same dark color to start creating light and dark shapes out of the red color you have there. IF you want to add some detail like the chain just behind the wheel, all you have to do is negative paint, first paint the holes with the dark color, then paint around where you want the chain. Please, please, PLEASE check your reference photo to see where your shadows go, it isn't hard to do if you just look before you paint. It is the light and dark shapes you create that will give some meaning to what all that is under there so please take your time to find these dark and light shapes.

We will be working some more on our wagon and will really be getting into the detail. I don't think we will get it finished this week, maybe the next which for Torrance will be our last class. See ya soon.

Spring 2010 Watercolor Class

Watercolor – Borax Wagon Week 1

I know that the detailed drawing can be a bit confusing especially the stuff that is going on under the wagon, all you have to do is draw the shapes you see and not worry about that it is. I don't know what it is and it really doesn't matter what it is because we are ONLY concerned with shapes, we shouldn't be naming anything that we are drawing or painting, it is all just shapes. If you draw the shapes as you see them and paint them as you see them, if they are important, when you are done they will look like what they are suppose to but they are still just shapes. Do the best you can and don't sweat the small stuff.

There is only a small section of sky in the upper right hand corner, I wet that area with just water and included the distant mountains when I was wetting the paper. I then picked up blue and a touch of sienna to give me a gray/blue and painted the upper portion of the sky and let gravity do a lot of the work by rinsing my brush and with just water touching the bottom edge of that color and letting the color run down (I always work with the back of my paper elevated at least a couple inches). I then turned my paper upside down, picked up some sienna and a touch of red and just below the tops of the mountains applied this new color and let it run towards the blue sky. I tilted my paper to get the colors to go where I wanted them and then held it flat for a minute or so until the paper dried enough that they weren't running together fast. They were still mixing a bit but not enough to matter.

Let the sky dry a bit before starting the distant mountains but if they are just a touch damp, it will work to your advantage to create a soft edge or wait until it dries completely if you are unsure.

I picked up some sienna and a touch of red to create the distant mountains. It should be just a shade or two darker than the sky but not real dark, it is in the distance. Use water (a damp brush is good enough) to move the color from the top of the mountain to the bottom to keep it light.

While your mountains are drying, you can start on the desert floor. You will be negative painting the wagon as you paint the dirt around it. If it helps you, wet an area with water first then touch color – wet into wet – into the wet areas. Use mostly your warm colors – sienna, orange, yellow and red – but you can add some of your cool colors if you want, keep your strokes mostly horizontal and don't be too heavy handed when you apply your colors, this should be light and sunny when you are done. Many of you were way too generous with your colors and they got too heavy too soon, remember we work light to dark, if you get too dark too soon, you have nowhere to go with your color. Let the ground area dry before moving on to the wagon.

If your mountains are dry, if you have some of that pinkish color on your palette you can add a lot of water to it, if you have to remix, it was sienna and red and LOTS of water to make just a faint tint of pink for the sand hills just below the mountains. This is just a very light tint for these hills because they are made up of sand. Let it dry just a few seconds, probably just the time it takes to mix some sap green with a touch of orange and water, then just touch this color onto the tops of these sand hills while they are still a bit wet, this will be the grasses that are growing on the tops of these old dunes.

The under painting for the wagon is a very light gray color. You can probably get a good gray by mixing a lot of water with all the colors on your palette to get a "palette gray" or if you are just too neat, use just touches of blue, sienna and purple to create a gray tint much like you did for the sand hills in that it is very light. I painted over everything except for that metal strip on the upper left side of the wagon.

For the under painting for the wheel and the stuff under the wagon, I added a touch of sienna to that tint to warm it up and to make it a bit darker in value. I painted the outside rim and the under parts with this color on the spokes, I added orange and mixed with that reddish color.

This is the point where I left off at Torrance however we did go a bit further at PV. Torrance students if you want to try and do some of the things I did at PV before class next week, feel free, I will get you caught up so no need to panic.

Before I could do this next step the wagon had to be totally dry. If you are unsure, get out a hair dryer or let it sit for a half hour or so. If your paper is at all wet, this won't work. Be ye forewarned!

With a very dry brush, I worked some orange into my brush (I was using my ½" and ¾" brushes). Before I touched the paper I squeezed the bristles near the metal ferrule to make sure I didn't have any excess water in my brush, then touching the paper lightly with the very edge of the brush, I dragged it horizontally across on the wagon sides, wiggling a bit as I went. THIS TAKES PRACTICE. Have some scratch paper handy to practice on and just paint the side boards not the vertical supports just yet. Skip areas, if this is old varnish or paint, it has worn off in spots. Repeat this step using other colors like sienna or blue just be sure that the paper is dry, your brush is dry and you use a very light touch. We also dry brushed the grain into the vertical stays that hold the sides of the wagon. PV Morning class, this is where we stopped.

Afternoon class we got a bit further we added some texture to the outside rim of the wheel using a mix of blue and sienna with water, we want it a bit darker than what's there but not real dark just yet. Make sure you get the excess water out of your brush before starting the texture. We also started putting on the flecks of paint on the wheel rim the same way as well.

We did start some of the shadows using blue and purple with a touch of sienna very little water painting in the underneath part of the wagon and some of the shadows on the wagon from the stays. Note on that support coming out from under the wagon that has the metal bar on it there is some reflected light on the side – look at the reference photo – before it goes under the wagon.

We also painted the metal bar on the side. First I wet the bar with water, not drippy water, just enough to dampen the area then I picked up some sienna on the tip of my brush and ran it down the center of the entire length of the bar. While it was still wet, I picked up some blue and ran this color down the shadowed side of the bar, rinsed my brush and picked up orange and ran that down the front side. This whole thing was done wet into wet. I did leave a gap where the chain was. That is where we left off in the PV afternoon class.

If the other classes want to try and get to this point on your own, that is fine with me. Just take your time and look at the photo and try to figure out on your own what you have to do to get the look you want. Or you can wait until class and we will all get caught up. Be ready to work on Monday and Tuesday. See you then.

Spring Watercolor Classes 2010

Week 4 – Watercolor: Creating Form

When I walk around my classes to observe what my students are working on, there are things that stand out and tell me we need to work of some basics still. Most students want to paint things that look reasonably real as opposed to impressionistic or abstract, yet there is a lack of understanding about how to create a 3D look on a 2D surface, e.g. paper. That was the basis for the lesson but it was more than just creating the shapes it was also how to see them in everything around you.

As an artist, your first job is to become very observant. You will hear me say this time and again but it is very important to understand what you are painting before you can actually start painting. Whether you are working from a photograph or plein aire being able to see the detail will bring a sense of life to your paintings and a sense of light.

Highlights, form shadows, reflected highlights and cast shadows work in concert to bring form and substance to your subject matter and your painting in general, you need to learn to see them in real life so you can use them in your paintings. We start with the light source.

We live on a planet with only one sun, keep this in mind when you are working from a photo or if you set up a still life at home. A photo, even ones you take yourself, can have what is called "fill light". It comes from the flash on your camera. Professional photographers may use several fill lights to create an image, while not wrong, too much light can take out the drama of the light and out of your painting. With a still life, most people will over light their subject because they want to be able to see every detail, which is fine so long as you take a photo with only one light source as your primary reference, use the others only if you need some clarification. If you are working directly from the set-up, resist adding more than one light source, it will work to your advantage.

Another thing to keep in mind is where the light is coming from. As a photographer I know that the time to get the best photos is early morning before 10 or 11 a.m. or after 2 p.m. and try to get the light to come from the sides of the subject. This will create dramatic form and cast shadows as well as highlights for a much more interesting photo. This principal also works in paintings.

Look at how the light falls on your subject, in this instance a roll of paper towels. The top of the roll and the top of the side closest to the light will be your brightest areas, everything else will be shades of gray. Now look at the corner on the table opposite the brightest corner for the roll (you may have to set up a roll next to a window or other single light source to see this). You should notice a couple of things one is the cast shadow and the other is that the form shadow on the towels is just slightly lighter than the cast shadow.

First the form shadow: Notice how as it goes around the roll it changes from a dark blue gray to lighter grays and finally to white in the upper corner, this is how you need to paint the roll or any subject for that matter. Start with a darker blue/gray (blue, purple and sienna) on your brush put it on the darkest part of the towels, rinse your brush and move the paint around the roll with water. Another thing to keep in mind is your strokes should reflect the surface you are painting. The towels are round so you should use curved strokes to help create the illusion of roundness.

Now the cast shadow: Notice how the shadow moves away from the roll, it is very dark near the roll and right under the roll and as it moves away from the roll it becomes softer and the edges more diffused the further it is from the towels. Keep this in mind as you paint, you can start near the towels with some thicker paint and as you move away from the towels do more dry brush to lighten and soften the color.

On the inside of the towel roll the highlights and shadows are reversed since the towels are blocking the light from the light source. This will be true on anything that is hollow such as bowls, buckets or rotted tree trunks. See it first before you paint.

The last thing is the reflected highlight. This is probably the most challenging thing for you to see though once you finally do see the reflected highlights, it will be easier to see them in all things. Reflected highlights occur when light bounces off of one thing and back into the form shadows of another. It is usually a cooler color such as a blue purple but it can also be a reflected color of something around the thing you are painting, it won't be as bright as its origin however it will be just slightly lighter than the form shadow. Adding these soft purple or cooler colors to your shadows will give them life and bring a sense of reality to your paintings.

You can create form whether you are working wet into wet or wet on to dry, either one is going to take practice and knowledge. You need to look for these things I've been talking about, they are all around you. Once you see them you will understand how important they are to your paintings so please don't just take my word for it start looking for these things.

It is also good to practice your techniques on a scrape canvas or paper (use watercolor paper it's tougher). The more familiar you are with how your paints and brushes work the better off you will be when you are working on your masterpiece.

I showed how to do wet into wet first by wetting the paper with just water then literally dropping color or just barely touching the paper with the tip of the brush onto the wet surface and letting the paint work its magic. You can also wet the paper with paint that has a lot of water then dropping color into the wet paint, both methods create fun results, its what I love about watercolor, just letting it do its own thing, remember if you fight the watercolor it will win, work with it and you will have great results.

I'm still working on finding something for class but I hope to have it up by Sunday.

Here are a couple of Google links that will take you to the works of Rembrant and Van Gogh to see how the masters used light and shadow. With Van Gogh you will have to look at his "saner" periods but his use of light is beautiful.

Rembrant

Van Gogh