Article 2: Watercolour Hints and Tips - Part 3.

WATERCOLOUR WORDS 

Part Three.

Starting a new picture.

FIRST STEPS.

The initial setup has been discussed in the previous parts of these notes.  Now we assume that the decisions about the subject, how it is to be painted, and the practical details regarding the type of paper and its mounting, have already been made.  For the purpose of discussion here, I will be showing the progress with a smallish landscape, on 12" by 16" 140 pound blocked cold pressed paper.  Because the paper is blocked, no stretching, taping or stapling is required.  The outer edges are masked however, to give a white border for the finished work, as shown in the illustration on the right. 

The initial drawing has been made, using a medium-soft HB pencil lightly, to lay out the principle parts of the picture.  This particular picture is based upon a site close to my home, where the developer has not yet encroached upon the raw landscape.  I was passing by on a frosty morning, and my imagination was captured by the rising sun struggling through the tops of mist enshrouded trees.  Fortunately, my camera was handy for a record shot, which subsequently became woven into the fabric of this picture.  Some slight re-adjustment of the contents, and the addition of the figures produced a pleasing balance of mass and colours.  I have no compunction about using photographs as reference material in my work.  Field notes and rough sketches usually augment what the camera sees.  The final assembly of parts into a satisfactory layout is essentially a studio function as far as I am concerned.  Blessed are they who can complete a painting on site and outdoors; I shall never be one of them. 

Before the actual painting gets under way, it's as well to work out a simple plan of campaign.  For example, although it is logical to start at the top of the picture and work down, particularly when painting a landscape, there is no rule to say that it must be done that way.  If a sky is to be the background, then that is a good place to start.  But before that can happen, there is usually some masking to be done, so that the sky-coloured washes are kept away from places that need to be light to white, or another colour that a sky wash would spoil.  For small areas, masking fluid would be used, and rubbed off after it has done its work.  (An old, non-critical brush should be kept for masking fluid, as it may easily get damaged.  Before dipping the brush in the fluid, dampen the hairs with a slightly soapy solution of water.  This makes it easier to remove the drying and probably hardening fluid as soon as the masking is finished.)  Highlights on tree trunks and branches are typical exampled of places that should be masked.  Also, I may finish-paint some items in the picture first, and mask them before the surroundings are painted.  In the picture that we are using for reference here, I painted the dog first, so that applying masking protected the featured item from encroachment of nearby colours and washes.  Some edges on the foreground rocks and other items were protected with masking fluid as well, to retain sharp edges in the finished work.  In some cases, large areas of a picture may need to be masked, and in such cases, masking tape can be cut to fit to save the cost of masking fluid.  The trunks of the trees in the "Huttonville" pictures in the gallery section of this Showcase are examples in point of this technique.  When using tape on the picture, be sure to press the edges down firmly, or paint may slip underneath.  The rougher the texture of the paper, the more likely this is to happen.  And don't leave the tape on the paper for more than a few days if possible, as it may become permanently attached.  

WASHES.

One of the most fundamental and convenient features of painting in watercolour, is the ability to cover large areas of the paper with a transparent colour.  This may be a single colour across the whole surface, or a blend of colours.  Skies usually require this sort of treatment.  Depending upon the painter's style, portraits may also be candidates for this technique, although obviously on a smaller scale.  

Various authorities on the subject offer different opinions as to how washes should be applied.  Some insist that no more than a total of three layers of wash should be applied one over the other, in order to avoid a "muddy" result.  Conversely, other experts maintain that the best results are obtained with a large number of very thin washes, carefully graded to produce subtle, soft textures.  Examples of the latter technique may be found at Conrad Mieschke's Web site, accessible from the "Links" section of this Showcase.  Whichever method is used, it is usually necessary to let each layer dry before applying the next, otherwise a succeeding layer may loosen the one beneath it, perhaps causing a blotchy effect.  A hair dryer, used cautiously, works well to hasten the drying.  The exception to intermediate drying would be wet-in-wet washes, where different strengths of colour, or indeed different colours, may be washed into one another for a particular effect, as in skies.  There will be more to say about painting skies later.  But as with most other aspects of painting, satisfactory results can only be obtained by working at it.  

POTS, PANS AND DISHES.

This is the part of watercolour painting where improvisation from domestic sources pays off.  There are plenty of water trays, paint pots and other mundane items available from the artists' supply houses.  Some are quite useful.  Others can be a nuisance.  The lightweight plastic trays with indents for mixing colours fall into the latter category.  Unless they are anchored to the desktop or tabletop with adhesive tape, they slip away from the brush as soon as it gets close.  The results can be quite messy.  The half-pan watercolours that I use have their bottoms taped to the inside of their box.  

For mixing colours and washes, I prefer white ceramic dishes.  They stack nicely when not in use, and remain where they are supposed to when doing their duty.  They wash out quickly and easily when the contents are no longer needed, or just become too filthy.  A pile of them can just be seen behind the drawing board in the picture above and on the left.  Old jam jars work well enough as water containers.  An old spray bottle, well and truly washed to remove any trace of the original contents, will be very useful for wetting large areas of the paper, and for keeping it wet when necessary for wet-in-wet applications.  A roll of paper towelling will be useful for more than just mopping up messes.  For water, I am probably overly fastidious, but I prefer to use some that has been filtered - just in case.  

LIGHTING.

Not everybody has control over the lighting in which a painting will be produced or finally viewed.  It is perhaps as well to reflect upon the conditions under which the old masters painted, to accomplish results that we are privileged to enjoy today.  If they were lucky, they had studios with north light during the day, but at night, they were committed to using candles or oil lamps, or to not paint until daylight returned.  Nowadays, those of us with the opportunity to do so, will be able to choose from an extensive range of light sources and fixtures.  Like the old masters, we may need to adjust our palettes, or the colours we appear to be using, in order that the finished work will look right under the lighting conditions in which it will eventually be seen.  If the final viewing conditions are unknown when the painting is being made, it is best to assume that it will be seen in some sort of daylight.  I have noticed some masterful works where the colour balance appeared to be entirely wrong because they were hung in poor or inappropriate lighting.  Hotel corridors can be typical culprits in this respect.  

In the absence of any daylight at all, my basement studio space has 'daylight' fluorescent background lighting, with mobile lamps of a warmer colour for fill-in and local emphasis where required.  The florescent lamps do not have a full spectrum of colour at the 'warm' end, and I must be careful not to overcompensate the reds for that reason.  

The human brain is remarkably adept at converting what the eye sees into what it thinks it should see.  Consequently, a wide range of variable lighting conditions on a subject may be interpreted as "normal".  However, variations from what the brain considers normalcy in a painting may not be so readily accepted.  When I was studying engineering, our Theory of Structures lecturer's philosophy was; "If it looks right, it is right".  In time, experience taught me that he would have been more accurate to say; "If it looks right, it may very well be right".  The same applies to art work.  

Paint what you see, not what you think you see.  

Z

To be continued . . .

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