You will diagram finally took shape after many always find the answer somewhere on years of refining. Because of its circular its face and, eventually, you will no shape and dependence on timing longer have to look! However, when it comes to mixing varied consistencies of watercolor there is a tendency to mix something approximating the consistency of milk, and paint everything with it!
Needless to say such a painting comes out lacking depth because everything has the same tonal value. We will now look at the physical quality of the pigment and what happens to it when we place it onto dry, damp, moist or wet paper Read the following pages carefully and you will soon understand the way the Watercolor Clock works. Drawing, scraping and make lines. The time to do sharp effects. A good time to lift pigment and to scratch out. Best for misting effects, shaping and for blending.
Throughout this book I will give you examples of the Watercolor Clock so you can see the best consistency pigment to use at different stages of the painting. Not for the faint hearted! Think of a nice weak cup of English breakfast tea. No milk or cream. This is Australian artists will know what I mean when I compare this mixture your weakest wash. If you lift your palette and tilt it from side to side, it will freely run and form a puddle in the corner of your palette.
It will bead readily and spread easily. Great for luminous skies and other light areas in your painting. Perfect for soft wispy clouds or barely discernible shapes in the mist. It is rarely used to paint individual shapes unless they are surrounded by a darker value to define them.
Because it's very weak it will dry much lighter in value than it appears on the palette. You cannot dry brush with it because it will hardly leave a mark. A good strong coffee has much more substance, as we learn every time we spill some.
A wash of such consistency will leave behind quite a tone. If you do the tilt test with your palette, this mixture will also run freely, but will leave behind a thin film of pigment and will appear much darker than the tea wash.
It will not lose much in intensity when it dries. Coffee consistency can be used for many shapes of reasonable presence. Painted on damp or moist paper you can create distant ranges, clouds, misty shapes or, for that matter, anything within your painting requiring one-quarter tone. In lighter key pictures the COFFEE consistency can be a predominant wash and when contrasted with something much darker can provide most of the atmosphere.
It is strong enough to create a contrast with white paper. It is perfect for backgrounds and gentle shading. It can be dry brushed to create wispy lines. Great for pure color statements when creating strong, colorful images. This is your old-fashioned full cream variety — forget this new trend of white colored water. Here we are talking about a half-tone wash that will move on the palette in a much slower manner and will leave quite a coating of pigment behind.
Shapes painted with this mixture will be relatively solid in appearance. When a MILK wash dries it will hardly lose any of its strength and can be used for most landscapes in the middle distance and foreground.
A MILK wash has to be handled carefully because it will quickly become muddy if brushed too much. It also creates a medium contrast against white with the beef extract spread, "Vegemite", which is thick and sticky, like paper and is probably one of the most frequently used washes. Over larger shoe polish. Quite transparent, colors. It can be dry brushed effectively. It makes the transparent washes appear more so and adds strength to a gentle medium.
It serves as a foil to large areas of Fantastic for the strongest color notes in powerful, rich paintings. This lightest areas. Don't dry brush it too much. It must also be used sparingly mixture will move lazily on the palette, if at all.
It should be sticky enough to and directly or it will look dirty. Butter consistency pigment is good for solid completely cover the surface of the palette but runny enough to easily color in small doses, such as stop-lights and small figures. It should be spread over the paper. Paint with this mix as you would with thin oil paint or reserved for the very darkest darks when finishing your painting with those gouache, because this mixture is too thick to bead.
Cream mixes are generally reserved for large dark areas such as shadows, dark trees, rocks, dry branches and anything else of substance.
Great for broken edges and foreground shapes. Still not strong enough for the darkest darks but will make light areas appear lighter and create great contrast with white paper.
Cream is the best mix for dry brushing. Simple isn't it? HOW to pick up the pigment. HOW to brush it on. Study these pages for the answers. Instead, use a brush that's "almost too big". This is particularly true when you are applying major washes— you must use a decent size brush to be able to build up the bead of paint to take the wash down the paper. The opposite is true for small shapes.
If you need just a small amount of pigment, for dry brushing or whatever, pick up the pigment with a small brush. Always use an appropriate brush for the size of the object you are painting and hold your brush correctly, That means holding it well back up the handle.
Never hold your brush near the hairs except when you are getting into the tiny details and even then there should be a good inch left between your fingertips and the follicles. You must apply paint quickly! The quicker the better! Never dab, always stroke. Your brush should dance swiftly and elegantly across the paper just as if you were an expert ice skater. The bead can be compared to a necklace of large teardrops — It allows the paint mix to flow on the paper.
If you do not paint with the bead you will end up with dry, dead looking watercolors. The bead is responsible for granulation, for gradual change of tone or color and large, flat, translucent areas in your painting. It is imperative to work with your paper on an angle of approximately 35 degrees. Never change the angle while you work!. The angle of the board makes the paint run towards the bottom of the picture. So there it is! See what happens when you apply any of these mixtures at different times of wetness.
You will acquire a range of brush marks which will become a visual language for your storytelling. You will never get to tell the story properly while you are struggling with the language. I added water to the wash at the base of the mountains to create a much lighter value to suggest mist. The small figures in the middle distance were also done in this fashion. This was placed onto DRY paper and I took the wash through to the foreground.
This created a foil for the soft sky, which appears even softer. By placing them next to the lightest areas I created a sharper contrast which gives the illusion that the foreground is closer to the viewer. I reserve some The colors are kept weak and I use a large brush the drawing because it might not work anyway. I This also allows me to paint more freely use Cobalt Blue and Cadmium Orange with because I am not fenced in by a tight drawing.
It some Yellow Ochre. It is important to keep the is merely there as a support for my washes. The wash. It's important to achieve the correct The bridge area is painted next using the pattern of waves to create a realistic water same colors, but using a much stronger CREAM surface.
I blend the bottom of the bridge into the water, adding some Yellow Ochre for warmth. I do use a bit of Opaque White gouache for highlights on the areas that have been "lost" during the process. It's best to use white paper for this, but I always justify the use of gouache by saying that the end justifies the means. If you can create a good painting, who cares how you go about it! Many watercolorists refuse to use opaque paint and that is perfectly within their rights, but I do think some purists should not take such a high moral ground about it.
Live and let paint! This scene is quintessential Melbourne and the bridge itself is an icon for many artists — a bit like the Eiffel Tower or Sydney Harbour Bridge. It can be painted in many ways but can look a bit "kitsch" if you are not careful. I left some white paper spaces for the groups of highlights.
Then the second wash establishes all the shapes placed on ground. The third stage is the addition of detail. Apart from St Marks square the lagoon is the only expanse of space. On this occasion the buildings of St Georgio cut such a lovely shape against the evening sky.
I was particularly happy with the way the water surface came off in one wash. I caught the paint drying just at the right time to create those waves. I used Cobalt Turquoise and Cobalt Violet, alternatively handling them so they ran into each other.
Subjects like this can quickly turn very kitschy. Take care not to paint them "too pretty"! I painted this late in the day after many hours of driving and really wasn't trying too hard. Sometimes I do my best work when I don't try too hard. If you let watercolor do its job it will paint itself.
Too much input from you and your painting will become tired and flat. This was transformed into the green fields once I reached the horizon. The middle distance trees were painted with a slightly thicker mix of the same colors. After we make the decision to paint mood you desire, a particular subject it is imperative to plan for how to execute the painting.
Remember, you begin each painting the moment you look at the subject, not with the first brushstroke! It's too late to think about composition after you have begun to paint. The first step takes place before you even start to draw. The way we see the subject is of utmost importance. An accomplished artist can decipher the important bits of information from the subject and turn it into a simple message.
Most students want to put down every tiny detail, thinking this will improve the message. All this does is confuse the viewer. If you paint small bits all you end up with is a collection of unrelated elements or, as I call it, "a junk drawer collection". What we are after is a plan that will set the "mood" we want to convey. Next, identify the This small "start" eventually grew into a number of major paintings.
I found this location while I was on a drive. I was looking for somewhere to stop because I had seen a great view but couldn't park medium-size shapes and place them, safely. I thought I would park the car and walk back. Instead I found a quiet lane with this view! This was painted while the finishing touches last. Don't start a the sky was still wet. Also note the way the trees, buildings and the distance connected into one big portrait by painting the eyelashes first.
The only bits on their own are the cows in the foreground. By using fairly strong tonal contrast I created the feeling of bright spring sunshine. Compare the Unless there is no skyline, every tonal value of the fields to the tonal value of the sky!
Look at the foreground in particular and see landscape will have at least two major how much darker it is than the sky. This instant feeling of space was created by the two major shapes: sky and ground. The sky might shapes in landscape painting: sky and earth. The ground of course has many shapes on it, however, they all sit on the ground. I challenge you to look out of your window this very moment and test the "two shapes theory". Ask yourself how many shapes you see.
As I said, it must be two — the sky and whatever is underneath it. Then you might start looking at slightly smaller shapes such as a distant mountain range, large trees, buildings, or whatever. Last, look at the details, such as those small buildings in the distance or the branches and leaves on the trees.
If you learn to look at your subject in that order you will compose your paintings correctly. Deciding on the planes The best way to compose any painting is to look for a foreground, a middle ground and a background. It may Background be just slightly shorter than the doorway contain directional lines, texture or other The background gives the painting the so that in the viewer's imagination he can elements that work as visual illusion of depth.
It usually ends up walk in. If he is drawn too big in relation stepping-stones into the painting. Many overworked because it is painted first. Such it. It's only a incongruity can make the painting fail. For Middle ground instance, the size of the windows in The middle ground is usually where the Handling the drawing relation to the size of the wall; the size of major interest should be located and is The drawing is the skeleton that the panes within the window; the area of therefore incredibly important.
I compare supports the body of the painting. That's Drawing establishes the relationship of height of the chimneys to the size of the where you focus your attention, not on shapes in terms of their size and position building.
You must take great care You can bend these rules, but not in front of you, or on the backdrop, but to define the major shapes. A good break them. You can make the windows on the actors, The shapes you place in drawing is achieved when the just that little bit smaller.
Or maybe you the middle ground are the actors in the relationships are accurate. For instance, might move a window over a bit because painting. Perhaps you adjust a chimney or move it over, or eliminate it altogether for the sake of conveying to the viewer a correct shape that is appealing to the eye.
How far you move away from the original is a matter for fine judgment and in the end is what distinguishes the artist from the apprentice. Many people ask me how far they should go with their drawing in light of the fact that the watercolor washes will be painted over the top of the lines.
It is a pointless exercise over-detailing the drawing if you are going to eliminate the pencil work. On the other hand, in cases where there are a lot of small windows and little dark openings on buildings, I will pencil those in fairly dark and simply leave them under the wash as a finished product. I won't even add any dark color on top. It is a This small sketch was probably painted in less than 15 minutes! If you study it closely you will see that it time-wasting exercise spending hours actually consists of one shape!
The only part of the painting not connected to the rest of it is the drawing all the bricks if you are going to single car on the road. Even this is arguable. This painting shows how it is possible to create a myriad of obliterate them with a dark wash. In this section you'll see some I spent a weekend in this charming township with my group of fellow artists and some of us went out painting before breakfast.
We had enjoyed a pre-Christmas dinner the night before which consisted elaborate drawings that are finished of ten courses, each one washed down with some beautiful Australian wine! It was a miracle any of us pieces of art in themselves and then you could get up, let alone paint!
However, sometimes when you least expect it you can do lovely work. There is no surer way of killing them, inspiration than too much thinking and too much excitement. You really need to be calm when painting. You have to combine the skills of a surgeon, the clear thinking of an engineer and the I urge you to practice your drawing emotion of a poet! No wonder it's so hard to paint watercolors! Specifically, learn to get the all-important relationships between the sizes of the shapes correct.
Think about how you can use them in your painting. This is a line drawing with minimal shading. Works like this are handy for noting the natural positions of the shapes so you can place them in your painting. We also take liberties in the process of creating a drawing. But, much more importantly, intersecting verticals and we spend time observing the subjects we draw. Charming old buildings, smoke lazily curling from chimneys and a totally relaxed lifestyle.
People never hurry in those places and it takes some time to adjust to the pace, or rather the lack of it. I see these places from an artist's point of view and truly enjoy them as a subject matter. The only shapes requiring drawing are the man-made ones. Trees and paddocks are indicated with few loose lines. I draw the buildings and the cars quite carefully, and even include some dark detailing for the windows.
Because I am planning a fairly soft picture, these darks will remain part of the finished work and will require no further painting. The bead of paint should travel Ochre. I wash these down to the tops of the roofs, and while it still MOIST downwards avoiding the highlights for the roofs, cars, road and anything the distant misty background shapes are floated in with a MILK mixture of fee requires highlighting.
I keep these simple and brief to suggest the chimney smoke. At this stage the painting looks like a snow because it is only a background and merely provides a backdrop for the scene. I discovered this place about two miles from my studio! I knew it was there but had never bothered to visit. However, this was obviously meant to be, because it is not an easy subject to paint and I don't think I would have had the ability to tackle it years ago.
First of all there is the surface of the water to contend with and then the boats, which are not easy to do, and finally, the people — the most difficult shapes of all.
This is painted as a continuation of the and softness. Search icon An illustration of a magnifying glass. User icon An illustration of a person's head and chest. Sign up Log in. By the way, that artist on the sand is Alvaro Castagnet, author of "Watercolor Painting with Passion! It's a subject that has been tackled by many Melbourne artists because there is an observation deck on the building's top floor.
I was lucky on the day to have this beautiful sky. It was painted in one go while the wash was wet, because you can see all the edges are soft. The only hard edges are around the white paper, which was left dry. The horizon was also created into the moist wash. It takes m e back to m y childhood, I guess. This was painted on one of the Winterlude trips with my five best pals or, as we call them here, "mates". The trouble with this trip was that it was in the middle of wine country!
Talk of opportunity making a thief! Nevertheless, we managed to do some lovely work due to wonderful weather and location.
Throughout this book you will see other examples of work created on this trip. The only way to charge your creative batteries is to go to the great studio outdoors.
The late afternoon light created soft warm highlights on the branches and the workers' backs. I managed to get most of those by cutting around and leaving gaps in the second wash, however, quite a few were done with opaque paint. There is a lovely Mother Color of Cadmium Orange permeating throughout this painting. I'll tell you more about Mother Colors later on. It is so easy to overwork them and end up with the wrong message. Reflections are simply a flat repetition of the objects causing them.
They must not overtake the major shape in the painting which in this case is the old wooden bridge over the Murrumbidgee River at Gundagai. This painting was done on location and by the time I had finished it the sun was fully out and the scene looked nothing like this. When you see a subject and start painting you must continue the theme and not change your mind, even if the scene improves.
In which case, you should really c om pl et e t h e fir st vi sio n a nd do another version after that! Whatever inspired you to paint that subject in the first place should stay in your mind's eye, no matter what. That's why it is somewhat easier to paint from photographs because they don't change.
Most of my outdoor work is polished up at home and in this case most of the figures and much detail were handled in the studio. When you bring your painting to completion in the studio, in its own right, with no competition from the subject, it can look spectacular.
Don't try to compete with the subject, it will always win! While the great studio outdoors provides ample inspiration it is also very restrictive in terms of the size of the work and because of changing light and time limitations. The studio provides a comfortable environment with all your references at hand and, of course, the coffee machine and music!
All my large-scale work is produced in the studio and, after all, it is this major work that carries your exhibitions and is noticed by the judges at art competitions. In the studio you can plan the painting process much more carefully and change your mind in an instant by choosing a different subject from anywhere in the world!
It's just a matter of looking through your references and deciding what you want to paint. There is also no urgency to complete your work due to the changing light or weather. The studio provides constant light and your reference remains static and can be analyzed at will, which allows you to plan the painting process much more carefully.
You can even return to your work the next day, or whenever. The major benefit of working in the studio is the ability to concentrate on your work. There are no interruptions just when you are in the middle of a major wash. Mind you, there is always the telephone. Therefore the studio is a comfortable and safe environment in which you can produce larger, more sophisticated and much more complex work, which should be inspired by your outdoor experience.
All my preparatory drawings are similar to this. They are fairly light and not too tight. The drawing should have character already and feel right. It's the very beginning of your painting on paper and if it's not satisfactory there is no point going any further. No amount of painting will disguise a bad drawing! This was a major painting because of its size and complexity.
Large paintings require a lot more information or they can appear empty. Reduced in a photograph like this they can appear too busy! In real life size this work has just the right amount of detail. Note that texture in the foreground. I used a sprinkling of salt as well as some water droplets to create this. I was particularly pleased with the background the shadows running across the foothills create an interesting pattern. I had to be careful not to overwork this and bring it too much forward and lose depth in the process.
It was imperative to make the foreground as strong as possible That is why I painted the cows so prominently in the foreground. The color is not important as long as you keep it really pale. I just pick up a bit of any dirty leftover pigment on the palette!
I assure you that as long as you apply the wash quickly, and with a large brush, it will have a beautifully translucent effect, no matter how dirty the original mix was! You can see the introduction of the next stage at the bottom of the picture.
I make use of the dry paper and leave highlights for the future. I also gray-off the footpath, making the wash stronger towards the bottom. The water is quite simply a wash of Cobalt Blue. The thin strip of white paper keeps it from running onto the footpath. You must leave quite a few highlights all over the painting as required, otherwise your painting will appear dull. If you are left-handed I advise you please to start from the right side to avoid smudging the work with your hand.
However you are probably used to this obstacle and know how to overcome it. Some of them are my own interpretations of knowledge gleaned from art books and some are direct quotes from my artist friends. They all make sense and provide good advice to the beginner and accomplished artist alike.
It's a pity that I tend to fall on my own sword and sometimes forget to listen to my own advice. Painting should tell you the story of light, atmosphere and mood. The location of that story should be secondary. You start painting the moment you look at the subject, not with the first brushstroke.
Be true to watercolor and let its intrinsic value shine. Don't make it look like an oil painting. It's far better, and so much easier, to learn the one and only correct way to paint, rather than hundreds of fix-it techniques. This painting was made into a limited edition print, one of the few I have ever done, and it feels strange to have all these identical images floating around.
The subject was truly magnificent. All those buildings nestled on the water's edge, with the business of the fishing port taking place. There was a wonderful, soft atmosphere. England provides perfect conditions just made for watercolor painting. It's never too hot so the paint doesn't dry too quickly; there is always a slight haze in the air; all the buildings and trees seem to be in exactly the right place for the perfect composition no wonder it's called "the home of watercolor painting".
I made a small sketch of this scene at the time, however it was very cold, around three degrees! Needless to say the paint would not dry and I was frozen. I decided to run up and down the jetty to warm up and by waving the painting about, dry it in the process! Within minutes the archetypal English "Bobby" arrived and asked me to desist because I was alarming the locals!
This is the only time I have ever nearly been arrested for painting watercolor. In the same town a friend of mine was given a parking ticket for placing his easel on the double yellow line!
Very efficient police work! The distant buildings are cooler and contain a variety of blues as well as Permanent Magenta, Burnt Sienna, Light Red and anything else that takes my fancy. When you do this you must use a fully loaded brush and let the colors run into each other and mix on the paper. Don't forget the highlights! The main buildings including the tower are painted next using a milky wash of all the colors I previously mentioned.
These give sharp contrast to the light footpath tone. When it's your turn to try this painting, don't be frightened to go quite dark with some detailing in the buildings using cream consistency paint and use a small brush for this please! The waves are mainly Cobalt Turquoise. They have to be painted quickly and elegantly. No second chances! The jewelry is next, including the boat, which I make almost black to achieve the highest contrast possible with the adjacent light footpath area.
People, birds, street lamps and anything else that creates that Venetian look. I use some opaque paint here and there if I find a good spot to liven things up. This is probably the most important section in my book, Please take the time to read it carefully because once you are familiar with the Watercolor Clock you will never again wonder how to leave a particular brush mark or achieve that special effect, You will always find the answer somewhere on its face!
When I began to teach watercolor I found myself having to put into words concepts that up until then had been purely instinctive. I looked at numerous instruction books on watercolor techniques only to find complicated diagrams, charts and statistics, and most were incomprehensible.
They simply contained many tricks using everything but brushes. I decided that I had to come up with a simple and easy to understand "driving manual" for watercolor painting.
This elusive, all encompassing diagram finally took shape after many years of refining. Because of its circular shape and dependence on timing. I decided to call it the Watercolor Clock.
It has been an invaluable teaching aid because it covers just about every possible watercolor technique using brush on paper. It is my hope that the Watercolor Clock will help you conquer what is surely the most difficult medium of all. Properly understood, the Watercolor Clock holds the key to the magical world of watercolor. Indeed, if you take the time to absorb each section of the clock, you will never again wonder how to leave a particular brush mark or achieve that special effect.
You will always find the answer somewhere on its face and, eventually, you will no longer have to look! However, when it comes to mixing varied consistencies of watercolor there is a tendency to mix something approximating the consistency of milk, and paint everything with it! Needless to say such a painting comes out lacking depth because everything has the same tonal value.
We will now look at the physical quality of the pigment and what happens to it when we place it onto dry, damp, moist or wet paper Read the following pages carefully and you will soon understand the way the Watercolor Clock works. Drawing, scraping and make lines. The time to do sharp effects. Best for misting effects, shaping and for blending. Here's how it would look on the watercolor clock:. Throughout this book I will give you examples of the Watercolor Clock so you can see the best consistency pigment to use at different stages of the painting.
Will move only a bit, if at all, on a tilted palette. Cream wash will not bead. Not for the faint hearted! Australian artists will know what I mean when I compare this mixture. Weak transparent colors are suitable for those gentle misty paintings. Think of a nice weak cup of English breakfast tea. No milk or cream. This is your weakest wash.
If you lift your palette and tilt it from side to side, it will freely run and form a puddle in the corner of your palette. It will bead readily and spread easily. Great for luminous skies and other light areas in your painting. Perfect for soft wispy clouds or barely discernible shapes in the mist. It is rarely used to paint individual shapes unless they are surrounded by a darker value to define them.
Because it's very weak it will dry much lighter in value than it appears on the palette. You cannot dry brush with it because it will hardly leave a mark. A good strong coffee has much more substance, as we learn every time we spill some. A wash of such consistency will leave behind quite a tone. If you do the tilt test with your palette, this mixture will also run freely, but will leave behind a thin film of pigment and will appear much darker than the tea wash.
It will not lose much in intensity when it dries. Coffee consistency can be used for many shapes of reasonable presence. Painted on damp or moist paper you can create distant ranges, clouds, misty shapes or, for that matter, anything within your painting requiring one-quarter tone. In lighter key pictures the COFFEE consistency can be a predominant wash and when contrasted with something much darker can provide most of the atmosphere.
It is strong enough to create a contrast with white paper. It is perfect for backgrounds and gentle shading. It can be dry brushed to create wispy lines. You cannot go any stronger or richer with your pigment than this! Quite simply, this is pure pigment with hardly any added water, virtually straight from the tube. It will stick to the palette like honey and should not move even if the palette is vertical.
It makes the transparent washes appear more so and adds strength to a gentle medium. It serves as a foil to large areas of weak washes and can provide tremendous contrast when placed against lightest areas.
Don't dry brush it too much. It must also be used sparingly and directly or it will look dirty. Butter consistency pigment is good for solid color in small doses, such as stop-lights and small figures.
It should be reserved for the very darkest darks when finishing your painting with those last magic touches. Great for pure color statements when creating strong, colorful images. This is your old-fashioned full cream variety forget this new trend of white colored water. Here we are talking about a half-tone wash that will move on the palette in a much slower manner and will leave quite a coating of pigment behind.
Shapes painted with this mixture will be relatively solid in appearance. When a MILK wash dries it will hardly lose any of its strength and can be used for most landscapes in the middle distance and foreground.
A MILK wash has to be handled carefully because it will quickly become muddy if brushed too much. It also creates a medium contrast against white paper and is probably one of the most frequently used washes. Over larger areas it will form those wonderful granulating effects and rich, yet transparent, colors. It can be dry brushed effectively. Fantastic for the strongest color notes in powerful, rich paintings. I am referring to a fairly runny variety, not thickened, rich cream.
This mixture will move lazily on the palette, if at all. It should be sticky enough to completely cover the surface of the palette but runny enough to easily spread over the paper. Paint with this mix as you would with thin oil paint or gouache, because this mixture is too thick to bead. Cream mixes are generally reserved for large dark areas such as shadows, dark trees, rocks, dry branches and anything else of substance.
Great for broken edges and foreground shapes. Still not strong enough for the darkest darks but will make light areas appear lighter and create great contrast with white paper. Cream is the best mix for dry brushing. Simple isn't it? However, two incredibly important elements are missing! HOW to pick up the pigment. HOW to brush it on. Study these pages for the answers. Instead, use a brush that's "almost too big". This is particularly true when you are applying major washes you must use a decent size brush to be able to build up the bead of paint to take the wash down the paper.
The opposite is true for small shapes. If you need just a small amount of pigment, for dry brushing or whatever, pick up the pigment with a small brush. Always use an appropriate brush for the size of the object you are painting and hold your brush correctly, That means holding it well back up the handle. Never hold your brush near the hairs except when you are getting into the tiny details and even then there should be a good inch left between your fingertips and the follicles.
You must apply paint quickly! The quicker the better! Never dab, always stroke. Your brush should dance swiftly and elegantly across the paper just as if you were an expert ice skater. The bead can be compared to a necklace of large teardrops It allows the paint mix to flow on the paper.
If you do not paint with the bead you will end up with dry, dead looking watercolors. The bead is responsible for granulation, for gradual change of tone or color and large, flat, translucent areas in your painting. It is imperative to work with your paper on an angle of approximately 35 degrees.
Never change the angle while you work!. The angle of the board makes the paint run towards the bottom of the picture. So there it is! See what happens when you apply any of these mixtures at different times of wetness. You will acquire a range of brush marks which will become a visual language for your storytelling. You will never get to tell the story properly while you are struggling with the language.
Let's study my painting, "Furling the Sails, France", and identify the relationships between the paint consistency and the moisture content of the paper,.
I added water to the wash at the base of the mountains to create a much lighter value to suggest mist. The small figures in the middle distance were also done in this fashion. Over 35 techniques illustrated in step-by-step demonstrations enable you to master the art of watercolor painting. Each technique is shown with two variations on the same page, showing a range of alternative applications.
The work of master artists is analyzed to ensure successful watercolor painting. A section at the beginning provides you with everything you need to know to get started--Jacket.
Take your watercolor painting beyond the studio—learn how to effectively use color and light to capture mood, create atmosphere, and convey emotion on location. Following a brief introduction to the basics of painting en plein air and an overview of the necessary tools and materials, you will learn how to choose a subject and paint a compelling outdoor composition using the subtleties of watercolor to create beautifully expressive subjects and themes.
Other important topics include perspective, rendering the background and foreground, capturing both urban and pastoral landscapes, mastering color to convey weather and time of day, and much more.
Full of practical advice and techniques, my aim is to simplify watercolor painting to assist you in your personal watercolor adventure. Enjoy the journey! Each technique is shown with two variations on the same page, showing a range of alternative applications. The work of master artists is analyzed to ensure successful watercolor painting.
A section at the beginning provides you with everything you need to know to get started--Jacket. Following a brief introduction to the basics of painting en plein air and an overview of the necessary tools and materials, you will learn how to choose a subject and paint a compelling outdoor composition using the subtleties of watercolor to create beautifully expressive subjects and themes.
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