Phil's Watercolor
Tips and Techniques
I love the fresh spontaneity, glow and
sparkle of watercolor painting. It is a challenge to paint and a
delight to view. In this column I plan to share some of my
observations in creating fine art paintings in watercolor. Each month
I will add information so check back here frequently to see what's
new.
Be Free
Water has a mind of its own. It flows;
it evaporates; it reacts with salt, oil and fresh water. Learn to use
this freedom to let your painting "happen". Use the
characteristics of water to create effects. Through practice and
experience you can learn to control these effects, but don't be
bothered with too much control at first. Let things happen without too
much judgment. Lots of "happy mistakes" happen in
watercolor that you couldn't create or duplicate if you wanted to.
Work with this spontaneity to create excitement in your paintings. Go
with the flow and try not to critique or judge too harshly the
beginning of your painting.
As your painting progresses, you can make
"corrections" to get it to come out like you want. Careful
selection of paints can aid in making these corrections. Non-staining
paints can be lifted, sprayed out or scrubbed out. In stages, paint
can be added; glazes can be put on and as if by magic the image you're
after immerges - not unlike a print developing in a photographic
darkroom. Painting a watercolor in this way resembles writing. Who can
write a perfect paragraph the first time? A writer puts some words on
the word processor; then words are taken out and words are put in
until the sentences make sense and flow in a rhythm. Let the water,
pigments and other materials help create your painting with freedom.
Be Prepared
Be ready to paint as soon as the water hits
the paper. Streamline your operation to obtain freedom. Here are some
tips for efficiency in your painting process:
Eliminate "messing" with tools.
Set up your work area so that every thing is within easy reach.
"A place for everything and everything in its place." Have
everything ready before you start because sometimes a "water
happening" won't wait and you'll miss capturing a special
effect while going for a tool or material. Watch carefully and work
quickly.
Eliminate secondary "earth" colors.
Browns, oranges, greens, violets, etc. can be mixed from primary
colors, thereby eliminating extra tubes and paints from your
palette.
Use primary colors. A
"cool" primary triad of Winsor Red, Lemon Yellow and
Cobalt Blue can be used for light "airy" passages. A
"warm" primary triad of Cadmium Scarlet, Aurealin and
Antwerp Blue can be used for earth, sea and heavier passages. Add
French Ultramarine and Cerulean Blue to your palette to facilitate
mixing greens and add variety. Optionally, Paynes Gray and Brown
Madder completes your palette.
Use non-staining pigments.
These can be easily "lifted" from paper and are less
likely to get "muddy". The above mentioned paints are
mostly transparent and non-staining. Read about the characteristics
of paints before purchasing them, and then choose them for their
purpose.
Use a palette with no divisions for freedom. An
enameled "butcher" tray works well. Paints placed on it
can be dragged and mixed easily. For large amounts of paint use a
saucer or cup and pour, squirt or spray on the paper rather than
brush.
Set up paints on your palette for ease of use.
For ease of mixing, place cool triad in same proximity and warm
triad in same proximity. Winsor Red is so powerful it should be
placed high on the side of the tray so it doesn't get in the way
when mixing. Place dark colors along the edge and Scarlet, Yellows
and Cerulean in middle of tray out of where water collects along
edges and corners. (See diagram).
"Activate" colors before beginning to
paint. Spray to wet (or activate) the dry
"blobs" of paint on your palette to soften for mixing and
add a fresh "squeeze" for ease of mixing.
Use a Windex spray bottle. Use
it to wet paper, activate paints and special effects. For example:
Sprinkle for foliage rather than using a sponge (for texture) or
brush.
Use Crescent illustration board for special
effects. Water flows better on it, paints lift
easier, salt activates effects better and many textures are
possible. Paint sets up hard in a couple of weeks so it can no
longer be lifted off with water. It doesn't need to be stretched.
Hot-pressed paper has the same characteristics. Arches cold-pressed
140 lb. paper is a good choice for more traditional use. For very
wet techniques these papers should be stretched.
Have a drawing of your idea on the paper. A
simple sketch is OK, but generally the better the drawing the better
the finished painting. The more detail in drawing results in looser
painting. "A good drawing equals a good painting." Now
you're ready to paint!
OK, Let's paint!
It's the white paper and transparent
pigments that make a watercolor painting "glow". Light
reflects off the white paper through the paint, so it's important to
"save the white" and not build up too many layers of paint.
By careful planning, using a wet technique and throwing your paints,
all glazes can go on at once, eliminating build-ups that can get
muddy. Colors react differently when mixed wet than when added on top
of dry layers of glaze. By using the characteristics of water, many
special effects can be achieved. Here are some tips for effective
watercolor painting:
Tune in next
time when Phil will be
discussing the following topics:
Wet into Wet and floating in colors.
Back-runs, blooms and blossoms.
Sprinkles spatters, sparkles and spots.
Lifting, scraping and scrubbing.
Salt, spray and alcohol effects.
Making deep rich darks.
Making foliage.
Using mask. Pebeo brand. Do not shake.
Paint from middle out, inside to outside, light
to dark.
Less is more. Total painting is
made up of a combination of spontaneity plus controlled selected
detail. Let corners "happen" with drips, runs, white and
vignette. Don't have to paint every inch of paper. Leave some parts
to the imagination. The eye will fill in.
Go
to Judy's Tips
Go to Top
COMMENTS? Please contact us to provide
feedback.
