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.
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