BOO!

Play safe and have a happy Halloween

Some drawing basics

Most of us do not do enough drawing just for skill development so I suggested that it would be good for my advanced students to look at this very basic element of watercolour painting. Most of us work representationally and it is necessary to get accurate shapes on the paper quickly. Most of my drawing is done using a modified contour method of drawing - I start with one shape that I draw carefully and all the lines and shapes to follow are measured against that first shape. I work back and forth between positive and negative shapes. These contour drawings serve me well as a starting place for my paintings.

 This is a pure contour drawing of the bear.

The drawing on the left is a modified contour drawing and I am just starting to draw the "envelop" for a third drawing on the right side of the paper. The straight lines "enveloping" the drawing on the left are to show my students where I was looking to make the envelop lines.

We experimented with the "envelop" method of drawing. A series of straight lines are drawn around the subject and the contours are then refined after the whole "envelop" has been defined.


Another approach to finding the subject is to just start laying down areas of value and allowing the shapes to emerge. I worked back and forth from positive to negative shapes. It took me a long time to figure out the trick to drawing negative spaces ( and the positive ones as well) is to treat them both with equal importance.

I drew this little fellow by working in shapes of value rather than out lines.











Lifting out the lights from a mid toned ground and adding the darks is another way to feel you way into a subject.

For this drawing I put down a light mid tone of graphite then lifted the lights and added darks as necessary.
The next step for this one is to paint a sepia rendering of this scene.

More Homer

I decided to take my own advice and try to copy a Winslow Homer original. I was inspired by one of my students to try "The Blue Boat"
(click on images to see them in a larger format)






Here is my copy in progress:

And Here is my completed copy.

It was wonderful to spend time examining Homer's composition and I still have a lot of practicing to do before I can emulate his brush strokes.

Painting wet in wet with the beginners class

Our second beginners class explored painting on a pre-wet area and mixing colour on the paper by working wet into wet. I provided some clip art drawings of flowers so we could all be working on the same subject and students could concentrate on paint application rather than drawing.

I worked on one petal at a time and you can see where I have kept a barrier of dry white paper between each area while the paint was still wet to avoid any unwanted mixing.

I have completed the clip art design.

I have added more flowers and painted a loose background to make the design a little more my own.

 

Anemones (7 x 10 inches)

Paper bag 2012

For my beginners class I like to demonstrate on a simple subject that can be painted in one colour so that I can create values by adding layers, starting with the lightest and working up to the darkest. I work on dry paper building the image from a flat looking first wash of the lightest value to a representation of 3 dimensions created with value. I tried to come up with another subject for this demonstration but the paper bag is just so perfect that I decided to go with the "if it ain't broke don't fix it approach"

                                                 Paper bag 2012 (10 x 7 inches)

Learning from the masters - Winslow Homer

This week I asked my class to choose a painting by a master watercolourist. Once you have chosen a painting from a master, try to find a similar subject and or composition in one of your own photo references. Ideally, I would like people to  analyze what the master has done to interpret and executed the subject. You may wish to copy this painting as a way to study what was done. Next I would like you to try painting from your own reference using the same style as the master painting that you have chosen.
I chose to work from a painting by Winslow Homer.

                                Winslow Homer, "Waterfall in the Adirondacks", ca. 1889.

I tried to follow  Homer's simplification of the landscape and focus on the falls as the main subject. He has used confining darks to hold the viewer's eye. The linear fallen trees arch to keep the eye in the painting. The figure defines the scale but does not take away from the main event - the falls.

This is my study using a photo I had taken of Tupperville Falls. I was not able to resist putting some texture on the rocks but I tried to keep the shapes large and simplified. This painting is 6.5 x 10.5 inches as compared to the Homer's 13.5 x 19.5 image but I am happy with the strength of the statement in this small format.

Ink and wash magnolias

I did a quick demonstration in my class of a quick study of a magnolia.

This little study is approximately 4 x 9 inches. One of the participants liked it so much, she asked me to do a 1/4 sheet one for her.

Here are two of my attempts.

                                             Ink Magnolia 1(watercolour and India Ink, 14 x 10 inches)

                                              Ink Magnolia 2(watercolour and India Ink, 14 x 10 inches)

Seven Sisters

I had a very nice email this week from Calgary asking about the story behind one of my paintings that I have reproduced as a greeting card.
The best paintings have a story and here is my story for this one:

Seven Sisters (19 x 25 inches)

A young friend of mine visited an antique store in Yarmouth and found a box of old photos labeled "relatives 10 cents". The source for my painting  "Seven Sisters" was a 2 inch square, faded sepia photo buried deep in that box. My friend just knew I would love that image and I did! The original painting I made from the 2 x 2 photo is 19 by 25 inches and was purchased by an artist friend called John at its first showing at a local art show in 1998. For John, the Seven Sisters spoke to him of the his mother who was one of 7 sisters. John left this and many other painting from his collection to the local library so that they could be appreciated by many. The painting is on display in the Annapolis Royal public library.

Many people ask me who these people are and if they are really sister and of course I have no idea but the personalities came to life for me as I painted them.  There are many "7 Sisters"; the constellation, the women's colleges in the US, and mountains and hill tops to many to list here. Because the photo came to me from Yarmouth I made a local connection. (The photo could have been taken any where and I think this is part of its universal appeal.) Yarmouth always had a teaching hospital and to me these young women represented nursing sisters just finishing their training and just starting life's adventures at a time when the world was changing very fast. (I guess it is sometime between the wars by the hats and the skirt lengths and the sturdy walking shoes)
I know the personalities of these women. I know their hair colour, who is shy, which one is boisterous, which one is calm and gentle. No matter who these people actually were, they speak to me of the solidarity of women  "Well done, Sister Suffragettes!"

The execution of this painting was one of the moments that painters live for and and experience all too infrequently. Every brush stroke was placed with confidence and with no corrections. The painting was fresh and direct as the image revealed itself.

watercolour rescue

One of the best ideas I got from my friend Cluny was to take an old "trasher" (goodness know that we all have plenty of those) when you have not painted for a while and work on it. You have nothing to loose and it helps you get over that fear of the blank white paper. Sometimes this particular piece of paper is still destined for the bottom drawer but sometimes you end up with an interesting painting for your efforts.
 In my recent class on using ink with watercolour I started to add some ink lines to an otherwise lifeless painting.

 This painting always needed something and has been living in a drawer for quite some time.

 I started by adding some cross hatching in coloured ink to the shadowed areas of the pots and then enhanced some of the dark using a bamboo dip pen and India Ink. At this point I decided that what this painting had been in need of was some stronger darks. I continued working at home by adding some gripping dark areas and some cooler blue shadows to compliment the orange of the clay pots.

                                Newman's Pots (9 x 19 inches)

Thanks giving

I have been painting roosters both for my own practice and for my class demonstrations. As a subject, roosters are colourful, varied and have plenty of character. As long as you don't actually eat the pour fellows, they are a very seasonal motif as well. Rooster images are considered good luck in homes. Here are some of my expressions of "roosters for luck"

 This was a class demonstration where I worked with no pre drawing and tried to get the value and the colour intensity on the first go. I hardly ever do get it in one layer but it is always something to aim for

We worked on some ink and wash techniques in the second advanced class. In this demonstration, I put the wash down first and then drew the rooster with an ink pen. It is a great way to get away from the temptation the paint inside the lines - there were no lines!

 

I have added more colour and plenty of loose line work with a bamboo dip den. What a great little character he turned out to be.

(These are all 10 by 14 inches)

Gone to the beach

Hello dear readers

I have no really good reasons for neglecting this blog but perhaps the best reason is that I had "gone to the beach" It was lovely and I'm back now. Classes are under way for the fall session and the Farmer's Market has it's last blast this week end. Summer has been wonderful and fall is in full swing. It is all good