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)