WATERCOLOR TECHNIQUES AND TIPS - BACKGROUNDS

WATERCOLOR BACKGROUNDS - MY "BATIK" METHOD

After reading many books on techniques, and trying many ways that didn't work for me, I have finally come to a place where I know what I need to do to achieve a certain look in my backgrounds. The particular method I am going to demonstrate is what my daughter calls my "batik backgrounds" as they remind her of batik material which has that watercolor look, and which we have used when quilting. (Yes - Kim and I are both artists in several different disciplines, one of which is quilting.) This demonstration is how I created the background for Common Redpoll, shown here. 

You will want to decide the areas you wish to be dark, and where the light source is coming from before you begin.

The first thing I do is mask off with making fluid any parts of my painting I need to protect from the background washes.

Have your paint colors already mixed and ready to go. I suggest having a different brush for each color you are laying in so that the colors do not muddy one another when you are placing them on your painting.

Next, I lay a wash of clean water over the areas which will be painted as the background.

 

I saturate the entire area, going over it side to side and top to bottom to ensure there is even coverage. Pick up your painting and hold it to the light to check that you have not missed any spots.

Continue to check the shine until it begins to fade. This is the point at which you will begin to apply paint. This wet into wet technique is simple, yet very effective...

For the background you will see here, I am using Paynes Grey, Oxide of Chromium and Quinacridone Gold. As the shine begins to fade from the paper, I load my brush with pigment which is of a somewhat "creamy" consistency. It is not nearly as thick as the last demo, but it is thicker than the paint I will use for the rest of my painting.

 

As you lay down your first color, you can "charge" the background with a second and third (or more) color, allowing the pigment to mix on the paper, or mixing it with your brush if you are sure the colors won't blend to create "mud". You can pick up your paper and move it around to cause the colors to blend smoothly.

 

Here I have combined the Paynes Grey and the Oxide of Chromium on the upper left side of the painting to achieve a darker area.

When you have completed your first coating of paint, allow the paper to dry.

Here you see what the painting looks like after drying.

But fear not - we are going in again to build another layer of color. Spray the surface so that it is wet again. You can spread this sprayed water with your brush, but be very careful as you can drag the dark colors over the bright light colors, and you don't want to lose that transparency, or lift too much color off the paper.

Now I have gone back in and used the same colors to add another layer of pigment, but also added some Winsor Green in the lower right corner. I can repeat this process as often as I need to, but generally, I have my background set within 2 - 3 washes.

Here you see the final result for this demonstration.

As you can see here in Common Redpoll, this is exactly how I did this background. 

For the same process with a slightly different look, check out the background in Sunny Trio here.

Hope this post has helped you! I practiced a lot on small pieces of paper to get a feel for the amount of water and pigment I needed to achieve the look I wanted. You might need to do that too - it also helps to get your color combinations right before moving to your actual painting.

If you have anything you would like me to cover in watercolor techniques and tips, just let me know in the comments section, or send me an e-mail: jogiesbrecht@gmail.com 

Watercolor Techniques and Tips - Backgrounds

                                               CREATING   BACKGROUNDS

This is the topic which began my whole series of Watercolor Techniques and Tips. I have had  requests to share my technique for creating backgrounds such as in my painting "Sunny Trio" or "Lemon Tea", and so today I will attempt to explain how I go about creating a background as in Lemon Tea. Next week I will show you how I do what my daughter calls my "batik backgrounds" like you see in Sunny Trio.

First, different artists have differing ideas about whether to do a background before the rest of the painting, at the end of the painting, or somewhere in the middle. None is more right or wrong than the other. It is all a matter of personal preference.

For me, I tend to have at least one layer of color on the paper before I do my backgrounds. That way, the shapes and underpainting colors are established, and I can work around them. Then I adjust my colors in the shapes according to the background I have created.

Here is a painting that has some of the local color in place, and the shapes have been defined. You will also note that I have a thin layer of masking fluid on the edges. That is because the edge of the eggs will eventually be white against the very dark background.

The first step is to wet the background with clear water. As I am using 300 lb. paper, I really need to use a lot of water to get this wet enough to accept and move paint.

Here you can see how wet the paper is. Once you have your background wet, you need to wait for the shine to just begin to disappear.

As you can see, the shine is almost gone - the paper is beginning to dry.

This is the time you need to MOVE QUICKLY to get your colors down.

I use several colors in my background, moving from one color to another and back again as I go across the paper.

You can pick up your paper to blend the pigment or allow the water to move it so that it blends and forms those lovely transition colors.

The paint is down and now needs to dry. If you don't like what you have in your background, there are ways to go back in and change things... but that would be for another posting on backgrounds. :-)

If you have any questions for me, just email me:  jogiesbrecht@gmail.com

Happy painting!

WATERCOLOR TECHNIQUES AND TIPS

MAKING YOUR PAINTINGS "POP"

One very simple way to make your watercolors much more exciting and vibrant is to use the color wheel to your advantage!

This is a color wheel that I created a number of years ago. It shows the primary colors, secondary colors, tertiary colors, which side of the wheel is warm or cool, and what approximate value each color has. 

Colors which are opposite from one another on the color wheel are known as "complementary colors" (not complimentary colors as I see so many artists spell it!) By placing a color next to its complement, you can make it look brighter and more intense in color. This can make your flowers appear brighter, your darks appear really dark against foliage - and so much more. I find myself drawn to paintings in galleries, and when I try to figure out why that one has pulled me to it, I often find it is the artist's use of complementary colors.

Here you see two squares of Cobalt Blue - exactly the same hue. But when you surround Cobalt Blue with its complementary color on the color wheel, it appears more intense and bright than when it is surrounded by a color close to it on the color wheel.

Here we have Cadmium Red surrounded by a complementary color (green) and a color which is not the complement (violet). The red "pops out" at you when next to its complement.

One artist who uses complementary colors in very subtle but incredibly effective ways is PINO. Pino is an Italian artist who paints mostly portraiture in oils. Check out his website here and see how he adds complementary colors in the most unusual ways and places (check the woman's hair or clothing ).

Try using complements next to one another in your next painting and see if you like the effect this easy technique has on your finished product. Keep it in mind for when you want a color to really pop out and catch the viewer's attention. Complementaries are an easy way to enhance any color you are using in your paintings. 

Check back on Wednesday to see a painting I did with blues/purples and yellow. Using complementary colors makes it quite striking!

WATERCOLOR TECHNIQUES AND TIPS

       MINGLING VERSUS MIXING COLOR

In watercolor painting, you have many choices as to how to lay down your color. Each way will have a different effect, and if you know what you what and how to achieve it, that is great! However, there are many of us who would like to have our paintings turn out like an admired artist, but no matter what we do, it never seems to happen!

One of those techniques which can change your painting results entirely, and make them bright, pure, colorful and exciting is the mingling of pigment versus the mixing of pigment. You can lay colors side by side which normally would produce "mud" if you mixed them, but when they are allowed to mingle on the paper, they produce exciting and interesting areas.

In the picture below, I have mixed 2 pigments  and placed the result in the first square. When I mixed the blue and the red, I achieved a beautiful purple. If that is the color I wanted, then that is fine. But when I allow these same 2 pigments to mingle on the paper, each stays bright and beautiful. The place where they meet and mingle, (depending on the amount of water I have used), produces a lovely purple transition area.

When you mix 2 colors that are opposite on the color wheel, you will end up with a very greyed down color, which in many paintings can appear dull and lifeless, such as this mixed red and green. However, when you lay the 2 colors side by side and allow them to mingle on the paper, each retains its beautiful brightness and where they mingle is not the dulled down version we see on the left.

In order to mingle colors, you need to wet your paper, then let the shine begin to disappear from your wet paper. Once the shine is just gone, place pure pigment where you want it to be. Depending on how close you lay one pigment to another, when they flow together there will be a larger transition color or less of a transition color. You can also pick up your paper and move it to cause them to flow together more than if you left your paper flat. This intermingling of color creates unexpected and most often happy surprises.

Here you see the same 3 colors laid side by side, and the exciting darks created where they have mingled. If you use this method, your darks will never appear dull, flat or lifeless again!

One of the best books I have collected on this method is "Daring Color" by Anne Abgott. Another artist who uses this method in her fabulous watercolor florals is Birgit O'Connor. 

Try mingling colors that you use often in your paintings and see what the results can be. Make little squares on your watercolor paper, and record which colors are in the practice squares so that when you go to paint, you can choose from your sample squares - no more guessing. It really is worth the time spent to do this with all the colors of paint you normally would use.

Happy mingling!

WATERCOLOR TECHNIQUES AND TIPS

  SPONGES FOR CREATING TEXTURE

             NATURAL SEA SPONGES

              EXPANDABLE SPONGES

 

             CELLULOSE SPONGES

Sponges are wonderful for creating texture in watercolor painting - but not all sponges are created equal. As well, they do not all create the same type of texture - each one will do something different for you.

Natural sea sponges come in many sizes and shapes, and are now used as home spa objects. They are rock hard until you put them into water, and then they feel rather like an insipid handshake - soft, wet, limp. Each sponge will have unique capacity as each has different sized holes and surface, creating varying texture on your watercolor paper.

Expandable sponges are hard, and thin like sheets of paper until you immerse them in water, and then they become like a regular sponge and expand to the size you see on the right of the picture above. You can cut these into sizes that you desire either before or after soaking in water.

Cellulose sponges are the only synthetic sponges that I use in my painting. These can be found  at your hardware store (probably in the tile and grout section). They are sort of like styrofoam. You cut a strip off the end of the sponge as you see in the above picture (use an Xacto knife - don't try scissors... they don't work on this sponge!). Once you have cut off a strip, you begin to tear that section into smaller pieces. A cellulose sponge will almost always end up tearing into pieces that have one pointy part and a broader part. These are GREAT for painting trees or foliage. 

No matter which kind of sponge you use, here are a few tips you should keep in mind. When you wet the sponge, wring out as much water as you are able so that it is almost dry again, then pick up the with the part of the sponge you wish to create texture with. Experiment with how wet to have your pigment, how hard to press onto the paper with the sponge, and what the different edges and surfaces will do for you. I have found that there are some sponges that I use all the time, and others only for special tasks. I usually have a good puddle of very wet paint when I use the cellulose sponge, and I drag it through the pigment until it is really soaked with color. Then I begin to paint with it, using all the surfaces, the tip, the wider sections and so on. (By the way, you can cut off any edges you do not like the shape of.) With the sea sponges, I have pigment which is straight from the tube, or quite creamy, on my palette, and I touch only the edges of the sponge to the paint before taking it to the paper.

Textures and things you can create with sponges: trees, foliage, clouds (lift them out of the color with a sponge that has no color on it), texture on rocks, beaches, roads, and probably a hundred other things!

I never use the foam sponges that you can buy for kitchen use in my watercolor painting. I save those for painting bricks in acrylic for stage sets! Other than that, I have no use for them!

WATERCOLOR TECHNIQUES AND TIPS - PAINTS

Today I want to share information you should know when you go to buy those beautiful tubes of paints. This information applies to all paints -  watercolor, acrylic and oils, and will help you to determine whether you already have that color - but perhaps it is sold by a different name with a different manufacturer. This could save you time, money and frustration! AND this could help you to achieve those transparent effects you are after when you know what to look for in choosing among those many, many colors of paint tubes.

             

One of the first choices you will face is whether to buy  "Artist" or "Student"  quality of paint. Here you see Winsor & Newton's artist quality on the left, student quality on the right. They go by different names, as you can see. Student quality is cheaper, but the colors of the pigments are not as intense, concentrated or bright as the artist quality. You simply cannot achieve the same results with student grade. I have read over and over again, and I agree - if you can possibly afford it, paint with artist quality paint so that you are learning with your "choice" materials right away. Why learn with one grade, and then switch to a better grade and have to learn all over again? If you do that with both paint and paper, then you have just increased your learning time and frustration exponentially!  But if all you can afford is the student quality of paint, then you are still painting - and that is the main thing, right? Generally, student grade paints all cost the same amount per tube, no matter what color, while artist quality tubes are priced differently (see below).

There are many manufacturers of paint, and I probably have at least one or two tubes from at least 6 different companies. I have found that there are major differences in some of the colors, and very little difference in others. (Payne's Grey is one pigment that varies greatly  - so buy the small 5 ml. tubes to experiment with to determine which  you like best before investing in a larger tube.) 

In the above photo, you will see that each tube of paint has a series letter or series number or grade number. This indicates how expensive each tube will be. Series 1, Series A or Grade 1 is the cheapest, while you know you will be paying quite a bit for a tube of Series 4... so again - you can go with a tiny tube (5 ml.) to test the color, or see if it also comes in the student grade and try that instead.

Here you see some information which is important to you... lightfastness. Each tube of paint is rated for how well this color will retain its color over time when exposed to light. Some colors can fade, can get lighter, can darken, turn brown, or grey with time and exposure to light. This would mean that your painting could look vastly different just a few years after painting it - and this is NOT a good thing! 

Each maker of paint does their own internal testing for lightfastness, then submits their data results to either the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) or the SDC (Society of Dyers and Colourists). A panel of people then vote on whether to accept these test results, and the ratings submitted by the manufacturer. 

On a tube of paint, the number 1 generally indicates a high degree of lightfastness, but you could check each manufacturer's site to ensure that you understand their method of rating, and also check the above societies to see if their numbers agree with the paint manufacturer. Then you can assure your client that your painting will stand the test of time, and not fade away...

Another thing to check on your tube of paint is the pigment or color index (c.i.) classification. This tells you whether the paint is a single pigment or a combination of pigments.  If a tube is one pigment only, it will appear brighter on your paper or canvas. The more pigments used to create a color, the duller the color will generally be. This can be especially important when you are mixing colors, as you might actually be mixing up to 6 pigments just by combining 2 blobs of paint from 2 tubes. If you check the pigment numbers, you can determine if this is the same pigment as another tube of paint that goes by a different name. So, for example, if you see PB28, no matter whether it is called Sky Blue or Baby Blue or any other name, this is actually the color index number for "cobalt blue".

And last, but not least, your tube of paint should tell you whether the pigment is transparent or opaque. For now, we will define transparent as pigments which allow the white of the paper to shine through, are vibrant in appearance, and can be easily "lifted" from the paper if you need to remove them. There are semi-opaque and opaque pigments - which allow less of the white of the paper to show through, and can create dull, lifeless paintings if used on their own. In the weeks ahead, I will help you to understand how to build paintings using the semi-opaque and opaque paints to advantage.

Whew! This was a llllooonnnggggg posting - but I hope that when you go to make that major investment of one or more tubes of paint, you now can make a purchase based on information that will enable you to be wise, spend-thrifty, and knowledgeable in what you will be able to achieve with that particular color or pigment!

Please consider giving me feedback as to whether this was helpful to you, and whether you would like to read more postings on techniques and tips. If you prefer not to comment here, you can e-mail me at jogiesbrecht@gmail.com

Have a great week everyone - and may you get lots of painting done!

WATERCOLOR TECHNIQUES AND TIPS

I have had requests to share some of the techniques I use in my watercolor paintings, so I thought I might try sharing with you my "watercolor techniques and tips" once a week or so. I have read so many books over the years, and tried so many things, that I might just be able to give you some new and exciting tips to incorporate into your art! Many of these techniques and tips will apply to all paint mediums, but I will be writing with watercolor in mind.

Okay - the first thing I'd like to tell you about is called "masking". Masking is a handy way to preserve the white of your paper, or to preserve a color you want to keep in certain parts of your painting while you add glazes of color.

Masking fluid  is made by many companies - some well known and others not so well known, so shop around for one that is not too expensive but works well. Ask at your favorite art store which one(s) they recommend.   Most masking fluids come in white, yellow or blue color. I use a colored brand so that when it is dry, I can see it on the paper.

To apply masking fluid, pour some into a small container like a film canister (if you can find one any more), or a small pill container. Start with just a small amount so that you don't waste any. I pour the unused portion back into my larger container as soon as I can - once the fluid starts to set, you cannot reuse it, nor pour it back into the original container. You can also keep some in the small container if it has an airtight lid.

There are several ways to apply masking fluid to your paper. One is with a brush -but it should be an old brush, or one that you buy specifically for this purpose, as masking fluid tends to ruin brushes. When applying with a brush, you should wet your brush in water first, then dip the brush into a small amount of dishwashing liquid which has been slightly thinned with water, then into the masking fluid. You will need to repeat this procedure every 2 - 3 strokes for the fluid to flow well, and to not harden your brush. Wash your brush well as soon as you have finished masking your painting.

A special tool which has been created for applying mask is The Incredible Nib. 

This tool has a sharp end and a thicker end, and is made out of wood - I think it is bamboo.  You can dip the end in the mask and paint it on the paper without having to dip into the dishwashing liquid, and you don't need to worry about ruining a brush. You can create thin lines, thick lines, or fill in larger spaces with this pen.

Of course, you don't have to buy special tools. You can use skewers, toothpicks, and other instruments - they just may not be as satisfactory or create as continuous a line as you might want.

This little masquepen is wonderful for creating very thin lines on your paper, such as I used in my painting "A Pair of Onions". It gives really good control once you learn how to use it without blobbing. 

However you apply the masking fluid, BE SURE it is dry before you continue your painting.. and DO NOT use anything to hasten the drying process. A blow dryer will cook the fluid to the paper!

Okay - now that you know about masking fluid, why would you use it? Let's say you wanted to paint a tree that looks like it has snow on its branches. You could use some masking fluid to keep the white of the paper which will represent the snow while you paint the tree trunk, branches, , the sky, and any other items around the tree branches. When you have completed  your painting, and you remove the masking fluid, you have the pure white of the paper - and your snow is done! In the case of my onions, I laid down a first wash for each onion, then masked off the lines in the onion's skin. This preserved the lighter lines while I painted the other glazes over top. When my painting was complete, I removed the mask, and had the lighter colored lines automatically!

How do you remove the masque? You can get what is called a rubber cement pick-up which is like an eraser for masking fluid. It is not very expensive, and will last you many, many years.

Have a great week painting, and if masking is a new concept to you, then I hope you have lots of fun creating paintings with this great technique!