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Herb Olsen's Guide to Watercolor Landscape

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HERB OLSEN'S GUIDE TO WATERCOLOR LANDSCAPE

APPROACHING STORM

THE FIRST THAW

V.

The appealing

fluidity

and fresh transparency

of watercolor lend themselves particularly well

to the painting of puddles with their interesting reflections.

that there

When is

properly handled,

no other medium

in

I believe

which these

can be as fascinating.

effects

First Thaw is primarily a lesson in how to produce some of these desirable effects. The original picture was painted

The

painting

The

D 'Arches

paper and is 22 by 30 inches. The color reproduction will be found on page 29 and should be referred to frequently

on 300-pound

when

following the step-by-step description of

painting procedure. Below

is

a complete

list of

the materials used. D' Arches, 300-pound Paper: Pencil: HB Brushes: Aquarelle Brush 2-inch inexpensive sable brush

Numbers a/2-inch

5

and 8 sable brushes

short-haired sable brush

Maskoid Colors:

Yellow Ochre

Medium Orange Permanent Blue

(or

New Blue)

Sepia

Burnt Sienna Antwerp Blue Indian Red Ivory Black

21

THE FIRST THAW PAINTING PROCEDURE STEP-BY-STEP

Step 1. with an

A

careful pencil sketch

HB

drawn

lightly

pencil.

Sponge sky area with clean water to remove any possible greasy film, sometimes present in a handmade paper. While the paper Step

is

2.

wet, paint the sky area with a 2- or 3-inch

brush, using Yellow Ochre

and a touch

of

Medium

Orange. Start at the horizon line (see pencil sketch) and, with horizontal strokes, cover the paper to top. With a clean brush and while the paper is still wet, paint from the top of the paper, halfway to the horizon line (always with horizontal strokes) -this time using Permanent Blue and Sepia mixed on the palette. Let the colors blend on the paper without brushing.

Paint the road area lightly with the Aquarelle brush, using the same colors, Yellow Ochre, Orange, Permanent Blue, and Sepia, mixed on the paper. Reserve accents for later steps.

Leave the paper unpainted

22

for puddles.

23

Paint the background woods above the horizon line with Permanent Blue and a little Yellow Ochre applied with the flat side of the Aquarelle brush (see page 10). Use upward strokes, and when the area is covered, turn the

Step

3.

brush to the chisel edge and dab the top line to create the feeling of tree tops and to avoid a hard, pasted-in look at the edge.

24

Step 4. When the woods area is dry, paint the trunks of large trees with a quite dry wash of Permanent Blue and Indian Red, mixed on the palette, leaning towards the blue (see page 19) Color is applied with a flat, short-haired ^-inch sable brush. Let dry. Then paint (as dry as possible in order to retain the textures of the trees) over the Permanent Blue with Sepia, Burnt Sienna, and Black, mixed on the paper at random. Allow some blue to show through for effects of snow (see Color Plate, page 29) For the smaller trees use a Number 8 brush and for twigs a Number 5. .

.

25

For the patches in the snow use a Number 8 round sable brush, and apply Burnt Sienna, Yellow Orange, and Sepia, mixed on the paper (see page 19). Continue to paint "dry." Use Black sparingly, and remember to clean your brush after each application of color. Change the water frequently, always keeping in mind that dirty water will "muddy" your Step

5.

color as will a dirty palette.

Apply Maskoid

stony areas as indicated. Allow plenty of time for the Maskoid to dry so there will be no danger of wet Maskoid adhering to your good brushes. When thoroughly dry, continue adding twigs.

26

for

Step flat

6.

For overpainting

of the road, use the

side of the Aquarelle brush

and stroke

horizontally with Sepia, Burnt Sienna, Black,

and Antwerp Blue, mixed on the paper. Paint right over the dry Maskoid, but try to retain

some

of the original first wash.

27

Step

7.

when the

Remove Maskoid thoroughly dry. Then add

Finishing touches. painting

is

accents, such as certain edges of puddles

and

stones, with darker notes of the original colors.

For reflections of trees in puddles, use the same colors and brushes with which the trees were painted. Add shadows, using Permanent Blue mixed sparingly with Indian Red on the palette (refer to color blending on page 19) Apply the .

color darker at the base of the trees

and

lighter

as the shadows cross the road.

Step

Finished painting (see the painting in color opposite) Add numerous twigs to the trees with the Number 5 brush. Deepen reflections of the trees in the center of the painting. Then with a ^-inch flat brush stroke the ruts 8.

.

in the road as indicated, with the colors used in

Step 6. Put a light wash of Yellow Ochre in the puddles in the foreground, and add blue to the puddle on the left. Add barbed wire to the post (see page 122).

28

THE FIRST THAW 30

TWILIGHT 31

VI.

TWILIGHT

The two

paintings,

The

First

Thaw

on page

29 and Twilight, opposite, were painted at almost the same spot, but on different days. The First Thaw was painted on a slushy winter day, and Twilight on a crisp winter day. The difference in composition was achieved by changing the placement of the horizon line, thus creating two completely different viewsone featuring the foreground, the other the background. To have incorporated the entire scene into one picture would not have been plausible artistically; artists often try this sort of thing with the result that their painting

is

actually two pictures in one, with the horizon line dividing it

almost in dead center.

An artist

so often goes to a certain locale to paint

and

where actually there are two. Learn to take advantage of every possisees only one picture

bility.

33

VII.

PKNCIL SKETCHES

The

step in planning any composition,

first

whether from life or from a photograph, is to make a rough pencil sketch, see pages 34 to 39. The rough sketch serves to block in the large over-all pattern with no reference to detail. It is

usually advisable to

make

several of these in

order to determine the best possible composi-

See the Central Park sketches on page 79 for a good example of recording a variety of possibilities. I cannot overemphasize the importance of this approach to planning a painting. It is not time-consuming and it minimizes the danger of ending with a faulty composition. Pencil sketches serve many other purposes for the water-colorist. They are an invaluable aid when a camera or paints are not available to record a scene. Together with pencil notations made for the colors (see Barn below) they serve as the only guide for both color and composition in such cases. This type of sketch is generally more detailed and finished than is usually necessary. In making a drawing of this kind use a soft pencil-preferably 6B or 8B, or a layout pencil, sharpened to a chisel edge. This makes it possible to put in large areas in broad strokes tion.

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and

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establish the values for the painting.

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THE NIGHT SCENE

A rather isolated but helpful use for the pencil sketch

is

in preparation for a night scene. Since

a night scene quite obviously cannot be photo-

graphed without professional knowledge and equipment, the pencil sketch must serve as data for composition and color, and since it is difficult to distinguish primary colors at night the artist will differentiate chiefly between warm and cold colors rather than between the particular colors in the scene, as he would in daylight. I once heard of an artist who tried to paint a night scene outdoors with the help of a flashlight. The results were disastrous, and the idea is not recommended. But a pencil sketch with color notes is recommended.

Night scene.

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Painting a rock.

61

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HILL

PALNTIXi PROCEDURE STEP-BY-STEP

Step

1.

pencil, as

A

careful drawing

shown on page

made with an

HB

59.

Step 2. Above. Maskoid the driftwood, seaweed, a few small stones, and birds. When the Maskoid dries, sponge the sky with water. Then, while it is still wet, float on a wash of Permanent Blue and Sepia mixed on the paper. With a clean Aquarelle brush, continue painting toward the horizon line with horizontal strokes, using Yellow Ochre and Yellow Orange, letting the colors blend together.

62

Opposite:

Using an Aquarelle brush, paint the entire foreground-with the exception of inlet water, rocks, log, and houses— with washes of Permanent Blue blending into Orange and Burnt Sienna. Step

3.

Step

4.

With a Number

8 brush, paint the

Burnt Sienna, Sepia, and Antwerp Blue, mixed on the paper. Paint the wooded area in the extreme background with Permanent Blue and Sepia, light. Then paint the rocks with Black, Burnt Sienna, Sepia, and Permanent Blue mixed on the paper. Let dry. Accent shadow side of the rocks with the same buildings, using

Follow instructions for painting rocks on pages 61 and 67, for values.

colors, intensified.

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Step 5. Remove all Maskoid with a pickup. Paint gulls. For shadow on the wings, use Permanent Blue and Orange mixed on the palette, taking care to maintain whites. For the weatherbeaten log, use Cobalt Blue and Burnt Sienna, floating the colors so that they meld together in the shadow area. Then reaccent the deeper shadow area using Sepia and Burnt Sienna, mixed on the paper, going into Permanent Blue as the shadow hits the sand. Paint grassy masses using Hooker's Green, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, and Burnt Umber, blending into each other. Instead of stroking on the color, use a stabbing or jabbing movement with the Aqua-

64

brush-see page 10 for stroke demonstration. When the paper is dry, paint over the same area with the same colors intensified, relle

some of the lighter first wash through. Apply with the same jabbing

leaving

to

show

strokes.

For grass over the rocks in the foreground, glaze lightly with Lemon Yellow, rather dry. Roofs of the larger houses are Permanent Blue and Sepia, mixed on the paper. Paint the roofs on the smaller houses with a light wash of Cobalt Blue. Let dry. Paint the shadow areas of the houses with Burnt Sienna, Antwerp Blue, and Sepia-as in the original color of the houses, but deeper.

WATCH HILL 66

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68

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XII.

AUTUMN CATHEDRAL

The very mention of the fall of the year immediately brings color to mind. Artists who live in the east where majestic maple trees add so much to the blaze find

it

particularly challenging to try

to capture this beauty on paper. In

Paper:

D' Arches, 300-pound

Pencil:

HB

Brushes: Aquarelle

Numbers

my opinion

the results are sometimes inclined to be a bit

Maskoid

"corny," unless handled with restraint and

Colors:

This I have tried to do. Along our narrow New England country roads, the trees, their branches meeting, often form the effect of a vaulted arch and it is not difficult to imagine oneself in an edifice with taste.

windows overhead. The autumn landscape I have painted was such a scene and it suggested to me the addition of the two nuns to enhance the aura of the Autumn Cathedral. stained-glass

reproduced in color on page The materials used are listed here. This painting

is

76.

2

and 8

Yellow Ochre

Lemon Yellow Burnt Sienna Cadmium Yellow Middle Cadmium Yellow Orange

Cadmium Red Orange Burnt Umber Hooker's Green Sepia Indian

Red

Permanent Blue

Mauve Ivory Black

69

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CENTRAL PARK

XIII.

In planning this painting, the rough sketches shown on page 79 were drawn on the spot. Notice how the large areas are blocked in abstractly in the first sketch, establishing the basis for the composition. Each step carries detail a little farther. Color notes were indicated in the final

rough

Then I photographed

for future use.

the scene for incidental data which was used in painting the picture in

my studio.

On

page 85 you will see the finished painting accompanied by another version without the rocks in the foreground. This certainly needs an explanation. When I had finished the ing

I

asked

my

first

wife for her opinion. She said,

would like it better without the rocks." I agreed, and proceeded to wash them out. I took a clean sponge and tepid water and out the surface color very carefully. Continuing, always with clean water and clean sponge, I accomplished the process of washing out the color in, I would say, about 12 separate operations. After each sponging the paper was blotted with an enamel-backed blotlift

pages 11 and 12) When only a trace of color remained, I washed the area with slightly warmer water and Ivory soap, then gave it a

ter (see

final rinse to

78

difficult to do,

and

but

it

changing the picture immensely and, I think, improving it. It also serves to demonstrate again that, contrary to much misinformation about watercolor, deletions can be made and mistakes can be corrected. The materials I used for this painting are reflections,

grass,

given below.

paint-

"I think I

started to

does require some courage and a lot of patience and, I stress, clean tools, water and sponge, for each application. When the paper was thoroughly dry, the former rocky area was replaced with water, tree too

Paper

:

Pencil:

D'Arches, 300-pound

HB

Brushes Aquarelle Numbers 5, Maskoid Colors:

8,

and 12

Yellow Ochre Permanent Blue Lemon Yellow Ivory Black Orange Hooker's Green Burnt Sienna

.

remove the soap.

All this

is

not

Sepia

Antwerp Blue Burnt Umber Rembrandt Green

Preliminary sketches for Central Park.

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