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Watercolor Painting: The Basics and More

Watercolor essentials

Mediapedia By Bi rg i t O’c o n n o r

Watercolor W

atercolor is pigment suspended in a water-soluble vehicle or base (usually gum arabic). When mixed with water, the pigment particles can spread out across the page. You control how the pigment blends and flows by regulating how much water you use.

This medium has always been perceived as very unforgiving, offering the artist little control. However, the transparent effects and luminous washes possible with watercolor are unrivaled. Watercolors are much less toxic than many other media, and manufacturers are continually working on improving and producing nontoxic substitutes for the cobalts, cadmiums and lead-based paints. When using these colors, find a way to dispose of your dirty water so as not to endanger waterways. Autumn Sky (watercolor on 140-lb cold-pressed paper, 12x10)

This article is excerpted from Watercolor Essentials © 2009 by artist Birgit O’Connor (www. birgitoconnor.com) and is used with permission of North Light Books, an imprint of F+W Media Inc. Visit www.northlightshop.com or your local bookseller, or call 800/448-0915 to obtain a copy. O’Connor is also the author of Watercolor in Motion (North Light Books, 2008). The selftaught artist has shown her luminous paintings all around the world.

Paints Watercolor is available in different grades and a variety of forms. Experiment to find out what you like and what works in your paintings. •

Cakes of color usually have very little glycerin, so the hues appear concentrated. If you do use this type of paint, soften

watercolor essentials

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it by adding water to each color before you begin. Pans are similar to cakes but have more glycerin, making them semimoist and easier to use. Highly concentrated colors in bottles are striking; however, since these liquid colors are so strong, a little can go a long way. Also, these paints aren’t usually lightfast and can fade over time. Tube colors, my personal favorite, have a moist, creamy texture that blends beautifully when mixed on the palette or on paper.

Palettes Make sure that you have a large enough palette with a large mixing surface so that you have room to mix a couple of different combinations at a time. There are several ways to set up your palette. You can arrange your colors in groupings of lights and darks or warm and cool colors, or you can create a color wheel so that complementary colors are opposite each other.

My basic materials list Brushes: No. 30 natural-hair round, Nos. 8, 14, 20 sable/ synthetic-blend rounds, Nos. 3, 8, 20 synthetic rounds, wash brush (21/2-inch bamboo hake brush, sky flow or mop) No. 2 pencil or B art pencil Vinyl eraser Plastic one-gallon or two-gallon water container Paper: 140-lb. Arches cold-pressed watercolor paper (for exercises), 300-lb. Arches cold-pressed watercolor paper (for paintings) Plastic palette with cover Paper towels (to lift out excess water and create texture) Hair dryer (to speed up the drying process and prevent unwanted backwashes—be sure to apply heat evenly) Old terry cloth towel (to keep your painting surface clean and remove excess water from brushes) Transparent watercolors

Large, plastic-covered palettes work very well. They’re light for traveling and inexpensive enough that you can keep several palettes with a variety of colors for different subjects. I prefer mediumdepth flat wells. Water tends to accumulate in the bottom of deeper wells, making the color too diluted.

watercolor essentials Brushes Watercolor brushes can be expensive, but a few good brushes can last almost a lifetime if you take care of them. The most common brush types are the following: •

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Round brushes are very versatile. Their brushstrokes range from wide and rounded to thin and delicate. Rounds create a soft, organic feel. Flat brushes are angular and stiff. They create a deliberate, hard-edged appearance. Flats are good for both wide and thin strokes. Filbert brushes are flat with a rounded point. They are useful for blending edges. Cat’s tongue brushes are filbert-style brushes with a tip. Fan brushes have spread-out bristles in a fan shape. Detail brushes have tips that are short, pointed and precise. Line or liner brushes have long thin tips and are good for detail lines. Sword/dagger brushes create interesting brushstrokes, ranging from wide to very thin. They work well for painting fence lines and ropes.

Different brush fibers produce different results. Blends and synthetics work well for more controlled paintings, while natural brushes hold more water and color and are softer, creating looser paintings. •

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Natural hair brushes hold the most water and are soft enough to easily layer color upon color without lifting previous layers. Synthetic brushes spring back to form quickly and hold much less water than blended or natural-hair brushes. Some higher quality synthetic brushes are almost comparable to sable/synthetic blends. Sable/synthetic blend brushes are a nice balance between natural hair and high quality synthetics. They can hold ample amounts of water and are soft enough to layer without lifting.

Here are some of the interesting strokes you can create with fan, mop, cat’s tongue, round, flat, filbert and sword brushes (top to bottom).

watercolor essentials

Brush handling and care

Paper

If you take care of your brushes, they can last a long time.

There is a wide variety of fine art paper available; each paper reacts with watercolor paint differently (see examples below, at left).

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First and foremost, never leave your brushes tip down in a jar or water container, even if only for a few moments. This can permanently damage the tip. Instead, keep an old terry cloth towel next to your container. Clean off your brush; then place it on the towel. Dip your brush in water before you begin to prepare the tip. Dip your brush in water before dipping it into paint. Avoid submerging the entire tip in paint. Keep the color out near the point, not by the ferrule. Use watercolor brushes for watercolor only. Use only old inexpensive brushes for masking fluid.

Hot-Pressed

Cold-Pressed

Rough

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The hot-pressed sheet dries in the mold and then is run through heated rollers. This paper is smooth, hard and not very absorbent. Hot-pressed paper is ideal for drybrush techniques. It also works well for loose paintings where backruns and blossoming can be used to your advantage. The cold-pressed sheet is removed from the mold before the paper is quite dry, then pressed without heat. It’s semi-smooth and easily workable, absorbing water and color well. It’s the most commonly used surface for watercolor. The rough sheet is allowed to air-dry in the mold without any smoothing or pressing. Color skips across the very rough, absorbent surface and settles in the hollows, creating interesting effects. Rough paper is wonderful for bold work.

In the scale for paper weights, the higher the number, the thicker and stiffer the paper is. Lighter-weight papers such as a 90-lb or 140-lb tend to buckle more and accept less water and handling. Heavier papers such as 300-lb are able to accept more water, lifting, reworking and general handling. Standard watercolor paper weights include 90-lb, 140-lb and 300-lb, with some new additions now available in 260-lb and 400-lb weights. Paper is sold in various formats. Blocks are pads of mold-made, 100-percent cotton paper with sealed adhesive edges. Blocks come in a variety of sizes and eliminate the need for stretching. Sheets are available in various sizes. A standard full sheet is 22x30, a single elephant is 253/4x40, a double elephant is 30x40 and a triple elephant is 40x60. Ten-yard rolls of 441/2-inch paper are a very economical way to purchase paper. You can cut any length you want. To remove the memory of the curl, cut your paper to the desired length and soak it in a tub; then hang it on a line with clothespins, or mount it to a board with staples. Sizing is a glaze applied to paper to make it more resistant to moisture absorption. Paper with both internal and external sizing is best. Traditionally in preparing the paper, most watercolor artists soak and stretch their paper before painting. This prevents buckling and allows you to use lighter-weight papers. Stretching paper removes the surface sizing, which then changes the flow of color for the initial wash. I prefer to work with heavier, 300-lb paper because no preparation (soaking or stretching) is necessary. I do not attach my paper to boards because I want my paper to be flexible and to bend if necessary.

Watercolor essentials

Setting the Tone With Underpaintings By F r a n k S p i n o

Keys to Luminous Color M

In the photo that inspired Makin’ OJ (watercolor on paper, 24x18), light cascaded over the orange halves and seemed to set them rolling across the paper. I was excited by the way the crisp morning sunlight fell, from left to right, boldly on the first orange, obliquely on the next, with the last cast in shadow and lit from within by light transmitted through the fruit itself. I was intrigued by the challenge to capture the luminous cellular quality of the juicy cut oranges and their mottled rinds in a dynamic, high-key painting.

y buddy jokes that I choose bright, sun-filled subjects to offset my quiet, sober personality. The truth is: Painting subjects with strong light and vibrant, high-key colors evokes elements of my first love—drawing. Working with pencil, I model objects using shades of gray; painting dazzlingly lit, colorful objects with watercolor, I create dimension with clearly defined light, middle and dark values. As a former billboard painter, I came to watercolor with the same direct approach, and because I’m self-taught, I never learned that there was any other way. I mix colors on my palette, bring them to the appropriate levels of moisture, maybe do a quick test or two on scraps of paper, and then apply them directly to the painting. No washes, no wetinto-wet. I just mix the colors and put them down, aiming at all times to maintain maximum brilliance and color intensity. Follow along as I demonstrate my process for developing luminous color and share my best tips for creating the illusion of light.

watercolor essentials

Keeping Colors Bright The most obvious way to keep colors bright and luminous is to lay down pure, transparent paint on white paper, but you can also make color appear more or less brilliant in relation to the colors placed next to it. In Squeeze Me First! (left), for example, the oranges in sunlight get a boost from those cast in shadow. The value difference makes them jump off the page, but they also benefit from the juxtaposition of strong against muted color. The opaque quality of the darks helps make the bright notes seem more luminous as well. In Fresh Squeezed (opposite), the mostly overlooked dark note in the juice, right in the center of painting, provides key information that defines the color of the juice in light. At the same time, it tells much about the light passing through the dome of the juicer. Similar comments could be made about the darker blue-green notes in this painting.

To begin Squeeze Me First! (watercolor on paper, 20x17), which is bathed in bright sunlight, I covered the paper with a warm yellow wash— with the exception of the white highlights I wanted to preserve. Next, I laid in a wash on the central orange that approximated its overall color. To play off that spot of color, I laid in a color note for the cast shadow to its right, then a note for the aqua color next to that, the yellowgreen next to that, and so on around the piece.

artist’s toolkit Paper: I use Arches 140-lb. cold-pressed, typically in block sizes 14x20 and 18x24. When the work calls for a unique size, I turn to Arches cold-pressed watercolor board, which can be cut to whatever size I need and allows me to start painting immediately, no stretching required. Brushes: I love my Escoda Reserva Series 1212 Kolinsky-Tajmyr sable round brushes, sizes 8 to 16. I also have a full quiver of Winsor & Newton Cotman synthetic rounds that I use for down-and-dirty techniques, such as scrubbing and lifting, to which I wouldn’t subject my delicate kolinsky sables. Paints: My first choice is Winsor & Newton Artists’ Water Colour, but Daniel Smith’s quinacridones are also a staple on my palette. I use Aquacover by Creative Mark when I need to recapture a highlight that I’ve lost.

watercolor essentials

As I watched my wife twist and crush oranges over the ribbed dome of the juicer for our fresh-squeezed orange juice one morning, a lightning bolt of inspiration struck. What was once breakfast was transformed into still life. With camera in hand, I dragged everything outside into the brilliant morning sun. Bathed in light, the juicer turned magical. Three of my best watercolors, including Fresh Squeezed (watercolor on paper, 17x15), came from this shoot. I often create a quick, loose color study before I delve into a painting. In this study for Fresh Squeezed (far left), I worked out the composition and tested many different color mixes before I settled on this palette. A spread from my color notes (left) offers a sneak peek into my colormixing process.

watercolor essentials

Preserving Highlights Generally speaking, I’m careful with my whites. I paint around them if I can, use masking fluid if I can’t and, in rare cases, I use opaque white paint to reclaim highlights.

In the upper left quarter of Makin’ OJ (page 59) you can see all three techniques at work. The half orange facing the sun uses the white of the paper for the center and the ring around the edge. The tiny cellular highlights were

Although I relish the often unnoticed middle and dark tones in paintings such as Sliced Citrus With Calamondin (watercolor on paper, 14x20), for me, color is all there is.

Despite the variety involved, mixing colors for the bright, juicy fruit came fairly easily for this painting.

Doing a color study such as the one above, I know pretty quickly if the composition is a winner and if the colors are going to be a challenge or not.

watercolor essentials

created with masking fluid. Directly above it, the orange rind in sunlight nearly drove me to distraction trying to capture the dimpled effect of the ruddy rind. I had to use Aquacover opaque white by Creative Mark to bring back the highlights I had lost. In general, if I want to work in broad washes—areas that can’t be broken down into small enough sections where I can work around my highlights—I reach for Winsor & Newton Colourless Art Masking Fluid.

see the light: 3 tips 1. Natural light appears different every moment of the day. Morning light can be bright but cool. Midday light can be warm and hazy. Evening light, which has traveled through the day’s heated atmosphere, can cast rosy hues. 2. Sunlight is typically warm. Watercolorists often use the white of the paper to depict sunlight, when, in fact, the white of the paper can appear quite cool. 3. It’s the relationship between colors that speaks the most about light and shadow. If you see shadows at all, it’s because they have light in them. Where does this light come from? Is the shadow reflecting the blue sky? Is it picking up color from nearby objects? Resist the tendency to go to your darkest dark too quickly; leave something in reserve. Indeed, you’d be hardpressed to find any really dark notes in my paintings.

For Cool Citrus (watercolor on paper, 24x18), I began with a neutral gray wash a little lighter than what you see in the upper left corner. An underpainting such as this helps unify the cast of the finished piece.

keep colors fresh: 3 tips 1. Steer clear of thin, diluted color. Take advantage of the full range of color intensity available to you. 2. Start your painting by mixing a bright color. Apply the color strong but not at full strength so you have some wiggle room. Work in other colors around the bright and see how they influence one another: In comparison, one color will be dominant and one subordinate; one warmer and one cooler. It will become apparent which color needs to be more intense and which less. 3. Once you’re satisfied with your bright, leave it alone. Let it be the anchor to which you key your remaining colors. Adjust your middle and darker notes accordingly.

watercolor essentials

Building Color and Light One Step at a Time Prep Work: Blue Planet (opposite) was too large and complex to do a full-scale color study, so I focused on a small section that contained all the major colors. I tested a variety of blue and green mixes before I was satisfied. The blue mix I settled on consists of 60 percent Antwerp blue and 40 percent royal blue. The green mix consists of 80 percent permanent sap green, 10 percent quinacridone magenta and 10 percent of the blue mix. The reds were gradations of opera rose, permanent rose and quinacridone violet.

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I started the full-size painting by covering the entire 30x30-inch sheet of paper with a cool blue wash, bathing the piece in shadow. I began working in the upper left corner until I was comfortable with my green color mix. I then moved to the center and began working on my blues. At this stage, the colors were not yet at full intensity; only later, when I could see the full illusion take shape, would I work at full color strength.

I began by working out the main blue and green mixes that would dominate the painting; most of the colors I used sprang from these mixes or incorporated one or the other in some way.

By the time I finished the painting, I’d filled five 11x15-inch sheets of my notebook with color notes like the one above, which also included a small color study.

color notes

For every painting, I make a series of “color notes” in notebooks I keep specifically for this purpose. The notes began as simple swatches of color mixes, but eventually expanded to include small color sketches as well. My paintings can take 40 to 50 hours each to complete and, because I still work a full-time job, I might be working on a piece for months. When I go back to a painting after a week, sometimes longer, I don’t have to recall which colors I was using; I simply refer to my color notes. They also come in handy when I choose to use similar still life elements for other paintings. Many hours of color mixing are already completed for me.

watercolor essentials

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I continued in the same manner, working to cover the entire painting with color. Here I focused primarily on the values of my blues, establishing the pattern of lights and darks.

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As every color was influenced by each subsequent color I put down, I needed to remain mindful of the color relationships I was creating and adjust them accordingly. At this stage, the main leaf in the center had taken on a bluish cast because the truer greens around it were too powerful. The painting was becoming a diagonal tug-of-war between the blues and the greens. To create balance, I needed to bring out more greens in the left half of the painting. Choosing pinks and red-violets that would fit in was one of the final challenges. 

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Before I was done, I had completely repainted the roselike succulent in the bottom left corner at least three times to get it right. In all, Blue Planet (watercolor on paper, 30x29) took about five months of Saturdays to complete. Although the painting may not conform to classic watercolor rules for success, I’m pleased with the results.

Watercolor essentials A Symbiotic Trio I

f you aim to find new, exciting subjects to paint, keep in mind that it’s not just the objects in your paintings that make the work unique, but also your interpretation and the personal creativity you bring to them.

Harmonize Shape, Color and Movement By L i n da k e m p

Golden koi are symbolic of love, good fortune and strength. In the demonstration that follows, I’ll show you how to put a different spin on this oft-painted subject. Harmonizing shape, color and movement will reinforce the feeling of a quiet moment found while peering into the shallows of a fish pond. Breaking forms into multiple planes will give the appearance of volume and dimension. Practice first on a piece of sketch paper so that when it comes time to paint, you’ll layer shape, color and movement with confidence.

In Summer Light (opaque watercolor on paper, 7½x7½), the brushstrokes guide the eye in a clockwise direction that leads to the center of the painting, creating a swaying-inthe-wind effect. The gold and violet, and the red and green, complement each other to add a further sense of cohesion to the vibrant painting.

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before  you begin

I draw the parts of the fish that are closest to me first. The dorsal fin and head of each are a good place to start. Next, I add bodies and tails, giving life and rhythm to my fish by curving the parts. After finishing the bodies, tails and side pectoral fins, I give each fish its own character by varying the contour and size.

Consider the following as you plan your painting: Objective: Create harmony in color, shape and movement. Practice glazing techniques for subtle transitions in intensity with touches of clean tints and neutrals.

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Dynamic impact: Clean tints appear luminous when paired with neutrals. Practical suggestions for success: Let each layer dry before progressing to the next step.

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Draw and glaze the top layer

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Reduce the intensity of the red-orange

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Make a hard edge

Re-creating the first layer of my drawing on watercolor paper with a pencil, I transfer two fish from my sketch. I glaze around the heads and fins with pure red-orange (a mix of permanent yellow-orange and cadmium red deep). I dilute the color to soften it, leaving a hard edge to define the shapes, and then let it dry. Throughout the painting process, each element is drawn and painted one layer at a time.

Simplified color concept: Paint with changes in intensity, working with complementary colors. Keep the values close.

Shape-making strategy: Think round. Curves, curls, circles and ovals work together to unify shape and movement.

Draw a plan for the layers of fish

tool kit Surface: 140-lb. coldpressed or hot-pressed watercolor paper, 5½x7½ inches Paints: cadmium orange, cadmium red deep, cobalt turquoise, permanent yellow-orange

I combine a touch of cobalt turquoise with the red-orange mix to slightly reduce the intensity. As the layering continues through this piece, the orange becomes progressively more neutral, or grayed.

I follow my plan to sketch the bodies of the fish. Working in one small section at a time, I paint the slightly neutral red-orange along the edge of one fish.

Brushes: No. 12 or 14 round Misc.: sketchbook or sketch paper, pencil

Excerpted from Simplifying Design & Color for Artists: Positive Results Using Negative Painting Techniques by Linda Kemp (North Light Books, 2013). Available at www.northlightshop.com and wherever books are sold.

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Pull the color away from the body

I wash the color away from the fish by dampening the paper and creating a soft edge, gradually transitioning the intensity of the color.

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Dilute the color outward

I continue to paint around the forms, diluting the paint as it’s pulled

toward the edge of the paper. Then I set the work aside to dry (or use a hair dryer to speed the process).

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Continue building

I follow my fish blueprint to add the fins and more levels of layering. Based on the number of sections I’ve divided the painting into, this requires several steps of sketching and glazing.

watercolor essentials

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Neutralize the color as you add layers

For each new layer I add, the red-orange becomes more grayed. I accomplish this by increasing the percentage of turquoise in the mix. I test the paint as I work, adding more water as needed to keep the value from becoming too dark.

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Add some pebbles

I paint the first set of pebbles under the fish, accentuating the stones’ round form and a circular pattern to carry the theme through. Next, I paint around the stones with grayed color. Little hits of pure turquoise create a jolt of color.

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Scatter stones

I follow the same basic strategy for building in the negative space to add more pebbles. I’m not painting the pebbles; I’m painting around them. I work slowly and let the paper dry between steps.

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Keep the motif going

My painting now has five levels of pebbles. Working from the upper to the lower levels as I build, the piles of pebbles get deeper.

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Develop the inside details

Eyes and the fins’ bony spines can be added, but instead of painting them in, I paint around them.

A United Front The combination of color, shape and movement produces a calming, quiet effect in the completed painting (below). The blended complementary hues, repetitive shapes of the pebbles and the semicircular positioning of the fish add up to a harmonious result.  Color, shape and movement—as well as the bright shot of turquoise in the center of the painting—draw the viewer’s eye into The Love Dance—Golden Koi (below; watercolor on paper, 5½x7½).

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