"Tips to Success... in Watercolors".
Scroll down to the end of this page. In the 16 page instructional you will also find how the computer can make your planning easier, and a system for keeping a track history of each of your paintings as you place them into local and national competitions. You are welcome to download this information. New information on avoiding and correcting mistakes is now included. Email me if you have any questions or suggestions.
2008 Continuing Art News and Information
September, 2008
The National Watercolor Association accepted "Color a ...Parrot" to be exhibited at their 88th Annual National Exhibition, Riverside California.
Here is the information the National Watercolor Association wanted from me.
The concept behind the painting:
In 2005, Janet met a poet who dressed as a green crayon to motivate kids to speak. Seeing the “live” crayon interacting with the children, Janet remembered her own childhood and the countless hours she had spent coloring pictures. At that instant, she knew that “crayons” would be the beginning of a new series of paintings. Crayons could connect her with her childhood and let her comment on her place in time and history. In the first crayon painting a box of new crayons was placed on top of the coloring book outline of a tiger. In the second and third paintings, Janet used a green turtle, and then a red-eyed tree frog. “Color a…Parrot” was the fourth of eight paintings that evolved from the first inspiration. In this painting she, for the first time, takes the photograph of the animal outside the borders of the photograph making it an animate living entity. Unfortunately, by facing the reality of coming out of the photograph, the parrot on the left can no longer be the mate of the naïve love-struck two dimensional parrot on the right. All is not lost; however, the painting of the parrot has not been completed. Would you finish coloring the parrot, or leave it like it is? What would happen if you left it like it is, and what would the statement be if you finished it?
Materials, techniques, inherent qualities that interested and challenged her:
Starting with a photograph of a parrot, an outline of another parrot, and a box of crayons, Janet photographed multiple still life compositions. After finding one that suited her purpose, she transferred the image onto 140 pound Arches watercolor paper. Using a drawing gum resist (pebeo), areas that she wanted to retain white were covered . Initially she wanted to use crayons to color the animals in the series, but opted not to create “mixed media” paintings in favor of taking the challenge of making transparent watercolor look like the objects it was depicting. She wants you to feel the innate quality of waxy crayons that look real enough to make you think you could take one out of the painting. Next she proceeded to layer Windsor-Newton, transparent watercolor pigments using round brushes onto the paper. To achieve the flatness of the colored image, she tried to use only one layer of a premixed paint. In areas where she wanted items to appear three dimensional, she applied many thin layers of paint onto pre-wetted or dry areas (depending on the reflective surface desired). Hard edges are used when you need a glassy reflection, soft edges for matted reflective surfaces.
Janet invites the viewer to sense, identify or “get the message” she is making through her images. Her interest and challenge is the magical ability to make two dimensional images on two dimensional paper suddenly seem real and even sometimes alive. Within the same composition, Janet has used two and three dimensional images, cartoons, photographs, inanimate and live images to make a statement, recall a memory, evoke an emotion, share a concept, or change the viewers perception of what he/ she thinks they have observed, taken for granted but not really seen. Do you think she has succeeded?
Below are the visual steps of the painting.
  
1. I printed out a photograph that i took of two parrots, tore it in half, traced one half and taped them both on a drawing board. After taking many digital photographs, i decided on this composition. Before going further, i had to fix the concept in my head so i would be headed in the right direction when painting. 2. i transferred the cartoon on to watercolor paper, used pebeo drawing fluid to mask out my white areas and started on my first layers. 3. after another days work, the form of the parrot started to emerge.
  
4. I started washing the colors of the right parrot. 5. adding the lines which would help him look 2 dimensional as the coloring book. 6. I rubbed off the masking fluid and put many more layers on both the left "real" parrot emerging from the photograph on the left.
  
7.After many more layers of paint, i didnt like the "real" birds shoulder and it was becoming too dark. So i masked out the areas i didnt want to damage, took the painting to the kitchen sink and washed off much of the color. 8. After the painting dried, i ironed it to make it flat again and started reforming the birds. Still not liking the darkness of the beak (too overbearing) 9. I made the painting lighter again,changing the pupil of the real parrot.The final painting is shown at the top. More information on the process i use for avoiding and correcting mistakes can be found in green print within the watercolor information at the bottom of this page.
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June 2008
Watercolor USA, Springfield,Mo. accepted "Out of the Jar...Loose Change" into their national show. It had been accepted and displayed in the fall 2007 National Biennial show Punta Gorda, Fl. in 2007and at the Art League of Bonita Springs All Florida Exhibition in April 2008.
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April, 2008
The National League of American Pen Women awarded "Phalenopsis" First Place in their 44th Juried Art Exhibition, Alexandria, Va.
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April, 2008
  
  
In 2007 i started this painting: "Mirror the Southwest". 22x30 image. While browsing stores in New Mexico, i noticed the variety of mirrors they had for sale. When i took a closer look, i was intrigued by the images they reflected back to me. Declaring it finished, i put it away, but was never happy with the end results, so i brought it back out in April 2008, and superimposed a Georgia O'Keefe skull over the front mirror to give the composition a an aura of mystery and a soul.
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April, 2008
I was just informed that i got two paintings into the 20th Tri-State Exhibition the month of April. They will be exhibited in the LeMoyne Center for the Visual Arts in Tallahassee, Fl.
 
"Clockworks" and" Kissimmee Stop"
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April 5 until May 25,2008
The National Georgia Watercolor Society 2008 Exhibition just accepted my "Harley Blooms" into their exhibit this year. it will be exhibited at the Quinlan Visual Arts Center 514 Green Street NE. Gainesville, Ga 30501.This gives me a P-2 status with their association. A third acceptance will give me signature status.
 
 
This is the ongoing result of 5 long days of painting "Harley Blooms ". Becky is my sister-in-law. She was a art student, and talented basketball guard of a team i coached in high school who married my brother, David, on a cruise ship in Alaska in 2000. She rides a Harley..one of my favorite images to paint! She parked her bike in front of her house last summer so i could do a photo shoot. This was one of the reflective images that i enjoyed the most.
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Feb. 25 thru March 30, 2008 Quincy, Florida
"Out of the Jar V....Antique Buttons" was accepted into the Southern Watercolor Society's 31st National Exhibit. It is my third acceptance, giving me my second signature status in watercolors.
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March 27, 2008
I started this painting in February as a demo at the WildChild Gallery in Matlacha, Florida, and didnt get back to finish it until March. I I put on another layer of paint and was ready to take off the drawing fluid protecting the white areas (picture 3 below). It would not come off. This had never happened before with the pebeo drawing fluid that i used. The discovery is that if the pebeo is exposed to the elements of sun, heat, wind, dampness as i had been painting it outdoors, it bakes into the paper fiber ruining the artwork. Time to start over.
  
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March 27.2008
Ron Bishop selected " sacred messager as 4th place or 1st merit to the Visual Arts Center, Punta Gorda, Fl.. art March exhibition.
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October 14,19 2007
While at the Florida Watercolor Society's Annual Convention, i started this painting as i demonstrated using Daniel Smith's Quinacridone colors. i can even say the Q word now (most of the time). it is qwin AC ri done(long o). It is not quite finished, the painting on the left was when i thought i was almost done, but needed to redraw the pistil part, so i went outdoors, picked a bloom and brought it up to the studio. i decided that i also needed more pink especially around the central focus. the photo on the right shows you those small changes. i usually call this stage of painting, my tweeking stage. i still have to put in some detailed lines and photograph it again in black + white to check my values. then i will clip it to the wall for awhile and see if i can live with it, or if once i start another painting, i will see changes i hadnt noticed before. In fact looking at the petal on the far right, i see a bulge that looks funny, so i will have to flatten that out too.
  
 
you will notice that the bump on the petal is gone, and the 3rd painting up on top looks like it has 2 eyes or egg yolks staring at you from the pistle. never say it cant be scrubbed out and redone. see image 4. i like it much better, and the value study in picture 5 says i have good values, and a good center of interest. NOTE OF INTEREST: i was told that if i wanted to completely block out an area to make it white again to use CASEIN. So i ordered a tube of shiva casien titanium white, and applied it to an old demo painting. it worked wonderfully. it is watersoluable, non acrylic, dries close to the color of the paper, and can be painted on quite easily. this may be the secret to fixing mistakes! although i wont be able to enter it into a totally transparent watercolor contest, it may save many paintings that i would throw away.
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October 8, 2007
August, 2007 we were in Roseburg, Oregon.The mornings have been gray and dreary, the afternoons cool in the mid 70's. I try to draw in the mornings and wait for sunlight to paint in the afternoons. Jerry is working at the VA hospital. Here are the latest step by step painting examples, but i am at a standstill until i can get hooked up to a black and white printer to redraw the background. I've been spoiled by use of my b+w printer, and miss having it with me. use of the printer allows me to make fewer corrections directly on my watercolor paper.
  
The first 3 paintings have a gray mask-out painted to protect the white spaces.
  
In painting number 4, i have removed all the mask, and in 5 and 6 started to paint in those areas. Just looking at it right now, i need to gray out the turquoise background and some of the yellow blooms to create more of a focal point. I am going to put it under the bed for now,change it when i get home in october and start another. This was painted on arches 300 lb cold press paper. it absorbs alot more color than the 140 lb paper, making it different to work with. At this point, i cant say which paper i prefer.
October 8, 2007: I think i resolved the background by layering the sky and mountains with orange to help hold the painting together and give it an atmosphere of dusty and hot.
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My studio continues to progress .
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SINS OF THE FATHERS IS NOW AVAILABLE FROM XLIBRIS
Go to their website to preview the first few pages and check out my artwork on the cover
https://www2.xlibris.com/bookstore/bookdisplay.asp?bookid=36761
 
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Janet Mach Dutton
1417 El Dorado Pkwy W
Cape Coral, Fl. 33914
239 540 5503
239 410 9654 (cell)***
TIPS FOR SUCCESS... IN WATERCOLORS
GETTING STARTED
Find a place to work where you don’t have to put away your supplies all the time. Set aside a time to work every day. Practice is the best teacher. Get to 100 paintings as fast as possible. Don’t worry about mistakes, you can loose a lot of battles and still win the war. I never give up on a painting until it is destroyed, and then sometimes I wash it off, turn it upside down and start over.
USE TRANSPARENT COLORS
Primary yellow py 3: Windsor yellow(wn) or lemon yellow(h) (cooler of the two)
Primary red (red-violet) pv19: Permanent rose (wn) Opera (h): DaVinci (dv)
Primary blue pb15: Windsor blue(wn) orPtThalo Blue(dv)
Yellow-orange: Quinacridone gold( wn or ds)
Orange-red shade dark: Permanent brown (ds) and/ Quiacridone sienna (ds) or burnt sienna(wn)
Red: Quniacridone red(wn or ds) or pyrrol scarlet
Red dark: Alizarin crimson (wn)
Violet: Windsor violet(wn) or permanent violet
Green: Windsor green (wn) or pthalo Green(dv)
Make your own black by using your alizarin crimson, thalo green, thalo blue
If you want additional colors I would get these next. Note that if you choose the earth pigments, they tend to lift more easily, may be more semi transparent and can create muddy colors.
Warm yellow: new gamboge or raw sienna (earth pigment).
Cool yellow: aureolin(dv)
Cool brown or y-o shade: burnt umber or raw umber(h)
Transparent orange (ds); brilliant orange (h); but I haven’t tried them. Putting red onto a wet yellow creates wonderful glowing oranges, so orange is not on my palette.
Warm red: scarlette lake, bright red
Cool red: Windsor red
Cool blue: French ultramarine (dv)
Warm blue: cobalt blue (is semi transparent)(wn or dv)
Warm blue: cereulean blue (semi transparent) (wn)used a lot by landscape painters.
Warm green: hookers green or perm sap green(wn or ds)
Any other transparent colors that you fall in love with. Everyone has their favorite colors!
Discussion in depth on paints and pigments: http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/palette2.html
PALETTE
You can use any enameled or non porous surface with a large clean preferable white surface for mixing paints. Just starting, use a cheap white dinner plate. Palettes are not very expensive. If you don’t know what you want, then wait and look at others. I chose a cheap joe’s piggy back palette because it had lots of deep wells separated from two main mixing areas. I need to rearrange my palette so that all colors above the center have yellow in them, and all the colors below the center line have blue in them. Whenever you mix all three primary colors together you get gray. To avoid getting gray, I try not to mix them together. You can also purchase mini trays that fit in the cover of the main palette, to create and experiment with new color combinations.
SET UP THE PALETTE; it is done similar to the color wheel.
(Space) (perm brown) (quin. Sienna) (orange) (raw or burnt umber) (space)
r-o dark o warm secondary o-y cool shade
semi-t
(bright red) r-o warm y-o cool (Q. gold or raw
Sienna)
(scarlet lake) warm red warm yellow ( new gamboge)
(Q. red or pyrrol scarlet) cool red primary yellow (Windsor yellow
Or lemon yellow)
(perm. rose or opera) primary red cool yellow (aureolin)
(Alizarin crimson) cool red shade (space)
(perm magents) cool r-v warm green (hookers or perm sap green)
(perm. violet) secondary violet secondary green (Windsor green or thalo green)
(mix my own black) (space)
(titanium white)(fr. ultra-marine blue) (phthalo blue) (cobalt blue)(cereulean blue)(space)
Opaque cool blue primary blue warm blue warmer blue
semi-t semi-t
You can choose to use a table or floor easel, a block of watercolor paper, or work from a support board. Your support board should be at least an inch larger than the paper you are working on. It can be made of anything smooth that does not flex. While traveling I recently went to home depot and bought a very firm thin non flexible board for only a few dollars. An art store will sell you gator board. It is expensive, but I love it because it is so light and easy to handle my board to handle a full sized sheet of paper is 32x24 and ¼” thick, I got it for $19. I have a wedged board I use to keep it on a slant, but a roll of paper towels can be used to do this very efficiently especially if you use a non skid fabric underneath.
PAPER:
I recommend that if you are beginning to buy a block of 140 arches watercolor cold press paper either 9x12 or 11x14 depending on your comfort level. Save your Michael’s coupon and get 40% off on this expensive item. If you just don’t know, buy a full sheet of arches paper cold press and cut it into half, and then half one half to get two quarter pieces. We will be working on one quarter piece.
Paper comes in hot press which has a very smooth slippery surface; cold press which is textured and rough which has more surface texture. Children and smooth shiny objects are often most successful on hot press paper. For character studies, Suzanna Winton prefers 300 cold press. I believe the majority of artists use cold press. Rough press leans more toward the experimental, looser, more textured images. 300 pound is usually recommended over 140 pound but working on a block of watercolor paper is very similar to working on the 300 lb paper because the block absorbs much the same as the 300. Paper varies tremendously in how it reacts with water. Experiment with different types of paper to see what you like the best. Combinations of different papers are available to buy in sets.
Bring what watercolor brushes you have and prefer to work with. You do not need to buy any brushes if you already have them! If you don’t have any buy only a few. Loew-cornell makes a series 1811 synthetic inexpensive utility brush good for applying masking fluid, mixing paints, applying art glues etc.
The brushes I use the most for almost every size paper are a size #8 to #10 Loew-cornell 7020 ultra round (black handle with red band). They are synthetic and can be used with masking fluid.. I use 2 of the same size , one marked with blue masking tape I never put into the yellows, and one unmarked that I never put into the blue paints (unless I am not paying attention). I like them because they come to a fine point, but have lots of bristles which hold a substantial amount of water and/or paint. You need a third larger brush (#16 to #24) for adding clear water to your painting and doing washes. The flat brushes hold less water and though I have a few, I don’t use them often. Often instructors have told me to include a one-half inch flat brush and 1 inch flat brush.
I do have a set of cheap joe’s kolinsky round legends set. The are very expensive, hold a lot of water and paint and are harder to control. Many artists who like wet and spontaneous swear by them. I especially like them for blending as in portraits, where you want your paper to stay very wet.
I also have numerous round, flat, angled, hake, brushes larger and smaller than the size 10’s which I use on occasion. The only other brush, if you don’t have it, you might want to buy is a scrubber brush size 4. (I have a 2, 6, 12). I use them to soften hard edges caused by the masking fluid.
INCIDENTALS you don’t want to forget to bring, or you might want to purchase:
2 rectangular sponges 3x4 inches (place on top of each other, wrap in 2 paper towels, attach with tape. Place them in a sandwich sized plastic box. This is your reusable blotter.
2 plastic light weight water containers ( I use old large iguana mia plastic cups)
Spray bottle to dampen dried paint
Little spray misting bottle for texture and later spray on color.
Masking fluid ( I like pebeo drawing gum from cheap joes)
Masking fluid eraser or remover
Bar of brush soap, (murphys oil soap or ivory works well too)
6B pencil
#2 Pencil or mechanical pencil
Ball point ink pen
Masking tape, blue painters tape, and a regular cream color roll.
Kneaded eraser and white eraser (I have a staedtler mars plastic).
A small container of table salt.
Box of Kleenex
Roll of paper towels
Hair dryer on an extension cord.
Ruler, yardstick and or t-square. If you are working small, a small clear plastic 12” one is $2.
Tracing paper the size of your painting paper or larger. Many instructors say rolls are better.
Gladware interlocking disposable containers, round custard cup size. (if you have an aluminum cupcake tin or rectangular baking pan to put them in you can manage them easier).
Name tag (I’m terrible with names)
Magic Eraser by mr. clean works well in lifting.
A roll of transfer (graphite)paper ..never use carbon paper.
Clean smooth cork from a used white wine bottle used to roll out paper fiber that has been scrubbed.
Goo-gone from the grocery to clean masking fluid from brushes.
6-8 Bull dog clips to hold loose paper to drawing board, and or display your work
Liquitex gloss gel medium can be used diluted to a milky to creamy solution and brushed onto watercolor you buy that may be too porous, or used on overworked areas of your painting before repainting them.
Shiva casein, titanium white, to white out small areas where you just gotta have your white back. (remember then, that it will make your entire painting no longer considered eligible in “transparent” watercolor exhibitions
Credit card that has no value. Use for scraping salt off dried paper.
Day adjusted light bulbs from home improvement store for your painting area.
Collection of items you can make texture by using: sponges, lace, onion bags, saran wrap, paper towels or toilet tissue with patterns in them. The list is as long as your imagination.
Check out art suppliers in your area. I often get odds and ends from Michael’s craft store, Cape Coral Art Studio, Micci’s in Ft. Myers and an art shop on Pine Island.
On line I order from Cheap Joe’s, Daniel Smith, Jerry’s art-a-rama. ASW warehouse. There are many from which to choose.
There are many good references books out there, depending on your level of experience and what you want and where you want to go with your art and I am only familiar with a few. Check out your local library for art books. If they don’t have them, ask them to order them. They are always looking for good books!
You may want a book on how to take good photographs. Or how to paint from your photographs.
My favorite how to draw book is “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” by Betty Edwards.
One of the easiest watercolor books to understand and apply is Pat Weaver’s, “Watercolor Simplified”. She works very loosely, one time in and out with color. She resides in Dade city, fl. Pat is a wonderful, kind, helpful artist who is available for workshops in your area or in her studio. The table of contents in her book contains information on how to get started, basic design fundamentals, simplify drawing, color and value, and nine direct demonstrations. Her website is:
www.watercolorplace.com.
Very similar in approach to Weaver’s watercolor painting and personality is Janet Rogers. She does people. Her husband , Steve, does a lot of impressionistic landscapes. http://www.watercolorsbyrogers.com. They take groups and individuals to Europe to paint in workshops as well as doing local workshops.Another artist in Florida who I thought gave an outstanding workshop (a former educator) is Sue Archer. Her technique is much more tight using layers upon layers of depth to achieve depth and form. I personally love it because it is the area of comfort for me. http://www.archerville.com
Watercolors from Photographs, Jan Kuntz
Spice up your painting, Kate Yarbrough
Joe Fettingis, general (loose beginning, layering, tighter at end)
Janet Rogers, ( looser spontaneous, like pat weaver )portraits and flowers
Sue Archer, elemental overall (tighter and layering)
Pat Weaver, elemental overall (looser and one time hit and get out) all subjects
Susanne Winton,(tighter, layering) portraits http://www.suzannawintonwatercolors.com.
Something to think about: Be true to yourself. Don’t let others dictate what you should or should not be painting. I was always told I was too tight…that I should loosen up. all the classes I took to loosen up only put me in tears. I didn’t need that….this is about ME having FUN now that I am retired and can do what I want to do. So after a couple of frustrating workshops, I started looking for workshops and classes that felt comfortable, but pushed me technically. I sought a “tight” artist for portraits: Suzanne Winton was wonderful for ME and what I wanted. Decide who you are, what you want to become, and seek out artists who you want to emulate right NOW. Of course, NOW, changes as you evolve…and so will you as you advance your experience.
the BEST advise I was ever given!
3. Learn how to draw and see. Take a drawing class or more as you need it.
2.Learn how to apply design and composition principles. You can do this with a good design book and some honest critique.
And the MOST important! 1. Practice, practice, practice, learn to control the water and pigment. ...and paint 100 as soon as possible. This advice was given to me by my brother-in-law, former president of the Iowa Waterolor Society, Richard Dutton.
Thank you for being so giving of your advice and counsel!
The old adage: practice makes perfect applies!!!! I find that if I go weeks without painting I loose the edge and have to start over. The best leaps for me come when I chase my husband out of the house to work, giving me 10 hours a day 5 days a week to paint without having to do anything else for months at a time. My work excels in quantum bounds.
Painting at home without a dedicated place to just leave my stuff out, and a dedicated time to do it….well it just doesn’t happen. So, I started asking successful artists how they managed to get art done. The best answer I got was: when you get up in the morning paint from 8 to noon each day. Never schedule any appointments in the morning. Tell your spouse you are unreachable until noon …after that you can do what ever you want to my body…….There is nothing that cant wait until noon to be addressed and NEVER open the computer before noon. Try it. I have passed on these words of wisdom to other aspiring artists, some have succeeded more than others, but the more you paint on an everyday basis the sooner you will improve.
I was looking at my stats: remember that I have 32 years of art background in practice.
I spent 28 years teaching art in middle and high school classes in Michigan.
I was a potter and printmaker having earned a MA in art education from MSU.
Divorced and remarried, with three of my own children, my art was on the back burner until 2000, when I got rid of the pets, the kids were all out of the house, and my husband, Jerry, and I retired to a house and boat in Florida.
In 2002, we sold the boat, bought a motor home, and my husband took a 4 mo. job in Maine. I began to paint 10 hours a day. I took a week workshop on Mohegan Island. Decided I didn’t like plein air painting and referred back to all my glorious photos.
When we got back in Florida, I took a local watercolor class. During that time my big discovery was learning to keep the white of the paper WHITE with a little help from a maskoid.
In 2003, Jerry went to work again for 12 weeks. I regaled and excelled making quantum leaps in improvement. When we got back home to Florida, I signed up for 3 workshops with nationally known watercolor artists during the 2003-2004 season.
Since that season, Jerry has continued to work in the summer, I continue to paint and take fewer workshops as I get more comfortable with my own personal progress. I am still improving!
To give you some idea of the amount of work that I have amassed:
Completed paintings: member awards: council awards; state shows: national shows +
2001 19 9x12 paintings 0 0 0 0
2002 50 11x4 paintings 0 0 0 0
2003 56 11x14 paintings 0 1 0 0
2004 59 18x24 paintings 1 6 3 * 0
2005 44 18x24 paintings 6 9 3 1 *HM
2006 36 22x30 paintings 3 12 3 * 3 *HM
To date in:
2007 19 22x30 paintings 1 5 3 * 6 *1st
- My first competitive win came in 2003:
- Dec., 2003 Art League of Fort Myers Juried Show, “ Lionfish”, 22x18 w/c.30x24 w/c. won 3rd place. This was my 110th painting
- *Sept. 2004, Florida Watercolor Society’s 33rd Annual Show , Quincy, Fl. “We’re Barefoot on the Beach“ , 24x30 w/c. This gave me p-1 status in the FWS.
- *2006. Sept. Florida Watercolor Society Annual Exhibit. Sarasota, Fl. "Rattle Me!" 30x24.This gave me p-2 status in the FWS.
- *2007, Sept. Florida Watercolor Society Annual Show. Sept. 28-Nov. 26, 2007. Museum of Arts and Sciences, Daytona Beach, Fl. " Clockworks" 30x38 .P-FWS signature status was awarded to me for this third acceptance into the FWS.
Hope this helps to show what you can accomplish by painting as many hours as you can squeeze into each day!
IDEAS: WHAT TO PAINT
Set up problems to solve such as: draw to get a good likeness of something, leave white paper unpainted. Painting around the white, painting white on white. Paint something shiny, rough, reflective, matte finished, textured, soft. Make objects look like they smell ie. Sheep like lanolin and smelly; boots like soft or hard leather, lemons tart, oranges juicy and sweet, roses soft and velvety. Work with atmospheric perspective or space making objects come forward or recede. doodle to find new shapes. Capture the charm of where you live. Take close up looks into everyday items. Exaggerate colors, bring out mysterious shapes. Draw buildings, speak to the audience of textures, emotions, weather climates. Gather still lifes from your favorite rooms, find items that create symbolic feelings in your life. Tell me about you through images. Magical ideas, playing with figures and shapes, create personal symbols, tell symbolic stories. (Handout a list of items/ideas/)
: BUY A DIGITAL CAMERA
Decide on the EMOTIONAL connection you want to make with your audience BEFORE you begin. Always look for a new way of “seeing”. Dare to be different! Think about composition and where you want your focal point placed. Never Place it in the middle of your viewfinder.
If you are drawing from a live scene, use a grid (frame) to see through and close one eye. It makes the 3-d object more planar and easier to draw. If you have a digital camera, take a photograph of the item so you will know where to place the shadows when you are ready to paint them.
If you will be painting from photographs I suggest you take your own, or get permission from the owner to paint them. Never copy someone else’s photograph without their permission.
Shoot outdoors on a sunny day early morning or late afternoon with shadows or indoors using only 1 strong light source. When photographing the same subject, always keep your light source coming from the same direction. If possible keep the camera still, and rotate the item you are photographing. (Imperative when combining two photographs.) Take your still life outdoors, or indoors using only ONE strong light source. When photographing people outdoors, place them in the shadow with your flash on, or with the sun out of their faces,
DRAWINGS LIE
Check photographs closely. Photography visually changes 3-d form to 2-d plane making it easier to draw. Images you see might not be true, so be careful to use only what you need to tell your story, and get rid of everything else.
TAKE REFERENCE PHOTOS
Take a lot of photos that explain the item you are trying to capture so that later on you can understand what it is that you are drawing and or painting or be ready to go take another look at it. ( I photograph flowers, then later have to bring them to the studio to study how they are put together). Hard to do with a motorcycle or house.
Another way to get additional information about a subject is to go online, type in what you are looking for, but highlight IMAGES instead of web search.
Using digital images on your computer is a plus because you can enlarge areas you don’t understand Cropping your photograph, manually, or on a computer with a program like adobe elements.
*****DESIGN****** is probably the most important choice you will have to make for you to be successful. You have to decide HOW TO CROP your photograph to get the most interest and best design. You will need to consider the elements and design principles on which art is founded. There are some rules of the thumb I will try to remember as we discuss each one. I have Adobe photoshop Elements 2. To crop your photo. 1. click on the crop tool in the tool box. Type in the dimensions of your paper or canvas. Open your photo, copy it 5 or 6 times. Using your crop tool, pull at the corners and place the dotted rectangle over your photo to create an interesting image. Click on image, crop and then under file SAVE AS image 1. do it again on the next photo and SAVE AS image 2. Once you have cropped a number of images go back and decide which you like the best. I keep all my working photos in a picture file titled : adobe to fix. Once you find the photo you like, make a black and white copy of it: go to VIEW: MODE: GRAYSCALE: FILE:SAVE AS: b+w.
ELEMENTS OF ART
How you can create a center of interest with a focal point.
Elements of art Elements of art in space
Close to you further away
line,………detailed and sharp………….gets fuzzier the father it goes until you cant see it
shape…….detailed , large………………less detailed , fuzzy
form……...detailed, large………………less detailed, fuzzy
color……..warm, brilliant…………… cool (more blue), less brilliant to gray
value……..dark, more contrast………...lighter, less contrast
exception: water and sky are lighter close to you (on the horizon) and darker
as they get further away from you.
texture……very detailed……………….less detailed….no detail
size……….large……………………… .small
space……. Bottom or lower on paper… higher on the paper.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
How you arrange the elements to engage the viewer through your painting.
: Balance;symmetrical or formal with the weight equal on both sides: restful/calming
Asymmetrical or informal where both sides of the imaginary center are not the same.
This is dynamic and creates tension.
Radial, where the design originates from a single point.
Unity: Think of all the spaces (negative and positive) fitting together like a puzzle. Try to make all four corners of your painting different from each other.
Harmony: an organized together feeling, not out of sync. Good color relationships.
Variety: having an assortment of different elements. If an object repeats itself a lot, vary the color for
Instance or the value.
Rhythm or pattern that seems to flow. In and around your objects.
Emphasis, focal point, center of interest. The point to which you draw the viewers interest. The most
Important part of your painting. It usually DOESN’T work in the center of your painting.
Movement: the way your eye travels when looking at a composition.
SUCCESSFUL DESIGN COMPOSITIONS and suggestions
Use the 1/3 2/3 rule and never place the focus in the center.
- Create a high vertical design (represents height of a subject) or high horizontal line (distant vista or desert scene);
- low vertical (directs the eye low while resting in the no dominant section of the painting); low horizon (still life or landscape where the viewer is reading the tops of things);
- s or z curve
- the grid pattern based on “squares”
- circles that overlap and extend beyond the picture plane
- cruciform based on 4 different squares extending beyond the picture plane
- strata; layers of horizontal stripes
- geometrical shapes; always paint shapes, not lines or things.
- Value studies ( check using the computer or use red plastic) that offer values: 1 to 3 (light values); 4 to 6(middle values), 7-10 dark values, or 1-10(full range values)
- Link or merge together the various darks and lights whenever possible. Create the effect of a checkerboard going from light to dark, then dark to light. Try to get the darkest dark against the lightest light at the focal point.
THINK ABOUT COLORS EARLY: CHOOSE A COLOR HARMONY TO CREATE A MOOD AND GET ACROSS THE MESSAGE YOU WANT TO PORTRAY.
COLOR HARMONIES go to www.handprint.com/HP/WCL?tecj13.hyml
- Monochromatic; all values using one color
- analogous, 3 colors next to each other on a 6 color wheel (www.realcolorwheel.com )
- one set of complementary colors: colors across from each other on the wheel.
- analogous + one complement; one set of complementary plus the 2 colors next to one of them.
- triad, 3 colors equidistant on the wheel
- tetrad, 4 colors equidistant on the wheel
- all warm: reds, yellows, oranges
- all cool,: blues, violets, greens
- all the same brilliance,
- off-original colors
- all warm with a hint of cool,
- all cool with a hint of warm,
- full range of 6 colors, use only values colors of winter, spring, summer or fall;
- all grays; from 1-10(full value); 1,4 +7 for a high key (mostly light) or 4, 7,+9 for a low key (mostly dark and mysterious).
- all combinations using ultramarine blue and burnt sienna;
- 5 dynamic watercolor combinations according to chuck long:
ultramarine blue- alizarin crimson-burnt sienna
cerulean blue- phthalo violet- raw sienna
perm sap green- brown madder- cerulean blue
burnt sienna- yellow ochre- ultramarine blue
alizarin crimson- cad yellow- phthalo blue
Windsor yellow- pthalo blue- perm rose
SHADOWS:
- cool light produces warm colored shadows
- warm light produces cool colored shadows
- beneath the object a cast shadow is warm, as it recesses it gets cooler. A good way to remember that as an object gets further away from you, it passes through more space. Space (air) we see as blue on earth, so the object will get bluer as it gets further away. Think of the mountains.
- Use color in your shadows to tie them to their surroundings.
- Watch for color that bounces off one object onto another next to it.
- Cast shadows are usually a value of 40% darker than the surface they are falling on.
GRAYS:
- To produce beautiful grays, let the paint mix on the paper. If you have trouble seeing a warm gray from a cool gray, use your computer to enhance the colors and give you some insight.
- You can create grays by using complementary colors.
- So called muddy grays result from over mixing the paint on the palette, overworking the paper, making wrong color choices or blotting the paper with tissue or paper towel.
DRAWING THE IMAGE
- Using a grid (dot to dot plotting)/ same size or enlarge by ratio size
- Draw the outline (silhouette) first through a grid or view finder, then add the smaller inside details.
- Drawing from a photograph and or grid, turn your paper upside down.
- Trace a computer enlarged image.
- Print your photo image in B+W (after cropping) from photoshop so it retains its proportional dimensions and take it to kinkos to enlarge to the size of your paper and trace it using graphite transfer paper. Don’t copy everything. Plan to omit everything that does not enhance your design.
- Atelier way of seeing vertical and horizontal planes, with one eye closed, arm extended full length using your pencil as a marker to look and mark similar distances, angles, and images. (I would advise taking a class like this if you want realistic plein air or portrait images).
- I usually draw on a sheet of paper with a grid underneath it. I can erase all I want until I am satisfied with the larger areas of my painting. I sometimes do the whole drawing before transferring it to watercolor paper; sometimes I transfer the large areas, filling the details in by hand.
TRANSFERRING THE IMAGE TO PAPER
I use a transfer paper that contains no wax or grease, erases like pencil, can be reused called SARAL. When it gets too light, I often use a 6-B soft graphite pencil to regraphite it, or you can make your own by using the soft pencil on a piece of tracing paper. Do NOT use carbon paper.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO PAINT, study the black and white patterns in your photo. Copy the photo 2-4 times in B+W, and with a 6b pencil or w/c paint, change the value patterns. For white I use a white casein by Shiva, or my w/c white or a white pencil.
You can also take the photo back to photoshop and play with the color adjustments. Go to ENHANCE; QUICK FIX; and make changes to brightness, contrast, color correction etc and when done click: OK:FILE:SAVE AS: then I usually make up a code like b-20 if I add 20pts brightness or c-4 for 4 pts of contrast. Choose a color harmony, and begin to paint.
PAINTING TECHNIQUES
Flat wash; wet on dry, wet on wet
Graduated wash: wet on dry, wet on wet
Pouring paint: wet on dry, wet on wet
Papers: rough, cold press, hot press
Use of four S’s
Salt: too wet, uncontrollable: too dry, no effect; tilt paper for directional effect
Scrape: wet wash, use end of brush for lines, surface bruises, gets darker. Can also use credit
Cards, fingernails, rulers, etc.
Sponge: paint with one, print or stamp on color. Turn, twist, lift color.
Splatter: wet into wet soft effects; wet onto dry, harder edges;
Spray: Aimed spray softens edges, clear water spray softer than salt; spray color.
CREATING TEXTURES
Use of dry materials:
Use on papers other than rough ,cold or hot press: oriental, colored paper, scratchboard,
Use of sand sprinkled on wet watercolor, get darker spots.
Use of gravel, beads
Plastic wrap or aluminum foil wrinkled left on for hours or days, pressed with a weight.
Cardboard stripe effect
Paper towel patterns
Sand paper
Use of liquid aids:
Clear water, drop, spatter, spray, lifting (thirsty brush);
India or colored ink; wet or dry
Rubbing alcohol
Liquid frisket, rubber cement or maskoid: use different brushes, spatter, drop into wet paper, (remove with special eraser, or rub with fingers). If you cant get it out of a brush try GOO GONE.
Melted wax (it cant be removed)
Opaque white; spatter for snow
Turpentine
Soap
Gel medium
Gloss polymer medium (I use to correct mistakes by mixing to a skim milk consistency, and paint
over when it dries.
Round brush, most versatile
Flat brush, holds least water, good for edging
Other brushes: linear, fan, mops, bristle, stencil, riggers, utility,
Straws; blow watercolor around on your paper
Watercolor pencils
Bamboo pens
Sponges
Squeeze bottles
Natural found objects: feathers, reeds, sticks, leaves, etc
TRY TO PAINT:
Water textures;: still, reflective, moving, choppy, whitewater, waterfalls
Foliage: shrubs, deciduous trees, evergreens, using natural sponges, wet in wet
Tree bark: up close, at a distance, specific trees
Earth, pebbles, sand, rocks
Grasses and weeds ; use a fan brush,
Weathered wood, tree stumps, fencing,
Lichen and moss
Flowers
Fruit and vegetables, shiny or matte, rough, complex shapes, textures, or in a field
Fur: wet in wet, dry brush, from a distance, close up, rough, patterns
Hair: straight, wavy, curly, facial hair
Skin tones, smooth, young, weathered,
Glass and metal, shiny, cut or molded glass, polished or matt metal, tarnished and textures
Rust: up close aging, at a distance, old cars, tractor
Fabrics
Sweaters and knits
Lace
Feathers
Scales and seashells
And the list goes on.
MAKING CHANGES USING THE COMPUTER AS AN AID;
I download from the internet stars, circles, ellipses, to trace when I need them to correct my drawing.
Be careful of changing perspectives with photographs.
If you find you are in trouble during your painting. Stop. Photograph the incomplete painting with your digital camera, place it into the folder you are working with and print it out several times (4 to a sheet). I usually do a b+w image first, because value is difficult to see and if the problem is with design or drawing , it will be easier to spot it in the small thumbnail sketch . make a different correction using pencil in each sketch until you can correct it. If color is the problem, print out 4-5 images in color and try various paint colors to decide what combination and value works best.
If you are doing portraits and cant see the problem it is generally in the drawing. You can make a layer and superimpose it over your photo to see to identify the mistake. To superimpose your image with a photograph: open photograph A: FILE; IMAGE: MODE: GRAYSCALE: OK: IMAGE: DUPLICATE: OK. Open your drawing image B: and repeat above .
Go to tool bar. Click on magnetic tool (right click to get to magnetic setting). Trace either one of the images that you wish to move. When the line connects and the image is outlined go back to the tool bar and click on the MOVE tool. Click on the image to be moved and drag it over on top of the other image. If it is not the same size, use the corners of the box surrounding the clipped object to make larger or smaller. Click on LAYERS: move the OPACITY slider box to 50%, adjust the image to conform to your photograph, click outside the dotted area. Click on LAYER: MERGE IMAGES: FILE: SAVE AS: make up a name like “merged”: PRINT or study the images to see where you need to make corrections.
By using digital, you can also use your magnifying glass to increase the image to look at it more closely. Here is where having a lot of reference photos come in handy. You need to understand the object you are looking at and how it is put together in order for you to draw it.
Having trouble with a hand or object that just doesn’t seem to make sense? Find a friend who you can photograph to get that angle or position you need. For example: I often photograph my husbands hands in a certain position to understand how they can be used in my drawing correctly. If I have an animal and don’t have enough information on how it is correctly put together, I go online, check IMAGES instead of WEB, and various ones will come up to help you understand the form.
CORRECTING or AVOIDING MISTAKES
1. To avoid elusive shadows, premix your shadow colors in plastic Gladware miniround lidded containers. I've had colors last months without drying up. i mix them at 40% gray scale (get a card to judge them with when they are dry) and keep more than one shadow color on hand (one warm and one cool shadow color). its easier to drop in your shadows getting them all the same. always wet the area first.
2.To get rid of large or small areas of color: if it is a small area, i mask around the area with masking tape or place the tape directly on the spot i want to remove, cut carefully through the tape with an xacto knife and take out the center leaving the tape around the area i want to lighten. then, i cut off a piece of Magic Eraser by Mr. Clean get it damp and use it as an eraser, gently rubbing off the color. if its a large area i want to remove, i use pebeo drawing fluid to mask the areas i dont want destroyed and take the painting down to the kitchen sink and take the hose to it often using a brush to help nudge off the color. Make sure the paper is really dry before you continue.
3. I next place the paper on a smooth table, spray the back of it lightly with water, and iron it until the surface is smooth. .to prevent osmosis when it dries, i put on a coat of very diluted Liquidtex matte medium polymer and let it dry before i try to paint over that area.if my paper is still in good condition, i will mask off my new shadow and try again. if it doesnt work, then i will repeat the kitchen rinse and after it dries, the magic eraser, then the polymer. if the paper is quite damaged, and i really need a white, white, i give up on "transparent only" and use shiva white casein to get my whites back. the watercolor then becomes labeled "water media" and cant be entered into a "watercolor only" exhibition. If your paper is really damaged, you can build up layers of the casein, in fact it does well if i have taken too much of the surface off the original paper. It will have a smooth, non absorbant surface, so it will be harder to get watercolor to stick to it. According to a definition i got from Watercolor West's website, transparent means to be able to
see through to the paper. even if it is black and you can see through it to the texture of the paper it is transparent. check out the definitions to transparency rules of exhibit at the transparent watercolor society website.
4. When i am finished with the painting, i mist the back again and re iron it. be careful this time, because if the iron is too hot or you stay on the liquitex or casein too long it sticks to the surface or peels off. new texture idea?
Evaluation: am I done? Ask everyone if there is anything that bothers them about the painting. Does anything about it still bother you? Ask them what part of the painting they like best and why. They won’t be able to tell you how to fix it, but it will make you look at it differently. Take a digital photo of it and place it on your computer. Turn it into black and white to check the values. Flip it horizontally (go to IMAGE; FLIP HORIZONTALLY or VERTICALLY: and look at it again. Does it have a balance and a flow ? Does it need additional dark values, or should you get rid of too many light highlights? Tone down areas or beef them up? Can you ask any more questions?
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Take classes and/ workshops with instructors who paint as you do. As you learn and are comfortable, sign up with instructors who challenge you to be different.
Read books or access information on line:
Learn to apply the principles of design
Learn drawing rules
Learn one and 2 point perspective
Learn the proportions of the human figure
Experiment and play using other water color surfaces besides paper (yuppo, oriental, scratchboard, ampersand, canvas, illustration boards, wet media acetates), paints, brush types and sizes, media enhancers (clear water, ox gall, granulation medium, texture mixture, gum Arabic, India inks, rubbing alcohol, melted wax, granulating pigments, opaque white, glue, soap, gel mediums, cooking spray), techniques ( salt, masks, pouring, layering, lifting, use of saran wraps, foils, spraying, scraping, sponging, spattering, scumbling, waxed paper, thread, string, yarn, tape, fabrics, paper towels, cotton balls, collage, drinking straws, colored pencils, stamping tools, natural ingredients). (And I don’t enough hours in a day to do what I’m doing now!)
Take computer classes to edit and design art on your computer.
PLANNING PICTURES/ CHECKLIST
In competition your paintings will be judges on strong graphic design/competition
Original quirk different perspective/broken rules but make it work
Craftsmanship and technique
Walk the line of reality to abstraction
DOES YOUR DESIGN DO ALL OF THESE THINGS?
- Direct the eye: diagonals, vanishing point, center of interest. Center of interest should be detailed, bright, focused, warm and contrasting. Find the sweet spot and focus the spot.
- Plan for white spaces
- Simplify backgrounds. Have a sense of space, foreground, mid and backgrounds
- All spaces should be 1/3---2/3. no halfsies
- all 4 corners should be different
- Don’t cut off 4 sides of a subject or make it too closely cramped in a box.
- place nothing dead center
- decide on a limited color scheme
- Use a variety of shapes, no doubles. Use complicated shapes.
- landscapes should include figures, birds, houses or something for a focal point
- break up lines, let eyes put them together
- make a strong value and contrast sketch
- break each shape into thirds, cool to warm from light source
- designate a light source
- Look closely at color, especially in reflected and cast shadows.
- create black and white value patterns using interesting negative spaces
- bounce light throughout the painting
- Put color or variety in all windows.
- stay away from, same, same, same
- balance the color throughout the composition
- Never cut off a figure at a joint, knee, neck, etc.
- The same value of a color should never be used in foreground, midiron and background.
- Make sure you have a resting place.
- Try to get clear beautiful darks and grays. Don’t use complements because they go neutral.
SHORTCUTS FOR KEEPING TRACK OF PAINTINGS + DATES
I take a colored digital picture of my final painting, number it and place it in a yearly file.
When I have accumulated 3-6 paintings. I click on the photos I want to print while holding down the ctrl button then click on : FILE: PRINT and it takes me to my PRO PRINT Wizard. I select the format that prints 9 wallet sized prints click PRINT. When dry I cut them apart.
On the back of each one: I write in: it’s sequential number, year ,title, and image size.
When selected for each show, I write in the month, date, place, judge, acceptance/ rejection/award/$.
I place all the new paintings in a pile and rubber band them together.
Here is what the back of my clockworks picture looks like. After winning the FMBAA show I noted in the corner that it could not be shown locally again except with State Open exhibitions.
In the meantime: I gather a bunch of colored index cards:
White are for members shows
Yellow are for OPEN or SW Council shows.
Pink are for OPEN STATE shows
Green are for OPEN STATE shows requiring slide or digital entries
Blue are for OPEN NATIONAL or REGIONAL shows
Purple are for SOLO or GROUP personal exhibitions
Next, sometime around September, I start looking for planned seasonal shows: I find the information either on the website, distributed in local galleries, by word of mouth, mail forthcoming to me…etc.
As I find information about each show, I record that information on a specific colored card in a specific order on the card and file it by the date on the left hand corner. When it comes to the top of my pile to send an entry to it, I grab my picture cards, page through them and decide which one or two if possible I can submit. Lets say I pick clockworks as it is still eligible. I physically take the clockworks card and paper clip it to the TWSA card, leaving the slide date showing. Once the slide is sent, I X out the slide due date and refile the index card under feb. 21. when I get notification, I either write rejection on both the index card and picture card, returning the painting to the contest pile, and the index card to reject pile. If it is accepted, the painting that has not been selected returns to the exhibition pile, but the clockworks remains on the index card, notification date Xed out, and the receiving date exposed….and refiled to the end of april to be fed-ex ed . After it is shipped, I cross out the shipped date, expose the reception date, and or the date that it will be picked up or shipped back to me.
Note if you begin to ship paintings call fed ex or ups and create a business account that you can access on line. You need to be able to print out address and return labels at your home to be attached to your painting. ULINE.com has art boxes comparable to other companies at a lesser cost. Ask for a members discount if you are a member of a national organization!
With this system, I just keep rotating my index cards, reshuffling my paintings to wherever they are going without making the mistake of entering them into two contests at the same time. If I see that 3 or 4 cards come to the top during the same week, I play whatever painting I think best into the highest competition.
As picture cards are sold, get too old to compete, given away as gifts, put under the bed etc. they are all bundled up and rubber banded and placed somewhere. If I cant find a painting in my house, it doesn’t take long to locate it somewhere else, like perhaps in the back closet at the Wild child gallery, or locked in Claudia Goode’s law office.
I do keep an excel sheet on these shows as a master, but the dates move around so much, it isn’t really filled in until after the season is over.
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