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Experimental Flowers in Watercolour
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Message
Posted
I simply don't understand how anyone could finish a watercolour in 20 minutes. Maybe dropping a bit of paint on would get something like a picture but what about the hours spent planning the composition and then choosing the colours before even starting painting? To do a good watercolour takes an enormous amount of planning or you end up with mud. Maybe after many years experience you could automatically choose just the right colour in just the right tone but I think to time a painting defeats the object. A painting is finished when it says it's finished and that could take weeks or even months.
Posted
If I plan, work out and spend time in organising my painting.. it just would not happen. I love my watercolours for sheer spontenaity (sorry mispelt) I like big brushes and sometimes barely even look at the colour I have flung onto my paper. I do admire people who do organise and do it so beautifully. Just not my way. Possibly why a bit of mixed media creeps in to do a rescue job.
Posted
I am a purist at heart. I just love watercolour as it is.
I even do not like masking fluid but I do use it for fine lines.
I have tried Gum arabic a couple of times with strong foliage.
I know of artists who use the lot : candle, salt, sand, anything.
Effect can be achieved just with water: Either a fine spray or droplets, at different hight with different colours.
If you use Winsor Newton colours = Suppose you have laid a dark colour, if you drop in it Winson yellow, the yellow colour will push away the darker one while mixing with it.
It is by experimenting that you can find all the tricks. The more medium you use and the less beauty you achieve.
It pleases me no end to read that most of us find more pleasure in painting with pure watercolour. The reward is immense. BUT... there is always a way to rescue a watercolour and there is no wrong in using some mediums.
Posted
I'm a purist but as per instructions my paint box contains one tube of white gouache which I have never used...I just can't it's like trying to eat something that totally grosses you out...I love the planning and once over the"I can't draw terror" I love putting that drawing in...I usually take one three hour class to do that.
I never thought that I used a limited palette but once I have chosen my colours I seldom add any to them unless I'm desperate...we were taught that in the 80's to mix all of your colours from your chosen palette and your painting will have harmony and until this thread started I didn't realise I had been doing this automatically.
I have class tomorrow and I will be keeping my huge squirrel mop loaded with Opera a really puce pink which I bought because I couldn't resist it...I might add I have yet to use it...but if Tutor comes near my chair I shall give it a good flick...that's Mel's remedy.
Reading all that everyone has said on this thread has given me some much needed confidence and tomorrow I have a feeling I will be very busy for three hours...the cloud is lifting.
I think I have mentioned it in this thread before but the lemon juice really works for lifting out and lightening ink...I had nothing to lose so I used it neat with a wet brush.
Posted
I think it is good to read others ideas ,and ways of doing things I am sure there are newcomers here who wil enjoy the banter,and will learn from us ,here are a couple of my little ways of doing things ,
pop a ladder leaning on the side of a cottage for interest,
do not paint branches on distant trees
add a pole or tree on the edge of a pond ,and give it a reflection in water,,when painting a loch ,dont bring those distant mountain reflections half way down the page ,keep the sky lighter at the horizon ,add those dark edges to the grass as it meets the road or path ..thats enough of me now lets have some more ,,
one of my favorit things is a sheet of blotting paper ,you can bring out the tree trunks in a blue skys background , but I am having trouble buying blotting paper ,the old thick blotting paper seems hard to find these days
share your secrets ,we will enjoy them
Posted
There is a great little book called 10-minute watercolours, Collins gem , by Hazel Soan. and I have found it brilliant. I use left - over paper and tape four pieces on to a board and use this for quick watercolours using just brush and paint with little or no drawing, I am finding this a great excercise to stop me fiddling and I am painting nearly every night now without the worry of planning etc and can also catch up on TV! And I then have a nice selection of cards which friends seem to appreciate getting posted instead of emails and texts
Extract from book :
"Watercolour is a lovely medium in itself and is happiest if allowed to act in character rather than being heavily manipulated or overworked. Painting is an act of creation, not of imitation. Keep in mind that you are using the subject matter to create a watercolour, not using watercolour to re-create the subject"
Another inspiring artist and I have all her other books too - must stop buying and reading art books and do more painting
:D
Posted
What a wonderful inspiring quote Norah...I know what you mean about buying and reading art books I feel lost if I don't bring one home on a Saturday.
I had class today and didn't plan the painting just let the paint do it's work and walked away until it had dried...I even got some greens in.
This is the second incarnation of the Flinders Ranges landscape and somehow I feel that I have learnt so much since the last one which is still on it's board...I thought to use pastels to finish it but I used the lemon juice to lift out on another watercolour so lemon juice it is.
Posted
My tip would be not to use a hairdryer - just let the washes dry naturally and see the lovely colours merge and change. sometimes if you use a dryer too soon it will move the colours and water around and destroy the washes. Patsy, someone has to keep the economy going an we unfortunately don't have a great selection of art books in our libraries here. I phoned my nearest library just recently as I have lots of books on painting, photography and art which I thought they might use but was told they had enough, probably some legislation or other forces them to buy new >:-(
Posted
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}</style><![endif]--><p style="" class="MsoNormal">Experimental Flowers in Watercolour by Ann Blockley<p style="" class="MsoNormal">Ann Blockley reveals a variety of experiments and techniques that move away from traditional methods of painting flowers in watercolour, whilst also exploiting the unique textures and appearances of many different blooms and other vegetation.<p style="" class="MsoNormal">Readers are taken through the seasons, with ideas and information on painting flowers and plants throughout the year, using a range of creative techniques and approaches.<p style="" class="MsoNormal">Intended for artists familiar with watercolour painting,the book explores textures, tone and colour, often incorporating supplementary materials,such as sequins, sand, salt, clingfilm, gesso, glue, torn paper, acrylic ink and more, in creative combinations and applications. With Ann’s own vibrant paintings and clear explanations throughout, the book is more about interpretation than imitation and confidently shows how to push the boundaries of traditional watercolour flower painting to create something different and immediate.<p style="" class="MsoNormal">Susie Hodge<p style="" class="MsoNormal">Batsford, £18.99, 128pp (HB) 9781906388775Painters’books price £13.99
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