Watercolor Painting Techniques from Artist Daily

presents
HOW TO
PAINT WITH
WATERCOLORS
Watercolor Painting
Techniques from
Artist Daily
HOW TO PAINT
WITH WATERCOLOR
Watercolor
essentials
Create the
Illusion of Depth
BY J OYC E H IC K S
The Landscape in Perspective
H
ave you ever stood before a great work of art and
felt as though you could practically walk right into
it? Clever use of design elements, such as size, position,
overlap, texture, value, aerial and linear perspective,
and color temperature (see “8 Concepts of Perspective,”
on page 64), are all concepts an artist can employ
to create the appearance of three dimensions on
a two-dimensional surface.
In the following demo, I’ll share how I create the
illusion of depth in a representational landscape painting.
Design elements draw the viewer deep into the scene in Laurel Mountain Highland Farm (watercolor on paper, 18x24).
This content has been adapted from an original article written by Joyce Hicks. © F+W Media, Inc. All rights reserved. F+W Media grants permission for any or all pages in this premium to be copied for personal use.
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HOW TO PAINT
WITH WATERCOLOR
Painting From Photos
Because photographic images usually don’t
depict much depth, painting directly from
photos can result in a flat appearance.
Consulting my photo references (at left),
I know that the red house and background
foliage are farther back than the big barn
because of their size in relationship to one
another, but there are few other clues. Using
a combination of design elements, I can further emphasize the objects’ positions in my
painting of the rural landscape.
1
Start With a Value Sketch
Doing a value sketch first serves as a guide,
showing where the dark, medium and light values should be rendered in the composition. It’s
important to get the values correct on the first
pass of paint whenever possible; too many layers
of paint may decrease a color’s transparency.
2
1
tool kit
Surface: 9x12 Arches 140-lb. cold-pressed paper
Paints: alizarin crimson, burnt sienna, cobalt blue,
gamboge, manganese blue, permanent rose, Prussian
blue, raw sienna
Brushes: No. 4 liner; Nos. 8, 10 and 12 round brushes
Misc.: palette knife, sketchbook, soft lead pencil
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Paint a cool background and
warm foreground
Using a light wash of cool cobalt blue and manganese blue, I painted the top half of the scene
while making sure to reserve the white of the
small house in the background. Next, I dropped
in gamboge near the horizon to create a warm
glow while the wash was still very wet.
I then painted the foreground with a warm
wash of raw sienna and burnt sienna, using
the side of the brush to create rough texture
in some areas. Before the paint began to dry,
I dropped cool manganese blue into the areas
where the shadows would fall.
GOOD TO KNOW: The illusion of depth occurs
when cool color is used to push shapes into
the distance and warm color is used to pull
them forward.
3
Add warmth and details to the trees
After painting the mid-ground tree with
a warm golden mixture of raw sienna and
manganese blue, I added more manganese
blue to cool the color and used it to paint the
distant tree shape. Next, I dropped gamboge
HOW TO PAINT
WITH WATERCOLOR
2
3
into the sunstruck edges to enhance the illusion of sunlight. I then used a palette knife to
scrape in the impression of twigs and branches
on the mid-ground tree and the phone lines
running in front of the trees. After the paint
was semi-dry, and to add interest around the
edges of the tree form, I used a liner brush to
add small detail strokes.
4
Paint the barn, telephone pole
and house
I painted the front of the barn with a gray mix
of manganese blue, permanent rose and raw
sienna. While the area was still very wet,
I dropped in warm raw sienna to represent the
glow of the sun. I added manganese blue along
the left side as a cool contrast to the warmth.
When the entire area became damp and lost its
wet sheen, I used the palette knife to scrape in
random vertical lines to give the look of wood
siding. I employed the same technique for the
telephone lines. I then used pure burnt sienna
to paint the roofline and the telephone pole.
Next, I applied a black mix of Prussian blue
and burnt sienna to fill in the doorways, and
used a mid-value wash of pure manganese blue
for the blue door. I painted the three elements
on the rooftop with the same black mix.
4
I then painted the small, distant red
house with a mix of alizarin crimson and
burnt sienna grayed down a bit with cool
manganese blue.
GOOD TO KNOW: Mix color, and then warm
or cool it as needed. I call this method an
“evolving puddle.”
Excerpted with permission from Painting Beautiful Watercolor Landscapes: Transform Ordinary Places Into Extraordinary Scenes
by Joyce Hicks (North Light Books, 2014). Available wherever books are sold and at www.northlightshop.com.
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HOW TO PAINT
WITH WATERCOLOR
5
5
Add fine details
Detail work and glazing can turn ordinary
paintings into extraordinary ones, but I postpone these steps until all areas of the painting
have been completed. By waiting, I’m better
able to judge which sections of the painting
actually need more information to bring out
the work’s full potential.
I used a light glaze of gamboge to increase
the warmth on the front of the barn and the
large mid-ground tree. Next, I took a liner
brush and added calligraphic marks to emphasize the barn’s doorways and roofline. I also
gave some texture to the large tree form in
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the same way, indicated grassy strokes in
the foreground and used a very light touch
to emphasize the phone lines.
Finally, I used a light wash of manganese
blue and burnt sienna to create cast shadows
from the telephone pole, across the barn’s front
and along its right side to complete Autumn
Light (above; watercolor on paper, 9x12).
GOOD TO KNOW: Interesting strokes from
a liner brush are like bread crumbs left to
entice the viewer’s eye. They help the eye
travel around the painting in search of more
areas of interest. ■
HOW TO PAINT
WITH WATERCOLOR
8 concepts of perspective
Have you ever stood before a painting of a beautiful mountain range that seemed to recede far into the
distance or felt as if you could literally walk into a scene by following the country road as it diminished
and faded into the landscape? How this illusion occurs when time-honored principles are used to create
perspective is an almost magical experience. Learn and practice the following eight concepts to create
depth and space in your representational landscape paintings.
1. Size: Objects appear smaller as they get farther away.
2. Position: Objects higher on the paper will appear farther away.
3. Overlapping: Overlapping objects show which are near and which are far.
4. Texture: Objects have less texture and detail as they get farther away.
5. Value: Light value recedes, and dark value advances.
6. Aerial perspective: Objects become bluer as they move into the distance.
7. Temperature: Warm colors appear closer, and cool colors appear farther away.
8. Linear perspective: Parallel lines meet at a single vanishing point.
See if you can identify the eight concepts of perspective that help to create the illusion of depth and space in
A Way of Life (watercolor on paper, 22x30).
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HOW TO PAINT
WITH WATERCOLOR
Watercolor
essentials
Creating a Backlist
Landscape
BY K A R LY N H O L M A N
Focus
of Light
W
hether I’m painting an abstract
or realistic landscape, my goal
is to convey the same sense of wonder
and beauty that I experienced while on
location.
Generally, my realistic paintings are
based on subjects from my native area
around Lake Superior or from my travels
around the world. I’m always looking
for ways to create a fresh, loose look for
my landscapes. I usually have a plan, but
I love when accidents happen, offering
a dash of spontaneity in an otherwise
controlled effort.
One of my favorite scenes to paint is
a backlit woodland landscape.
The light filtering through the trees is
an experience not soon to be forgotten—and one that painters love to
re-create. The technique I use to render
this phenomenon is easy, effective
and fail-safe. Follow along as I share
how I create a focus of light on winter
trees from which the “fingers of God”
emanate.
Holman captures the autumnal glow of Wisconsin’s Chequamegon Bay Area
in Focus of Light on Fall Trees (watercolor on paper, 15x11).
This content has been adapted from an original article written by Karlyn Holman. © F+W Media, Inc. All rights reserved. F+W Media grants permission for any or all pages in this premium to be copied for personal use.
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HOW TO PAINT
WITH WATERCOLOR
Focus of Light on Winter Trees
1
Using an HB pencil, I draw my composition
on Arches 140-lb. cold-pressed paper. Next,
I mask the snow on the tree branches on the
left side of the drawing. I also mask three small
circles in the center of the painting to serve as
the focus of light. I use a triad of non-staining
colors—quinacridone gold, quinacridone burnt
orange and indigo blue, respectively—and apply
each concentrically, working out from the trio
of circles to the edges of the paper.
1
2
Next, I wet both sides of the paper, ensuring that I saturate the front. Using a spray
bottle filled with water, I finely spray in the
center yellow area and then spray toward the
edge of the paper. I continue spraying from the
center to the edges until I’ve circled the paper.
The colors blend and become a glowing focus
of light.
tool kit
Surface: Arches 140-lb.
cold-pressed paper
Paints: Daniel Smith quinacridone
gold, quinacridone burnt orange,
indigo blue, cobalt blue and French
ultramarine blue; Winsor & Newton
Antwerp blue
2
Misc: HB pencil, masking fluid, table
salt, spray bottle, water, natural-fiber
brush, script brush, painting knife,
toothbrush, tissue
3
3
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On dry paper, I mix a dark green by combining quinacridone burnt orange and Antwerp
blue. I poke this color under the snow-covered
branches. Next, I use a natural-fiber brush to
spatter the pure colors of aureolin yellow and
quinacridone gold, creating the foliage on the
trees one side at a time.
HOW TO PAINT
WITH WATERCOLOR
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Excerpted with
permission from
Watercolor—Making
Your Mark (Karlyn
Gallery, 2013) by
Karlyn Holman.
Available wherever
books are sold and
at www.northlight
shop.com.
4
Next, I spatter Antwerp blue into the
yellows to form greens. Using a wet brush,
I soften the colors on the edges of the paper to
form a contrast to the crisp edges, creating the
look of a vignette. I add salt to these soft edges
for texture. After I throw more yellows and
blues on the sides, I mix a lean wash of indigo
to make the cast shadows, through which the
underpainting will glow.
5
Using a script brush, I paint in the trees
on dry paper with a mixture of quinacridone
burnt orange and French ultramarine blue.
I paint just the sections of the tree trunks that
can be seen between the foliage. Using a painting knife, I create the craggy branches. Then
I soften the hard edges at the bottom of the
trees as they flow into shadow.
5
6
After removing the masking, I wet each
snow shape on the tree branches and use
cobalt blue to create shadows on the bottom
edges. As I push this color in an upward motion,
I try to reactivate some of the greens to give
a reflective quality. At this stage, I can add table
salt if desired.
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HOW TO PAINT
WITH WATERCOLOR
7
7
I remove the three round masked
circles in the focus of light
and scrub the shapes with a wet
toothbrush.
8
I place the painting under
running water and continue
scrubbing with the toothbrush.
9
Applying a back-and-forth motion
with a damp tissue, I add what
I refer to as the “fingers of God”—
several streaks emanating from the
light source like wheel spokes.
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9
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HOW TO PAINT
WITH WATERCOLOR
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I add the horizon with a straight line
of cobalt blue. Finally, I soften the
foreground with water to complete Focus of Light
on Winter Trees (watercolor on paper, 15x22). ■
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HOW TO PAINT
WITH WATERCOLOR
Watercolor
essentials
Creating
Harmony With
Complementary
Colors
BY J U D I BE T T S
Get Luminous Results With Mid-Tones
Y
ears ago, I was fortunate to take a
two-week workshop led by Millard
Sheets, one of the influential leaders of the California Scene movement.
Fairly new to watercolor myself, I was
fascinated to observe that he didn’t
save white paper; instead, he toned
the painting surface much like an oil
painter would.
Sheets demonstrated how to
section off the surface and invent color
chords—relationships of one color
to another—to make an underpainting that provided texture, shape and
value. This visual collage, topped with
complementary mid-tones, added
mystery and established rhythm, making the painting itself richer. I admired
how his work glowed. It almost looked
like it was done with fluorescent paint
on glass with an electric light shining
from behind.
I’ve enjoyed developing my own
variations within Sheets’ process and
share here how to create a harmonious
painting using mid-tones.
This content has been adapted from an original article written by
Judi Betts. © F+W Media, Inc. All rights reserved. F+W Media grants
permission for any or all pages in this premium to be copied for
personal use.
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HOW TO PAINT
WITH WATERCOLOR
Appreciating the Mid-tone Complement
1
2
orange
3
blues over orange
green
yellow
4
purples over yellow
blue
1
Working in a 6x9-inch format on Arches 140or 300-lb. cold-pressed paper, I use a pencil
and lightly draw a horizontal line, approximately
one-third above the bottom edge of the paper,
from one side of the paper to the other.
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oranges over blue
5
In a nutshell, here’s how this effect is achieved:
Create a grid of four divisions, each a different
size, and paint all four a different flat color, light
in value. Draw and then paint the subject matter
over this grid with the complementary color of
each rectangle. The result? Tremendous color
vibration. I thought it was such an interesting
concept, and I’ve since made hundreds of paintings employing it. Unlike color dominance in
traditional painting, this technique results in
rich colors accompanied by a subtle orchestration of grayed color. And, although the value
range is narrow, it produces extensive color
change. Follow along with this example.
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reds over green
In the top rectangle, I draw a vertical line—
approximately halfway in from the left side
of the paper—from the top of the paper to the
drawn horizontal line.
3
I draw a line parallel to the sides of the paper
in the bottom rectangle that’s approximately
one-third in from the right side of the paper.
I now have a total of four space divisions, each
in a different size and shape.
4
I select four different colors to use as the
underpainting: orange, green, yellow and
blue. I purposely avoid brown, tan, gray, beige
and purple. The first four colors don’t have
complements, and purple won’t “take” yellow
successfully in watercolor. I paint each rectangle
a different solid color, but the same very light
value. I then let the underpainting dry.
Next, I choose a subject light in value, such
as a white building, animal or boat. I find that
it’s helpful to draw it first on 6x9-inch tracing
paper so I can lay the paper on the underpainting and determine where to position the subject,
which should span several of the rectangles.
HOW TO PAINT
WITH WATERCOLOR
5
After I’ve transferred or drawn the subject
directly on the underpainting with a light
pencil, I study the light areas before painting
the mid-tones. The most important thing I keep
in mind is not to use local color, such as blue for
the sky. Instead, I use the complement of the
color located in each of the four sections.
So, for example, in the orange rectangle,
I apply several blues. When I come to a pencil
line of the rectangular shape, I “blur” the paint
into both the green rectangle and the yellow
rectangle. Painting light in value, I “wiggle” the
brush so that I leave arbitrary light areas within
the mid-tones. In the green rectangle, I paint
with reds, ensuring that I blur the paint into
the other three rectangles, and so on.
artist’s toolkit
To create an underpainting and “glowing” mid-tones,
I prefer to have 10 or more tubes of watercolor available.
My go-to colors include: aureolin yellow, cadmium
orange, cerulean blue, cobalt blue, cobalt violet, manganese blue, phthalo blue, quinacridone rose, rose madder,
viridian green, Winsor green, Winsor red, Winsor yellow
and yellow ochre.
Capitol Colors (watercolor on paper, 22x30) follows the process detailed here; it’s just executed in a larger format.
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HOW TO PAINT
WITH WATERCOLOR
taking it to the next level
A more complex underpainting—created with five colors and curved lines—serves as the base for Family Reunion (watercolor on paper, 22x30).
oranges
over blue
blues over
orange
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purples
over yellow
greens
over red
reds over
green
After creating a few hundred paintings using
this effect—primarily in 6x9- or 11x15-inch
formats—I began to do larger paintings.
Sometimes I created five or six space divisions
instead of four, and I used curved lines instead
of straight. Since becoming comfortable with
this process, I’ve used mostly curved lines
for my underpaintings, as seen in most of the
paintings featured here.
It’s difficult to imagine beforehand what
impact the underpainting and complementary
mid-tone colors will have on one another,
but I think it will take your work from ordinary
to extraordinary.
HOW TO PAINT
WITH WATERCOLOR
In the lower right rectangle, I add oranges
onto the blue surface, making certain to blend
into the neighboring green and yellow rectangles. Finally, I add purples on top of the yellow
rectangle and blend into the other areas. The
blurring and blending makes the pencil lines
seem to disappear, but more important, softens
the transition among mid-tones.
When applied thinly, the paint will look gray,
but by adding layers after each previous layer
has dried, the color on top will appear a little
brighter. I usually create eight to 10 layers per
area. These clear light values make the painting
glow. I’m careful to save lots of the light areas;
I can always paint or glaze over them later to
create more contrast and visual interest.
After completing two or three layers, I then
add an outline for emphasis using the base
color or its complement, softening the edges
as I work. Finally, I use a pure color to brighten
a large, light area for impact (see the upper
right and lower right corners of Capitol Colors,
on page 63).
While some people may be a bit puzzled
by the final effect, I think it gives the feeling
of viewing a familiar object through a stained
glass window. The subject is recognizable;
it just doesn’t look quite the way one might
expect. I often prefer to work this way instead
of following a more traditional watercolor
approach because it makes everyday subjects
look more vibrant and unusual. ■
The clear light values in Evening Colors (watercolor on paper, 22x30) create a glowing effect.
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