20 MINUTE CHALLENGE REVISITED

In class we did three 20-minute paintings. We used common objects to create simple studies. (painting from life instead of pictures is important) Use a small piece of paper, 5 x 7 or 7 x 10 unless you are using a very large brush. Here are the rules:

1. Get all of your supplies together and get your paints wet and ready to paint before timing yourself.
2. Arrange objects to paint.
3. You have 20 minutes to paint, including your drawing time.
4. Self-critique. What could you have done differently? What would you like to try?

I think of this as PLAN, PAINT, EVALUATE

Tips: Focus on the most important shapes first. You won't have time for a lot of detail.
         Try looking at the negative instead of the positive shape.
          Try to have your drawing touch on 3 sides of the paper.
          Leave tiny white spaces between colors unless you want them to bleed together.

On your next painting CHANGE something. You can choose to paint something else or paint the same object, but change either your color scheme (or just use 2 colors), your paint brush (from round to flat, from small to large, etc), use different paper, or paint the negative instead of the positive.

Again:Plan, Paint 20 minutes, evaluate what you like, what you might change.

So, what is the point?

First, it's non-threatening. Nobody expects to create a masterpiece in 20 minutes, so you are free to experiment and play. Second, it gets you in the "groove," ready to paint, like an athlete warms up before a game. Third, you have only 20 minutes to make major decisions about shapes, colors, etc. That is great training for your brain. And fourth, you can pretty much squeeze 20 minutes into almost any day. The more you pick up that brush, the better you will get.

To see some of my 20-minute paintings, look at the Feb 5, 2010 post. Some are pretty unimpressive. Except for the one the dog ate.

a loose flower done in 20 minutes.

Comments from the class: "I started looking more than painting." "Looking at negative shapes helps with perspective." 

Christmas Gift Ideas

As promised, I am attaching a link to Steve Mitchell's Mind of Watercolor youtube. He talks about some interesting, and mostly not expensive, artsy Christmas gift ideas. He tells where to get them and how much they cost. Toward the end, he suggests four books. There are two by Claudia Nice, giving advice on line and wash (pen and ink).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg1BiV3MPbs

I think you'll enjoy some of his suggestions.

Christmas Cards with Vodka transfers

USING ALCOHOL TO MAKE A TRANSFER

SUPPLIES YOU NEED:

pictures printed on INK JET printer (not lazer)

smooth or hot press watercolor paper

(I used Bee paper cut to 6 x 9)

Vodka, gin, or whiskey (rubbing alcohol doesn't work)

stiff brush

ink pen

watercolors

I got this idea from this book by Karlyn Holman, Watercolor, The Spirit of Spontaneity. It's a collection of methods used by different artists. 

First, lay your pictures upside down on your paper. A little at a time, start applying the alcohol onto the back of the print with stiff brush, rubbing and applying some pressure. Then go to the next area. If you oversoak the paper with alcohol, the ink will just run together.

When you are done, lift off the print, and you will have a reverse image of your print. It is usually not a perfect image. Some have a bit of a dry brush look.

Then dry the card. You can use pen and ink or watercolor to add details. 

On the cards below, I tore tape and taped off areas for the trees, then used a color picture to transfer only inside the taped area. On the right, I painted in sky, inked the outliness of trees, and painted in some birds. Also added soe gouache for snow on the tree and spatters of snow in the background. 

(the one on the left is not finished...I just took the tape off)

This one is the print with some ink added to bring out the ornaments. 

On this one, I made a stencil out of yupo paper, and just transfered inside the stnecil. Then I went over parts with ink.

On the bulbs below the tree I laid the print over the paper and only rubbed it with alcohol in some circular parts. I painted a green background and inked in the ornament shapes and some fir branchees.

In the ones below, I liked the transfer. They are on the Bee paper, and look a little dry brushed. On the left, I left it just as it came out. On the right, I inked the outline; added some yellows to leaves and flower; and added some darker shadows in the leaves with watercolor paint. 

The only caution is that, if you use words or numbers, you have to tell your printer to print them for transfer so they won't be backwards in the final print.

If you use 90 pound paper, be sure to flatten it after you finish, as it curls much more than 140 pound.

Putting people in your landscapes

As promised, I want to discuss some principles Yuki Hall stressed on putting people in your paintings to give a feeling of depth and perspective.

to start with, here are two video links that talk about perspective drawing in general.

a ten-minute video on beginning perspective, one and two point

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn_0wEwZNEU

a 28-minute video by Liron Yanconsky that has good common sense tips on perspective. He begins talking about adding figures around the 10-minute mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMgBUXfwS0g


So here are some things I learned from Yuki Hall (and from other sources) about adding figures.

1. Keep the head small - just a dot, circle, or oval. (I try for oval)
2. The body can start out as a carrot shape or elongated triangle.
3. Don't paint in feet or hands, generally
4. You usually only see 1 - 1 1/2 legs
5. Allow colors to mingle on the paper
6. Add a shadow underneath to connect to ground

In the picture below, the top row of peoople and the bottom row are done the "blob" method. I put in some blobs of paint for shirts, added skirt, shorts, or pants, then added legs, face, hair. The middle row is done in perspective with "triangle" people. I used pictures from magazines to practice different poses.



The number one thing has to do with perspective. In general, on a level plane, adult heads will begin at eye level, or the horizon line. Only if the person is taller or shorter or bending over is this different.

So the first order of business is to find your eye level.
In the picture below, the horizon line, or eye level will be about the level of the bottom of the windows. Lightly draw that in. ( a straight horizontal line across the paper)

Then find the correct angle for the sidewalk. (You could extend the horizon line to the left, then follow the angle of the side of the church to the left, and where the two lines converge is the vanishing point)

Lightly sketch in heads on the horizon line, then an elongated carrot or triangle to the point where they meet the sidewalk. Then fill in your figures using very simple strokes. Facial details are not needed.

Below is a very useful book on putting figures in paintings. It includes a few going uphill. 

 Here are some videos that explain some of the ways to paint in figures: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMgBUXfwS0g

Bob Burridge's "carrot people" method - 13 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8uT7DvpaCM

Bob Davies triangle people - 7 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRQVrUkkPCk

Arty Julie does blobs people 8 min.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rs_EyrZ6z0

WHAT I LEARNED FROM YUKI HALL

Southeastern Indiana Art Guild hosted Yuki Hall this past weekend at a watercolor workshop. We all came away with a great experience and a chance to learn a different way of approaching our art.

Before I begin, a disclaimer. All of the paintings here were done from Yuki Hall's reference photos either in her workshop or at my home. They are not to be thought of as "original" paintings by me.  Also, this is a summary, not a complete class. I just wanted to put down my thoughts for future reference so I don't forget them.

I can't say enough about Yuki as a teacher. It's inspiring to know that, like many of us, her background is not fine arts....that came later. So that is hopeful for me!

Before I forget, I am attaching an interview with Yuki Hall from January of this year. It includes some of her beautiful paintings. (this is not a video) I especially like what she has to say about painting the feeling of a place, not just unimportant details.

https://ccpvideos.com/blogs/news/interview-with-artist-yuki-hall

I took lots of notes, but I'd like to focus on just a few things she shared that I feel will help me in future paintings. Some may seem simple, but sometimes the simple changes make a big difference.

PAPER

This was my first experience with rough paper, and I was a bit wary of trying it. We used 140 lb Arches Rough. It did make a big difference in creating some sparkle with dry brush.

BRUSHES

I know there is no "magic brush" that will make me a better painter. However, here are her tools:

Yuki used 3 main types of brushes.

*MOP - OK, I thoughtI could get away with my huge quill brushes and an inexpensive "mop." Nope. By mop brush she meant one that comes to a lovely point, holds tons of water, and creates soft edges.
She used Silver Black Velvet Jumbo Round (mop type) for initial washes. My quill did OK.

ROUNDS: She uses Silver Black Velvet round brushes in 16, 12, and 10. For work that requires a harder edge, she uses synthetic rounds 16, 12, and 10. Those seem like large brushes to me, but their sharp points made surprisingly clear lines.

RIGGER: For calligraphic and line work, she uses a rigger and a dagger liner.  (Those who know me, understand my brush envy) pictured below



COLORS

Yuki keeps her palette simple, using 6 to 7 colors per painting. This helps with color unity.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING (AS IN VALUE STUDIES)

When Yuki talked about the importance of a value/tonal study, inside I wash shouting "Yeah!" We've been talking about that in class for months.

Before doing a painting, a value study is important. You work out a lot of your issues. We used 1/8 sheet of paper and any paint color that can achieve a dark value. (I used neutral tint; she used sepia). Draw large shapes first. Keep the drawing down to simple shapes, no details.






CREATING A WASH & THE IMPORTANCE OF CONNECTING PARTS OF THE PAINTING

I have almost always used wet into wet washes for skies and large areas of the painting. It was interesting to see someone do a wet into dry paper wash. Paper is on a board, tilted to about a 25-45 degree angle. Using the large mop brush, she wets a line along the top of the paper. Then she adds color in horizontal strokes, adding more paint for a darker wash, more water for a lighter wash.

I liked that Yuki keeps a scrap of paper right next to the painting to check her color on before touching the painting.

Below is the color painting of one of the tonal value paintings that I didn't get to do in the workshop. I tried painting the sky in a wash, as suggested, right down to the horizon line, covering what will be the trees, and painting around the top of the barn. (sky using French ultramarine with a bit of burnt sienna to gray it down.)

As the painting was losing its shine, I added some green (made from French and raw sienna) to the horizon line and let it blend upward into the sky wash. This allows the trees to appear DISTANT because of the SOFT EDGES.
Then, leaving a thin line of dry paper, I painted clear water horizontally below the trees and barn. This acts as a barrier. Then I could paint a wash across the bottom of raw sienna.

At this point, it was suggested that background and midground be CONNECTED by making small marks to join the green of the trees to the raw sienna area. This was something of a new idea for me.
Yuki also "connects" parts of the painting with long brush strokes, some criss crossed, later in the painting.

While damp, you can spatter foreground, make brush marks, or otherwise texturize the foreground.




I dried the painting. With cobalt, I put in some direction lines, some shadow by the barn, and darkened the left corner in a diagonal direction. It created some dry brush also, whih is interesting. I painted in my barn and windmill, letting some of the colors run together a little. I mostly left the roof white, but put in a few lines and some shadows.



Below you can see a few final details. I put in the white horse to give a feeling of depth, and I loosely painted a few windmill blades. I also negative painted a few tree trunks.



Below you can see the paintings with their companion value studies:




Super happy with the way this one turned out.

I changed a few things from my value study to painting.

I don't generally consider myself a landscape painter, but the workshop gave me the incentive to maybe try a few. 

OTHER TOPICS COVERED:

USING FIGURES TO IMPLY PERSPECTIVE

USING TONE TO IMPLY PERSPECTIVE

ECONOMY OF STROKES

THE IMPORTANCE OF USING A VARIETY OF EDGES

IF you are interested in learning more, Yuki Hall's website is yukihallfineart.com. She has a Spain trip planned in May of 2020.

More about putting figures in a painting next week when we do Christmas cards. Will also discuss the best way to use tequila.....to make prints from ink jet copies.

THREE THINGS TO TRY WITH SUNSETS

SUNRISE, SUNSET

They should be simple, right? 

But then, someone goes and puts clouds into the mix. And maybe some body of water.

I want to talk about three things that might make it simpler. But first, I'm going to show Sterling Edwards method of painting a sunset. Below is a link to his 13 minute video on painting sunsets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8IhOoYNsE4

The main idea is that, when painting a sunset, you need a "buffer zone" to keep the blues and yellows or oranges from creating greens or muddy colors. He makes "puddles" of his colors: yellow, orange, red, violet, and blue. With clean water he wets the paper. Then, starting with the yellow at the horizon line, he paints a strip of yellow. Just above that, a strip of orange, and lets the two colors merge a bit. Then comes the buffer color: red. He paints that red in, then violet, then blue over the violet. All the colors merge, like a sunset, but they don't become muddy. 

Here are a few other things you can do. If you have clouds in the picture that take on a dark cast, you can underpaint those clouds with a bit of neutral tint, davy's gray, or violet. Let them dry.

Then you can paint over that with yellows and oranges to make a very orange sky with darker clouds, like the picture on the top left here. The sun in that picture is pulled out while the paint is wet, using a thirsty round brush. 

On the picture on the right, I first used Gum Arabic to temporarily mask out the sun and some clouds. Gum Arabic can be purchased at Michaels, Hobby Lobby, or art supply stores. It is the binder in most traditional watercolor paints, so it is water soluble. You simply paint it on where you want a white, using a regular brush, dry completely, then paint over it. When the painting is dry, you go over that area with a wet brush, and the gum Arabic lifts off, leaving a soft edged white area.

The bottom sunset uses permanent masking fluid to mask out the sun. Use an old brush to apply it. Dry completely, Then paint in your sunset. You do not remove this masking fluid. It leaves a softer shape than regular masking fluid that you remove.

Below I wanted to show how to create a sunset just before it gets really dark outside.

I started with a regular Sterling Edwards method, lifting out the sun with a thirsty brush. To  create clouds, I dropped clean water into paint that was not quite dry, but not shiny wet. It creates some backruns. Then I let it dry.

After drying, I introduced some indanthrene to darken the sky. 

I added a little red and yellow in the reflection and dried it. Then I added some indanthrene in the water. Darkened the horizon line and added some "buildings." The main object was to create a clean underglow of reds and yellows, but make the sky look dark.

IRIS IN GRISAILLES (Ooh, that sounds French!)

As promised, here is the version of Iris portrait done in grisailles, or more accurately, brunailles, since the underpainting is burnt sienna.

I chose to do this on hot press paper because I thought it might hold onto the underpainting better. (meaning that the under-paint would not dissolve too much when I put a wet glaze over it.)

I did an underpainting of the values similar to previous grisailles. In areas that would have a pure color, such as the iris of the eye, the lips, and the pinker, fresher skin tones, I did no underpainting. The finished underpainting looked very similar to the monochrome version, with no color added to those areas I mentioned.

Next, I glazed over the face with skin tone base made from raw sienna and magenta (or permanent rose). I wet the entire face and hair areas first, including the lips, then glazed the skin tones. While it was still wet, I added more rose in the cheeks, nose tip, and side of the face.

I was pretty pleased with the results. This is the first time I've tried a watercolor portrait with this method.