GRISAILLES

I have been wanting to do a grisailles with watercolor ever since I took an oil painting workshop where we made an underpainting with burnt umber and glazed over it with color. Loved the effect and wondered if it would work with watercolor. Turns out it can.

Grisailles is, basically, using a gray, like Paynes Gray or Neutral Tint, something fairly STAINING, to create an underpainting first, sculpting the forms and creating values before laying on any color. Then, you glaze over with color.

BEFORE STARTING, SELECT AN APPROPRIATE PAINT AND PAPER.

CHOOSING A PAINT:
Your underpainting needs to have three characteristics:
#1: transparency
#2: staining - a 4 on a scale of 0-4
#3: Large Value range (at least 62 out of 100)

Transparency speaks for itself: you don't want an opaque color that will dull the painting. Oddly, most of these dark colors are transparent or semi.

Staining:
You want a STAINING paint that will not move or dull your color. I can suggest several useful colors: Neutral Tint, Paynes Gray, Indigo mixed with a bit of orange, burnt umber, Vandyke Brown. If you don't have these, try Prussian Blue with a bit of strong orange or burnt sienna. NOT ALL BRANDS are created equal, so you will need to test your mix. Here's how:

     *Paint strips of several paints you think might work.Dry completely.
     *Try lifting with a stiff brush. Or soak the strips for a few minutes and see which ones lift or smudge.

Here below are the colors I tried: Paynes Gray (Senelier); Neutral Tine (Daniel Smith); Shadow Violet (Daniel Smith); Sodalite Genuine (D. Smith); Burnt Umber (Holbein); Ivory Black (DaVinci); and Lunar Black (d. Smith) I could have also tried Sepia and other blacks. I included some that granulate in case I decided to do a piece with lots of texture.

This is the same chart as above with each one swiped through with a lifting brush, as seen on the top of each color. From this I could see that some of my faves lifted too easily to be used in a grisaille. I picked some random colors to paint over to see how each would look glazed with colors.

Verdict: I will probably stick with Neutral Tint or Paynes Gray...maybe Burnt Umber if it is a warmer painting. If I want some texture, probably some Lunar Black. Love Sodalite, but it lifted far more than I expected. 

In the picture below, note that on the side I have included the pigment codes for the colors. I also showed different colors glazed over the grays and browns. 

Value Range:  This is how many values from light to dark on the value scale your colors will go. For example, they might rate a yellow as a 10; a red about a 40 or 50; a blue about a 60. The scale goes from 0 to 100. You need your dark to be able to go from very light to very dark, so it would be 60 or above. 

Some grays are warmer, some cooler. This will be guided by a personal preference and the overall tone of the painting. 

Lindsay Weirich, The Frugal Crafter, has an excellent youtube video on a simple grisaille using QoR Neutral Tint. 

CHOOSING PAPER:

You will be fine if you usually use something like Arches hot or cold press. Both of these have about the right amount of sizing. You do not want a paper that is overly sized and lifts and resists glazing techniques. (like Strathmore and some Canson) Some watercolor boards work well also. Please test the color on the paper you wish to use to be sure that the underpainting color (the gray) will not lift and smudge. 

OTHER OPTIONS IN GRISAILLE:

Your underpainting can be done with an Inktense colored pencil, (by Derwent) which will not lift after you wet it the first time. There are also graphite pencils that are made to be wet. Some people use India ink for a very dramatic effect. 

If you use a brown underpainting, it is called BRUNAILLES.

A green underpainting is VERDAILLES.

Gray is GRISAILLES. 

MIDTONES are when you make your own gray from the colors in your painting, as we did with the lilies and the white roses. These are often chosen because there is more unity in your painting. They are usually not as staining as other options, which can be a good thing, depending on your desired outcome. 

TWO APPROACHES TO PAINTING LEAVES

There's more than one way to paint leaves. Here are just two.

BOTANICAL APPROACH

This rose was painted on Arches hot press 140 pound paper, treated with lifting preparation to make it easier to lift color when necessary.

Begin by making two mixes of greens using colors you've already used in the flower itself. Here are the colors I've used this time clockwise from top left: Hansa yellow light (use a lemon or pale yellow); French ultramarine blue; rose madder (use a red you've used in the flower); and cerulean blue. (you can use pthalo, but it doesn't lift; or any blue with green bias)

On the left I've made a puddle of bright green with yellow and cerulean.

On the right I've taken some of the bright green and added French ultramarine and a touch of red to create a dark green color. Keep them side by side as you work on the leaves, having a bit of each color nearby to add to the basic mixes. 

If you look at the top flower picture, you can see the steps going clockwise. The first leaf on the left is step one and two. The next one is step three and four. And the top leaf is step five and six. I suggest as you paint you have actual leaves in front of you instead of a photo reference. It really helps.

WORKING ON HALF OF EACH LEAF AT A TIME PREVENTS YOU FROM WORKING ON ONE WHEN IT IS TOO WET. By the time you are done with half of all four leaves, they are dry enough to work on the other half. 

Step one: Wet the leaf and stem with clear water. Apply a watery layer of dark blue, leaving highlights unpainted or wipes out with clean brush. 

Step two: While that is still wet, use the tip of a fine brush to apply dark green mix to create the serated tips of the leaf. Dry.

Step three: Use the bright green mix to carefully paint betwen the raised veins and the center of the leaf, leaving fine lines and avoiding highlights.

Step four: Use alizarin crimson, burnt orange, or other red to go over some of the leaf tips, and carefully blend it into the rest of the leaf. Also add some red into the stem areas.

Step five: using a fine tipped brush, paint some of the dark veins that come from the heavy veins using the darker green mix with extra French ultramarine in it. Dry completely.

Step six: When that is dry, use the bright green mix to cover all the leaf, including some of the veins. That helps to blend the blue veins into the leaf and to unify the entire leaf. Lift out highlights if you have lost them.

What I like about this method: I can take my time and just putz with each leaf if I want. I like that leaf color is consistent throughout the painting, and I don't have to worry that the colors look like they don't belong together.


NEGATIVE PAINTING APPROACH

This rose is painted on Arches cold press 140 pound paper.

Here is a looser approach to the leaves, and one I am more likely to use in my own style of painting.

You will need a red, blue, and yellow that you've already used in the flower petals. Then get out the pthalo blue because that is one strong color. My object was to make the muted grays in the flower stand out by making a background of brilliant colors.

Before painting MAKE THREE puddles of water in small cups: phthalo blue, a red, and a yellow. Your choice. You might want to work over a sink, paper towels, or "doggie diaper" to absorb excess paint and water that drips off.

Step one: WORKING ON 1/3 TO 1/2 OF THE PAINTING AT A TIME, carefully wet the paper around the roses and right over the leaves themselves. I used a 3/4 inch flat as it holds a lot of water, yet makes crisp edges.(I don't work on all the background at one time...too difficult to keep a wet edge and prevent unwanted hard edges)

Step two: tilt the paper away from the roses and apply pthalo blue (or your favorite blue). I always apply the color right up next to the dry edge (in this case, the rose petals) where it will be darker, and let the color run out onto the background. As it runs, use a dropper to drop in yellows, especially where the leaves will be, and some reds. Backruns (blossoms) are welcome here, as are other interesting things that can happen. As the paint is drying, you can spritz lightly for more texture.



WHEN DRY mix a dark blue/blue green and begin "finding" your leaves using negative painting. This means you paint around the leaf shape and soften the paint into the rest of the background. You can continue to "find" leaves and stems as much as you like. You can see that I have done two on the right, and you can see the ones on the left are not touched yet.



What I like about this method:

A: The background is bright, interesting, and energetic in stark contrast to the roses.
B: I have a lot of freedom to use the textures that occur to invent a completely different background if I want to.

White Roses

MIXING GREENS

I prefer to mix my own greens to provide continuity in a painting. I am including some youtube sites that might be helpful to you. Steve Mitchell's Mind of Watercolor can always be counted on to provide some good tips. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0uFVw3B-us

But a lot of people prefer to use prepared greens, and that's OK as long as you don't overdo it. One suggestion is to pick a basic green (like Hookers, sap, rich green gold, etc) then pick one blue and one yellow to change the temperature and darkness of the green; and one red to neutralize it when needed. EX: If I choose Hookers green as my base, I might choose French ultramarine to cool it off; Azo yellow to get more yellow greens; and alizarin to neutralize it, especially the shadowed areas. 

You can check what you can do with what is in your palette before making big changes. To see more on that, see this youtube with Susan Crouch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S25rgeII-TU

And if you want to learn what your own paints will do, this one shows how to make a chart

that shows different mixtures. I particularly like how she does it. (In Liquid Color)

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

MORE ON PAINTING WHITES

I used this photo from Paintmyphoto as a reference. The photographer was Inkflo (Angie).

I changed it to a black and white. This helps me to see values and shadows more clearly.

Since the roses are a creamy white, I wet the flower, and dropped quin coral into the centers. Then I put a pale glaze of raw sienna, just to cut the whiteness of the paper and tone it a bit. If the paper is already a creamy color, you don't have to tone it.

After the initial wash is dry, begin separating the petals wet into wet. Alternate petals so that you reduce the risk of painting into a wet area.  Prepare a puddle of a slightly neutralized blue for the shadow areas. Have a bit of coral, pink, or green on hand to add to it. 

Wet the petal completely to a shiny-but-not-puddly stage.  Apply the color into the deepest shadow area, and allow it to spread onto the petal, leaving some of the white to show. While wet, you can drop in a bit of another color. EX: If I started with a blue toned mix, I can drop in a little pink or green. 

At this point I am trying to work from my black and white reference so that I am more influenced by the shape and values of the shadows instead of trying to copy color at the same time. 

Nearly done with the shadows on my roses. 

There are three differences between doing whites this way and the way we did it with the arum lily. First, in this process, I do make a grayed color (or neutralized color), but it is not GRAY. The color is clean and apparent from the very beginning. then other color is dropped into it while wet.  I will glaze later, but over this purer color rather than the gray.

The second difference will be obvious in the next blog.In the first we didn't paint a background to bring out the whites. This one will have a background that will bring out the whites. 

The third difference will be that we are going to do some negative painting in the background and leaves. So tune in next time....

PS: For those who are worried that their colors might not match exactly, remember: a reference is YOUR GUIDE, NOT YOUR GOD. Make it the way you want it to be.

Finishing the Arum

In the last blog I talked about using grays as midtones, and then glazing over the grays with color to create a white flower. Here are my final changes on the lily.

I continued to glaze the greens on the stem, using the same color blend, but adding French ultramarine into the darker areas. I went around the tips of the white petal with a pale green made from the cerulean/azo mix. I strenghthened the shadow in the deepest part of the lily around the stamen. (still don't know if it's a stamen or pistol) I made a few veins in the flower. And finally, I cleaned up edges by lifting paint, and then lifted some of the ridges in the flower.

Notice that this is the same pattern, but the one on the left seems to cup inward, and the one on the right seems to make an outward curve on the top right. That's only because of the direction I lifted out the paint on the first wash in the shadows.

White Flowers botanical style

Today kicked off a new session of classes with a little bit of everything: a mini lesson on controlling the moisture in your paints;mixing a good neutral or gray tone; and a bit about painting wet into wet.

CONTROLLING WATER AND PAINT

First a little about controlling the water and paint. There are a few YouTube videos that explain it pretty well. One is by Steve Mitchell Mind of Watercolor.

There are a number of variables, paper, brushes, paint type. If your paint is too dry you get hard edges and it doesn't spread smoothly. If it is too wet, it can be uneven and leave blooms as the paint dries at different rates.

One bad habit is to dip your brush in the water constantly, even when you are not changing color. Think of it as cooking a broth. Start with the amount of water you want, then add ingredients. If you keep adding water you continue to dilute your broth.

So start with a puddle of water on your palette, and add your paint to it gradually until it is the shade you want. Then don't dip your brush in water unless you plan to dilute the color. Your damp, not wet, brush will pick up more paint and not leave a puddle.

If you do end up more puddly than you want, the fix is easy. Just use a thirsty brush to sop up...this leaves more even paint than just blotting with a paper towel. If you tend to get too much water in your brush, try running the ferule over a sponge to remove some of the water.

If you find your brush is too dry, don't keep wiping the brush, and be sure you have the puddle of paint the consistency you want.

Mind of Watercolor controlling water
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFenH6TdSuw

Waterolor Misfit -4 easy steps to watercolor control

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFAIOAZhR-E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-o3T-nFpFg

MIXING GRAYS

I have another blog on mixing grays. (See "More than 50 Shades of Gray" May, 2018) This one today is just discussing making a formula for a very neutral mix that you can either warm up or cool down .

One formula used by billie showell, an amazing botanical painter, is 2 parts French ultramarine, one part cad red, one part cad lemon.

Immediate problem. I don't have those colors.
SOOOO..... what'll you do?

If you look at the formula, she is really adding equal parts of true opposites on the color wheel: one part of cad lemon and one part cad red = 2 parts orange...the opposite of French Ultramarine. So what I need is something that will give me a neutral gray (not too warm, not too blue). I have French. For the yellow I need a lemony yellow, so I chose Hansa yellow light. You could use any lemony looking yellow. For the cad red, which is about a neutral red (not real orange, not real purple) I used permanent red. Use what you have.

I passed out a sheet on making grays from using complementary colors. Find one that works for you.
This sheet was a free download from ArtTutor.com called Cheat Sheets. Love it. Wish I had it 20 years ago.

From this neutral color, you can add permanent rose to make it pinker; yellow to warm it a bit; and blue to cool it.

PAINTING THE FLOWER:

This arum flower is a photograph from Scotch Macaskill on Paint My Photo. The method I'm using to paint this is more of a "botanical" style, and just one of several ways to "paint white." I took some tips from Billie Showell, an award winning botanical painter.

Draw your flower very lightly. Don't put in any lines you don't need. Erase heavy pencil lines so you can just barely see them. That isn't necessary on darker flowers, but yellows and whites will show the pencil lines.

The picture below shows the sketch on the right, and on the left, the first layer of glazed neutral (mid-tone) paint. In a way, you are putting on an underlayer of shading for this lily, paying attention mostly to forming the shape of the flower and its shadows. First, wet the entire section you work on. (I did not wet the stamen) Shiny, not puddly. This is the most neutral and light wash of the grays. I paid attention to the deep gray around the stamen? and the shadow areas. 

(apologies to botonists: I don't know a stamen from a pistol on a lily)

Dry completely. Erase any unwanted lines. 

Next step. Make your neutral mix a little greener. (I used cerulean - a green biased blue-- and hansa light) Wet the upper area - yes, all of it--and drop some of the green around the tips. Let it bleed into the edge of the flower. While wet, take a small brush, and run it through the gray/green tip and drag it down into fine lines in the direction of the curve of the lily. Move to the the bottom of the lily, and glaze over the bottom and stem of the lily with the greener mixture. With a thirsty brush, lift paint from the center of the stem while wet to create a highlight down the center of the stem. 

On the front "lip" of the flower, I needed to strengthen the dark area. I wet just the lip (after the rest was dry) and applied the greener mid-tone (neutral) on the curve line and let it travel down the lip of the petal. 

Dry completely.

Wet the lower part of the lily and add some yellow to the right side. I used a warmer yellow, like New Gamboge. (warm has an orange bias)

With my stem wet, I continued with the yellow down the stem and strengthened the green with a mix of cerulean and hansa. Again, I lifted the center highlight of the stem. (It is easier to do this lifting now rather than the end of the painting when it is dry)  For the yellow center, I wet the small area and dropped a warm yellow (New Gamboge) into the center and let it move out to the edges for a softer effect. I added a bit of burnt orange while damp to the very center.

when dry, I darkened the shadow of the stamen on the left side using the neutral with yellow added to it. (because the shadow would also have a bit of yellow reflection) I also strengthened the shadow on the right side.

There is still more to fiddle with, but I will post that later. Mostly it will be "more of the same," gradually strengthening my shadows and greens, and cleaning up some edges.