Sweet Potato leaves in a Pour

 More About Pouring--a demo

I decided to use the same photo of sweet potato leaves for this pour as I used for the negative painting. This would give a fair comparison of the two methods. (Also I've had a crazy week and didn't have time to look for something new.)

I redrew the picture. This time I used HOT PRESS paper for several reasons. I have heard that the smooth texture makes the masking have fewer gaps. (because of the bumpy texture of cold press.) I also wanted to experiment with contact paper to see if it masks better without the bumps.

Here is the drawing with the first masking.

The colors I chose for the first pour are Pthalo blue, Hansa Yellow medium, and Quinacridone Rose, which is a cooler red. I tried to use more staining colors so they wouldn't tend to lift as much when the masking is removed. I used very little blue in this first pour.

Tape the paper down. Wet the paper. Tilt the board toe mix the colors on the paper. Remember to wipe excess off the taped borders. This is so you don't get back-runs.

Second masking and pouring. I wanted to experiment with contact paper (usually I'd use clear contact paper, but this is all I could find...see the black and white leaf?) You can also experiment with tape, but some tapes don't handle more than 1 pour. Then I wet the paper and poured a second time, using the same colors as before with a bit more blue.

Third mask: I masked in four leaves and a few hexagon shapes in the background.

The third pour: I still wet everything, still used the same colors.

Fourth mask

Fourth pour. This time I changed colors to only blue and red. The blue is indanthrene, which is a very dark blue.

Now comes the hard part: WAITING. It has to be completely dry to remove the masking.

Next week I'll show how to make adjustments to your pour.

5 things to remember for a successful pour:

1. Use good paper, 100% cotton, either hot press or cold press.

2. tape/staple your paper down to a board so you can move it around and it doesn't curl up on you while your are working on it. Very small projects can just be taped.

3. Your first layers should be staining or quinacridone colors. Sedimentary and earthy colors lift more under the masking. However, feel free to experiment. I haven't tried it with some of the primateks.

4. BE PATIENT. Let the masking completely dry. Let the pour completely dry between masking.

5. You can use only 2 colors in a pour if you choose not to use 3. More than 3  at a time can lead to mud very quickly.  You can also re-do a pour after it is dry if color is not what you want or not where you want it.

What to Know before starting a "pour"

Today we worked some more on finishing the negative paintings.

It's a matter of building up the background layer by layer, darkening the values with each new layer.

Here are the steps I took to finish the sweet potato vine:

On some of the leaves, I created some veins, negative painting on each side of the veins.

Some of the flowers needed to stand out more because the original background was too dark. I used Bleed Proof White to give it a boost. 

I made a few enhancements, adding some color on leaves that looked dull, adding some color to the grasses. I completed creating some hexagon shapes in the background to unify the painting. I think I am going to call it finished. 

Here are just a few of the negative paintings the class created:

And one more Sarah is doing for a competition:

UNDERSTANDING POURING

This was our practice to understand pouring.

Basic supplies:

masking fluid and brush dedicated for masking

(I also showed how to used contact paper or tape for some masking)

100% cotton 140 pound paper

a board to attach paper to

3 primary colors in tubes (quinacridones, pthalo, reds, Hansa yellows, are good for the first pour)

3 small containers for mixing (Dixie cup, yogurt cup, etc)

large brush for wetting the surface

pad to absorb dripping paint

cup or container for draining off excess paint

Prepare 3 small jars of primary colors. Put a little tube paint in a container, such as a yogurt cup or bathroom sized Dixie cup, and add a little water to completely dilute it. Test the diluted paint on a piece of paper to be sure it is the right value. If it's too dark, add a bit of water; if too thin, add a bit of paint.

I use a  dog training pad to absorb the mess as I go along.

First make a copy of your drawing and create a "map" for masking. (Just on some drawing paper) Copy it onto your watercolor paper also. Mark the 1's first, to indicate that those shapes remain white; then mark #2's next, for your 2nd masking; mark #3's next, to indicate what will be the last masking.

Draw the simple picture on watercolor paper. Then mask off those shapes you want to keep white and are #1 on your map.

When the masking is dry, wet the entire paper and pour your colors. POUR YELLOW

first, because yellow has the least TINTING STRENGTH. In fast, yellow mixes will need less water in them for pouring. You can tilt the paper back and forth to get a good blend. When the colors look good to you, lay the painting flat and let it dry naturally, no blow dryer. (IT will glue the masking fluid to your painting if you dry it on hight)

Mask off your #2's; let the masking dry; then pour your next layer, increasing the amount of paint to water in your mixes.

After it is dry, mask off shapes with #3 on them. Dry the mask, then do a third pour,

this time with the paint darker.

When dry, remove all the masking fluid. You'll note that some of the first layers are not as colorful as they were at first. The masking fluid can remove some of the paint.

That is a good reason to use STAINING colors for the first pours.

Any quinacridones, Pthalos, Hansa Yellow, Anthraquinoid Red, Alizarin Crimson, are all good colors to start a pour with.

Here is a site that walks you through the pouring technique. It's a document with step by step photos.

https://americanwatercolor.net/pouring-transparent-watercolor/

Following is a series of  5 videos with steps for doing a pour.

How to make a board for stretching watercolor paper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PCb_wO0Goc&t=58s

Tools needed from pouring

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjkJecNAg2g

Art of pouring part 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEbaUaDlB68&t=26s

Part 3: mixing paint for a pour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5UALDMLJNo

the art of pouring part 4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEeIiOttQPA&t=1124s

the art of pouring part 5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEbaUaDlB68&t=26s

This one shows the method of wetting the back of wc paper and keeping it flat on plexiglass like I showed in class.

how to keep paper flat without stretching

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJdmF8nyeDg

Sweet Potato Leaves and Valentine Hearts

 

Last week we made backgrounds. Mine was just with plastic wrap and some salt, using 3 colors: lemon yellow, magenta, and cobalt blue. When it was dry, I drew on the leaves from my reference photo above.

In the picture below, you can see on the right, where I have begun to paint negatively around the leaves that are my main focus. I am trying to keep my color clean and fresh at this point, and only enough of a value change that I can see my picture clearly, and my leaves come into focus. I generally wet an area, apply a color, in this case cobalt, and drop in other colors such as magenta or yellow. I am not trying for a flat, uniform color at this point.

(I did use masking fluid to mask out some of the flowers, since they were so small, I was afraid I'd lose them. I also used a pen nib to mask tiny lines to the leaves.)

After this first round, I drew in some other details--a few more leaves, some stems, etc.

You tend to lose some of the details as you paint, so I generally add them after each time I paint a value.

Below I'm beginning my second value, still wetting a section, then dropping in color, as long

as I can tell a value change. I also painted the purple centers of the flowers.

Here is the painting after my second round of negative painting.

Remember that negative painting is painting what is NOT the positive image.

So, in this painting, part of a leaf underneath a leaf could be part of the negative

space. So here you can see that I've painting shadows behind some of the leaves.

(I made it dark near the edge, then faded the color out)

(I usually save this step for the end, but I didn't want to forget to mention it)

With a very dark, I am painting behind the stems and also creating a hexagon pattern

that I hope will serve to unify the painting.

Valentine painting for a stained glass look. 

I've drawn this valentine pattern onto a paper that I've done a background texture on. (This particular texture was done by drizzling and spattering masking fluid, drying it, and then adding color wet into wet.

Since my pattern is quite busy and colorful, I chose a dark purple to fill in the spaces between the hearts.

Here is the finished version. If you want to create a negative space around

the outside of the heart, you can wet the area and drop in color. Or you can choose to simply outline it.

For those who want to do the trees, here is the tutorial from Louise DeMasi that I was talking about.

I hope that helps you. She's very good at explaining. I did mine long before she posted this, but it's pretty helpful.

https://www.louisedemasi.com/tips/2023/6/23/watercolour-negative-painting-tutorial?srsltid=AfmBOoq2gkzkTUpfkp1w6_JGJdxEFbZmNAvREwd_0KuUmRgKJ217JQWU