Exercise : Drawing on a coloured ground

I decided to opt for a cool ground for this first painting. I started by sketching my image in soluble graphite, then highlighted the lighter areas using white guache. I then worked into this using watercolour, chalk and oil pastel. I am really enjoying the opaque effects I can now obtain, but also a really interesting green was obtained by washing a light green wash over the purple areas, and with the combination of light and dark areas and opaque areas I think a three d effect has started to appear in the painting. 

For the second painting I chose a warm red ground. It's interesting to see optically how the different grounds photograph. The above two photographs are the same painting. The bottom photograph has been taken at an angle to try to capture the tones correctly, and is a good reflection of the tones within the painting and forming the background.  The red added a real warmth to the tones of the greens and I felt I did not need to use as much paint or work into the leaves as much as I did with the painting on a purple ground. The red leaves seem to give the painting a luminosity. I really enjoyed using oil pastels to work into the gouache and watercolour layer, this added vibrancy and definition to the petals.  

Exercise: Tonal studies made on a coloured ground

Preparatory Colour Studies

Preparatory Colour Studies

Preparatory Colour Studies

Gouache - highlighting the lightest areas only

White gouache showing lightest areas, then indigo watercolour darkening the darker areas and adding definition

Close up of white gouache and indigo watercolour and the really interesting texture resulting from this combination

White gouache and viridian watercolour

Close up showing amazing texture 

Sunflower - gouache and watercolour on a coloured ground

I found this first exercise of the final Assignment really enjoyable. I was glad to get back to painting still life and I feel that it was a useful exercise in terms of discovering a different combination of media. I think the first thing to note was how differently the paint handled, when mixed with gouache. The paint took far longer to dry - so I was not able to quickly paint over areas I was unhappy with, and I did end up with some accidental "bleeding" of colours which I had not anticipated. I was not able to get hold of any coloured NOT watercolour paper so I painted my own. I started with a couple of colour studies just to familiarise myself with the subject matter. I Why did I choose a sunflower? Well the reasons are twofold. My daughter planted a whole packet of sunflower seeds in various places around the garden and the majority of them germinated. I have been admiring their bright straightforward yet complex blooms for a couple of months and really did just want the opportunity to look at them in more detail. I also found when I was working on the paintings for my 30 paintings over thirty days exercise http://hyacinth30.blogspot.co.uk/ I felt I benefited greatly form looking at the same subject in a number of different ways, and reading ahead in the course material I hope this subject choice will apply itself well with the more experimental and abstraction exercises. The final painting I worked on was a combination of gouache and watercolour on a alizarin crimson ground. I am generally happy with this new technique, and particularly when looking at my watercolour in terms of how I can move it forward within my textiles work I think this has been a small breakthrough. I feel the painting has life and a sense of realism, but it will take practice to get used to how the paint handles!

Part 5 - Widening your options

Having really struggled with the landscape elements of this course I am feeling really quite optimistic about moving forward to the final part of the course. I think so far this course has most definitely taught me that my preference is for detailed studies of still life, and as yet those studies seem to fall into two different styles, one being where I paint strictly what I see and the other being a more free combination of watercolour and black ink. I am hopefully thus final assignment will start to consolidate my own style, whilst I appreciate that all methods of using watercolour need to be explored and covered in a watercolour course I am hopeful that with this final assignment I will be able to refine methods which will better complement my textiles degree and support more creative sketchbook work as I move to level two.  

Assignment 4 Landscape painting with mixed elements and features

I have started to work on my assignment painting. I had initially decided to work on a painting on a scene at Dunham Massey as a photograph I had taken included deer, figures, linear perspective, trees and sky. I completed the sketch below to start to plan the scene.

Having drawn out the house I have started wonder if this isn't the scene for me! There is not enough shadow, or trees, plenty of greenery but that's predominantly grass leading potentially to a painting lacking in depth. 

After thinking about this overnight I have now decided to switch my focus and select a different landscape. I realised that my place of work, Quarry Bank Mill is somewhere picturesque, somewhere I have an affinity with and an affection for, and hopefully this will help me in creating a landscape which I will enjoy painting. It is also a place I can observe on different conditions and that also incorporates the different elements specified in the final assignment remit. 

Preparation sketches:- Quarry Bank Landscape

Sketch

Loose colour study - I decided to just have a play with the composition in watercolour before starting to formally plan the assignment painting. For the above colour study I was observing the tones and shades in the secne based on a number of photographs I had taken. Particularly of note at this stage is the paler trees in the distance behind the mill, the shadows on the chimney and the almost black tones of the tree in the foreground.

Sketch

Linear sketch and notes - I found this sketch helpful to simply experience drawing the details of the mill building, and settling my thoughts on the composition. This sketch although fairly rudimentary was a really useful process as it highlighted the need for me to resolve a method relating to the windows of the mill ans the best approach to painting these.

Sketch

Chimney sketch using aquamarkers - I enjoyed just working into and looking at the shape and structure, this sketch and the one below were useful exercises in observation of the details.

Sketch

Chimney sketch using soluble graphite

Sketch

Practising the window and brick wall washes - I decided to use masking fluid to block out the white of the window frames, and although tedious to complete all the windows in this manner, I felt happy after this experimentation was completed that this was the most suitable method to proceed with.

Sketch

Further tonal washes and sketchbook notes

Quarry Bank Landscape

Assignment 4 completed landscape

For this assignment painting I have chosen to include linear perspective, sky and trees.

I think I spent more time thinking and worrying about this painting than the actual painting itself! I did however feel that the skills I had learned in this particular assignment enabled me to plan the final piece appropriately and select the correct painting methods for the different areas of the painting. I was careful to ensure there was the appropriate level of detail and hopefully I have achieved a "finished" effect with this painting - mindful of my previous feedback. It could perhaps be argued that the foreground needed more definition be I had decided to used an interesting blend of greens, combined with use of layers of masking fluid to give a layered tonal effect, which I hope complements the detail of the mill and chimney to good effect.

I chose a scene which included a tree to frame the scene as I felt this would create interesting contrasts between the darkness of the tree trunk, and the lighter areas of the mill and the chimney where the light is highlighting areas in the brickwork.

I must admit to feeling relieved that this section of the course is now complete. Amongst other things I have most definitely learned that landscape painting is not really for me, I really struggled with motivation and inspiration for this and the previous assignment, as an textile student I can see the relevance of the colour and tonal theory and how this can directly transfer to the textiles degree pathway, but I have really had to push myself hard just to get through this last assignment. I really hope that my paintings do not reflect this "forcing" of my creativity, but essentially that is really how it has felt. 

The pressure is now on to complete the final assignment of this module by the 21st November, but I am remaining optimistic that I will find more to enjoy in the final assignment so hopefully motivation will not be as much of an issue.

Human figure in the landscape - painting and critique

Preparatory sketch for painting a human figure in the landscape

Colour sketch 

Sketching out the lines for the painting on A3

Pencil sketch

Initial washes blocking out the main areas 

Initial Washes

Completed painting

Completed painting

I quite enjoyed the process of painting a figure in the landscape, though it does feel as though different techniques are needed for the landscape and figure. I am not sure if this painting is finished, my perpetual problem I guess! I think perhaps more detail could have been included but if I am honest I had issues with composition. The figure is not positioned correctly on the path, meaning a dead space was created between the figure and the bridge which shouldn't have been there. I am reasonably happy with my painted figure, but less happy with the landscape it sits in, perhaps I was distracted by the need to include a figure. I so wonder if the figure gives the scene context, as she is walking downhill off a step in the path, so hopefully thus gives the impression of the land falling away 

And finally a tonal version when I relaxed with my watercolours later on, including the figure did not seem appropriate with this painting. 

Exercise: Human figure in the landscape

Add caption

Add caption

More sketches of the human figure :-

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Add caption

Struggling for time

Rather depressingly I have received an email from the OCA today informing me of the impending two year limit on completing the watercolour course, I have been very worried anyhow about the lack of work I have done while the children have been off school so it just feels as though this has further exacerbated the situation, now I am really panicking about the 21 November deadline, but don't really have any medical or "family responsibility" excuses to give to the OCA to justify an extension, and realistically I really want this course done and dusted ASAP anyway so that I can progress to level two (I have just been interrupted as I type this to sort my daughters knitting) back to school tomorrow so fingers crossed for a day of watercolour work tomorrow.