Sketchbook work - clematis

Here I have experimented with watercolours on a torn printed background that I have the photocopied drawn an outline in hot wax and then painted in watercolour. 

Part 3, Project 2, Exercise: Building a picture

I really enjoyed these preparatory elements to building a completed painting. I think the time spent sketching and experimenting with the different elements allowed me space to consider carefully the different parts which go into making the whole landscape.

Initial sketch, pencil on paper

Sketching and colour experimentation with specific elements, bridge, reflection, bamboo

Sketching and experimentation with specific elements, reflection and pagoda (deciding on picture elements)

Composition and colour decisions

Although I will go on and post the completed painting separately its interesting to see that the course material suggests that as my preparation gets better and quicker I may eventually "dispense with this process altogether" which surprises me. I enjoyed the preparatory processes more than I enjoyed composing and completing the final painting. I think I felt happy to return to a preparatory mindset, as I am not altogether sure at the moment that I "enjoy" painting outside. Although I like the spontaniety of quick sketching and painting and the energy this creates I also enjoy the opportunity to look and consider and think, which I don't feel able to do outside.

The process of looking and looking again in this exercise certainly allowed me to consider my subject matter more carefully specifically it looked at the shape of the bridge and realised the reflection was deeper than the actual bridge, the shadows reflected in the water were actually brown/green not black, the clouds in the sky were reflected in the water, it was not just uniform blue.

Part 3, Project 2 Exercise: Mixing Greens 4

Photograph of bottle arrangement

Sketchbook page for testing colours

Final painting for Mixing Greens 4

I really enjoyed the way this exercise flowed from the previous one, having painted the first two bottles I was really keen to try more green mixing and putting the exercise learnings into practice. I tried to select bottles in various tones of green (I don't drink alcohol so my friends were happy to donate empty bottles!) Again as with the previous exercise I found having a scrap page to test the tones on before applying to my watercolour paper. Looking back at the scrap page I was interested to see how useful viridian was in the mixing of the appropriate colours, but looking further back to exercise 1 I can see just how many tones are based on combinations of viridian. The combinations used were viridian and burnt umber viridian and burnt sienna, viridian and yellow ochre, viridian and alizarin crimson, burnt umber and burnt sienna, viridian and ultramarine, viridian and sap green. I think the overlapping of the bottles meant I had more of a challenge for showing the bottles a viewed through glass.

Part 3, Project 2 Exercise: Mixing Greens 3

For this exercise I worked on A3 paper.

I am continuing to work on 300gsm paper for all of my exercises as I am finding the paint handles so very differently on the lighter weight paper and I want to be able to handle the paint consistently.

These are the two bottles I chose to paint :-

The bottle on the left has far more brown and green tones than the bottle to the right, that has more clear apple green tones. I was also aware of the window frame behind the bottles which gave a distorted white line two thirds of the way down the bottles.

Here is the completed painting, I found that for this exercise I made continuous use of the sample pages created in Exercise Mixing Greens 1. I also made extensive use of a scrap sheet of paper to test the various tones before adding them to my watercolour page. The watercolours I used predominantly were viridian, burnt sienna and lemon yellow, as with this combination I was able to obtain the brown green tones. I found that the method of applying paint in different mixes per the exercise notes the more straightforward (righthand bottle) I think that some of the tones became a bit "samey" through applying layers of darker and lighter tones.

Part 3, Project 2 Exercise: Mixing Greens 2

Exercise Mixing Greens 2 - Page 1

I found the instructions for this exercise far more straightforward! Although I can really see the value of this particular exercise in demonstrating how the layering of colours worked I have to admit I was a little disappointed that this approach did not seem to give particularly well mixed tones - or a range of different hues. Despite being layered one over another the colours did not blend particularly well. I think to summarise page 1 - I was happy with the mixed boxes, yet the rest did not leave me with a range to work with.

Exercise Mixing Greens 2 Page 2

An early lesson learned here with page 2. I decide to move from working on my 300gm "expensive" paper as there is not much left in the pad to my 130 gsm pad. The way the paint went onto the paper and was immediately absorbed had a detrimental effect on the outcome of these experiments in my opinion. Frustrating the paint was absorbed into the paper, making the wet sample difficult, yet took forever to dry! I persevered through four different colour combinations then gave up and reverted back to the better quality paper. I think from this I have learned that I am going to get the best out of the watercolours and see the best possible effects by using the better quality paper - even for "test" pieces. The watercolours really did handle differently on the poorer quality paper.

Exercise Mixing Greens 2 Page 3

On page 3 (above) Prussian Blue created some warm dark greens which I wonder is more to do with the texture of the paint? This particular watercolour pan seemed to have a grainy texture when applied to the paper which leaves an interesting look when painted over the yellow - but not as effective as when used as a base for the yellow.

Exercise Mixing Greens 2 Page 4

For page four I returned to the better quality paper, and had a bit of a revelation here  Having been disappointed about the range of greens being produced through the exercise I found that Indigo gives a really beautiful range of greens when washed over gamboge hue - this was my final experiment, but well worth the effort - see bottom right of above photo. I think this is a colour combination worth me returning to at some point.

Part 3, Project 2 Exercise : Mixing Greens 1

To begin with I found the instructions given in the course material utterly incomprehensible! I could see clearly form the diagram what the aim of the exercise was yet the method to get there seemed as the order of the individual statements was all jumbled up. I have to admit this exercise really appealed to my precise and ordered side! I loved progressing through and filling the boxes with a different hue each time. I did have a number of thoughts which I noted as I went along, firstly the vibrancy of the tone achieved by using a tiny amount of viridian with lemon yellow was amazing, to my eye it was almost like a manufactured colour and I was thrilled to see how I could really create that tone using the colours in my set - I enjoyed all of the tones through that first set and realised that by using "one brush full" to add to the viridian I could evenly regulate the grades of darkening tone. I adopted this approach with the rest of the tests and It seemed to work throughout. I also found that regularly changing my water kept the accuracy and authenticity of the colours enabling me to create a true paint swatch for future reference.

Mixing greens Exercise 1 - Page A

Another colour combination which I really was surprised about was the stunning combination of burnt Sienna and Viridian, the warmth, vibrancy and depth of this tone was simply stunning, and I already think I will be referring back to the mixing notes here to recreate those tones.

Mixing Greens 1 Page B

After completing the exercise using the colours recommended in the course material I moved on to experiment with some combinations of my own including Hoopers Green Light, Cadmium Yellow Pale, Intense Green, Emerald Green and Hookers Green Dark. The use of cadmium yellow pale seemed to create fairly pale yet saturated colours, some that look fairly manufactured, but also some that have depth of tone such as the combination of cadmium yellow pale and hookers green dark.

Hyacinth30

I have decided to press on with the idea of creating a painting a day for a period of a month. I think that using this as an opportunity to refresh my watercolour skills is the best way to view it. I considered painting different household objects each day, perhaps in a range of colours but then realised I might be better to focus on one THING then find different approaches to painting this one object. I chose a hyacinth in a glass growing jar. I feel that this best epitomises my passion for gardening, nature and colour but also has some challenging aspects and interesting surfaces due to the transparent glass and the change in perspectives. I think that as the hyacinth dies and decays I will be able to capture that process, but I also have 30 attempts at getting the same thing right!

I have set up a blog page http://hyacinth30.blogspot.co.uk/

And am uploading the photos to my Textiles Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/MiriamWardTextiles