Assignment 1

For this assignment I went for Imaginary landscape or dreamscape

Started with thumb nails sketches, drawing them until I had something that I would be happy to work up into a painting.

In the following set of thumb nails the last picture is the one I will work with and combines elements that I like from other sketches, e.g., the ploughed field in front of a house and the lone tree in the foreground in this last sketch I am also think about the tonal values.

Small painting were I am working out what techniques to add in.

Ist painting keeping true to my initial sketch. Elements of this paint I like and there are those that I don't e.g., the  tree in the foreground.. tonally the drawing look a bit flat neither lights or darks dominate. Tree behind house helps to define the roof line but is possibly to dark as it is in the mid-ground...or I need to darken up the objects in the ground.

Another painting focusing on the ploughed field and trying to had more strength to the tones and colours

Still not entirely happy with this one, OK with the ploughed field (few wax resist marks used here) but feel the 1st one is better. Just need to workout what  it is I don't like about the bottom right hand corner. 

Third attempt. I am making sure that the foreground is dark and warmer, red dropped into the dark wash in the foreground. Again sticking with the ploughed field on the left this time using masking fluid to suggest the frost in the furrows of the plough marks. Once the ploughed field area was try I added a shadow at the bottom given which could be cast by the clouds above (to big to be cast be a tree out of scene), here I am thinking of John Nash's  Earth Sky...does the title reference which looks to me like to shadow or the fact that the painting could be read as cloud formation (especially if turned upside down). Anyway happy with how this shadow sits on the underlying paint marks.

Stuck with the cling film technique for the sky, but this time I lifted out patches of the the wash before applying the cling film, the marks added interest but because of the lightness of the was are not to intrusive. Later add a cloud in a red (it is an imagined landscape) and purposely had running in diagonal towards the buildings. The building are the least successful part of the picture to me should have used a different colour to define the detail and possibly left the white of the paper to indicate some highlights along the roof line.

Didn't like the tree in the 1st picture and looking back at my thumb nail sketch I didn't have the  tree extending up beyond the mid-ground... I think that is where I went wrong... building and tree fighting to be the focal point possibly.

Research Point 1

In researching how artist use watercolours I have come across two artist who's work I like.

The portrait work of Charles Reid, his style is loose and his choice of colours are more about composition and the balance of warm and cool colours rather than that going for something more naturalistic.  However the you tube videos of his demos that I was able to find don't include any of the alternative techniques (non-brush) that we have come across...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV-eGeB5R3Q

The second artist that better represents experimental techniques is John Blockley, his uses bold earthy colours washing back the paint from the surface

Other artists that have in my view do not have a traditional approach or perhaps do not produce the sort of work I  immediately think of when considering watercolours.

Ann Blockley (John's daughter),  Flowers using the alternative techniques covered in the first section of this course
Shirley Trevena, bright colours still life with abstract (cubist?)  qualities
Jean Haines,  Balance of detailed and unresolved areas of the painting


In the following study I am trying to use add some of techniques and an thinking of leaving areas of the painting unresolved (left hand side of face)

Exercise: Other tools for watercolour

Small seascape produced with one colour using a sponge to lift out the shape of the clouds

Other methods of lifting off the watercolour explored,  scrunched up sheet of kitchen roll (left hand sided) and cotton bud on the right hand side

Clingfilm placed on a wash of wet coloured paints and left to try for a while, so the paint is dry before the clingfilm is removed. A surprising intricate pattern is left and the in some places the marks have a polished/ varnished quality as a result of the paint drying against the clingfilm.

Salt. sprinkle along the bottom of three colour washes, interestingly ( I believe the wash were of the same consistency) the bleeds/blooms are more pronounced on the red wash and less so on the paynes grey wash (left hand side).  One grain of salt accidentally fell at the top of the red wash giving a sort of misty sunrise/sunset effect.

Sketch using the salt technique (roses) and the wax resist technique,flesh on faces, before blue wash applied.

Sketch of lady built up of applying watercolour wet in wet, for me one of the most satisfying qualities of the medium.

Sketch of an old man's face drawing in the wrinkles with the end of the paint brush whilst the water colour is still wet

Exercise: Using various brushes

In this exercise I am am using non-watercolour specific brush in conjunction with the lift off technique

In this painting I have used a toothbrush to make the marks, and when finished whilst still wet, I have laid a sheet of kitchen roll on the left hand side an pressed lightly as if using blotting paper. I am left with slightly faded version of patterns on the right hand side.

In the final part of the exercise the sheet of paper was soaked in water before I made rectangle marks on it using a sponge the lift off here rather than just fading the mark has also locked it in place by lifting off not only the watercolour put also any excess water.  On the right hand side the water colour has continued  to bleed/spread into the surrounding paper so that the marks bare little resemblance to those that were initially placed on the paper.


Tooth brush

Paint brush

Sponge

Exercise: Unusual brush marks

In this exercise I am looking beyond my newly purchased water colour paint brushes to other brushes that could be used to good effect. Initial hunt round the house produced a paint brush, a tooth brush and a thistle

Quick sketch produced with these "brushes",using the stem of the thistle for some of the more linear marks

Exercises: Techniques

In this exercise I am using masking fluid to block the watercolour, this method other more control than the wax allowing you to block-out very small detail.

The masking fluid works very will and produces a more defined line between the masked and painted area where they meet. With the wax method you are saying I do not want to lay down any paint in this area with the masking fluid once removed you are free to paint on the once covered area with no adverse effect, even if it is just softening boundary of the painted and unpainted area.

One thing to watch put for is the watercolour pools on the masking fluid taking a lot longer to dry than the paint on the paper ... need to be careful when removing the masking fluid that you don't end-up with any undesired smudges.



Masking fluid on paper

Masking fluid on colour ground

Masking fluid line drawing

Exercise: Line with wax

In this exercise, similar to the first exercise using wax resist technique, I drew a simple picture of a tree directly on to the paper and and a  drawing of a tree on a coloured ground which is then painted in a second colour.

Wax drawing on paper

Wax drawing on coloured ground

Drawings done using the same method but substituting the wax for an oil pastel which also repels the watercolour

In the following pictures I have used was or pink oil pastel to define the lighter area of the heads

Exercise: Mixed-colour washes

In this exercise I have combined washes of blue, orange and blue + orange on the same sheet.
Initially using a large brush and then using a sponge (sort you would use for washing up). With the sponge the wash is more consistent and depending on the size of the sponge quicker to apply.


Brush

Sponge

Exercises: Reserved shapes from resists

Not sure my wife will be happy when she finds out I have sliced up one of here scent candles for my scratch and sniff art work.

Difficult to see where you have placed the wax marks, remind me of blind contour drawing. The wax successfully blocks the paper from picking up the watercolour, when the wax is placed on a painted ground you have to make sure the paint is completely dry otherwise the outcome is the same, the area covered by the wax does not pick-up the subsequently applied watercolour.

As far as I can tell there is little you could do to remove the wax once applied, so if you are using this technique in a painting you would need have a sure view of the final picture / end result you are after. Having said that watercolour doesn't allow for alterations in the way other painting mediums do.


Wax on paper

Wax on painted ground