light – Lee Muir-Haman Watercolor Painting

November 25, 2022November 25, 2022

Let It Snow!!!

Painting snow can be tricky. Most people think snow is white, but if you look closely, snow is full of color. Many factors can affect how snow appears, including time of day, temperature, atmosphere, the quality of light, and perspective. Is the day sunny and bright or overcast? Is the snow freshly fallen and fluffy or heavy, wet, and dirty? Do snow shadows appear blue, gray, or purple?

In a landscape painting, much of the color of snow is found either in shadows or as a reflection. You can look for the colors reflected by the sky and nearby areas to determine colors to use in your painting. Sunlit snow may benefit from a very pale warm-colored wash to suggest that sun is shining on the snow. In the shadows, a cool (bluer) color combination will suggest shade. Using both warm and cool tones will increase sparkle. In contrast, an overcast day tends to create grayer snow shadows. Edges may be hard on one side and soft or lost-and-found on another.

Check out the following hints for painting snow from several experienced artists:

John Pike has painted many amazing watercolors of snow scenes during his lifetime. He says that the “tendency in painting snow scenes is to make the shadows too blue.” Pike creates snow that glows subtly with color by pre-wetting the entire white snow area. While that area is still wet, he drops in small spots of the three primaries (red, yellow, and blue), then softly blends the whole together “to gain a subtle spectral quality” and ”to kill the deadness of pure white paper.” He creates soft upper edges of snow shadows by “applying clear water in just that area” and painting shadow color “upward to the water.”

Frank LaLumia believes that snow is “like a laboratory for studying light.” He says, “In my opinion, using only white paper to depict snow is inadequate. Light is color.” (www.lalumia.com)

Gordon MacKenzie has said that painting a winter scene offers many opportunities to play with color temperature and purity. The snow is “a mirror for the subtle atmospheres that surround it, from the pure warm and cool colors of a bright sunny day to the dulled subtlety of a snowstorm.” He describes two techniques to create the snow shadows that define the contours of the land they fall across. The first method is a quickly laid-down wash wet-on-damp for the first layer and then wet-on-dry for the final layer. MacKenzie suggests mixing a large enough batch of paint that you will have enough of the same color for both layers. The second method of painting snow shadows involves painting the entire snow area with a non-staining blue-gray (cobalt blue or ultramarine blue plus burnt sienna). Once the surface is dry, you can remove bright sun spots by scrubbing them off with lots of water and blotting away the paint. (www.gordonmackenziewatercolours.com)

Robert O’Brien uses both warm and cool colors when painting snow. He will wash in a very pale cadmium yellow light where sunlit highlights fall, but for other sunlit areas, he tones down the white of the paper with a very light wash of brilliant orange mixed with quinacridone rose. For a cooler, more-shaded area, O’Brien uses a light wash of French ultramarine. He notes that the color of snow shadows will vary based on sky conditions. On a clear, sunny day, O’Brien likes to use French ultramarine mixed with a small amount of cobalt for snow shadows, sometimes mixed with brilliant orange to tone down the color a bit. An overcast sky tends to bring about grayer snow and shadows. Mixing quinacridone violet and new gamboge with blue creates his desired gray. O’Brien’s snow shadows can have soft or hard edges, or both. To paint softer shadows, he may rewet an area of snow, let the water soak in, and paint a shadow when the paper is damp but not shiny. For harder snow shadows, he may wait longer or let the paper dry completely before he tackles a snow shadow. He also softens hard edges in appropriate place. (www.robertobrien.com)

Cecy Turner imagines “key words” that will describe her snow scenes and then tries to use painting techniques to illustrate those ideas. She likes to use glazing – layers of transparent colors (letting each layer dry before adding another layer) – to “create more interesting colors and nuances.” The blues that Turner prefers are French ultramarine, cobalt, Antwerp, and cerulean. She uses a No. 8 Cheap Joe’s Fritch scrubber to soften edges on snow shadows, particularly as the shadows progress farther away from the objects casting the shadows. (www.cecyturner.com)

Jack Reid uses transparent watercolors to make snow translucent and capture its subtle variations. He likes to mix a soft gray with cobalt and burnt sienna. If he wants a pure, luminous, warm gray, he adds more burnt sienna. He varies this color by adding more cobalt for a cooler gray. Reid’s palette is permanent alizarin crimson, aureolin yellow, cobalt blue, viridian green, raw sienna, burnt sienna, ultramarine blue, and the staining Antwerp blue and quinacridone yellow. He prefers to use Winsor-Newton paints except for Holbein viridian. For painting the illusion of falling snow and the suggestion of trees disappearing in drifting snow, Reid lifts color from the bases of trees with a tissue while the paint is still wet. He also uses a lot of graded washes on damp paper to create roundness on a mound of snow. Color lightens and softens (in the graded wash) as it progresses from deep snow shadow up into the light.

Debi Watson spatters masking fluid to create the effect of falling snow. She paints her light values wet on wet, explaining that “most great snow paintings have hints of color in their whites.” These initial washes are painted with soft, transparent red, yellow, and blue. Watson moves on to dark areas, then to medium values once the lights and darks have been established. She states that snow shadows can be kept soft by working on damp paper. (www.debiwatson.com)

Cathy Johnson paints snow full of color. If it’s tightly packed in a drift, she says it “may look almost blue; if it’s fluffy and freshly fallen, it can appear blue-gray or lavender. Old snow on city streets is gray with soot; while in the country, snowy roads may become streaked with brown. You can achieve either of these street effects by painting wet-into-wet with gray or brown, as appropriate, then adding spatter to suggest splashes. When the sun is shining on snow, you may see the glitter of light on a billion tiny reflective surfaces. To recreate this look, try combining all three primaries – red, yellow, and blue – in your underwash. Wet the paper first with clean water, then drop in pure colors such as cadmium yellow pale, [permanent] alizarin crimson and phthalo blue. Let the colors mix a bit on the paper – I stir them with the tip of my brush, or by tilting the paper. These colors shouldn’t be too saturated or they’ll look garish – the goal is to create a light-filled look. While the initial layer is still wet, add some shadow colors.” Johnson reserves warmer blues (for example, ultramarine, cobalt, and so on) to suggest the shadow shapes on snow. “Once the first washes have dried, glaze over them with your blue or lavender snow color” to shape and form the snow. “To further enhance the prismatic effect of snow, you can also spatter on a bit of each of the three primary colors . . . make sure that your primary spatters aren’t too juicy. This ensures that the paint spatters remain tiny,” whether into a wet wash or onto dry paper. (www.cathyjohnson.info)

In his article “A Wintry Mood” (Watercolor Artist, February 2018, p. 82), Geoff Kersey has pointed out that “Just because it’s a snow scene doesn’t mean it has to feel bleak and make the viewer shiver.” When painting snow, Kersey tries to include bright light and warm color. He has developed several palettes in various color schemes to alter the feel of an image and suggest different moods. His COLD PALETTE creates wintry grays and darks. He mixes a cool gray with phthalo blue and just a touch of burnt umber, a dark brown with ultramarine blue and burnt umber, and a dark green from phthalo blue and burnt umber. The LIMITED PALETTE includes cobalt blue, neutral tint, burnt sienna, and raw sienna to produce a simple, harmonious feeling. A WARM PALETTE employs the warm glow of raw sienna and cadmium red, grays mixed from cobalt blue and vermillion, and dark greens made with ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, and viridian. Kersey echoes the sky colors throughout his snowscapes to oppose the rich winter darks he finds in trees and hedgerows (and to ensure color harmony). He also uses the hard and soft shapes in a landscape to create contrast in his many snowy landscape watercolors. (www.geoffkersey.co.uk)

Don’t be afraid to use color in a winter snow scene, both warm colors and cool colors. The light and sky conditions will determine the colors with which you choose to paint. In snowy conditions skies often require deeper tones than usual in order to make the snow appear lighter by contrast. On clear, sunny days, snow shadows are bluer to echo the blue sky. Grayer snow and snow shadows reflect an overcast sky. As you evaluate your snow scene, look for opportunities to add color and exaggerate color if doing so will improve your painting. Use snow shadows on the ground to describe the shape of the land under the snow. Rough ground may need shadow shapes that are bumpy and uneven. Rocks, twigs, and tufts of grass may stick up through the snow. Reflected light can be everywhere, sometimes creating glitter and sparkles. Often snow shadows repeat the sky color, just as a reflection in a body of water can reflect sky colors and the surrounding landscape.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Campbell Smith, Ray. Developing Style in Watercolour (1992).

Kersey, Geoff. “A Wintry Mood.” Watercolor Artist (February 2018).

Kersey, Geoff. Geoff’s Top Tips for Watercolour Artists (2010).

Kersey, Geoff. Painting Successful Watercolours from Photographs (2015).

Hendershot, Ray. Texture Techniques for Winnign Watercolors (1999).

MacKenzie, Gordon. The Watercolorist’s Essential Notebook: Keep Painting! (2017).

MacKenzie, Gordon. The Watercolorist’s Essential Notebook: Landscapes (2006).

Metzger, Phil. Watercolor Basics: Perspective Secrets (1999).

O’Brien, Robert J. “Winter Whiteout.” Watercolor Artist (February 2015).

Pike, John. John Pike Paints Watercolors (1978).

Pike, John. John Pike Watercolor (1973).

Ranson, Ron. Watercolor Painting from Photographs (1998).

Reid, Jack. Watercolor Basics: Let’s Get Started (1998).

Reid, Jack. Watercolor Basics: Painting Snow and Water (2000).

Reid, Jack. “The Snow Scene.” Watercolor Magic (Winter 2002).

Ryder, Brian. Painting Watercolor Landscapes with Confidence (2005).

Strickley, Sarah A. “A Revolution of Snow.” Watercolor Artist (February 2010) .

Szabo, Zoltan. Zoltan Szabo, Artist at Work (1979).

Szabo, Zoltan. Zoltan Szabo’s 70 Favorite Watercolor Techniques (1995).

Watson, Debi. “It’s Snow Time.” Watercolor Artist (December 2010).

Join me and get painting tips, inspiration, the latest art news, or information about new art or products for sale, sent to you by email. Subscribe here. I’ll give you a free copy of my Color Blending Tips pdf. that you can download and print.

September 22, 2022

LUMINOSITY AND CREATING GLOWING COLOR.

TRANSPARENCY OCCURS BETWEEN PAINT PARTICLES.

Many people say that the way to create a “glow” in watercolor is to paint pale glazes of “luminous,” transparent hues so that the white of the paper underneath passes through the paint particles “like light through a stained glass window.” Apparently, however, light passing THROUGH a layer of watercolors is not the way luminosity actually works! That description is just a myth!

According to several color scientists, chemists, and Bruce MacEvoy (handprint.com), little light actually passes THROUGH the particles. Instead, transparency happens when light reflects off the paper BETWEEN the particles of watercolor paint.

We know that watercolors don’t form a solid paint layer the way acrylic and oil paints do, as discussed in this post: ‘Some Watercolor Pigments Lighten More Than Others When They Dry…,’ (9/7/2022), https://leemuirhaman.com/2022/09/07/some-watercolor-pigments-lighten-more-than-others-when-they-dry/ . Oil and acrylic paints stay on top of the painting surface and dry in a solid paint layer.

In contrast, watercolors (made up of various sizes of suspended paint particles ) end up “on top of, between, and underneath paper fibers” (Bruce MacEvoy of handprint.com). More of the white paper is therefore revealed as the water evaporates. The most transparent of watercolor paints produce a thinner coating of smaller pigment particles on the paper. These pigments in a smaller particle size seem to hide less of the paper (or other pigment particles) underneath, making the color appear more transparent. Thus, transparency happens BETWEEN these pigment particles and NOT THROUGH them ( see http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/tech16.html) .

ACHIEVING THE GLOW OF LIGHT.

Although transparency and glow may not work the way we once thought, achieving a glow remains a goal for many artists. We want to paint the light! We wish to highlight brightness, glow, radiance, luminosity. But to create a luminous glow, don’t rely on using lots of ‘bright’ colors that may not work together. Bright colors can be intense but also may be dull and opaque, and they may not set each other off to advantage. For example, yellow is a bright color, but if applied too thickly, even a transparent yellow becomes LESS luminous and will no longer be a light value.

‘Golden River Sunset’ Watercolor Painting.

Instead, although transparency is essential, luminosity comes from choosing colors by their effect on each other; that is, you should choose colors that create a reaction with nearby colors. Remember that paint colors change their apparent brightness, transparency, and hue depending on the context in which they appear.

To bring about a glow, you will want to create CONTRAST in both VALUE and TEMPERATURE by surrounding a transparent light color with a COMPLEMENTARY dark ( a dark leaning toward the complement of the light color, NOT an unexciting, flat tube black such as Ivory Black, or purchased mixes such as Payne’s Gray or Neutral Tint). Colorful darks can therefore enhance the effect of light in a painting. The function of a dark color is NOT JUST to create value contrast, but to help the light-valued color (whether warm or cool, muted or intense) to glow. (For more information on complementary colors, review ‘The Color Wheel, Color Bias, And Color Mixing In Watercolor’, (7/2/2019), https://leemuirhaman.com/2019/07/02/the-color-wheel-color-bias-and-color-mixing-in-watercolor/ .)

HOW? VALUE CONTRASTS AND COLOR COMPLEMENTS.

What painting methods actually work to create glowing color? First, choose a pure, transparent color, well diluted to a light value. Second, mix your dark surrounding values to be complementary dark colors. If your light value is a pale yellow, you might try to use a version of deep purple or dark purple-gray.

‘River Flowing Forward’ Watercolor Painting.

ADD COLOR AND TEMPERATURE COMPLEMENTS.

To further exaggerate the glow that is forming, you can adjust your dark by taking into account color temperature. That is, establish a warm-cool relationship between your light and dark by remixing your complementary dark, altering proportions of pigments to move the color to be cooler or warmer. If your light valued yellow is WARM, the best complementary dark to set it off would be a COOL bluish-purple dark. Or for a COOL light valued yellow, contrast it with a WARM, reddish-purple dark. Always judge a color in relation to the colors next to it. A blue, for instance, will feel even cooler next to a warm color.

‘Rocky Maine Shoreline Sunset’ Watercolor Painting.

TRY MID-VALUE CONTRASTS ALONG WITH COLOR AND TEMPERATURE COMPLEMENTS.

At times, a strong dark can overpower your composition. In such a situation, a mid-valued color contrast can also enhance and complement the glow of light values in the painting. Mix the complement of your light color, shifting it into a warm or cool variation, as needed, to create a temperature contrast. But instead of a rich dark, strive for a mid-value mix. If you mute this mid-value mix somewhat by adding a bit of its complement, you will gray the mixture, thus setting off the light-valued color. A cool purple (which you gray slightly with a touch of warm yellow) will cause your warm yellow light to glow even brighter. In the same way, you can gray a warm red-purple with a bit of its cool yellow complement to make a cool yellow light look still brighter.

OR CREATE AN ILLUSION WITH UNTOUCHED PAPER.

Perhaps you want to leave the untouched white paper as your light value. It’s possible to make this white begin to glow depending on what you choose for a nearby accent. Whatever mid-tone you pick creates a subtle, optical or color illusion as it nudges the white paper into appearing as a complement. There is actually no need to alter the white paper, even though that might be your first tendency. Cool nearby colors will make the unpainted paper seem warm. For example, cool blues create a subtle orange glow, while cool purples move the nearby whites toward a yellowish glow. In this way, you can establish a glowing contrast, instead of merely a simple dark-light contrast.

(Much of the above information on how to create glow through complementary darks and dulled mid-valued colors is presented in Jeanne Dobie’s Making Color Sing: Practical Lessons on Color And Design.)

‘Clouds Over Dales’ Watercolor Painting.

IN SUMMARY.

The mechanism producing “glow” may be different from what people say, but you as a painter don’t need to DO anything differently as a consequence of your new understanding of how that mechanism works. You can create the illusion of glow in a watercolor painting in several ways.

Remember that paint colors change apparent brightness, transparency, or hue depending on the colors that are nearby. Therefore, you can establish luminosity by building color relationships (through value and temperature) between lights and darks (or mid-values).

Try to use transparent, single-pigment paints to maintain the impression of light. Opaque paints are thicker and duller, and can become lifeless in mixtures, causing you to lose ‘the light.” Also avoid using lots of bright colors hoping that ‘brightness’ (without contrast) will create luminosity.

Learn to use complementary colors to create color and temperature interactions that produce glow. Your goal when mixing luminous color is to combine unequal proportions of the two paints in a mix, so that the final color is either warm or cool and can be used to complement another in value, as well as color and temperature.

May 26, 2022

Wow! Value, Hue, And Intensity!

Every color has three different components. These qualities are value (lightness or darkness), hue (the color name), and intensity (saturation or brightness). Each brushstroke in a watercolor painting is affected by all three aspects of color, although usually the properties are discussed and adjusted separately. By manipulating value, hue, and intensity in a painting, you will be able to create the illusion of space and three dimensions as well as create art filled with feeling.

COLOR VALUE.

I have heard it said that VALUE (a color’s lightness and darkness) is the most important of these three elements of color to get right in a painting. Value helps to create form and to show the direction of light. In order to better see value in a scene, squint your eyes. Squinting allows less light to reach your eyes and will reduce both the color (hue) and detail you see, making it much easier to isolate light and dark values. Even when squinting, you will probably see many values ranging from black through a range of dark to light grays to white. Trying to capture every one of these variations in paint, from dark to light, would be too overwhelming. It is best to simplify; narrow down the number of values you plan to capture, and limit yourself to 3-5 values for ease of painting. For example, limit your choice of values to darkest dark, lightest light, and one or two mid-tones.

One method of achieving the desired value of your color, is to mix the right amount of water with the right amount of paint. If you add more water to a watercolor mixture, you get a lighter value. If you instead add more pigment, you create a thicker, darker mix. The thickness of your color mix relates to its value.

Further, you can create the desired value of a color by first choosing the right pigment for the value you want. Catherine Gill, in Powerful Watercolor Landscapes, pp. 120-121, suggests, “If you want a light value, choose a transparent pigment. For a middle value, choose an opaque. For a dark value, choose a stain.” You still must adjust the amount of water you use. For a light color using a transparent pigment, use more water. For achieving middle value color, make a thicker mixture with an opaque color. An even thicker mixture made with a staining color will produce a dark value.

Values – Beach Shadows Watercolor Painting.

HUE.

HUE is the name used for a color. Red, yellow, and blue are hues. An almost infinite number of hue variations are possible, from yellow-green to turquoise to blue-violet. When we talk about hue, we are NOT referring to light or dark, bright or grayed, or strong or weak. To better understand how hues (colors) relate to each other, learn about the COLOR WHEEL. Each hue has its own specific placement on the color wheel, depending on its similarities and differences to other hues.

B. MacEvoy Color Wheel. (Download your own copy https://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/cwheel06.pdf)

Hues located close to each other on the color wheel have more similarities; they contain more of the same primary color than hues located farther from each other. Nearby hues are harmonious and analogous. In contrast, those hues located farther away from each other on the color wheel are less closely related. Two hues opposite each other on the color wheel have little in common; they are complements. If mixed together, complements create a neutral, grayed hue, whether gray or brown. When complements are painted side by side in your painting, they contrast strongly and can emphasize each other.

HUE AND TEMPERATURE.

COLOR TEMPERATURE, whether a color is warm or cool, is a characteristic of hue. Every color leans either toward warm or cool. On the color wheel, cool colors are grouped together (blue, green, violet). Warmer hues (red, orange, yellow) are located together on the opposite side of the color wheel. While yellow is generally a warm hue, some yellows are cooler than others. For instance, a Cadmium Lemon pigment is cooler (closer to blue on the color wheel) than warmer (more orange) Cadmium Yellow. Cadmium Red is warmer than Permanent Alizarin. And Sap Green is warmer than Hooker’s Green, which is warmer still than Viridian. Thus, even within a hue, you will find a variety of temperature differences. You can warm a hue by adding yellow and cool one by adding blue.

A color can also appear warmer or cooler depending on the hues painted nearby. In other words, a color’s appearance is relative. You will want to judge a hue’s temperature in relation to colors next to it. Ultramarine Blue next to Cadmium Lemon will look cooler than the same Ultramarine Blue next to Cadmium Red.

Color temperature changes in a painting affect a picture in several ways. 1.) Color temperature can show the effect of light and shade. Warmer hues ( combined with a lighter value) can indicate the sunnier or brighter side of an object, while cooler hues suggest shadow and less light. Items closer to the sun are generally yellower and warmer than those farther from the sun or light source. Where the surface of a feature changes direction, you can alter color temperature and show its contours. For example, the east side of a barn may be in direct sunlight, but the north side may be in shadow; a contrast in color temperature can capture the three-dimensional quality of the image.

Changing color temperature to illustrate contour. – Barn Watercolor Painting.

The quality of light can also change color temperature. A sunset may transform everything to a rosy hue, whereas a road during a rainstorm may become grayish purple. Observe the light source BEFORE choosing your hues for a painting. You may notice a warm light source (a bright sunset or artificial lighting, which is often warmer than outdoor lighting) where you will need to paint cool shadows. Or the light source may be cool (from a north-facing window, outdoors under the blue sky, or even on an overcast gray day), suggesting the need for warmer shadows. So remember, shadows are NOT always cool.

2.) Color temperature can help you create depth in a painting by taking advantage of the fact that warmer hues tend to advance (pull forward) while cooler colors recede (push back) into the distance. With cool bluish, distant hills appearing farther back than warm foreground fields, you can create space in a painting. (As the distant hills recede, they will also tend to get paler, less intense, and will display less contrast and softer edges.)

3.) Colors (hues) can have a psychological effect on mood. Color contrast can add energy to your painting. Warm colors like red, yellow, and orange tend to arouse emotions such as love, passion, happiness, hunger, and anger. In contrast, cool colors, such as blue, green, and purple are thought to bring calmness, sadness, or indifference. Red sports uniforms have been linked to higher win rates. Blue has been linked to sadness, gray to feeling down, green with jealousy. You can use color temperature to engage your viewers, to get them excited or relaxed.

Color Temperature Changes. – Red Geranium Watercolor Painting.

Color Temperature Changes. – Cold Winter Barn, Winter Light Watercolor Painting.

Color Temperature Changes. – T’s Fall Road Watercolor Painting.

INTENSITY.

Color intensity is a color’s saturation, purity, or brightness. An intense color is pure, whereas a less intense color is grayed. Intense colors, like Phthalo Blue, Cadmium Red, or Ultramarine Blue, are found on the perimeter of the color wheel. Less saturated colors, such as Indigo, Sepia, or Venetian Red, will fall toward the interior of the color wheel. To lessen the intensity of a bright color, add some of its complement or a close complement (the colors opposite on the color wheel). For instance, to lessen the intensity of Hooker’s Green, you could add a slight amount of Cadmium Scarlet, Cadmium Red, or Permanent Alizarin. Some readily available (but less intense pigments) include Sap Green, Payne’s Gray, Indigo, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber.

Understanding color bias helps you mix high-intensity or low-intensity colors. A warm red pigment contains some yellow – it ‘leans’ toward and is biased toward yellow, whereas a cooler red would have more blue and would lean toward blue, or have a blue bias. A hint to help you create a bright, intense mixed color is to use two colors biased TOWARD each other on the color wheel (e.g., a yellow situated closer to the blues mixed with a blue situated closer to the yellows), thus avoiding the addition of any of the third primary color, red, which would gray the mixture.

The grayer, softer colors provide restful areas within your painting. Less intense, grayed colors can also be used to draw attention to and support a bright color (providing color contrast), allowing the bright to take center stage. Contrast in color intensity near your center of interest can help to emphasize it. On the other hand, too many bright intense colors will compete with each other and can easily overwhelm a picture. A range of intensities in a painting creates more interest and a better painting.

Grays Can Intensify Bright Color. – Viennese Streetcar Watercolor Painting.

SUMMARY.

Use what you have learned here about value, hue, and intensity of color to improve your paintings and to paint strong three-dimensional pictures. Begin by considering value to begin to capture light and shadow. Then, work to create a range of warm and cool hues to establish mood and depth. Build more distance and interest while supporting your center of interest with grayed, less intense color.

Related blog posts you might find helpful include:

“The Color Wheel, Color Bias, and Color Mixing In Watercolor.”, (7/2/2019), https://leemuirhaman.com/2019/07/02/the-color-wheel-color-bias-and-color-mixing-in-watercolor/ and
“Adjust Your Color Thermostat!”, (12/11/2018), https://leemuirhaman.com/2018/12/11/adjust-your-color-thermostat/.

Join me and get painting tips, inspiration, and the latest news about classes, new art or products for sale, sent to you by email. Subscribe here. I’ll give you a free copy of my Color Blending Tips pdf. that you can download and print.

APPENDIX A: TEN COLOR COMPONENT TIPS

1.) Squint your eyes to better distinguish value (light and dark).

2.) Simplify your composition, and reduce the number of your values to 3-5

for ease of painting.

3.) To mix a lighter value, add water to a mixture. To create darker values,

use less water and more pigment, making a thicker mixture. Mixing

color with a transparent paint is the easiest way to create a light value.

Opaque paints are ideal for mixing mid-tones, while staining paints

work well to mix dark values.

4.) Each hue has its own specific placement on the color wheel, depending

on its similarities and differences to other hues. Understand how the

color wheel makes it easier to mix colors, to use warm and cool colors

effectively, to arrange your palette, and to find a color’s complement.

5.) Every color leans either toward warm or cool. You can warm a hue by

adding yellow and cool one by adding blue.

6.) The appearance of colors can vary depending on which colors are

nearby. You will want to judge a hue’s qualities in relation to the colors

next to it. Understand also that the quality of light can change

color temperature, suggesting a possible call for reconsidering the

temperature of your chosen pigments for a picture. Warm light

suggests the need for cool shadows, while cool light creates warm

shadows.

7.) Use value and color temperature to suggest light and shade and to

create depth in a painting.

8.) Understanding color bias helps you mix high-intensity or low-intensity

colors. You must take bias into account if you hope to create either a

bright or less intense color and hope to avoid a muddy color. A warm

red contains some yellow – it ‘leans’ toward and is

biased toward yellow, whereas a cooler red would have more blue

and would ‘lean’ toward blue, or have a blue bias.

9.) To insure a bright color mix, use two colors biased TOWARD each

other on the color wheel (e.g., a yellow situated closer to the blues

mixed with a blue situated closer to the yellows), thus avoiding the addition of any

of the third primary color, red, which would gray the mixture.

10.) Grays and less intense colors support and set off bright colors.

Include them in your work to provide more interest and an improved

painting. To dull or gray a color, add some of its complement. Gray

can also be mixed by combining all three primary colors (red, yellow,

and blue).

April 24, 2022April 24, 2022

After Watercolor Basics… What Next?

STAGE I. THE BASICS.

Anyone with desire and focus, can learn to paint with watercolors. The process, however, can take a very long time, even years, and true artists never stop learning (nor do they want to). But let’s assume that you have learned what materials you need and the fundamental techniques you need to use those materials. What comes next? When I began to paint in 2008, I didn’t know. I don’t think I even knew that I was considering such a question. What was important to me at the time was improving! I wanted to get more proficient. In this post, I intend to share some of the steps I’ve taken in my process of learning watercolor, a few questions I’ve asked myself, and several concerns I’ve had along the way.

STAGE II. COPYING & CLOSE OBSERVATION.

Beyond the elementary techniques, I found that what I wanted was to portray my reference images as accurately as possible. I quickly learned that close observation was required. But as an artist, I found ‘seeing’ isn’t simple.

Most of the time, we look at things with only part of our attention. We see only what we expect to see, often assigning a label to every image. For instance, if what we are looking at is a ‘tree,’ we may not explore carefully what is really there. This habit of not paying close attention keeps us from actually LOOKING at things. In the everyday world, we quickly categorize and move on, perhaps in part because there seems to be so much information.

When I started painting, I would choose an image to paint, and the first thing I’d notice was a lot of detail. I was distracted by details, as perhaps you are, too. What do you do with all that detail? How do you know which details are important? Those questions overwhelmed me. I had been told to ‘look carefully’ at a reference, but the more I looked, the more confusing detail I saw. Over time, however, I began to believe that the trick had to be focusing on something else, not trying to capture every tiny detail. Focusing on small details, like individual leaves, or trying to include every tree trunk or grass blade in a painting, didn’t work well.

Thus, to paint more successfully, I forced myself to slow down. I tried NOT to look at small details first, but instead to examine and study the shapes, values, and colors that made up the larger framework of each scene. ‘Seeing’ does mean focusing attention, looking closely, but especially at the arrangement of shapes. For example, where is the light hitting the tree branches? Can you see through the branches? What is the overall shape of the tree? Are branches straight, upturned, crooked, rough? Is the tree lopsided or symmetrical? Are the highlights a different color from the shadows? What is the weather, and how does it affect the appearance of the ‘tree’? By asking such questions and looking carefully, I began to more accurately paint what I SAW, NOT what I THOUGHT I saw.

As I became more familiar with and practiced at painting, I began to see more subtle color, more nuanced detail, more understated tones. It seems that ‘seeing’ cannot be forced and may only develop gradually over time, with experience, and when one is ready. With practice, however, we can expect to notice more and sooner, perhaps even noting details that others miss or take for granted.

DRAWING HELPS YOU OBSERVE CAREFULLY.

Drawing trains the mind, hand, and eye to work together. Many beginning artists may avoid drawing altogether if they can, feeling that their drawing skills are not good. However, you should not feel obliged to render precise drawings of what you wish to paint. Do not let your concerns about drawing ability or drawing technique deter you. I found that even sketching a quick, rough thumbnail required me to consider what was important in a scene. One of the main purposes of drawing is to TRAIN yourself to see shapes and spaces more accurately – to ‘see’ like an artist and keep the big picture in mind. By keeping details to a minimum, just getting some information down without stressing, you can help yourself to see.

More specifically, you should look for basic SHAPES and notice how they are connected. Find larger shapes first; then fit smaller shapes into them. See the image as a whole; and only then concentrate on individual components. Distracting details are only decoration on the surface of these shapes. Squinting your eyes often helps you to see beyond any unnecessary detail. Concentrate; work slowly and intently. Give yourself the time to observe and take in information before rushing to produce an image. Ultimately, the goal is to be able to perceive what you see as totally abstract forms, values, lines, and color, as in a jigsaw puzzle. You must shift your perspective. Remember that shadows are shapes, as are reflections. Backgrounds have shape and should act as frames for the subject of a painting. Only when you can ‘see’ in this way will you begin to be able to suggest three-dimensional reality on your flat, two-dimensional paper.

Frederick Franck, artist and philosopher, says in The Zen of Seeing/Drawing: “I have learned that what I have not drawn I have never really seen, and that when I start drawing an ordinary thing I realize how extraordinary it is, sheer miracle . . . .” So do not hesitate to sketch and draw what you intend to paint. As you draw, you will notice which details are important and sharpen the mind/hand/eye coordination necessary to improve your painting skills. Drawing is a skill that requires practice and time, just like any other ability (including learning the techniques of painting). The skills and mental processes necessary for drawing are the same as those you use when painting with a brush.

STAGE III. BEGIN TO DESIGN, PLAN, & SIMPLIFY.

When I began to feel more confident reproducing an image before me, I sometimes found myself wishing I could improve a composition; the reference pictures I found weren’t quite satisfying. Occasionally I wanted to combine two photos instead of having to copy one. In other instances, I wondered if some of the components in a picture might be better relocated to another section of the picture, even left out. A tree or a building might have been blocking what I thought was the most interesting section of the picture.

At this point, I also began to take some of my own reference photos, to create a view I desired. I essentially inched my way toward DESIGNING my paintings, seeing what was in front of me but arranging and modifying the information to actually improve the picture, making it something I liked better and felt was more effective.

Eventually it dawned on me that this desire to improve a reference might be the start to a new stage in painting for me. To improve a painting, I could forget about ‘reproducing’ nature. I could start to REARRANGE it! I could take what I liked and ignore what I didn’t want to include. Definite rules about design and composition existed and could greatly improve a painting. I wanted to learn them.

Mastering Composition by Ian Roberts is a comprehensive guide and excellent resource that can help you learn more about composition.

These blog posts might also be of interest if you want to know more: “Composition!?!”, (5/7/2020), https://leemuirhaman.com/2020/05/07/, and “Designing A Strong Painting With Good Composition!”, (10/16/2018), https://leemuirhaman.com/2018/10/16/designing-a-strong-painting/.

I found that this designing and PLANNING need to be done BEFORE any paint is put on the paper. Again, you will need to study your subject for a while. Think about what it is that attracted you – that should be the primary statement or BIG IDEA in your painting. Consider what you will emphasize in the picture. Eliminate anything that might compete with or distract from the ONE focal point and main idea. You shouldn’t try to include every daunting detail in a scene. Instead, it pays to NARROW your vision (even to crop an image) and SIMPLIFY your subject.

Ask yourself what your focal point is. What will your painting be about? Is there a lead-in to invite the viewer into the picture? Think about what you want to say before you start. WHAT do you hope to achieve, and HOW are you going to achieve it? Establish some clear objectives.

While drawing or sketching develops necessary observational skills as mentioned previously, drawing also helps you to plan and condense information into a simplified format. This clarification will strengthen the message of your final painting. With a drawing you are more likely to end up with your focal point being prominent, because you concentrate mainly on that particular feature. Your drawing will be streamlined, easier on the eye of the viewer, because you collect only the information that counts and leave out extraneous material. Thus, drawing trains the brain to think about and analyze what is essential to the picture.

IV. EXPRESS FEELINGS & EMOTIONS.

A later stage in improving my painting skills grew out of the wish to have my feelings and emotions come across in each painting. When establishing the IDEA for a painting now, I try to think about how I feel. We all interpret a scene in our own way – WHAT you want to emphasize and WHY will probably differ from what interests me or another person. That is to be expected – we all have different experiences, reactions, thoughts, and feelings that affect our impression of our world. These factors will affect our chosen focal point, our ‘big idea’ for a painting, even the style in which we paint it. (Our own particular concerns and perception directly determine the painting style we choose.)

In other words, I try to consider MOOD when planning my painting approach to a picture, and then work to express it. It seems easier for me to achieve some success at this in some paintings than in others. I contemplate how the scene makes me feel. Happy, sad, excited, nostalgic? I strive to determine what it is I want to show and what the meaning of each topic is to me. Why did I choose to paint this picture? Why was I drawn to this image? Does the scene remind me of a favorite place? Does the picture make me feel calm? Do I feel like laughing when I look at or think about this subject?

I believe great artists are able to paint their feelings about a scene, as well as an impression of its actual appearance. (Think about Leonardo’s Mona Lisa, for instance, or Vermeer’s Girl With A Pearl Earring.) They make sure they don’t copy the details so faithfully and precisely that there is no room left for life, mystery, or emotion in a painting. Instead, such artists paint their interpretation and memories, share what they feel are the significant factors behind what may be a commonplace scene, attempt to translate emotions aroused in their hearts. They often reveal their skill at rearrangement and invention in the scene.

Emotion can be conveyed in a painting in a number of ways. The mood of a painting can be created or altered by hard, soft, or lost edges; light and dark values (contrast, high key, or low key); line and arrangement of masses (lyrical, angular, curved, open, closed-in, a preponderance of verticals or horizontals); light (overcast, ominous or threatening, nighttime, bright and sunny, glaring, or late afternoon); and color choice and color proportion (warm, neutral, cold, cheery, drab, soothing, jarring, or balanced). For more in depth information on emotion and mood in painting, see “Get In The Mood!”, (9/4/2018), https://leemuirhaman.com/2018/09/04/get-in-the-mood/ .

Choosing and combining so many variables appropriately and successfully to express your emotion takes experimentation and practice, yet is the ultimate goal in art.

Take note of and respond to your own emotions – these feelings are what you will try to get down on paper and share with viewers of your art. Think with your heart. People will connect to YOUR art with THEIR emotions!

V. BECOME YOUR OWN TEACHER.

After painting for ten years, I lost my beloved mentor and watercolor teacher, who died in 2018. Before he died, he asked me to take over the teaching of his watercolor classes. While I didn’t feel at all ready for that, I really didn’t want to let him down. For that reason, I started teaching others what he had taught me. However, I couldn’t help feeling that there was still more for me to learn. If I had questions, though, who could I ask? My solution was to study art books, seek information online, and continue taking occasional workshops in person and courses online.

I also began writing blog posts (in 2018) to share with others the information I was learning about watercolor. I studied and wrote about things I was struggling with, or topics I found especially interesting. In order to write about a subject, I had to consolidate, understand, and make sense of it for myself. Writing has helped me know my own thoughts.

I think we can all work towards becoming our own best teacher. Always keep learning on your own and for yourself. I’m not suggesting you avoid taking classes or working with watercolor instructors you enjoy and are learning from. Instead, I’m asking you to treat yourself as a good teacher would, by being supportive of yourself, allowing yourself to investigate and learn more about the art topics that you might be struggling with, and searching out information about your art interests. (One of my recent investigative searches has been about how to paint light, create the glow of light in watercolor.) I hope that you take an active part in your own art education.

If interested, the following blog post will explain more about creating the best possible attitude toward your painting: “How Can I Become My Own Best Teacher”, (7/21/2021), https://leemuirhaman.com/2021/07/21/how-can-i-become-my-own-watercolor-teacher/.

WHAT’S NEXT?

For me, I want to continue to write and to paint with watercolor. I hope to freshen up my website, perhaps even adding an option to purchase directly from the site. I would like to improve my skills at designing my own pictures more creatively, and to spend more time painting my own compositions. I will also, of course, persist in studying, learning, and researching what intrigues me about watercolor.

What’s next for you?

What do you think about this quote by Martha Beck who has said, “An artist’s real contribution isn’t what he paints, but the way he sees.”? Let me know in a comment below.

December 17, 2021

A Few Of My 2021 Painting Successes And Struggles.

Even after painting for many years, every artist has good days and bad days. Don’t ever think that every painting proceeds smoothly. In this post, I will share a few of the successes and some struggles that I experienced in my painting this past year while teaching my weekly watercolor zoom class.

In my zoom classes, I choose the image that students and teacher (that’s me) paint together. Each picture is chosen to teach several specific art lessons. Students learn to evaluate various reference photos, create a plan of attack for each painting, and proceed step-by-step toward completion of a painting. We share our work throughout, giving each other feedback and support.

Watercolor ‘Flowing Forward’. (Photo: Tristan T. Haman)

My painting of ‘Flowing Forward’ is one of the year’s more successful pictures. It combines sun and shade, flowing water and ice, some reflection on the open water, warm and cool colors, verticals and horizontals, hard edges and soft to create an effective image. A complicated scene was simplified to avoid too much detail.

Watercolor ‘Where Are We?’. (Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary, Topsfield, MA.)

‘Where Are We?’ caused some problems. It was a struggle to keep the center of interest (the stone bridge) a lighter value than its surroundings so it would stand out. Further, the ripples and highlights on the water disappointed me. Warm and cool colors were, however, used to good effect. And I was pleased with the distant trees.

Watercolor ‘Beach Shadows’. (Photo: Dan Scott)

‘Beach Shadows’ was a difficult picture which eventually turned out well. The contrast in values (lights and darks) was striking. The picture is a good study of how colors (both warm and cool) change when in shadow. Both soft and hard edges were painted after close observation.

Watercolor ‘Bottles And Oil Lamps’. (Photo: pixabay.com)

‘Bottles And Oil Lamps’ was a challenge. Careful observation of the reflections and refractions in the backlit glass was important. While there is a good range of values in the painting and a bit of ‘glow,’ the picture doesn’t seem very dynamic or suggestive of feeling.

Watercolor ‘Red Geranium’. (Photo: Unknown artist)

‘Red Geranium,’ on the other hand, feels soothing and inviting to me. I can sense the luminous glow of the winter sunlight as it shines through the homey lace curtains and onto the window sill. Warm and cool colors, hard and soft edges, and contrasts of values succeed in highlighting the center of interest.

Watercolor ‘Water Under The Bridge’. (Photo: Courtesy of Karen Morris)

‘Water Under The Bridge’ also employs warm and cool colors, hard and soft edges, and contrasts of values; however, a few problems distract from the painting. Sunlit ‘glow’ on the side of the bridge has been lost, perhaps because of the choice of paint color. And the yellow-green water reflection is strong and distracting. The foreground rock also needs work.

Watercolor ‘Autumn Dirt Road’. (Photo: Tristan T. Haman).

‘Autumn Dirt Road’ is a painting of opposites and contrasts, bright sunlight and shadows, and warm and cool rich color. Autumn foliage is hard to capture in a painting. Details in the foliage and on the road are simplified here and merely suggested. The viewer is drawn down the dirt road toward the orange tree and into the afternoon sunlight. I really want to walk down that road!

I hope you enjoyed hearing about some of my 2021 painting experiences. While painting can sometimes be frustrating and complex, it is extremely rewarding when it goes well. I feel very strongly that artists only fail when they give up. So, keep painting and enjoy yourself.

Is there a part of the painting process you struggle with? Do you tend to get stuck in the middle, like me? Do you have trouble critiquing your own work? Do you have difficulty knowing what to simplify? Are you not sure where to start a painting? Do you want to paint details everywhere in your paintings? Let me know in the comments.

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