Sketching Flowers Outdoors

I bring a sketch pad with me whenever I travel on the weekend or even around town. I have a small sketch pad 5" x 7" that I use a flair type pen and then I add a watercolor wash to the pen drawing. Besides being fun it is great practice and will improve your drawing and observation skills.

The sketch on the left was done on acid free foam board. I like foam board because it is light weight but stiff enough for painting on without any support underneath. I first made a sketch in pencil and then painted in watercolor. I added a bumble bee because there were several flying around the flowers.

Sketching is also good for previewing compositions for a more detailed painting done later, either on location or in your studio.

Creating textures in watercolor

My class wanted to work on textures so this weeks lesson was how to create various textures in watercolor. The brick wall above is easily achieved by varying the color of each brick and using a light grey wash for the mortar between the bricks. An important step is putting a shadow under each brick. I used a shadow on the left and bottom of each brick for the light coming from the upper right of the picture. I used cobalt blue for the shadow color. Brick comes in different colors, just look around and notice all the different shades there are of brick. Add detail with dry brush and smaller detail with a small round brush. One of the members of the class stated " this is fun!" while painting her wall. I have always enjoyed painting brick too.

The next texture was a metal watering can. The texture was created with salt. While the paint is still wet add some table salt to the area that you want texture and wait for the paint to dry. Do not use a blow dryer, let it air dry, you don't want to blow all the salt away! Once the paint is dry, brush all the salt off and continue painting the bucket. You can glaze over the texture area with more paint and add shadows and detail.

Clay pots was the next texture that I demonstrated using salt. It is not necessary to use salt everywhere just put on select areas of the pots. After the paint is dry continue modeling the clay pots with different colors and values for variety.

I used a Arches watercolor paper that was 140 lb. in a rough texture. I like to use that type of paper when I want texture. Try different paper and you will get interesting results. Consider new ways of painting and your work will improve and you will grow as an artist.

Till next week,
P.J. Cook

Adding Figures To Your Paintings

Adding figures to your paintings is a great way to add interest. The viewer will spend more time looking at a painting when there are people. These figures on the left are done quickly and without much detail. Even without the detail a viewer knows what they are. You will see improvement in your figures if you practice them often. They can be done from life or photos or even from your imagination. The samples done here are people walking. It gives action to your paintings to add figures.

Some of the facts for painting people are: there are about seven heads in the total height of the figure, the top of the legs or waist is half the height of the figure, arms hang to about halfway down the thigh. Observing people is the best way to learn the right proportions.

I always look for the light falling on a figure and I use that to create form. Use shadows and lights next to darks, similiar to the paintings above. Try not to paint stick figures, notice how people stand and walk and the angle created with shoulders and hips.

Another important fact for figures is to scale them to your surroundings. People closer to you are bigger than people in the distance. Be sure that your people are the correct proportion to buildings, doors, cars etc.

Use the biggest brush possible and paint shapes to create your figures and add as little detail as possible. A story can be told when you add figures to your paintings. Practice and have fun with it. Try not to be perfect and your figures will be better.

Painting flowers from your own photographs

This weeks watercolor class was a continuation of a painting we started from the previous class. We worked on composition and painting techniques when painting flowers from photographs. The painting shown here is my class demonstration. We were working from a photograph I took of flowers at a garden center. I sometimes bring a camera when I am at local garden and landscape stores because there is a always a good variety of flowers. With digital cameras it is convenient to take, download and save reference pictures. I file my reference pictures by subject so I can easily find what I am looking for quickly. Subjects can be birds, flowers, or locations like Connecticut River can be put into a folder on your computer. It is a good idea to file your photographs when you download them onto your computer. It only takes a few minutes to put the photos in folders so they can be found easily.

Our next class will be putting people in your paintings.

Painting a white rose in watercolor

The most recent class in watercolor was of a white rose. I started by wetting the entire paper and laying in color for the background. I keep this fairly pale and let it bleed into some of my flower and leaves. After this has dried I started to paint the sunlit areas and then the petals that were turned away from the sunlight.

I demonstrated how to paint each petal wet into wet with 3 colors. It is fun to paint a white flower with colorful shadows. I use cobalt blue, rose madder and hansa yellow. Using those 3 colors I adjust for warm or cool shadows. Wet the entire petal and charge in your blue and while it is still wet, paint in rose and then some yellow. Let the colors blend themselves on the paper. Try and apply the paint and remove your brush from the paper. That can be difficult for people who like to apply paint with many strokes of paint. By using a minimal amount of paint strokes the colors are more brilliant and are less apt to look muddy.

An important fact to remember is that the shadow has to be at least 40% darker than the light area, this will help your paintings have more depth. I finished up the painting with the leaves. I continued painting wet into wet for each leaf and adding detail after the paper dried.

The class then started their own painting of flowers. We painted the background and will continue this painting in the next class. Some facts to remember is to mix plenty of paint and load that brush up with paint! When painting wet into wet the water on the paper will dilute the color so use plenty of paint.

Until next time,
P.J. Cook

Creating Wood Texture In Watercolor Painting

Creating wood texture in watercolor was our lesson for the week. My demonstration started by wetting the paper and laying in a wash of several shades of brown and grey. Letting that dry I fanned out a flat brush that had just a small amount of dark brown paint. By separating the hair into irregular gaps you can create a dry brush effect that works well for wood grain. Lay the brush out flatter than usual and drag the brush across the paper in the direction of the grain. After you have finished the wood grain paint in some knots with dark brown. Then paint some grain lines in the direction of the wood and go around the knots just like you have noticed in a piece of real wood. Paint in the gaps between the planks and let it dry thoroughly. Add any more detail necessary to make it look realistic. My last step was to scrape highlights into the paper with a razor blade. The highlights are visible in my demo painting shown here.
Everyone in the class worked on their own wood texture following along with my demonstration.
Updated blog post on Creating Wood Texture.

I had time to start a painting of a white rose. For the background I started by wetting the paper and putting in a wash in the corners of the paper letting the paint go into the flower in some areas. This is a great way to start a painting because you are getting some value onto the white paper and it suggests the background leaves. I like to paint white flowers with colorful shadows using new gamboge(yellow), cobalt blue and rose madder. Painting each petal at a time I worked wet into wet with those three colors. I added thalo blue to the cobalt for the darkest shadows. I demonstrated painting each color onto the petal using one stroke for each color. This way the colors mix on their own. If you continue brushing the colors will mix together into undesirable colors(brown, sometimes referred to as mud). It takes practice to paint with one stroke but it can be a fun way to see the colors blend on the paper. I will continue the painting of the white rose at the next class.

P.J. Cook

How To Paint Watercolor Washes

My lesson this week for my Monday afternoon group was about different washes: flat, gradated, wet into wet and streaked wash. We divided up our paper into several squares for practice. One of the most important aspects of painting a wash is to have enough paint prepared on your palette. The gradated wash shown here is done by adding more and more water to your brush as you work down the paper. It is also a good idea to tilt your board while you are working.

A wet into wet wash can be multiple colors painted onto very wet paper. The paint will blend together on the paper. It is important to lay the color on then leave it to dry, do not overwork the wash. It is a good idea to dry your paper at the same angle that your painted it on. The flat wash is easier if the board is flat while painting and drying. The flat wash is a solid color throughout the square with no changes in value.

The streaked wash is done very wet while dropping wet paint onto the board and tilting your paper in the desired direction. Let the paint dry flat so it does not disturb the paint. A streaked wash is good to display action. In the example I used two colors and the purple is streaking across the paper.

I finished up our class with a small painting that was accomplished using several gradated washes letting each wash dry before starting the next wash. The cobalt blue was gradated from left to right and the yellow from the opposite direction. After the washes were completed I finished with direct painting of the lighthouse and boat. Another technique used here was pulling paint off the paper for the reflections of the lighthouse and boat. Using a stiffer wet brush wet the area that is to be lightened and brush over the area and than dab onto a paper towel. Repeat this process until the reflections are light enough.

Being able to paint different washes in watercolor will improve your paintings. Try practicing the different types of washes while working on dry and wet paper.
Thanks, P.J. Cook