Starting Watercolor of Lily Flowers - How To Stretch Watercolor Paper

First of all, I like to work on several paintings at one time. I may have up to 4 paintings in various stages of completion on any given day. The watercolor above is on a full sheet (22" by 30") of D'Arches 140 lb cold press watercolor paper.  I prefer to work on flat paper so I take the extra time to stretch the watercolor paper to prevent buckling while I am painting. This technique of stretching the paper is described below.

I fill the bathtub with several inches of water and then I soak the watercolor paper for 2 minutes. The large sheet of paper will need to be moved around as it is soaking because it is wider than a standard tub. I then lay the paper onto a thin piece of marine plywood and staple all along the edges of the paper about every 2-3 inches. The staples can be seen in the photo above. I use a heavy duty stapler with 1/4" deep staples so they do not go through the back of the plywood. I let this dry before starting the painting.

Any plywood can be used for stretching but it should be primed before using because it will be repeatedly getting wet each time you stretch paper.

For more examples of flowers on watercolor paper follow this link http://pjcookartist.com/Paintings-PJCook.html

Easy Watercolor Relections - Recent Painting Class Demonstration

In a recent watercolor class held at Artisans Harbor on Main Street in Old Saybrook, I demonstrated water reflections. Each step of the painting shown here I explained what I was trying to achieve. From the gradation in the sky and water to the reflections in the rippling water.
The next watercolor class session starts in December if you would like to come and join us. Classes are held at Artisans Harbor 860-388-9070.

pjcookartist.com

Creating Interest in Your Watercolor Paintings is Easy With Textures

The following techniques will be some of the lessons I will be demonstrating in my upcoming watercolor class at The Artisans Harbor in Old Saybrook starting on September 26, 2010. The classes are on Sunday afternoons from 2pm to 4pm.  So if you are not into watching football on Sundays come and learn watercolor painting!

Using an old worn out brush, table salt or your fingertip is an easy and fun way to create interesting areas in your painting.

A brick wall is easily achieved by varying the color of each brick as you apply paint and then 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.   Add detail with dry brush and smaller detail with a small round brush. Remember to save old worn out brushes for dry brush effects, they create unexpected results. Try scumbling, twirling and adjusting the pressure on the paper with an old 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. Sprinkle a small amount of salt onto the wet paint and wait for the paint to dry. As the paint dries the salt absorbs the color around each grain and it can create some great texture. 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.

The next texture that I demonstrated using salt was for clay pots. It is not necessary to use salt everywhere, for variety put only on select areas of the pots.  After the paint is dry continue modeling the clay pots with different colors and values. Remember to let the paint dry thoroughly before brushing off the salt.

Sponging is another popular technique for creating texture in painting. I often use a sea sponge , they are irregular shaped sponges and the size of the holes varies.  As always practice on scrap paper first to get the desired result.
Smudging paint with your finger works for creating textures on trees and grasses. Blades of grass can be scraped out of paint with your fingernail or the angled point of some paint brushes. I like to use rough paper when I want texture. I used a Arches watercolor paper that was 140 lb. in a rough texture. Try different paper and you will get interesting results.
Come to my class to learn these watercolor techniques and your next painting will be more interesting and effective.  Consider new ways of painting and your work will improve and you will grow as an artist - guaranteed!

Next Step In Painting a Watercolor of the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, CT

 When you compare this stage of the painting with the previous two photos in my last post I have continued darkening values. More details to the building and trees have been painted with my colors: new gamboge, winsor blue, indigo and brown madder. So far I have used just those colors and as you can see many different shades of one color can be made cooler or warmer by adding a little more cool paint or the warmer paint.

The large tree in the foreground is painted with brown madder and indigo. Next I will be adding textures to the tree along with shadows to give it some form. I will continue in this manner covering less and less of the paper as I paint, painting short is the technique.

Check back for the next step in painting a watercolor.