Part II of my Colour Lesson about creating a glowing red  is posted here.

I had so much fun creating this Red Parrot Tulip and while developing these glowing red washes, it occurred to me that I should share this information with you all. Red is a notoriously difficult color to portray – unless you know what I am about to tell you.

This is not a step by step guide of how to paint this subject. What I want to highlight are a number of points relating to painting a glorious glowing red using this study as an example.

For those who missed it - here is the link to Part I or go directly to this link for Part II

In these lessons you will find info about warm and cool colours, shadow color, color temperature, creating glowing reds, yellow underwash ...

This Parrot Tulip study will be an ongoing tutorial where I will teach you many of the invaluable lessons that will help you create form with red – no matter which medium you choose.

In my Art Lessons section you will find more helpful articles.

If you want to learn more about Watercolor Painting and Watercolor Technique check out my Watercolor DVDs.

Happy Painting

Susan

Pear on wood - watercolor painting
© Susan Harrison-Tustain

Demystifying Warm and Cool (Color Temperature)

Warm and cool is a vast subject but I have a great, simple way of teaching it:

Anything with red or yellow is basically warm. Anything with blue is basically cool.

But within the red  spectrum there are warmer or cooler reds. Just as there are warmer and cooler yellows within the yellow spectrum and it is the same for blue.

Take a look at a colour wheel. Look at a tomato red - this is a red that is leaning toward the yellow section. This is the warmest of reds. Then compare that to a red such as Alizarin Crimson. Alizarin Crimson is leaning toward the blue section. Purples are even more cool because they have more blue in them of course. You can see these 'reds' are more blue than the tomatoe red. So naturally Alizarin Crimson is a cooler red.  So now you can understand what I mean when I say "we have warm and cool within each colour section."

So naturally you can determine where - within each colour section - they fall by taking note how warm or cool they are in relation to the others either side of them.

That is what it is all about. Determining how warm or cool a color is, is about looking at it "In relation" to what else is around it. It is the same for all colour groups. Blue is thought of as being cold. Yes - it is cold when it is put up against red. But within the blue section there are warm and cool blues. The warm blues would be leaning toward red. A good example of a warm blue is Ultramarine Blue Finest.

Naturally the cool blues will be furthermost away from red. So use your colour wheel to help you determine where your colours are and whether they are warm or cool in relation to the colours you are using in your painting as well as on the colors on the color wheel.

The colour temperature of each colour you use on your painting
will be compared to the colour next to it.

Take yellow for instance: Aureolin is a cool yellow because it has a touch of blue in it. This cools it down. Compare that yellow to Indian Yellow which has some red in it. Indian Yellow is a warm yellow. So you could create a painting that is totally yellow. There will be warm and cool passages within it if you use a variation of yellows or mixes of yellows. But you can still create the impression of form because you can use warm and cool yellows to help you mould shape and substance.

The overall feeling/mood/colour temperature of the painting will be warm because you are using yellow (which gives the impression of warmth when we look at it). But you would describe your shapes and also focal planes by placing warm and cool yellows next to each other. Or if you need to give the impression of a gradual roll on a ball or petal for example - you would graduate the colours beginning with warm or cool and then as the subject rolls away into the background for instance, you would then gradually introduce a yellow of the opposite color temperature.

This is how you create form. Naturally you could also mix a tiny touch of blue or red with your yellows to alter them - but still allow the yellow colour to be dominant. This will also alter the colour temperature as you would expect. Warm your Indian yellow even further by adding a tiny touch of red. Cool another yellow down by adding a tiny touch of blue. You will see what I mean when you experiment.

It is generally true to say 'shadows are warm and sunlight is cool' when affected by natural (outside) light.  Generally when painting something affected by the natural light (outside or inside) - you would use warm colours to describe shadows. Make the shadows dance with warm transparent darks and throw in a little splash of red or orange - it makes the shadow look alive.

Conversely anything that is affected by the sky (which is generally blue - or a cool colour) - these things are cool. So the sunlit highlights are cool and the shadows are warm when outside or affected by natural light.

Inside lighting often creates a warm highlight and a cool shadow.

A good exercise is to paint a ball using warm and cool yellows. You will see how it automatically gives you form.

I hope that helps.

It is not an easy subject to grasp - but I find that once my workshop students understand there are warm and cool colours within each main colour - they can then see what I mean by looking at a colour wheel. It is a great idea to make a colour wheel of your own palette.

Learn more about my Watercolor Painting Technique in my Watercolor DVDs.

Learn more about how to paint in my Free Art Lessons.

Here comes the next article to the  series of notes on Susan's Watercolor palette.

Article 4 - Shadow color mixes
Shall I use Blue and Yellow or should I use sap green?

When mixing a shadow color you have many choices. I always use a small amount of blue in my shadow mix to create a realistic shadow.

But sometimes I use Sap Green instead. Why? Because it gives a softer look to my shadowed area. Sometimes I require a softer look. This is often in subjects such as skin tone.

Sometimes adding Thalo Blue to a skin tone can create a large shift in the color temperature. It may cool the shadowed area down too much. By using Sap Green instead (which of course has a small amount of blue in it) you will find your shadow mix will give you a more natural in final hue. But there are times when Thalo Blue is required and is ideal.

I hope you can see that there are no hard and fast rules. Each variation has it's applications and benefits.

It is interesting to note that using mix of blue and yellow gives you more choice in your balance of colour versatility. A slight dominance of blue or yellow will give you more color choices.

In your shadow mixes you can use Aureolin Modern or you could use Indian Yellow - depending on the warmth you want (the glow).
You also have the advantage of being able to adjust the ratio of the hues. You can make the
mix favour blue or favour yellow or balance out to give a more neutral final hue.

If we think about our complimentary colors - it stands to reason that Sap Green can be used in a shadow on a pink skin tone. Try these different permeatations. Create a color mix chart for your reference. You will be amazed at all that you will learn from this.

Trial the hues in fine washes to see what suits your needs. You can always adjust the Sap Green by adding a touch of Thalo Blue or one of the yellows too.

Want to read the other Articles?

Article 1: What Transparent pigments does Susan Harrison-Tustain use?

Article 2 - How to compensate for too much red in skin tone

Article 3 - How to paint shadow areas in watercolor?

Watch this space to read the next article: Article 5: How to paint a light skin tone

Here comes the next article to the  series of notes on Susan's Watercolor palette.

Article 2 - How to compensate for too much red in skin tone

I am often asked how to compensate for an overly red skin tone.

The magical thing about the method I use is that you can adjust the look of any wash or
combination of washes  by simply simply adding further washes of other colors.

For instance if I lay in an underwash of yellow and then once dry- add a skin tone mix of Alizarin Crimson, one of the yellows and maybe some Thalo blue - the end result is entirely dependant on the balance or imbalance I have created with those hues (that means which color this mix favours - if any).

If I have more blue in the mix - the mix will look more in shadow.

If I have more yellow - the mix will look glowing but there is always the possibility if we use too much yellow, the mix may be a bit too yellow for our liking (or it may look as if the light source favours yellow).

If I have the red component too strong in my mix - the skin tone will look too flushed (or it could look as if the light source favours red).

I can of course also balance the mix so it neutralizes all of the colors and we end up with a
grey or dulled, muted color.

• I hope you can see that my point is that when we use layering of hues, we can adjust our final color so it favours what ever color we want to dominate - or we can cancel the predominant cast of color out and give a perfect balance - therefore creating a greyed, dull hue. These are ideal to use juxtaposed next to a lovely glowing color as these greyed, dulled colors will allow the fresher, lively color to glow even more than it would has it been placed next to another bright glowing color. So please don't think of greys and dull browns negatively. They are found in nature and are quite beautiful. I use them to my advantage all the time.

I digress:
Compensating for too much red is easy. You have a few choices:

Is your skin in shadow or light or both?

If it is in shadow - as soon as you add some of the complementary color - green - or a mix of
Thalo blue and Yellow - you will find it will dull that red down greatly. (I would opt for the blue and yellow mix- I will explain more about that a few paragraphs below)

It is important to note that blue tends to kill any glow - but of course - as with everything - that depends on the amount of blue you use. Hence the reason for going cautiously initially.

Use fine washes - but do let them dry before adding the subsequent washes.

So you can add more as many fine washes you wish, if you require them - but only once each wash has become bone dry. I like my colours to glow through my shadows so I use blue in very fine washes so I can build the blue up slowly allowing me to determine the strength of blue I want without risking applying too much in one layer. It is always better to build fine layers.
Remember one of the wonderful things about my Priming Method is that you get to see (a
sneak preview) of the impact of a wash before you have to commit. What I mean by that is
that when you lay in a wash - because it is wet you are able to see what the two or three
washes of that colour will look like over your underwashes. We all know that once it is dry - that wash will dry so much lighter. So what does that tell you?

• If your wash looks fantastic when it is wet - then you know that you will need one or two more of those fine washes to give you the depth of hue you need to give you the same effect you got when that wash was wet.

• If you dont like the color - then immediately drop a paper towel on the top - or flow in somewater and then drop a paper towel on top. (Dont try this if the new wash has been on thepaper for a little while. It may cause streaking.) Soak up the offending wash and start again.

• Or if the color is okay but you think you need more yellow or more red - then just adjust your subsequent washes to compensate for that.

So you see - nothing is a problem.

You are learning to analyse and judge the hues and the density of your washes. You can relax because you know that with my methods - you can prejudge or subsequently compensate with future washes.

Watch this space for Article 3 - How to paint shadow areas in Watercolor

To mix or to Layer? Which is best?

You will have seen in my Watercolor DVDs or read in books or magazines or in the articles on my website that I often begin my paintings with a ‘tonal map’ using underwashes of yellow. This allows my colors to glow and also gives a realistic ‘substance’ to my work.

Now let’s discuss mixing and layering:

My Schmincke limited palette of colors can be mixed transparently allowing us an endless array of clean luscious hues.  Another way of creating beautiful color is layering color in washes. Or you can do both of course.

Layering:

I use either wet in wet or my Priming Method to create my layering.

Imagine layers of stained glass – one on top of the other. The preceding transparent layers influence the final hue. Each color glows through and gives me a jewel-like final color – beginning with my yellow layer first.

As with everything there are exceptions:
If my final color is to be blue or purple, I use only a tiny amount of yellow underwash. There are many times when I don’t use yellow at all under these colors. Why?

Imagine a blue sky. We want it to look blue don’t we? If we lay yellow underneath blue what do you think will happen? Of course – the yellow can overpower the blue and result in a green hue. So if I need to use some yellow – to take away the rawness of the white paper – I will lay in a very very fine wash of yellow; an almost unperceivable amount. Once the yellow has dried completely I will then lay in my blue wash. If I want a pure blue, I do not use any yellow underwash at all. (This is rare).  Click images to enlarge.

Yellow underneath purple will skew the final impression of the color too. Take at look at this example:

There will be many times when you want to create a blue or purple that is influenced by a stronger yellow underwash. But if you want your hue to remain purple or pure blue, you will need to keep your yellow underwash very pale as you can see.

In the following examples I have used three colors:

- Aureolin Yellow
- Alizarin Crimson
- Pthalo Blue

This first example is a mix of the three colors.

The next 2 examples show layering of the three colors:

The first shows layering in the order of Aureolin Yellow, Alizarin Crimson, Thalo Blue.
The second example shows layering in the order of Aureolin Yellow, Thalo Blue, Alizarin Crimson.

Can you see the huge difference the order of layering the colors can have on the final hue?

You can now see how you can create luminous transparent glowing colors as well as perfect subordinate hues.

Remember the browns, greys and dulled colors are essential in a painting too. They allow our luminous colors to really glow. Imagine a painting full of bright sumptuous color. Each hue would compete for adoration! But by juxtaposing grey, brown or natural dulled down colors next to our brilliant hues, we can make our leading colors really sing even more. These more dull hues are a fantastic foil for the stunning colors you wish to highlight.

Now let’s take this one step further: In the above examples you can see that with the use of layering we can fine-tune our final color to make it favor whatever color we want.
Of course we can use mixes in layers as well. I do this often. I mix my hues on my palette and use layering to create the hue I require.

The amount of water you use will determine how smooth your layering will be. My website is an excellent resource for articles I have written on watercolor painting. Go to the ‘Art Lessons’ section on my website to find out details on my Priming Method

All of my watercolors are created using these invaluable methods and my Schmincke transparent watercolor hues.

Have fun!

How do you create the impression of an opaque object when using transparent watercolor?

This is a very good question posed by one of my SusanArt Forum members on my website.

This is my reply:

I love to share what I know but as you can imagine my time is so very committed that when I do write something I know will be of great interest such as this - I want to share it with as many as possible.

Remember this information can relate to any subject matter or can be adjusted to any color. When we think ‘out of the square’ we can see the potential of such information is vast. The true magic of painting is that we are creating an illusion with our paints. If we render our subject well it takes on a life and a ‘presence’ that is almost more real than the reality itself. But – and this is what I mean by magic – the actual physical substance of the painting is just paint squeezed from a tube and applied to flat paper. I emphasise this so that you can understand how we can, quite easily, create the impression of an opaque object using transparent watercolors. It’s all in the way we let our paints describe the way light is transmitted through (for transparent) or reflected from – or absorbed into (for opaque) our subject.

I think the best way to show this is to give you examples using images:

Jonquille Pour ma Mère (detail)

Take a look at my painting of folds in fabric. You will see there are areas on the dress that are transparent because the light is shining through them. There are also areas that are opaque because the body is behind them.

Old rambling Rose (detail)

You will see the rose bud that has light shining through

some of the petals. Notice how this gives the impression they are transparent. They are alive with light aren’t  they? There are other petals where the sunlight is absorbed but can’t dance around because there is a greater density of petals are close behind which is preventing this. These appear opaque.

High Summer (detail)

Can you see how the Pansy leaves reflect the sunlight? These appear opaque. Also notice the impression of a shiny surface. How did I create that? The magic is in the colors and tone. If you give some thought to the colors I have used in the highlight areas and also think about the color temperature difference between those highlights and the local color of the leaves – then you will find the answer is there in front of you.

What do these things tell you?

Yes - that's right - transparency is all about allowing light to shine through a subject. As opposed to opaque subjects that are - of course - the opposite.
How do we create this impression? In the ‘transparent’ areas we simply keep the local color of those areas lighter or more glowing than the opaque areas. We can also allow some of the colors or cast shadows from objects behind our transparent subject to show through.

Instantly you have the impression of something transparent.

Take a good look at the folds in the dress. Can you see some areas that are transparent and others that are opaque? Can you see how I have allowed the glow of the late afternoon sunshine to help me describe the transparency of the fabric?

Can you also see how I have used different hues to describe the opaque areas?

You are now analysing what is in front of you. This is how we learn the most and also retain what we see and learn. Another subject may use different colors – but with the knowledge we are discussing here – I hope you will use these skills to evaluate, interpret and appreciate how nature has given us artists so much information to help us describe what we want to portray. It is just a matter of knowing what to look for.

Take a look at how I have also juxtaposed warm and cool colors, giving the impression of the rounded form of the folds.

What does this say to us?

It says that as something folds around, it is affected by the light and also the colors of surrounding objects. As something comes out into the area that will be affected by the sky color - it becomes cooler. When it moves away from the affect of the sky color - the fold will become warmer and more rich in hue and generally it will be affected by cast shadow as well.

Take a look at the other subjects in my gallery. You will see how I use these observations to describe virtually everything.

The trick is to learn to see what is really in front of you. Ask yourself questions.
Why does that look transparent? Why does that look opaque? What makes these things so? The answers are all in front of you. Learn to analyse and you will find your paintings will take a giant leap forward.
I hope that helps!

"Etched in Time"
Watercolor painting
size: 11" x 5 1/4"  - 280 mm x 135 mm
© Susan Harrison-Tustain

I seem to have a preoccupation with timelessness. My paintings have opened my eyes to this fact - rather than the ‘fact’ being the conscious precursor to my paintings.

A good example of this is my painting of a well-used door.

Do you ever ponder the people who have contributed to the history etched on such functional things as a simple door? The worn paint, the bare wood, the scratches, the inventive but crude additions all conjure thoughts of people whose feet are firmly planted on the ground. Hard-working, honest, genuine, practical people. These people were our forebears. What better tribute than to show their lives etched in the structures they created? This is a portrait that speaks of the struggles, the triumphs and the story that says they were here and they made a difference.

Please click to visit the Exhibiton page and see more
sneak previews of Susan's latest work

"Ducklings"
Watercolor on Arches Hot Pressed Paper 300 gsm
14" x 9 1/2" - 355 mm x 240 mm
© Susan Harrison-Tustain

Please click to visit the Exhibiton page and see more
sneak previews of Susan's latest work

And here is another sneak preview of one of my latest paintings that will feature in my 2011 'Recollections exhibiton'.

Swirling reflections created by a gentle wake belie the urgent paddling of webbed feet beneath the surface.

Water droplets caught in damp feather-down glisten and tell a story of fun and games as the two young larikins play amongst the reeds.

I loved this scene and wanted to capture the feeling of innocence, serenity and tranquility.