December 2008
Newsletter page 2: Tips & Techniques
"Capture the intangible - Part two"
(My recent article on portrait and figurative painting published in Australian Artist Magazine.)
‘A Shining Star’
Oil on Belgian Linen
Painted in a less-detailed impressionist style, this oil painting was inspired by soft light illuminating her form, creating a soft, hazy atmosphere.
Many years ago I visited an exhibition where Rembrandt’s masterpiece ‘The Shipbuilder and His Wife’ hung at the very end of a long exhibition hall. Despite the great distance, I could feel the presence of that painting as it reached out of the frame and into the exhibition hall. I stood mesmerised for a very long time. I studied what is was that made this painting so real and almost tangible and this one painting set me on an amazing journey of discovery that will always be unfolding in front of me. It is a journey that will never end. An artist’s journey never does.
It is unfortunate that the specific methods of such Masters are not known for sure. It seems such a waste that the revelations they discovered on their journey are mostly left to speculation. The importance of sharing knowledge is recognised and made so much easier by modern technology. All of the trial and error, and the ‘traps for young players’ that we fall into at the beginning of our art journey – these are the things I have learned how to work around and avoid. My journey has shaped my art and enriched my life. These are things, along with the breakthroughs, that I love to share in my workshops and on my DVDs.
I enjoy both watercolour and oil painting. Each has their own strengths and each can create great richness and depth as well as delicate lights and gentle hues.
Watercolour
'Time For Reflection'Watercolour on paper My Priming method: Step one: Wet the area you wish to paint Allow the water to be absorbed so the sheen has just disappeared from the paper. Step two: While paper is still just damp from step 1, lay in another clear water wash. Step three: While your previous wash is still wet and shiny, lay in your pigmented wash. Before you move on to applying another wash or set of priming washes as above - ensure your paper is BONE DRY. I can't emphasise this enough. That’s it! It is simple and extremely effective.
| Sidebar: My Priming Method is successful because it allows pigment to be absorbed as far into the inner layers of the paper as possible I use my Priming Method on the initial layers of a painting. As the painting progresses and I feel I have achieved the depth of tone I want - I then revert to a wet in wet method for the middle few washes. Before I create my finest detail with dry brush – I fine-tune the colours I have achieved by laying in final washes to adjust colour temperature, depth of hue or change of colour – as I see necessary. Once totally dry I then use the age-old dry brush method to establish fine detail where needed. Of course you cannot wash over dry brush unless your intention is to lift some of it. Dry brush sits entirely on the surface of the paper and is easily dispersed. You can of course use this to your advantage but generally my dry brush layer is my final layer. |
'Windfall'Watercolour on paper It is not unlike translucent pieces of stained glass – each colour layed on top of the others. My initial washes are always yellow. The subsequent colours are washed over the top – also using my Priming Method. Ultimately the final hue you see is a combination of all the hues that have gone before. The yellow underwash glows luminously through all the subsequent washes and your colours are deliciously rich and clean. Why this method works: My method will create exquisite colour, from softly blended delicate, light hues to rich opulent darks. Let's begin by taking a look at the converse: simply laying multiple wet on dry washes on top of each other will leave much of the pigment sitting on the surface of the paper. With each subsequent wash you will find much of that pigment will lift and mix with the new wash, resulting in a dulled, muddy final colour. I developed my Priming Method because I wanted my work to glow, as an oil painting does when the old masters’ underpainting methods are still used. My challenge was to work out how to make this happen in watercolour. Trial and error lead me to this method and here is why it works: By wetting the paper first - then allowing that first clear water underwash of my Priming Method to become absorbed to the stage that the sheen has just left the surface of the paper, we are allowing the paper to pull that moisture into the inner layers. Our next clear water wash re-wets the surface and affords us a number of advantages:
- Our paper is primed and ready for the pigmented wash.
- The inner layers of the paper are already damp so this allows us much more time to work with our pigmented wash (step 3) before it is absorbed and enters that 'don't touch' stage.
- We can continue to add more hues, deepen tones, lift colour, create paths of colour and even a little detail while the moisture is slowly being absorbed.
- Our pigment is also absorbed into the inner layers of the paper and when dry - it is 'set' into those inner layers of the paper. There is very little pigment left sitting on the surface, therefore your colours and also your subsequent washes are clean and fresh and glowing like jewels. It is almost impossible to create mud with this method – unless you are determined!
- Subsequent washes of any hue can change the final hue incredibly, so the atmosphere, tone and emotion of a painting can be adjusted with this method without endangering the underneath painting.
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Sidebar:
To check for dryness: I often use a hair dryer to dry my work, but only when the wet sheen has almost gone from the paper. At that stage, the pigment will have settled into the paper and cannot be moved around easily. Once the heat from the dryer has gone from the paper, touch the paper with the ball of your hand. If it feels cold - there is still moisture in there. If it feels ‘room temperature’, then it should be dry. |
| Sidebar: My methods work because I use transparent and semi-transparent hues. Opaque hues sit on the surface and will be disturbed by subsequent washes. |
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Susan Harrison-Tustain