Let the Medium D

Projects for pleasure ardpradkwk

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Valfred Thelin with Patricia Burlin

 U.S.A.

V/4TERC0L0R:
Let the
1
" ^nmDoIt
Valfred Thelin with Patr^. 7 Burlin

Watercolor is often perceived as a medium

that is difficult to control, but Valfred Thelin
believes otherwise; in his view, if you let it go
to work for you instead of fighting it, water-
color offers the utmost flexibility and freedom
of expression
Here ^ .. uook brimming with all manner
of experimenuu techniques that will help you
make beautiful images in ways you might
never have considered before. Each chapter is

like a workshop in which you wiil learn new

and unusual methods of painting.
The author shows how to depict oak leaves
with a sponge and paper stencils, and pine
needles with a wire brush and a razor blade; a
section on glazing introduces the basic tech-
nique of layering liquid color to achieve subtle
effects. And there are demonstrations of such
out-of-the-ordinary techniques as using pas-
tels in combination with watercolor, applying
tissue paper to paintings to create interesting
surfaces, and overpainting with gesso to
correct compositions in need of help.
Works by several well-known painters are
featured throughout the book to illustrate the
limitless ways different artists interpret sub-
ject matter and adapt various techniques to
suit their unique styles. Each chapter con-
cludes with stimulating exercises that encour-
age artists to practice the lessons they have
just learned.
Thelin is a wonderful teacher, and the
dozens of step-by-step demonstrations that
show the artist at work as he literally
scratches into layers of paint to create blades
of grass, applies masking tape and wax to a
nting of birch trees to keep trunks and
ics white, and sketches rocks and fig-

h a razor blade will inspire painters to

look beyond conventional methods and find
fresh approaches to watercolor.

"51 x 28 cm).
...

W 'TILL PUBLICATIONS
BOSTON
PUBLIC
LIBRARY
 WATEROOLOR:
Let the Medium Do It

SIGN OF SPRING, 24" x 30" (61.0 cm x 76.2 cm), collection of Chivette Kerns
TAXCO PINATA, 24" x 30" (61.0 cm x 76.2 cm), collection of Eva Sawtelle
WATERCOLOR:
Let the Medium Do It

Valfred Thelin with Patricia Burlin

WATSON-GUPTILL PUBLICATIONS / NEW YORK

BRIGHTON
/ would like to dedicate this book to my grandfather, father, and
mother, who gave me encouragement; to my late wife, Barbara,
for her support; to Deidre, for friendship, as well as to doctors
Bill, Michael, and Dick of the Maine Medical Center; and to

Pat and Jack, for their persistence. Without all of them, this book
would not have been possible.

°\
\^
\i

Edited by Marian Appellor

Graphic production by Hector Campbell
Text set in 10-point Else

Copyright © 1988 Valfred Thelin and Patricia Burlin

First published in 1988 in New York by Watson-Guptill Publications,

a division of Billboard Publications, Inc.,

1515 Broadway, New York, NY 10036

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Thelin, Valfred.
Watercolor : let the medium do it :
projects for pleasure and
practice / Valfred Thelin with Patricia Burlin.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-8230-5667-8 : $27.50
1. Watercolor painting — Technique. I. Burlin, Patricia.

II. Title.

ND2420.T47 1988
751.42'2— dc19 88-21061
CIP

Distributed in the United Kingdom by Phaidon Press Ltd.,

Littlegate House, St. Ebbe's St., Oxford

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced

or used in any form or by any means — graphic, electronic, or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and
r
etrieval systems — without written permission of the publisher.

Manufactured in Japan

First printing, 1988

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 / 93 92 91 90 89 88
GLOUCESTER LOW TIDE, 30" x 30" (76.2 cm x 76.2 cm), private collection, Massachusetts

Painting may be abstract or realistic, depending on

personal interpretation. I have no inhibitions about moving
from what is called realistic to what is considered abstract,
for I find relevance in both pertaining to the interpretation
the individual may give a particular expression.
What is real in my paintings is the image itself, which
fuses with my idea as I begin to paint. Hie painting seems
to create itself during this process.

Forms tinged with personal feelings remembered or

hidden in my unconscious spring into being, and the
painting unfolds into a world of light and depth with its

own consciousness.
 2

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 9 4 TREES AND FOLIAGE 44

Sponge Techniques 46
1 THE CONTROLLED DRIP 10 Stencil Effects 47
Adding Drama 48
Overview of Materials 1
Accounting for Distance 49
A Simple Controlled Drip 14
Observing Differences 50
A More Complicated Drip 16
Other Interpretations 52
Other Interpretations 18
Practice Exercises 53
Practice Exercises 19

2 SKIES 20 5 ROCK FORMS 54

Razor-Blade Technique 56
Overcast and Stormy Skies 22
Spattering 58
Sunsets 24
Sponge Techniques 59
Ideas for Design 26
Combining Techniques 60
Using Contrasts 28
Other Interpretations 62
Haze and Fog 30
Practice Exercises 63
Another Interpretation 31
Practice Exercises 31
6 GLAZING COLORS 64

3 FOUND MATERIALS 32 A Basic Glazing Demonstration 66

Glazing Rowers 67
Exploring Diverse Textures 34
Other Flower Painting Ideas 68
Scratching In Grass 36
Pastel Glazing 70
Creating Wood Textures 38
Using Watercolor Crayons 71
Stenciling 39
Making Monoprints 72
Masking Areas 40
Other Interpretations 74
Other Interpretations 42
Practice Exercises 75
Practice Elxercises 43
 THE HUMAN ELEMENT 76 11 SAVE IT! 112

Getting the Essentials Down 78 Student Makeovers 114

Handling Groups 80 More Makeovers 116
Sketching with a Razor Blade 82 Another Interpretation 117
Varying Your Approach 84 Practice Exercises 117
Other Interpretations 86
Practice Exercises 87 12 ABSTRACTIONS 118

Developing an Abstraction 120

8 CITYSCAPES 88
Taking Off from Photos 122
Glazing Procedures 90 Playing with Color 123
Special Techniques 91 The Role of Imagery 124
Focusing the Composition 92 What Different People See 126
Other Interpretations 94 Other Interpretations 130
Practice Exercises 95 Practice Exercises 131

9 THOUGHTS ON SKETCHING 96 13 LEARNING FROM OTHERS 132

Sketching Techniques 98 What to Look For 134

Keeping It Free 100 Discovering Diverse Techniques 135
Another Interpretation 101 Other Possibilities 136
Practice Exercises 101 Practice Exercises 137

10 GESSO 102 14 EVALUATING YOUR OWN WORK 138

Overpainting with Gesso 104 Questions to Ask 140

Working on a Gesso Surface 106 Final Thoughts 142
Correcting with Gesso 108 Practice Exercises 143
Using Tissue 109
Other Interpretations 110
INDEX 144
Practice Elxercises 111
My father, Carl Valfred Thelin, at work.
INTRODUCTION

My first teacher was my grand- At age twelve I followed my fa- realistic facts within the abstract
father, Peter August Thelin, a ther's footsteps and entered the Chi- forms. You might call me an "ab-
muralist who came to this country cago Art Institute. The summer I stract realist."

from Sweden in the mid- 1800s. I was sixteen I worked in the studio It is this excitement with the
was asthmatic as a child, and could of Hans Hofmann, who not only medium itself that I try to commu-
not run and play with the rest, so I confirmed my desire to paint but nicate to my students. I believe
worked in a gazebo in the yard also inspired me to teach. I was every painting is a new experience,
doing sketches of other children or fascinated with the world of fine art and I have tried to take a similar
still lifes in charcoal. Every day as seen through his eyes. approach to thisbook. Each chap-
after supper my grandfather would Although I began as an oil ter should be a new and challenging
critique my drawing, always empha- painter, allergies forced me to experience for you, with step-by-
sizing that "there are no mistakes, switch mediums at midstream. First step procedures to help you build
only corrections." Saturday after- I tried commercial art, but with the on your knowledge and improve
noons we would walk along the help of my wife, Barbara Ann, I was your skills. Chapters that focus on
Mississippi River and discuss how able to turn to fine art and to showing you how to depict specific

to look at and feel all the everyday pursue watercolor as a medium subject matter such as trees, skies,
things surrounding us as art forms. seriously. After studying with many and rocks complement others that
We sat on worn stairs of aban-
the different teachers here and abroad introduce techniques you can apply
doned houses and imagined stories and analyzing the works of water- to a broad range of subjects. This
about the lives of people who had colorists I admired, I decided that approach, I believe, will help you
once walked there. This awareness what excited me about watercolor accumulate a more effective art

of people and things that he put was the medium itself. vocabulary.
into his work encouraged me to do I love to watch the paint in its Anyone who really wants to paint
likewise. liquid state flowing freely within the can do so. Keep in mind that the

Another important teacher was water, expanding and twisting into only limitations are those you your-
my father, Carl Valfred Thelin. A many patterns. I let myself become self set. Also be aware that I do not
graduate of the Chicago Art In- completely immersed in the color, want to change your I want style; all

stitute (the equivalent of today's watching what it is doing for me. is to expand your thinking. Every
School of the Art Institute of Chi- Slowly I feel a communication de- painting is a lesson; it's not how

cago), he had been trained as a fine veloping between me and the shapes well it's done, it's how much you
artist but worked in the commercial and forms the medium itself creates. learn from it. By applying this to
field. I spent a lot of time with him I find myself growing with it, look- your own experiences and skills,

and his associates in the studio ing and discovering references in my you will discover a new "you" in
learning the tricks of his trade. subconscious and slowly developing watercolor.
THE CONTROLLED DRIP

The controlled drip is a fun exercise leathery-textured rocks and cliffs. there that I discovered that letting
in patience and observation. This To execute a controlled drip the sun dry the paper gave me more
technique involves dripping paint painting, I wet a brush in good control over the pigment. When I
onto a wet surface and manipulat- clean water and dampen the surface am in areas with high humidity or
ing it to get different effects. It is the of a sheet of paper exactly where I is more
chilly weather, the paint

best way to learn what pigments do want the pigment to go, working my awkward to handle, and I usually
in reaction and relation one to way up from the bottom of the sheet need more glazes to obtain the color
another and to discover what hap- and forming the shapes of my sub- depth I desire.

pens when they eventually dry Ob- ject — buildings, shipyards, or sim- You can use as many layers of
serving what the pigments do alone ply abstract patterns. Then I drip color as you wish. I have done
and together you a valuable
gives paint onto the wet area and tilt the controlled drips with only one layer,
working knowledge of the medium. paper to move the pigment into the using two or three colors in the
Although happy accidents are occa- appropriate places. same run, while in other drip paint-
sionally successful, knowing how When using this technique, you ings I have used as many as fifteen
they happen gives you a degree of must let the painted surface dry different layers. The beauty of this
control over the medium without completely before adding another technique is that you don't have to
inhibiting the action. coat. I find that a terry towel laid get a painting done all in one day;
I particularly enjoy using the under the wet paper absorbs the you can leave it to come back to
controlled drip technique when I am moisture and allows the paper to another time. Personally, I prefer to
painting the misty illusions of the dry flat. To avoid runbacks, I drip work on two or three paintings at a
shoreline, the mountains of the excess pigment off onto a towel. time so I can better capture the
West, and the abstract forms of the I call the controlled drip my mood and feeling I am after.

Southwestern landscape, with its "Florida technique" because it was

Here I applied many layers of wash and allowed each of them

to dry. I then added a pale wash of blue over the entire
painting, making sure to use a very light touch. While it was
still wet I covered the painting with plastic wrap to give
texture to the sky and foreground. After it had dried I added
two washes of green to the foreground, laying the plastic wrap
back over the paper after each wash.

10
LOW TIDE, 28" x 36" (71.1 cm x 91.4 cm), collection of the artist
 I

Overview of Materials

As you begin to pursue watercolor I never just wash a brush and set G Newton colors. I find that Li-
painting, you will need to consider it down. Each day when I finish quitex is not only more reasonably
some of your materials. Those men- painting, wash my brushes, square
I priced than Winsor & Newton but
tioned here are basic, but other up my flats
and point my rounds, also has more glycerin and thus
chapters will introduce you to ex- then place them on a towel to dry lasts longer. I do, however, use
perimental ones that will expand with the handles elevated by a Winsor & Newton cadmium red and
your art vocabulary. dowel or a piece of wood. That way cadmium orange exclusively, as they

all the water is absorbed and can't are particularly intense and interact
Water Container. I personally prefer run back into the ferrule, which differently with other colors. I also
a deep water container with two damages the brush and loosens the enjoy using some of Holbein's un-
sections. A large amount of water hairs. In addition, I wash my usual colors, particularly opera,
allows the pigment from the brush brushes every two or three days peacock blue, and cobalt violet.
to settle to the bottom, keeping the with a mild soap. I have brushes Whenever I purchase new paints, I
top of the water fairly clean. In one that I've painted with for twenty always add a few colors I've never
side I keep water to use with pure years, ones that are slightly worn tried, so I am constantly experi-
watercolor; in the other is water for but still very useful. menting.
rinsing the brushes I use for gesso or I never clean my palette; the well-

polymer medium. Consequently, I Palette. I find that the color wheel known watercolorist John Pike used
avoid mixing the mediums and am seems to be the logical basis for all to callme Mr. Mud, and I called
assured that no acrylic medium will color placement, so I separate the him Mr. Clean. The heart of my
penetrate and damage my water- cool side of my palette from the palette is where colors overlap and
color brushes. warm. My particular choice of col- bleed together, sometimes seren-
ors has a lot to do with my experi- dipitously For example, when Win-
Brushes. Good brushes are the most ence, and because all of us see sor blue and alizarin crimson meet,
important part of your equipment things differently, your palette will they form a beautiful mauve; as
because they are an extension of not be exactly like mine. these blend with warm sepia, I get
you. Even before you think of creat- My basic palette is shown on the varying shades of gray. Another
ing a painting, become familiar with opposite page. When I travel from color combination that appeals to
your new-found friends and what one part of the country to another, I me is Hooker's green dark and
they can do for you. Practice with often add colors characteristic of a warm sienna. With various com-
them and learn their capabilities. specific region. For example, in the binations from the "bottom of the
As a boy I was fascinated with the Southwest cadmium orange, cad- pot" — the center of the palette —
brushes in my father's sign-painting mium red, cobalt violet, and new come up with both warm and cool
shop. One night while waiting for gamboge yellow seem to dominate, colors and all my gray tones.
my dad, I tried using some of them. while in the tropical islands brilliant
The next day the sign painters were blues and greens take control. Sea- Paper. I prefer Arches 140-lb. cold-
outraged that I would even touch sonal changes also influence my pressed watercolor paper, because it

their brushes, let alone use them. palette. During spring and summer is the most flexible and easiest to
One of the painters explained that in Maine, sepia, greens, and umbers handle and absorbs watercolor
each brush assumed the character of are prominent; in fall I change to beautifully. It offers a consistency in
its owner, making it easy for him to warm oranges and reds; with winter, color reaction and explosion that I

stroke any letter he chose. It was cobalt blue, sap green, and Indian have not found with other papers.
then that I began to learn about the red come into play. You can also use watercolor board
"care and feeding" of brushes. I use mostly Liquitex and Winsor or 300-lb. paper.

'.TROLLED DRIP
My basic palette. Note what happens in the center — the "bottom of the pot."

Colors attack or retreat from

each other; this is particular-
ly noticeable when you com-
bine a coarse with a fine-
ground pigment. Play with
your paints to learn when
reactions like these happen.
In general, warm colors move
forward and cool colors recede.

Cadmium yellow reacting Cadmium orange reacting

with Hooker's green dark. withwarm sienna.

THE CONTROLLED DRIP 13

A Simple Controlled Drip

To learn about the controlled drip

technique, start with a small paint-
ing like the one shown here. Choose
a simple subject so you can concen-
trate on gaining control.
For this painting I used a divided
water bucket, a large wash brush
(1W flat), #5 and 10 round
brushes, and a razor blade. A piece With only the tip of my 1 '/>" fiat brush While the paper was still very wet I

completely saturated with water, I ran dissolved Winsor blue in a large puddle
of terry toweling has been laid
the brush over the dry paper in a on my palette, making sure there were
underneath the painting to allow for
diagonal line. This encouraged a diago- no heavy chunks of pigment in the
even, rapid absorption of water
nal wash to flow across the full width of mixture. Holding the brush in the cen-
through the paper. I chose a limited
the paper without damaging the surface. ter at the edge of the wet surface, I
palette:Winsor blue, Hooker's squeezed it between my fingers, forcing
green dark, and cobalt blue. pigment to drip out in one continuous
stream. Then I removed it quickly to
prevent further dripping.

Now the medium really goes to work. As it begins to spread

into the wet area, it follows the diagonal wash across the
paper but will not pass over to the dry surface. By picking the
paper up on one side or the other, you can make the color
bleed more. Hold the paper by the edges between the palms of
your hands to avoid getting fingerprints on it, since these can
cause stains and create a pigment resist. Turn and twist the

paper to encourage the paint to move over the wet area. You
will find that it takes a bit of concentration to make the
pigment run where you want it. To avoid backruns, drain off

excess pigment on a towel.

To encourage the color to move along When the drying was half over but the With my mutilated brush I stroked a
the line a little further, I took a #5 paper was still damp, I took my #10 series of vertical lines to indicate pine
round brush loaded with water only and round brush and spread the bristles trees. I then crossed the vertical lines
moved the stroke along the edge. apart in the palm of my hand. I will with horizontal ones to suggest
refer to this throughout the book as a branches.
"mutilated brush."

1NTROLLED DRIP
I scraped in tree trunks with a single-edge razor blade. When the painting was dry I dipped my #5 brush into cobalt
blue and, holding it against a ruler slanted at a forty-five-
degree angle, drew a very thin straight line to suggest ski
tracks.

/^T£? v-5"

SNOW SKIERS, 11" x 15" (27.9 cm x 38.1 cm), collection of the artist

Then with a touch of red I painted the torsos of the skiers, and indicated their skis
and legs with dark blue. The size of the figures helps define the expanse of the ski
area, putting everything into perspective. I finished the painting by adding some
shadow lines, some more trees, and my signature.

THE CONTROLLED DRIP 15

A More Complicated Drip
Once you've mastered the basics of as I do, that a meditation process page 11. Each weight of plastic
the controlled drip, you're ready to seems to occur when you're watch- wrap creates a different effect.
experiment with more complex sub- ing the pigments blend and explode Crinkled plastic gives you one kind
ject matter. When working on a as they slide from side to side across of pattern, smooth another. In addi-
complicated painting, I always start the paper. tion, you will find that the results

with a warm yellow, first fight, then As you continue experimenting, you get vary according to the damp-
dark. The yellow on white paper you'll find many different ways of ness of the paper and the length of
seems to add a glow that reflects using this technique. You can even time the plastic wrap stays on the
through the drips of additional col- combine it with plastic wrap, which painted surface.
ors and gives the painting a warm, you apply to the wet painted sur-

even glaze. I am sure you will find, face, as was done in Low Tide,

First I lay in a very wet wash of clear water, covering the area For the first color I mix up a large puddle of cadmium yellow
I want to flood with color and forming the initial silhouette at and alizarin crimson, and fill my brush with it. With my
the top of the water line. Still using plain water, with a IV2" index and middle fingers I slowly press the color out of the
flat brush I create the shapes of the lighthouse, building, and brush, letting it drop onto the surface at about the center of
rocks; then I correct the lines with a #5 round brush to get a the picture area. Then I watch it spread and do its own thing.
fine, straight edge. The paper is now very wet, with an even
surface tension.

While the paint is still in motion, I sharpen some of the edges Now I pick up the paper and curve it to encourage the paint
at the top of the paper with a #5 round brush. to flow away from the top, directing the color while allowing

the pigment's granular quality to form a texture.

< JNTROLLED DRIP

This is a repetition of the first step, only this time I am using You can continue this process as many times as you wish,
alizarin crimson and Winsor red along the silhouette; I let the each time getting the color in the foreground cooler and
color run to the edge of the paper and drip the excess off. darker. Let part of every successive layer show.

TTXT.

LIGHTHOUSE POINT, 11" x 15" (27.9 cm x 38.1 cm), collection of the artist

The last color I added was the cobalt blue of the sky and a wash of Winsor green
to establish the horizon line in the background. In the finished painting you can
see all the colors working with one another, the red glow of first light hitting the
lighthouse and the stones reflecting in the tidewater area below.

THE CONTROLLED DRIP 17

Other Interpretations

"I always allow my subject

matter to come to me; this
painting," says the artist, "is
the result of an extended visit
to Alaska. To begin, I thor-
oughly wet a full sheet of
paper and touched the
brightest area with a brush
loaded with Winsor red, si-

enna, and other reds. Then

while it was very wet, I intro-

duced into the dark area sap

green mixed with bits of red,
blue, and brown, which sug-
gested trees behind the
curved red forms. I then fine-

tuned this area with smaller

brushstrokes for textural and
color variety. As the paper
began to dry, I tipped it

vertically so the paint would

run as far as the drying edge.

When I was satisfied with the

hard-edged shapes, I laid it
Barbara Nechis, KENA] COAST, 22" x 30" (55.9 cm x 76.2 cm), courtesy of the artist

flat to dry completely. Next I

popped out the light rocks at

the top with midtone glazes,

adding darker rocks behind
them. The painting remained
at this stage for several

months; eventually I finished

it by adding layers of red at
the top to suggest mountains
and sky."

Here is another example of a

controlled drip painting, in
which I achieved distance by
putting down a series of hori-
zontal bands of color of in-
creasing width, building the
darkest values in the fore-
ground. I started with a Win-
sor red drip, allowing it to
flow to the bottom of the
paper, followed by alizarin
crimson, Winsor blue, and
more alizarin. Last I added
yellow at the top to create the
feeling of sunlight on moun-
tains in the distance, and
spattered in some pigment to
SUNSET IN MONUMENT VALLEY, 15" x 22" (38.1 cm x 55 9 cm)
suggest bushes. collection of the artist

THE CONTROLLED DRIP

 Dale Meyers, WITH SILVER BELLS, 26 /2 " x 34 1
W (67.3 cm :ourtesy of the artist

Dale's aim in this picture was to give the

impression of fields of iris without mak-
ing them look painted. She folded her Practice Exercises
paper accordion-style, sprayed it lightly

with water, and dipped the edges into a

1 . Lay out your palette.
soft gray-green paint. When the paper
2. Practice brushstrokes to become familiar with your brushes.
was dry she unfolded it and added blue,

purple, and tan undertones, then The brush is an extension of yourself.

mounted the painting on heavy museum 3. Play with several color combinations and watch how they
board. When it had again dried, she work together. Colors are an extension of your feelings.

dropped spots of color on the paper and 4. Do a simple controlled drip using a very limited palette, as
added clear water to make them bleed seen in the demonstration on pages 14-15.
and form petal-like edges. The flower 5. Attempt a completed drip painting, running pigment into
centers and a few sharp spikes were selected areas to form buildings, flowers, boats, or other
added last. "The most difficult part,"
subjects.
she said, "was getting the effect I

wanted while using as little definition as

possible, since I believed that too much
delineation would negate the seeming
spontaneity."

THE CONTROLLED DRIP 19

2
SKIES

As you saw in the previous chapter, clouds that are no more than wisps or 110 Crescent board, but for softer
watercolor has a mind of its own, in the sky; or threatening storm ones I use Arches 140-lb. paper.
but will work for you if you meet it clouds. You don't need to know Before I begin a painting, I always
halfway. This interaction with the their names to be familiar with the put masking tape or painter's tape,
medium is important: No result in moods they can create. available at any hardware or paint
watercolor lacks a cause, and if you The sky should be an integral store, around all four edges of the
understand the cause, you no longer part of a painting, not a unit unto board. I use the 2" or #2 width
have an experiment but a skill you itself. When a sky dominates a because it masks off the paper into
can apply to painting specific sub- painting, it needs to have a beau- a format that fits a standard frame
jects that will express what you tiful, active surface that will occupy size. The tape gives me a surface on
want them to. the space in an exciting way. If it is which to test my brush and supplies
The sky is one of nature's most a minor part of the painting, it must me with an instant mat when it is

dramatic continuing events. And direct your eye back into the picture removed. Wait for the painting to
because it is a major element of and not compete with the other become completely dry before you
almost any landscape composition, compositional elements. remove the tape; if you pull it too
the sky is a perfect place in a Your ability to create depends on soon, you are likely to lift the paper.
painting to let the medium do the level of your ideas, and these are As a precaution, always pull the
the work. connected to your observations of tape at a forty- five- degree angle.
I am sure that like me, you have nature. That's why it's necessary to Additional tools you'll need to fol-

lain on a hillside on a summer stretch out on the grass and study low the demonstrations in this chap-
afternoon picking out strange drag- the patterns, colors, and values of ter are a single-edge razor blade (be
ons, cats, polar bears, or little old the sky at different times of day sure to get the more flexible kind
men growing out of the thunder- and under different atmospheric found and a 2"
in drugstores)

heads or noticed how many shapes conditions. sponge brush that you can find in
and colors clouds come in tall, — When rendering dramatic skies, I hardware stores and can cut into
bottom-heavy cumulonimbus forms prefer rough-textured Strathmore any shape or size.

shaded warm brown; high cirrus watercolor paper mounted on # 1 12

20

r~
 I made this painting using a

series of glazes, allowing the

pigment to move slowly from

top to bottom. After the sky
was completely dry I laid in

the foreground with Winsor

warm sepia, and cad-
blue,
mium orange. When this was
dry, I put a light glaze over

the entire picture to pull it

together. The rocks and

stones were scraped in with a
razor blade.

PEMAQUID POINT, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), collection of the artist

FISHERMAN'S VILLAGE, 45" x 25" (114.3 cm x 63.5 cm), Charlotte County Art Guild, Punta Gorda, Florida

Starting with a dry board, I painted Winsor blue in the sky area and blended in a
little alizarin crimson, progressing into Winsor red and cadmium yellow. I had to
keep the paint moving on the surface to avoid creating spots. I let the painting dry
completely, then added the building shapes in Winsor blue, alizarin crimson, and
warm sepia, scraping out details with a razor blade.

21
Overcast and Stormy Skies

The simplest sky is an overcast one toward the bottom, blending the sky However, if the sky is dramatic like
that's just plain white; however, even over the entire painting surface. the stormy one shown here and on
when this is the case, I prefer to put This makes it possible for reflec- the previous page, I paint it in first.

in some gradation. Whenever you tions of sky to show through later in As you look at a stormy sky,

are working with a plain, bright other parts of the painting. If you study the changing colors and val-
blue or gray sky, it is important to want to accent the angle of light, ues in it as the clouds move along
have an interesting, strong fore- you can add just a touch of color in and block out the sun. Ask yourself
ground to offset it. the top corner of the paper. —
what colors it is a turmoil of violet
Start with a dark wash at the top Quite often I paint my skies only and earth tones, perhaps, or a
of the paper and lighten it by after I have an idea of what the bottom-of-the-pot gray?
adding more water as you move foreground is going to look like.

¥
I began this painting by putting down a very wet wash with I came back into the wet wash with cadmium orange and
cobalt blue, being sure to leave a lot of the white paper warm and placed shadows on what would become the
sepia,
surface showing through. dominant cloud formation. I then added the foreground.

To set my middle value, I added the horizon line. Holding an With a #5 round brush I added trees to the horizon.

atomizer 18" (45.7 cm) from the surface, I sprayed my

semidry painting lightly with water to create white spotting.
You can use an empty atomizer left over from some household
product as long as you wash it thoroughly first. To get larger

white spots, I spatter water with my brush. This works best

on a surface of Winsor blue or cobalt blue.

22 SKIES
To turn the summer sky into a stormy one and make it look Aiming for the full dramatic look of an impending thun-
as if it was going to rain, I wet the painting surface one more derstorm or tornado, I added a touch of Hooker's green dark
time, working very evenly so as not to disturb the underpaint- and alizarin crimson. While the painting was still wet, I took
ing. I then added a mixture of Winsor blue, cadmium orange, a semidry IW flat brush and pulled down through the stormy
and warm sepia to get a nice gray. area to suggest streaks of rain in the distance.

'n K v''v'
SWAMP FIRE, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), collection of the artist

I finished the painting by adding some grasses in the foreground and a few seagulls
flying overhead; their natural patterns among the clouds make a design that helps
carry your eye through the composition.

SKIES 23
Sunsets

The next time you see a setting sun, Here is a photo of the sun
look at the foreground as well as at setting behind the fishing
the sky itself; the silhouettes formed wharf that inspired the paint-

aremade of not just black, but of ing for this demonstration.

many different colors, as seen in When working with this type

of very colorful sky, I like to

Fisherman's Wharf.
use it as the background and
The secret of painting a successful
paint a silhouette against it.
sunset is to blend alizarin crimson
with the blues, reds, oranges, and
yellows you use. As the crimson
blends into the blues, beautiful pur-
ples and mauves develop, and as it

blends with yellows and oranges,

beautiful reds develop.

I began by using my 1 V2" flat brush to paint the top of the Then, working downward, added alizarin crimson, blending
I

paper with Winsor blue. to Winsor red and placing cadmium orange along the horizon
line. Taking a damp brush, I encouraged the pigment to move

in a specific direction, softening the cloud formations.

I suggested the main cloud shapes with

a gray made of Winsor blue and warm
sepia. Wherever I needed a straight line

I used a ruler, holding it at an angle and

placing the ferrule of my #5 round
brush against it. You may prefer to draw
lightly with pencil here instead of using
just the gray watercolor.

24 SKIES
With my 1M>" flat brush I painted in the main wharf struc- I then scraped out the highlights with a razor blade, using a
tures, using a mixture of Winsor blue, alizarin crimson, and squeegee motion, and I finished the details with my #5 round
warm sepia. brush.

FISHERMAN'S WHARF, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), collection of the artist

SKIES 25
Ideas for Design

When a sky becomes the most you have to choose whether to use it As you become involved in study-
important part of a painting, you as background or foreground. The ing skies, paint a variety of small
have to become involved in the painter Hans Hofmann had a sim- examples and set them aside for a
problems of designing some of the how a
ple exercise to help clarify day or two before you add the
cloud formations and decide how subject can be changed from back- foregrounds. I always allow a paint-
you are going to solve them. For ground to foreground. He would ing to become completely dry before
example, the sky must fit with the pour and splatter black ink onto a I add my foreground. I prefer not to
foreground composition so that it blank piece of paper, then would use a hair dryer to speed the process
carries your eye into the picture and place a red dot in the empty space along because it moves the pig-

back to the foreground subject. above the splatter (below left), ment — unless, of course, I want this

As a rule, foreground darks tend where it looked as though it was in to happen, in which case it's an
to come forward, overpowering and the background. When he turned excellent device. When the painting
pushing out background color. Con- the paper upside down, the red dot is pretty close to being finished, I

sequently, it is necessary to establish appeared to be in the foreground add my subject matter to the fore-
"signposts," compositional patterns (below right). Try it! ground — boats, harbors, buildings,
or passages that will direct your Shapes push and pull against one trees, and so forth, giving the pic-

attention to a specific area in a another — some dominate in the pic- ture dimension and interest; details

picture and give the overall work ture plane, others retreat, just as like birds, animals, and figures lying

scale, as the strong diagonal furrows colors do in the ways I mentioned in on a beach or sitting on a rock or
do in Distant Thunder, page 29. the previous chapter. Remember: pier further animate the scene.
When the sky is going to be an Warm colors move forward, cool
important part of a composition, colors recede.

26 SKIES
In this painting I wanted a soft sky, so I began with a damp Then considered some of the design aspects of my compo-
I

board and brushed on some cobalt blue, letting the cloud With a sponge-rubber brush, I moved the pigment
sition.

forms take their own direction. around until I felt the mood and atmosphere of a summer sky.

I wanted to develop some puffy clouds as part of the overall

design. To do this you can simply leave areas of the paper's
surface white, or blend and lift out color with a IV2" flat

brush. You can also use tissue to lift color, but it tends to leave
a hard edge. Varying the lifting technique, in this painting I

used an elephant-ear sponge to bring down rain patterns that

would relate my sky to the foreground.

Adding the foreground, I es-

tablished perspective, placing

warm colors against cool col-
ors, lights against darks, and
soft edges against hard edges
for compositional variety.

The diagonal lines in the

grass and Spanish moss not

only provide a sense of move-
ment but also lead the eye
into the background, back
along the tree branch, and
toward the subject of the
painting, the heron.

RESTING PLACE, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), collection of the artist

SKIES 27
Using Contrasts

An important rule to remember is dramatic contrasts that will make

to use a light foreground with a your paintings visually exciting.
stormy sky, and a dark foreground Don't let what you think of as
with a bright, brilliant sky. Think typical sky colors limit your palette.

about placing warm colors — the There are the green skies of tor-

reds and yellows — against cool nadoes, the mauve of an early

blues and greens to enhance an morning haze, and the enveloping
area. Use light colors against dark gray of a foggy sky that gives
ones or dark against light, as well as everything a dreamy feeling.
soft against hard edges to create

For this demonstration I began with a dry board and laid in Next I added cadmium yellow and blended it into the alizarin

Winsor blue. While the paint was still wet, I added alizarin to obtain an orange, then carried the yellow all the way down
crimson, which gave me a lovely mauve. to the horizon line.

Finally after the sky had

dried, I added the silhouette
of the lighthouse, using a
mixture of Winsor blue, al-

izarin crimson, and warm

sepia. With a razor blade I

scraped out the rocks.

BASS LIGHTHOUSE, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), private collection, Ohio

28 SKIES
 This painting is an excellent example of

a stormy sky made striking by the use of

strong contrasts. Note how the heavy,

grayish-purple storm clouds are offset
by areas of the paper left white to keep
light in the picture, and how their soft

forms stand out against the hard edges

of the horizon line and the land in the

foreground. Note, too, how strong ver-

tical elements — the palm trees — con-
trast with and balance the dominant
horizontals.

Eliot O'Hara, SARASOTA HARBOR, 22" x 28" (55.9 cm x 71.1 cm),

collection of Valfred Thelin

DISTANT THUNDER, 20" x 30" (50.8 cm x 76.2 cm), private collection, Indiana

This painting depicts a storm approaching an Indiana farm while the sunlight still

shines on the fields. The sky a combination of bright light and dark, ominous
clouds, was painted in wet-on-wet two-thirds of the way down the surface; the
bottom third was left very dry since this would become the solid ground in contrast
with the softer sky. While the top was drying, I put bright yellows and oranges
across the foreground and created furrows in the fields with a comb. Just before the
painting was completely dry I used a razor blade to scratch in the lightning bolts
behind the barn.

SKIES 29
Haze and Fog

Painting a fog not only results in a In this picture of Venice I used staining
lovely piece of work but also offers pigments — here, phthalo blue and al-

practice in achieving subtle value izarin crimson — and them dry com-
let

relations, an important aspect of the pletely before attempting to create the

When I want to atmospheric effects I wanted. Then with

painter's craft.
a terry cloth towel moistened in water, I
create a simple haze or fog effect,
began to wipe off the upper layers of
first I moisten my entire surface
colors, starting with the background.
with a spray of water. While the
surface is still damp, I paint objects
in the distance in a light- value tone,
working slowly toward the fore-

ground as the paint dries. When the

painting is completely dry, I add the
foreground objects.
In addition to fog's inherent
beauty, this common atmospheric
condition is a means for reducing
the complexity of a picture that has
gotten a little bit out of hand; in
muting all the details, a haze can
Making sure to use a clean section of I used a paper stencil to protect the
unify disparate parts of a composi-
damp towel for each area I worked on, I parts of the foreground I didn't want
tion. The best way to capture a fog continued to wipe off paint, leaving a to lose.
in this manner is to use staining hazy silhouette behind. I moved from
colors like Winsor blue, alizarin top to bottom, turning the towel over
crimson, cadmium orange, Winsor and around so as not to pull too much
red, and warm sepia, and then rub pigment down.
off the pigment with a damp terry
towel. Just enough color will remain
to create the mistiness you're after.
Other colors stain but not so in-

tensely as the ones I've mentioned

here; try painting swatches of color
and wiping them off after they dry
which pigments will suit
to discover
your purpose.

VENICE, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), collection of the artist

Finally, I sharpened a few details and highlights in the middle ground, making
clean, crisp strokes with a #5 round and a 1" fiat brush.

30 SKIES
Another Interpretation

The artist began the underpainting by

laying raw sienna on the top third of the

picture surface, washing it down to a

mixture of cobalt blue and ultramarine
blue. She then denned some pine
branches against this ground. A second
wash, thickened with burnt umber to
the consistency of thin acrylic, was
applied thinly at the top and more
heavily under the tree branches. Next,
Ruth sprayed the painting with an
atomizer so the wash would run over
and mix with the cool light blues of the

pine needles. Under the tree she

brushed the wash up and down until it

had the appearance of a watercolor gone

dry and dull. When the painting was
completely dry she sprayed it overall,

then used a 3" foam brush to pull the

pines back to the underlying wash,
scraping the needles out with the brush

Ruth Wynn, MAINE'S MISTY MORNING, 28" X 32" (71.1 cm x 81.3 cm), handle. Using a large watercolor brush,
courtesy of the artist she wiped out the foreground. The first

wash of ultramarine blue had stained

and left a blue haze
the bristol board
thatwas thus revealed and provided the
misty atmosphere the artist was after.
Practice Exercises
Once the areas under the branches were
dry, Ruth gave them a short spray of
1 Take time to look at the skies at different times of day and
water and wiped downward with a
observe the various shapes and colors of the cloud formations. ragged towel to create the feeling of
Make mental notes or sketches. falling dew. "My plan," says the artist,
2. When a dramatic sky such as a sunset is overwhelming, pay "was to reverse nature's coloration by
attention to how the foreground looks. Make thumbnail using blues on the land and brown
sketches of the foreground elements, then simplify them in your overhead. The picture reads from left to

paintings. right, starting from the dark area under

3. Experiment with pigments to see what they do. Set up several the branches and fading out to the
8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm) pieces of watercolor board and highlighted boughs, the dew falling off

them bringing the eye back to the

apply different colors, some wet-in-wet, others on a dry surface,
ground and the mist rising from it."
and watch how they move back and forth with one another.
4. Paint different skies and coordinate various foregrounds
with them.
5. Try the wipe-out technique to create a fog in a painting that
did not work out too well. See what areas you can make soft
and what areas you can leave hard, what will remain part of the
original painting and what you can create anew.
6. Try different paper stocks and boards to see what effects

their various surfaces bring to your skies. Start with #110 and
112 Crescent board and Arches 140-lb. paper. It never hurts to
experiment and look for things that will appeal to you.

SKIES 31
FOUND MATERIALS

Finding forms your medium creates pad, and India ink, and when paint- tures or move paint around and
on the painting surface is one aspect ing, I work on #112 Cres-
usually have discovered that fingernails are
of working freely; another is finding cent board cut into 8" x 10" particularly good for suggesting
unusual tools to create texture and (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm) and grass. The English painter Joseph
design within your painting. These 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm) Mallord William Turner used to cut
tools and the way they can be used pieces that can easily be carried in his to a point for that purpose,
are as varied as your imagination my bag. Then I collect grasses, although I find this isn't necessary.
will allow. twigs, and other natural items to You can have fun working with
The most important thing to con- use as drawing and painting imple- any of these tools if you don't fight

sider as you apply these tools to ments, sometimes chewing the ends them; letthem work for you. Try to
your painting is not to let any of twigs as the Indians did to create think of any item you collect in the
particular technique be obvious in brushes. I might even use pieces of field or at home with creative intu-
your work. If someone comments on shell or leaves to paint with instead itiveness. How can it be applied to
your "beautiful razor-blade paint- of a brush. I constantly use my the watercolor medium and its sur-
ing," you blew it. You must always fingernails and hands to create tex- faces? Ask yourself, "What if . . .
?"

integrate technique with overall

content.
Keep an eye out constantly for
patterns and forms that you may be
able to achieve with the tools you
now use or with new tools. In
hardware stores, junk shops, the
kitchen, or in the field itself, I find
many tools comparable to what can
be purchased in art supply stores
and am always seeking new prod-
ucts on the market to try. I enjoy
discovering ways to use them in my
work and the various effects they
will create, and thus I encourage my

students to experiment and im-

provise with both manufactured and
natural materials.
When sketching in the field, I Here are some unconventional but useful found materials, a few of which I've used
often begin with only a knife, sketch in the demonstrations in this chapter.

32
BARNSIDE, 38" x 48" (96.5 cm x 121.9 cm), private collection, New Jersey

In making this painting I used several different techniques based on found

materials. These included paper tape and a rag to mask certain areas while I

worked on others, notably the lettering on the side of the barn; a razor blade to
scrape in the farm equipment, ladder, buckets, and other details; a wire brush to
create the wood's texture; and my fingernails to scratch in the hay on the barn floor.

To develop the texture of the barn walls, I handprinted the surface, spattered it with
water, handprinted it and then when it was dry, pulled a wire brush
a second time,
over it. When the painting was completely dry I added a light gray wash to accent
the texture created by the wire brush. I formed the grass growing up against the
barn and the snow blowing in the foreground by pulling the wire brush down from
the painted surface into the part of the paper left white and adding a bit of white
spatter.

33
Exploring Diverse Textures

Grasses swaying in the breeze and

giving the impression of moving
water excite me. There are various
ways to suggest grass; the effects
you want and the way you achieve
them should work in relationship to
the whole painting. The best, most
direct approach is to be bold and
attack the thought of the substance,
creating it on the painting surface
as if you are actually running your
hands through it.

To depict grass I choose colors

according to season. For spring and
summer scenes I begin with an
underpainting of bright green and
paint a dark green over it; for fall
and winter scenes cadmium I use KERN'S POINT, 20" x 30" (50.8 cm x 76.2 cm), private collection, Wells, Maine
yellow underneath warm sepia.
I have painted this scene many times in many different moods; here I've tried to
Then while the painting is still
capture the graceful sweep of the land and the gentle movement of the grasses in an
damp but not wet, I scratch it with
S-shaped composition. The field, many subtle shades of brown and yellow, gains
my fingernails, using both hands
depth and a variety of textures when I scratch into the paint to create the
freely to suggest the grass blowing impression of sunlight striking the blades of grass.
in the breeze.

Other readily available scratching

tools that you can use to develop a
variety of textures are wire brushes
and scrub brushes. I particularly
like to use them when I am painting
the texture of tree bark, pine nee-
dles, or weathered old wood. Combs
are similarly useful.
Another technique is to use the
pressure of your hand to imitate
such textures as tree bark, weed
clusters, bushes, animal skins, and
feathers. Using your hand to remove
excess pigment and water, you can
make a pattern with it; the results
depend largely on how damp the
paper is. When you employ this

technique, be careful not to carry

Close-up detail of Kern's Point showing the bold and delicate textures of grasses
the color you pick up on your hand
created by fingernail scratching.
to a new surface.

FOUND MATERIALS
Here is a good way to depict pine needles. First I put down In the painting Distant Tliunder on page 29, 1 used a comb
the design with brilliant green and scraped in the main on the damp foreground to indicate furrowed fields, as shown
branch and limbs with a razor blade. When it was dry, I laid here. You will find that a comb is uniquely suited to creating
on a coat of Hooker's green dark and cobalt blue, letting the such striations anywhere you need them.
original design show through. Then while the surface was still

very wet, I took a wire brush and scraped through the

painting to create the pine needles, all the time thinking about
their texture.

Next I added Hooker's green

dark in the background,
scraping it with a wire brush
to imitate pine needles. I

then placed shadows across

the tree limbs and added a
red spot for the cardinal.

Handprinting is an excellent way to

bring texture into a painting. Here, in
the first step, I washed in the tree, then
used my hand against the damp surface
to suggest bark. RED BIRD, 8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm),
private collection

FOUND MATERIALS 35
Scratching In Grass

In the next step I picked up

warm sepia and Hooker's
green dark on different areas
of a mutilated #12 red sable
round brush and scattered
the color throughout the tree
area. With a razor blade I

cut out the shapes of the

trees, including limbs and
branches.

Painting negatively, I took a wash of

alizarin and Indian red across the stern
of the boat and around the letters of its

name. Practice this technique with the

alphabet, painting around the letters
rather than the letters themselves. Nega-
tive spaces like these can be interesting

For this painting I began with a light and useful in a number of spots in your
pencil drawing of the boat, then added painting; in addition to making signs,

the gray of the sky with a mixture of you can outline figures, buildings, and
warm sepia and Winsor blue. While this other forms. I favor this technique in my
was drying I painted in the foreground own work for depicting fenceposts and
with cadmium yellow, allowing some of lobster pots.

the white of the paper to show through

for sparkle. I also used a light spatter at
the bottom of the painting.

made a handprint across the still-damp boat to suggest peeling paint and added
thewooden rails below. Using a Wi' mutilated flat brush, I painted in a foreground
with warm sepia. Then I clawed it with my fingernails to create grass.

5 FOUND MATERIALS
Next I added highlights with a razor Using a sponge, I placed dark areas Finally, with a #5 round brush I di-

blade. under the pines and then added some rected spatter across the foreground.
orange to the trees to suggest dead Then, to pull the painting together, I

needles and autumn leaves. washed a shadow of alizarin crimson,

Winsor blue, and a touch of warm
sepia over the entire surface.

ANN B, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), collection of the artist

FOUND MATERIALS 37
Creating Wood Textures

Texture, color, grain, and age give

wood its character, which you
should aim to capture in your paint-
ing to provide interest. Handprints,
wire brushes, razor blades, and
palette knives are all useful tools for
achieving such effects.

In the first step I established the details After this had dried, I added a little While the painting was still damp,
of the bucket and the light forms heavier wash of warm sepia and Winsor scraped straight down through the
reflecting on the wall behind it. Then I blue, allowing the light from the win- wall's surface with a wire brush to give
painted a watery warm sepia over the dow to shine on the bucket. Once more I the wood texture. You can bend and
entire area and added hand texture, used a handprint to create texture. twist the wire brush to vary the texture
being sure to dry my hand after each as you wish. To suggest batten boards, I

application. used a razor blade; a palette knife

would also suit this purpose.

The scythe handle was added

for design, while the water
dripping into the bucket and
down its side animates the
painting. The cast shadows
on the wall add depth.

38 FOUND MATERIALS
Stenciling

Various materials can be used as

stencils to add design and pattern to
your work. These include perforated
florist's ribbon and lace doilies. You
can also cut paper stencils to mask
areas you want to preserve in a
painting or to surround areas where
you want to lift color to bring back
a lost white.

WW-
*y~ '&• ~
.

Here I simply laid a piece of perforated florist's ribbon on my

painting surface and washed across it with color, then lifted it

off to get a positive pattern. You can also lay it on an already

painted surface and lift out color with a damp sponge to get
the pattern in negative. This device is great for depicting
industrial sites, boat marinas, and floral or abstract designs.

If you want to stencil with a doily, follow the same

procedure. Doilies can be used to soften edges or to
suggest lace curtains.

FOUND MATERIALS 39
Masking Areas

Masking out areas with various

materials is one way of maintaining
the original white ground of your
painting surface. Personally I prefer
to paint around such spaces, treat-

ing them as negative areas rather

than covering them up for protec-
tion, but when I find it necessary to
use a masking technique, I choose
between masking tape or a wax Next I used masking fluid, in this case
medium such as crayon, candles, Moon Mask, as a resist to maintain the

paraffin, or wax paper. whites.

Of all possible ways to cover an

area I want to preserve in a paint-
ing, masking tape is my favorite. I
use it to mask around rocks, trees,
and overlapping white areas
boat bows and masts. I also use
like
^
tape to create a specific design by
applying it in patterns, putting it

down and To create the trees for this composition,

picking it up again and
first I placed a strip of draftsman's tape
repeating the process to make a
on the surface of the board (it comes off With a wax candle, I drew in the limbs
series of transparent lines and hard
more easily than masking tape). I then of the trees. Sometimes when I want a
edges, as the demonstration shows.
took a razor blade and cut through the very fine line Iwax paper over the
lay
Wax resists may be spread over
tape, giving irregular edges to the tree surface and draw on it. Wax may be
wide areas of white paper or over a trunks. The piece I removed was used added at any time to protect a color
base color. In this demonstration I for another tree. from additional washes.
used wax to create the twigs. Wax
paper provides a good resist; place
it over your painting surface before
you start to paint, then sketch trees,

twigs, highlights, or whatever draw-

ing you want to stay white on the
paper throughout the painting. To
remove the wax from an area, lay a
paper towel over it and press with a
warm iron.

I also find that Vaseline (pe-

used a razor blade to highlight the
troleum jelly) works as a resist to
rocks and to suggest a stone wall be-
create rock effects; it does not stain
hind the trees. In the foreground, which
and evaporates afterward. The in-
I had underpainted with new gamboge
sect-repellent spray Off, another un-
and Winsor green and covered with
usual material to try, creates a I looker's green, I used my fingernails to
spattering effect that lends itself well Next I washed on a series of fall colors,
scratch in grass, using larger strokes in
beach and rock textures. To get a placing darks at the bottom and lights
to front and smaller ones in the distance.
at the top.
specific result, apply it in a series of

patterns.

40 FOUND MATERIALS
Next I removed the masking tape from After removing the masking tape, I To finish, I washed a soft mauve mix-
the trees, working very slowly to avoid added a bit of soap to my pigment so ture of cobalt violet and Winsor blue
tearing the surface of the paper. If the paint would cover the wax surface. over the background trees to push them
necessary, you can use a hobby knife Then I dipped a sponge into the pre- back into the distance. Finally, I applied
to lift it. pared colors and developed leaf patterns a rubber cement pickup to lift out
over the birch tree trunks. the masking fluid I had used in an
earlier stage.

BIRCH TREES, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), collection of

FOUND MATERIALS 41
Other Interpretations

In this painting the tree trunks in the

forest were scraped out with a razor
blade, the foreground was cut into with
a palette knife to suggest movement,
and the textured weeds and grass were
created with plain table salt. You can
also use kosher or coarse sea salt;
dropped onto a semidry area of your
painting, it will absorb the color and
leave a beautiful white spattered pat-
tern. The coarser the salt, the more
dramatic the results. This technique can
be very effective when you are painting
flowers or rocks, and works best with
cobalt blue and the earth tones. It's

sometimes advisable when you can to

use water spray instead of salt, as salt
seems to cling to a surface for days, and Patricia Burlin, NEW ZEALAND GLADE, 15" x 25" (38.1 cm x 63 5 cm), private collection
over the years tends to yellow rag
papers.

Maxine Masterfield is known for work-

ing with found materials. "I do not like
to impose my will on the paper," the
artist says of her work, "but prefer to let

nature interact with my materials and

leave own mark." Here she has used
its

sand. "Down at the water's edge," she

explained, "I sprinkled sand over a dry
piece of stretched watercolor paper.
Then I watched as the water moved
over the paper and sand, creating vari-
ous forms. When was pleased with
I the
evolving pattern, I moved the paper
away from the water's edge and laid it

out in the sun to dry. When it was

almost dry, I sprayed various hues of
liquid watercolor over the surface and
placed halves of nautilus shells on it,

leaving them there until the paper was

dry the next day Then I removed them
and brushed the sand off; impressions of
the shells and the patterns created by
the tide's movement remained."

Maxine Masterfield, LIGHT OF THE SEA, 44" x 44" (111.8 cm x 111,8 cm),
courtesy of the artist

42 FOUND MATERIALS
 '
& '
*Sr.

Carlton Plummer, PORT CLYDE, 30" x 40" (76.2 cm x 101 6 cm), courtesy of the artist

Another artist who uses a variety of

found materials in his work is Carlton
Plummer. "Based on a color thumbnail Practice Exercises
sketch I did on location," he says of his
award-winning work, "this painting was
1 Find different tools that you can use in your painting to
created in the studio with very little
create lines and forms: wire brushes, scrapers, razor blades,
pencil drawing. I mostly painted wet
into wet to create the illusion of space,
palette knives, and so forth.

light, and atmosphere. Dark and light 2. Try depicting grass in a painting by scratching it in with your
contrasts create diagonal movement fingernails.
that forces the eye to move around the 3. Experiment with your handprint to create textures.
composition in a zigzag manner. The 4. Apply salt on samples of many different colors and let them
strong contrast on the stern of the boat dry completely. See what effects you get.
acts as a focal point that stands out
5. Experiment with a variety of resists: masking tape, rubber
against the muted tones of the misty
cement, petroleum jelly, candle wax, crayons, and wax paper.
background. To add textural effects, I
Some resist paint better than others; you need to be aware of
used spatter and scraped and lifted
each one's capability so you can get the results you desire.
paint while my surface was still damp.
For the rock forms, I used a credit card
and a razor blade, and for many of the
fine lines I used a palette knife and the
end of my brush handle."

FOUND MATERIALS 43
TREES AND FOLIAGE

Every geographical region has its how the colors and contours of the east and Northwest coasts, rocks
own identity, thanks to the land- land differ from your usual sur- are especially dominant in the land-

marks nature provides. Trees are roundings and pay attention to the scape and should be included as
some of the most prominent of plant life. These details will be of objects of regional identification.
these, and in your painting they can use later when you want to re-create The advantage of these geograph-
easily bring to mind the mood of a your impressions of a place in a ical landmarks that you can use
is

specific place, as in Woodlight, painting. For example, you can use them to improve your composition,
which recalls the deep forest of palm trees, banyan trees, palmetto add interest, or cover up a mistake,
upstate Maine. bushes, Spanish moss, and Aus- even as they convey the local color.
To convey reality in a painting it tralian pines to create a Southern I recommend that you first do
is necessary for you to be familiar effect, while scrub pines and white several drawings of trees to become
with the area you're depicting. My pines connote the West. When de- familiar with your subject; then
house in Maine, camouflaged by picting the Southwest, cacti and when you're ready to paint, you'll
trees, sits high on a cliff overlooking other desert plants against a back- be able to work directly and allow
the ocean and Narrow Cove, and drop of distant mountains painted the medium freedom of movement.
when I'm at home in my studio, I in mauve tones set the right atmo- As you work through this chapter,
need only look out the window to sphere. In the Midwest, white you will find that it is an extension
study the shape and color of the birches prevail in the northern part of the last one on found materials.
trees and rocks. of the country, maples and oaks in Here I continue to put to use razor
Evoking locations other than the the midsection, so use whichever are blades, combs, wire brushes, and
one you live in depends on how appropriate to your subject. In the stenciling, this time showing you
closely you observe what charac- North, pines and milkweed pods are how to create trees and bushes
terizes them. When you travel, note typical, and along both the North- with them.

I began this painting with a yellow structure on a wet surface.

When this was dry, I covered the entire surface with cadmium
orange mixed with red, then laid plastic wrap over it. I first

silhouetted the shapes of the major trees in the center, then

painted in the floral patterns in the foreground. Finally I

added the detail of weathered bark and further defined the

roots of the tree along the eroded edge of the riverbank.

44
WOODLIGHT, 36" x 48" (91.4 cm x 121.9 cm), private collection, Indianapolis

45
Sponge Techniques

There is an infinite choice of bushes and large quantities of leaves

sponges, and these can be cut to on trees.

different shapes and sizes to use as I prefer to use a sponge instead of

painting tools. Commercial sponges tissue to lift color because it allows
have one texture, natural ones an- for soft edges. As I mentioned in the
other; all can be used either to lift chapter on skies, tissue tends to
out or apply color. leave a hard edge.
My favorites are natural elephant- When painting with a sponge,
ear sponges because they reproduce you're using it as a brush, not
the organic forms of the landscape scrubbing the floor with it; you need Here is an array of sponges you can use
best. They are excellent for creating a very light touch. for painting trees.

'
*.< "'

'. I
'

&«,&

Using cadmium yellow deep for the underpainting, I laid in I squeezed my sponge to a point and dipped it into Hooker's

the forms of three different types of trees with my sponge. For green dark, then flipped it from left to right, using large
the oak and the birch, I let this first color dry, then added sweeps at the bottom and smaller ones at the top to suggest
Winsor red. The last color, alizarin crimson, was added while the branches, just as I had in the underpainting. While these
the trees were still wet. I kept the darker colors toward the areas were still very wet I scraped in the trunk, pulling the
bottom of each. Next I scraped out the trunks with a razor whole blade of the razor to one side and overlapping my
blade, allowing the colors to mix completely. After the surface strokes. I then scraped the branches out at equal spaces in
was thoroughly dry, I took a #5 round brush and painted in clusters of five or six. To create summer trees instead of fall

the negative shapes: darks behind the light trunks and trees, use brilliant green with a touch of Hooker's for the
branches. I finished by touching a light color to the tops underpainting in place of the cadmium yellow, and overpaint
again, blending the branches into the leaves. For the pine tree, with cadmium yellow or new gamboge.

46 TREES AND FOLIAGE

Stencil Effects

In the last chapter I touched on

stenciling; here I will show you how
to use this technique more exten-
sively to develop trees. How much
stenciling to use in a painting de-
, %
pends on the type of tree you're
depicting and how it appears in
nature. A word of advice: Don't let
this or any other technique become
obvious in your painting.
In addition to using paper stencils Here I tore a piece of paper into a shape You will find that in outline most bare
for trees, I like to use a piece of torn that pleased me. I dipped a mutilated trees resemble the shape of their leaves.
paper to form a hillside, as you will round brush into cadmium yellow and Keeping this in mind, I cut out a piece
see. For this demonstration I used stippled the color on the surface as of paper in a leaf shape that would
the same colors as in the sponge though stenciling with the tip of the imitate the silhouette of the tree I

technique. brush. I moved it around until I ob- wanted to create. Holding the stencil in

tained a satisfying texture, then added position and using a #5 round brush, I

Winsor red (alizarin crimson would also drew in the trunk lines and limbs of one
work) to suggest the color of fall foliage. tree and did another when the first was
Finally, I added the dark shadows on the dry. I continued to add more trees one
lower part of the trees with warm sepia after the next, allowing their bare
and cut details into the trunks and branches to overlap and creating the
limbs with a razor blade, creating a feeling of winter.

stand of birch trees.

For the tree on the left in this

illustration, I used another

paper stencil. Holding it in

place, I applied cadmium

yellow to
and
my
let it dry,
painting surface
then added the
.
y >,,
trunk and branches with a
#5 round brush. Next, I

accented the bottom leaves

with cadmium orange and
alizarin crimson; to finish, I

scraped out the trunk with a

razor blade.

TREES AND FOLIAGE 47

Adding Drama

When painting a scene in nature,

choose to accent any one of the
three picture elements of fore-
ground, middle ground, or back-
ground for dramatic effect. In
Property Line, for instance, the big
white expanse of snow serves this
purpose, heightening our focus on
the tree stump, while in Afterglow,
color is the dramatic element.

AFTERGLOW, 28" x 32" (71.1 cm x 81.3 cm), private collection, Bradenton, Florida

Pine trees in Yellowstone National Park inspired this painting. The glow of the

sulfur flats' oranges and purples at dawn contributes to this area's unique atmo-
sphere. I tried to capture it by painting a wet-in-wet background using cadmium
orange and cobalt violet for full dramatic impact. I added the trees after the

painting had dried.

I began with a cadmium orange under-

painting, covered this with warm sepia
and Winsor blue, then handprinted the
stump, using a razor blade to scratch in
details and snow patterns on it. When
adding the background, I aimed to
create both a positive and a negative
area for the purpose of drama. Then to

heighten that effect, I dipped my razor

blade into color and created the wire of
the fence, completing the dynamic Z
shape of the composition. The grass
swaying in the wind gives further ani-
mation to the painting.

PROPERTY LINE, 24" x 30" (61.0 cm x 76.2 cm), private collection, Portland, Maine

TREES AND FOLIAGE

Accounting for Distance

I used light values of cobalt blue and warm sepia for the soft repeated the same strokes in a slightly darker color over the
green of the distant trees in the upper left-hand corner, and a original drawing. For the palmetto bushes in the center
paper stencil to create the snowy hillside. Moving a #10 foreground, I used a IW' flat brush loaded with Hooker's
round mutilated brush upward and across the painting green dark at the bottom edge and a touch of cadmium
surface, I created the pine branches; then I scratched in a few orange at the top to make a series of strokes in cartwheel
white highlights. After the pigment had dried, I moved the fashion, the results looking like spokes. I continued to put
same paper stencil to the foreground and added a second, more down, letting them dry each To bring out the
time.
darker layer of trees with cobalt blue and Hooker's green texture of the leaves, I used a razor blade, moving it back and
dark. The pine trees in the immediate foreground are again forth on the damp surface. On the right, the distant deciduous
Hooker's green, warm sepia, and a touch of cadmium orange, trees were painted with light values of cobalt blue and warm
done with a mutilated brush, a razor blade, and a wire brush sepia; for the row in front of them, the colors are darker and
at the edges to soften the pine needles. As the painting dried, 1 warmer, just as you would perceive them in nature. The trees

added the fine branches at the top with a #5 round brush. I in the lower right foreground could be birches, aspen, or
took warm sepia on a mutilated brush and applied it at the similar species. Here I used a sponge, putting down cadmium
bottom of the trees to suggest the darkness of the forest floor. orange first and topping it with brilliant green. When the
To depict the distant palm trees, I mixed alizarin crimson, surface was slightly dry I finished the painting with Hooker's
Winsor blue, and a touch of cobalt violet to get a soft, pale green dark and scraped the trunks and branches in with a
mauve. Using just a few strokes, I put the first color down on razor blade.
a very wet surface. When my painting was completely dry I

TREES AND FOLIAGE 49

Observing Differences

To create the palm tree with fan-type fronds in the back-

ground at left, I pulled a IV2" flat brush loaded with Hooker's
green dark on the inside and cadmium orange on the outside
across my painting surface, working in a semicircle. I let my
first strokes dry before going back to add more to each fan.
The colors of the trunk are warm sepia and cadmium orange
mixed on the brush, which I applied in a Crosshatch manner
to suggest the remains of dead fronds. While this was still
wet, I crosshatched highlights on the palm leaves with a razor
blade. In the left foreground is a philodendron; all species can
be depicted either by painting in positive strokes that define
the basic shapes of the leaves or by painting negatively
around them. To create the featherlike palm fronds of the tree UP THE CREEK, 11" x 18" (27.9 cm x 45.7 cm),
private collection, Florida
at right, I cut a curved mask from a piece of paper and
pointed it outward from the top of the trunk. With my I made this little painting in Florida when I was asked how to
double-loaded brush, downward from the mask,
I stroked depict the native foliage. I began with cadmium orange where
varying the direction of the fronds. With the mask still in
I wanted the foliage to appear. When it was dry, I overpainted
place, I used my razor blade to highlight the fronds. The
the tree trunk with warm sepia and a touch of cadmium
trunk is painted with a rounded stroke using a mixture of orange in Crosshatch fashion, giving it a handprint, then
warm sepia and Winsor blue and a damp, slightly mutilated
scratching in the bark pattern. I then overpainted the other
brush. For the sea oats, I used a mixture of cadmium orange foliage areas with a mixture of Hooker's green dark and
and warm sepia and my #5 round brush to draw the stems, warm sepia, scratching back into it with a razor blade to
pulling my thumb across them while the color was still wet to create the palmetto bushes in the foreground and the
create their fuzzy panicles.
mangrove roots in the background. To achieve the reflection,

first I wet the area with water, then with a double-loaded

brush of Hooker's green dark and warm sepia, I lightly glazed

along the shore, letting the medium run. I finished by running

a thirsty — slightly damp — brush through it to create ripples
and adding mauve shadows on the sand.

TREES AND FOLIAGE

There are many varieties of pine trees; this demonstration
offers a general approach for painting almost any kind. For
the background trees I used cobalt blue with a light touch of
warm sepia. In the illustration at left I held down a mask of

torn paper to suggest the ground. With a mutilated #12

round brush, I picked up color and pulled the strokes straight
upward, leaving fuzzy edges. I then crossed over them,
making my strokes larger near the ground and smaller at the
top to suggest the common balsam Next, with the
fir.

mutilated brush filled with Hooker's green dark and a touch

of cadmium orange, I suggested pine needles. You can also use
a wire brush for this purpose, scraping in the direction the
needles grow in. I scraped out the trunk and branches with a
razor blade, then lightly softened the tree trunk with a
mutilated brush. The second tree represents a blue spruce.
painted the century plant in the left foreground with a
For this I laid in cobalt blue with a little warm sepia, then
took my double-loaded \V->" flat brush, allowing the pigment to dry
mutilated brush and pulled downward to define the
limbs, being careful not to get the "Christmas tree" look. I
between the layering of the leaves. Then I used a #5 round
used my razor blade up the middle for the trunk and brought
brush for the main stalk and the seed pods. For this and the
the branches down smaller cactus plants I used Winsor blue and Winsor green
to the outer edge with it. The third tree is

the white, or yellow-leaf, pine, with a touch of Hooker's green dark. The striations were
which has a bending and
twisting character. Allow the first strokes of cobalt blue and
created with a comb, and the foreground rocks were scraped
warm with a razor blade. For the prickly pear cactus at right, I used
sepia to suggest this feeling. Come back with a mixture
of Hooker's green dark and cadmium orange on the boughs.
a flat brush to make each leaf and a #5 round brush for the

Use warm sepia flowers. I created the tumbleweeds with the swirl of a #12
for the trunk, and while it is still wet, scrape
in the texture lines and brush filled with watered-down cadmium orange and Indian
highlights.
red, which I then scraped into for texture.

TREES AND FOLIAGE 51

Other Interpretations

"I feel that to become more than a

reportorial statement, a painting must
be the gathering of idea and mood,"
says this artist. "It is my intention that
Loner not only be seen but also felt. Not
just witnessed, but experienced. The
shapes and rhythms of nature provide
the painter with a deep well from which
to draw evocative responses. I began
Loner with large, sweeping brushstrokes
of very liquid color over the entire

painting surface. While this was still

fairly wet, I quickly modeled the pat-

terns, adding darks to enlarge the sense
of dimension. The colors I used up to
this point were raw umber, olive green,

Winsor blue, burnt sienna, burnt um-

ber, yellow ochre, and cobalt blue. The
wet surface allows the pigments a min- Irving Shapiro, THE LONER, 24" x 32" (61.0 cm x 81.3 cm), courtesy of the artist
gling and interplay that promises cohe-
sion. As the surface dried, I sprayed
water from an atomizer into the color,
blotting areas with facial tissue at vari-
ous stages of drying. This technique
created a mottled effect that I'm fond of
using to suggest outdoor and natural
textures. The fairly smooth surface of
the Crescent cold-pressed watercolor
board I used allowed me to easily lift
out the light tree with a damp brush. I

felt that creating the light tree this way

was more effective than painting around
it or using masking fluid because I

could obtain softer, obscure edges that

would allow the tree to mingle with its

setting. Finally, I painted the darkest

darks, including the areas around the
large and complicated tree to the left of

the light tree."

I did the underpainting for this cross-

shaped composition with cadmium or-

ange and various yellows, then over-

painted with Hooker's green dark. The
dinghy, bottom up in the foreground,

keeps the painting moving back into

itself in a constant circular or oval
motion. The white birch trees were
carved out with a razor blade; the
textures of the ground and the boat
were achieved with handprints. I

washed in the distant horizon line

while the sky was just a little wet. WINDBREAK, 30" x 40" (76.2 cm x 101 6 cm), collection of the artist

TREES AND FOLIAGE

CARSON'S REFUGE, 22" x 24" (55.9 cm x 61.0 cm), collection of the artist

Carson's Refuge is a wildlife preserve in

the tidewater area of Kennebunk,
Maine. The area has a lot of under-
Practice Exercises
growth that, in the fall, holds the
warmth of the day and responds to the
night chill with a ground fog. In this
1 . Take time to observe how trees grow, and study the
particular painting, the entire surface
differences among the various kinds. Do sketches to impress the

was wet when I added cadmium yellow shape and patterns of each type of tree on your mind. Wherever
in various locations. While it began to you live or travel, consider the natural forms that typify the
dry I mutilated my IV2" flat brush in local geography.
order to pull up the pigment and 2. Take time to record the familiar landscape elements of your
suggest grass growing. At the same usual surroundings as well as those that characterize an area in
time, I added some sap green in the which you are traveling, and compare them.
middle ground and Hooker's green dark
3. Attempt to define the natural forms of trees and bushes with
in the foreground. While the surface
the fewest number of strokes.
was still wet, I added warm sepia across
4. Experiment with a variety of natural and commercial
the background and let it bleed. When
sponges and liquid color to see what they can do for you.
it was all dry, I held a piece of paper as
a stencil across the background and
5. Stencil some forms. Explore the potential of various found

came back with a mutilated brush to

materials as stencils, such as florist's ribbon; create some trees

add the trees that poked up above using a stencil cut out of a piece of paper.
the fog.

TREES AND FOLIAGE 53

5
ROCK FORMS

Like trees, rocks describe the geo-

graphical locations where they're
found, varying as they do in shape
and color across the country. This
means rocks can be used to repre-
sent the characteristics of specific
areas, as can the shapes and colors
of the shadows that fall across them.
In northern areas, shadows tend to
be dark and warm. A nice
mauve
made with a combination of Winsor
blue, Hooker's green dark, and al-

izarin crimson works perfectly for

this. Southern shadows tend to have
a cool, reflective tone like what you
see bouncing off white walls. For
this I usually use Winsor blue with
a touch of alizarin crimson, the
same colors I use for northern
shadows in summertime.
Rocks are landscape elements
that lend themselves readily to
painting with such found materials
as sponges. Besides that, I basically
use two methods. One is the razor-
blade or cardboard technique; the
other is a spatter technique. When
painting a rock, as with all objects I

paint, I think about its placement,

shape, size, and weight rather than
about my overall subject matter.

SPRING SURF, 30" x 40" (76.2 cm x 101.6 cm), Reading Public Museum and
Art Gallery, Reading, Pennsylvania

54
William Thon, AUTUMN SHORE, 20%" x 27" (51.8 cm x 68.6 cm), courtesy of Midtown Galleries, New York City

This painting of Maine rocks and shoreline has a yellow ochre underpainting that
was overpainted with India ink; the artist scratched back into the washes with a
razor blade, palette knife, and handle of a brush. He also used an atomizer spray
on the ink, and a terry towel to wipe areas in the foreground.

This is an impression of the lighthearted feeling that comes with the warmth of
spring. The first things I painted in were the rocks along the shoreline, using the
drybrush technique —a slightly damp brush with just a touch of pigment to create
very delicate, separated strokes that leave a softened texture. I then added buildings
to the background. When they were completely dry, I wet the entire surface with
water and spattered it with a variety of colors starting with cadmium yellow, red,
and orange. While these warmer hues slowly dried, I added cobalt blue and Winsor
blue over them. When the surface was completely dry I went back with an atomizer
spray several times, moving the color around to suggest texture and animation. I

studied the painting once was dry and was not satisfied with several areas, so I
it

rewet the surface with an atomizer spray and painted into it to change some of the
texture until it looked right.

55
Razor-Blade Technique

When using the razor-blade tech- create a gray tone. Moving down
nique for my rock paintings, I begin the coast, I more orange,
add a bit

by getting down the large shapes in overglazing with orange and sepia
the colors characteristic of the area's umber to bring up the underlying
geological forms. For Maine rocks I color. In the Southwest I lean more

use Winsor blue and sepia umber to toward the reds and oranges.

For this painting of Northwestern rocks, I began with gray I let the color move around, creating light and dark areas,
tones to develop the forms I needed. While the surface was pulling pigment downward to create shadows. Then I added
still damp, I came back into the shapes with a razor blade (a dark trees behind the rocks. This technique is very rapid.
credit card would also work), using it almost as if it were a
snowplow to squeegee off color. The top edge of the blade left

a distinct line as it pushed the pigment off, suggesting the

rocks' edges.

I finished by scratching out details of the trees with my ACADIA sketch, 11" x 14" (27.9 cm x 35.6 cm),
collection of the artist
razor blade.

56 ROCK FORMS
Western rocks glow with intense oranges and yellows. Using was completely dry, I added a second wash of
After this
a thumbnail sketch as a reference, I first put down a wash of cadmium orange with a touch of sepia umber to darken
cadmium orange, then scraped it out with a razor blade. various areas.

Then I dipped my split (not mutilated) 1 V2" flat brush into

sepia umber and ran it horizontally across the surface to
suggest the striations characteristic of this rock formation.

Last, I washed alizarin crim-

son and Winsor blue over the

foreground, then scraped
lights out of the dark, shaded
areas with a razor blade. I

completed the sketch by

adding the sky and the tree
atop the darker rocks.

CAREFREE, ARIZONA sketch, 11" x 14" (27.9 cm x 35.6 cm), collection of the artist

ROCK FORMS 57
Spattering

I find the spatter technique effective methods do not give me as much ready on your painting surface, or
in a wide range of situations and control as hitting the brush on my you can spatter with paint to create
have been known to say, "When in hand, but you should experiment to texture. You can also spatter India
doubt, spatter." find what works best for you. You ink while your surface is still wet
Some artists prefer to spatter by can spatter with clear water to with clear water or watercolor to get
running a knife over a toothbrush create an interesting effect with col- some very explosive effects.

loaded with paint or tapping the ors such as Winsor blue, cobalt
brush against a ruler. I find these blue, and warm sepia that are al-

A damp brush will give you a very heavy spatter, while a dry
brush creates a light spatter. The results you get depend on
the amount of water and pigment you use, as well as on the
dampness of your painting surface. To control the amount of
water needed for a light spatter, pick up some pigment on
your brush, then wipe the tip over a damp sponge. For this
technique I my regular flat brush and crack it against my
use
hand. I find that wrapping my hand with a terry towel softens
the blow. Don't strike the brush against a hard object; it may
damage the ferrule.

For this painting I laid in a

yellow wash and spattered it

with ink. I wanted the ink to
explode and run in the pond
area, so I rewet it with plenty
of water, then spattered it

with ink again. The spatter

effects I achieved elsewhere
varied according to the
amount of dampness on the

pm .

board. Last, I defined the

rocks and trees with a razor
blade.

.rjwi

STAPLES POND, 30" x 30" (76.2 cm x 76.2 cm), private collection, Florida

58 ROCK FORMS
Sponge Techniques

Sponges are as versatile as there are apply it to paper. Because sponges

different types. Commercially made leave an identifiable impression in a

sponges create fairly even textures painting, you should be careful not
that you can use to depict gravel, to overuse them. Understanding
pebbles, or the weathered look of an how best to take advantage of un-
old stone wall. Natural sponges are usual painting tools takes time and
good for softening edges of forms; training. Good taste and instinct

tear off a piece of one and, while it's will eventually guide you.
still dry, dip it in moist color, then

To depict rock textures with this technique, first cut a com-

mercially made sponge into the sizes and shapes of the stones
you wish to portray, then put a light wash over the area
where you want them to appear. Dip the sponge pieces into
the warm side of your palette, picking up ochre, cadmium
yellow, and cadmium orange and blending them all together.
Place the sponge pieces on your painting surface to leave an
imprint that creates the brick pattern of a wall, as shown here.
Then come back with a light stroke to add the shadow at the
edge of each brick.

"My prime concern when

painting this beautiful wall in
Italy," says Nicholas, "was
capturing its pattern and pa-
tina. I tried to create interest
with textural variety, an es-

sential ingredient of good de-

sign, using wet-into-wet and
drybrush painting as well as
color changes and different

kinds of edges. The delicate

balance between variation
and continuity was my major
objective. You will notice that

I subordinated the many fig-

ures in this painting to give

the wall priority"

Tom Nicholas, ANCIENT WALL, ASSISI, 28" x 32" (71.1 cm x 81.3 cm), courtesy of the artist

ROCK FORMS 59
Combining Techniques

Another way I paint rocks involves razor blade to move the paint best for capturing them. For in-
both the razor-blade and spattering around. stance, if you want to depict the
techniques. I begin by designing a The approaches to rock painting coquina rock you find in Florida,

rock that pleases me, then I mask I've introduced here will work with use a sponge dipped in ochre, sepia
out the surrounding area and spat- most rock forms that you come umber, and Indian red, touching the
ter it. I also use handprinting to across; if you pay attention to their paper with it and beginning at the
create texture. You might try using different textures, you'll get a feel- top of the rock.
a piece of cardboard instead of a ing for which technique will work

Here is a more detailed approach to I lightly washed the area with a mixture Next, using the same color mixture and
depicting rocks. Lay painter's tape on of warm sepia and Winsor blue, keeping a circular motion, I created a very fine
your watercolor board, then cut out of it the top of the rock lighter than the spatter over the rock, working from the
the desired rock shape with a razor bottom. Then I used a handprint again top to the bottom. The circular motion
blade. Secure the tape so no paint can and again to create texture, drying lets you direct the pattern the spatter
run under its edges. my hand between each stamping. forms so that you can create dimension
with it.

After this stage had dried, I came back with a mixture of When the painting was completely dry I added some of the
green and cadmium orange, spattering again a little more final shades using a #5 round brush. I then peeled off the
heavily to suggest lichen growing on the rock. I forced darker tape mask at a forty-five-degree angle to avoid tearing the

tones toward one side of the rock to give the illusion of shade. surface of the board.
When the spatter was completely dry I overpainted the area
with a gray tone, then squeegeed the damp color with a razor
blade to create cleavages and small stones.

60 ROCK FORMS
Close-up of rock with tape removed. Using a mutilated #12 round brush I scraped out the trunks of the pine trees
dipped in water and dried almost com- with a razor blade. Then, holding a
pletely on a terry towel, I picked up piece of paper as a mask, I continued
some Hooker's green dark and painted using the mutilated brushstroke to add
a few pine trees behind the rock to birch trees in the distance, suggesting a
make it stand out. horizon line.

Still using the mutilated brush, this time

with yellow ochre, I brought out the
grass growing through the snow and
scratched it with my fingernails to add
more texture. Last, I added a pheasant
in the foreground to complete the S-
shaped composition.

"

JANUARY COVER, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), collection of the artist

ROCK FORMS 61
Other Interpretations

Charles Woodbury, HIGH WATER, 21" « 31" (53 3 cm > 78.7 cm), courtesy of the David O. Woodbury Estate

This painting offers a quite elegant

approach to handling rocks. Here a

square-edged brush loaded with many
colors gives the same effect a razor

blade can create.

This artist says of his painting, "Since

the watercolor medium does not offer
the tactile textural possibilities oil paint
allows, I feel a need to emphasize edges
in my work and display them in wide
variety, from soft, diffused ones to
others that are knife-sharp. After sitting
at the rim of this quarry with the stone
cutting into the back of my legs for an
hour or two, I was well aware of what a
hard edge it was and used it in the

painting to lead the viewer's eye into the

center of the composition. All other
edges by comparison are much softer." Tony Van Hasselt, THE QUARRY, 15" x 22" (38.1 cm x 55.9 cm), courtesy of the artist

62 ROCK FORMS
Carlton Plummer, LEDGE MAZE, 21" x 28" (53.3 cm x 71.1 cm), courtesy of the artist

The artist based this painting of rocks

along the Maine coast on a sketch made
on location. His intent was to create the Practice Exercises
illusion of a three-dimensional ledge
thrusting upward toward the high,
1 . Paint rocks with a razor blade and then with a credit card or
snowy cliffs above. Although the paint-
a piece of cardboard to see which you prefer.
ing was done primarily with transparent
watercolor, some revisions were made 2. Practice spattering, first with a dry brush, then with a wet
with gouache to strengthen and drama- brush; try it on damp paper and on dry paper. Try hitting the

tize the dark areas that form the diago- brush against your hand in the direction you want the spatter to
nals. The middle foreground was go rather than shaking it or rubbing a knife over a toothbrush.
painted wet- into -wet with spatter to Notice the difference.
create spontaneous textural effects; the 3. Try spattering with clear water, and see what reactions you
ledges, a series of overlapping tones, obtain. Try it on plain colors and on blended colors, and note
were painted freely with a 2" flat wash how it reacts in each case.
brush.
4. Try spattering India ink with water, then spatter a wash of
color with India ink.
5. Use different sponges to see what rock effects you can get
with them.

ROCK FORMS 63
 .

6
GLAZING COLORS

Glazing with watercolor is similar to Every stroke you take relates to you are looking for heavy or light
glazing with oil color. It is simply the whole; the fewer the strokes, the development. That is, do you want
the process of overlapping planes, crisper and cleaner the statement. dark, powerful painting, as in Doris
using a flat brush and transparent Careful observation and a gentle White's New Harbor (page 71), or
washes. Glazing either highlights touch will keep the pigments from light and airy painting, as in First
compositional focal points or places joining too much; in a blend, each Nighter (page 74)? Basically the
colors close together to push back color should retain its own charac- technique involves five steps, al-

or grade down another stroke. ter yet add to the whole. though I often use more than
The glazing technique works well I usually call glazing my "house- five glazes.

with staining colors such as Winsor wife technique." I don't mean to 1 Create an abstract pattern using
blue, alizarin crimson, Winsor disparage housewives; it's just that a warm wash of red, yellow, or
green, Winsornew gamboge,
red, the time it takes to go for groceries, orange. To obtain multiple shades
and cadmium orange. The more do the laundry, make the beds, get a of this color, add glazes of the same

water you use with the color, the meal, or visit with a friend benefits hue, allowing your strokes to
more transparent the glaze. If you the process by giving a painting the slightly overlap the previous glaze.

use any of the opaque colors such as chance to dry. Glazing is an excel- 2. Add a light neutral pattern with
yellow ochre, burnt umber, or other lent technique to use in the field, a grayed color, allowing a little of
earth tones, be sure to apply them especially in a warm climate, where the first color to show through in

first and the transparent colors fast drying allows you to quickly some areas.
over them. glaze on the next layer of color. You 3. Put in a very transparent dark,
You can use glazing to darken or can test the dryness of a painted allowing two or three shades to
coat areas to create a variety of surface by its temperature; if it is come up through the glaze.
tones or shadow effects. The tech- cool when touched lightly with the 4. Apply another dark, then add as
nique works particularly well when back of your hand, it is still wet. many darks as necessary to create
you want to pull passages together Like all watercolor painting, glaz- the pattern you desire.
while letting bits of color show ing must always go from light to 5. Brush in the large details before

through. dark. As you work, ask yourself if adding the final realistic touches.

64
 I began this painting with
lemon yellow and cadmium
orange, which formed an ab-
stract cross that suggested a

billowing sail and established

my subject matter. When the
wash was semidry I
first

added Winsor blue directly

from the tube, then cut
straight down through the
pigment with my palette
As everything surged
knife.

I moved rapidly,
to the left,

making patterns with my

palette knife in the same
direction, until this very ab-

stract composition began to

look like an exciting sailboat
Coming back with a
race.

mauve and Winsor green, I

overglazed the original or-

ange and yellow to develop
the suggestion of boats mov-
ing in the background; then,
to increase the animation, I

added seagulls and put some

forward-leaning figures in the
boat. When the painting was
dry, I used pastels to accent
the rigging and the American
flag, then completed the
scene by extending the prow
of the ship in Winsor red and
adding the small flags on the
masts as accents.

STARS AND STRIPES, 30" x 40" (76.2 cm x 101 6 cm), private collection, Sarasota, Florida

65
A Basic Glazing Demonstration

When you're ready to use glazes, pletely before going on to the next moved when the painting is done, it

you should know that you won't one, you will avoid wet spots and be gives an automatic mat that serves
lose any of the detail in your under- less likely to create mud. as an aid when you're evaluating
painting as long as you make cer- For this demonstration I used your work.
tain that it is completely dry and painter's tape to seal the edges Here I am using five different

that the patterns you apply as around my painting surface. Some- brushes —a IV2" and a #1 flat, and
glazes are painted in one bold, times I use 2" or 3" masking tape, #12, #10, and #5 rounds— along
appropriate stroke over another. If depending on the size of border I with a palette knife, a ruler, and five

you use more than a single stroke desire.The tape allows me freedom brilliant colors — cadmium yellow,
for this, you will probably lift the of movement when laying in color cadmium red, Hooker's green dark,
underlying pigment or move it and design lines and provides a Winsor blue, and alizarin crimson.
around. By working quickly and useful spot for trying out a color or
crisply, letting each glaze dry com- squaring up a brush. Easily re-

First I put down washes of cadmium While the surface was still damp, I cut When it was dry, I added multiple
yellow and cadmium red to create an in design lines with a palette knife, glazes to accent the colors and the ran-
orange, then I used alizarin crimson, using complete arm movement. This is dom forms made by my palette knife,
Winsor blue, and Hooker's green dark. more effective on watercolor board, but making sure to let the surface dry
Be careful when doing this; don't put will work on watercolor paper as well. between each glaze. With transparent
red next to green unless you want mud. glazes of alizarin crimson I added some

You may, however, use alizarin crimson dark shapes, then scraped out details
next to green and blend into the blue. with a razor blade.

Finally I added waves of

greens, still following the

shape of the original design
lines. I also added a few
necessary darks to balance
warm with cool and light
with dark.

NIGHT SAIL, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), collection of the artist

LAZING COLORS
Glazing Flowers

I often use the glazing technique

when I'm painting flowers and al-
ways keep some fresh blossoms in
front of me for information about
details, whether I am working ab-
stractly or more realistically.

Sometimes when painting flowers

I use rubber cement or another type
of masking fluid, such as Moon
Mask, to keep certain areas white. I

do not lift this resist until the colors

are thoroughly dry. To remove rub-

ber cement I use a pickup designed
especially for that purpose; heavy
deposits can be trimmed off it with
a pair of scissors. You can also
remove rubber cement from a paint-
ing with the sticky side of masking began by wetting the area where I Next I alternated applications of dif-

tape or Scotch tape. wanted the flowers to develop, working ferent resists, including frisket and can-
Once the resist is lifted, it is time in a circle to lay in basic overlapping dle wax, with more colors — Winsor
to add details. Indian red backs up shapes. I added cadmium yellow, then emerald, Hooker's green dark, and
Winsor red, letting the medium run into some alizarin crimson.
yellows very nicely, and Hooker's
the wet surface and making sure to
green dark and Winsor green
leave enough of the paper white for
deepen the yellow-greens. For deep
sparkle.
darks, I combine alizarin crimson,
cadmium orange, sepia umber, and
After this stage was com-
Hooker's green dark. I often use a
pletely dry, I used a rubber
palette knife or spatula, depending cement pickup on the resist,
on the size of the painting, to cut in then finished the painting
random strokes over the entire pic- with a glaze of Winsor blue
ture plane. These are what I refer to and Hooker's green dark,
as design lines. scratching the surface with
my fingernails for texture. I

then added light squares in

the background to suggest
windows.

VTS ARRANGEMENT, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm),

collection of Vi Thelin

GLAZING COLORS 67
Other Flower Pointing Ideas

One of the brushstrokes I par- To paint a bucket stroke,

ticularly like to use in flower paint- take a completely clean flat

ing is the "bucket stroke," a term brush that is moist but not

introduced by one of my students wet and dip one corner of it

into pigment. With the brush

because it can be used to quickly
loaded, make a stroke. The
render the form of a bucket. How-
dark will blend to light as the
ever, it can be used in many dif-
paint spreads into the wet
ferent ways for many subjects.
area left by the side of the
Sometimes using this stroke is
brush that has only water on
called Oriental painting, or loading it. This stroke can be used to
the brush with multiple colors. It is outline trees, flower petals,
similar to the double-loaded brush I leaves, figures, and various
briefly referred to in Chapter 4. In abstract forms. Loading your

flower painting the bucket stroke is brush with two or three col-

ideal for rendering petals in their ors works particularly well in

floral paintings.
natural dark to light gradations.
Of course, there are many ways to

approach flowers. You can touch

them up with an opaque watercolor,

such as cadmium orange, to add
some bright spots, or you can try
gouache, watercolor crayon, or
pastel.

ROSE, 8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm), collection of Vi Thelin

Here is a good example of a flower painted with overlapping bucket strokes.

GLAZING COLORS
Mitch Billis, NEAR BURNTHEAD, 20 15" (50.8 cm x 38.1 cm
courtesy of the artist
Walt Kuhn, STUDY FOR ZINNIAS IN BLACK CROCK. 14" x 20"
As a first step the artist masked out the lower part of the (35.6 cm x 50.8 cm), Walt Kuhn Gallery, Cape Neddlck, Maine

branch, the flowers, and a few leaves with frisket where he

This masterful painting captures the feeling of a floral
wanted to suggest the sun shining. Then he wet the entire
arrangement with simple glazes and quick brushstrokes in a
surface and squeezed some sap green, raw sienna, new
semiabstract fashion.
gamboge, yellow ochre, and burnt sienna directly onto it,

moving the paint around with his fingers and a 1" flat sable
brush to create patterns and shapes. While the surface was
still moist, Billis splattered clear water and paint into some
areas to establish middle and light values and create an
abstract pattern. When this stage was completely dry, he
removed the frisket and proceeded to paint the negative areas
around the leaves to create shadows. He then painted the
areas that had been masked out, placing some of the flowers
in shadow. The texture of the bark was obtained by scraping
the surface with a razor blade, the effects varying according
to whether the surface was wet or dry When the painting was
basically finished, Billis spattered the branches with a light

mixture of sap green and raw sienna to complete the

composition.

GLAZING COLORS 69
Pastel Glazing

Pastels can be used for a form of

glazing, although they are not often
thought of as a watercolor medium.
I sometimes sketch on board or
paper with pastels; then, using a

featherlike stroke, Iwash over the

sketch with water. The binders in
the pastels turn the colors into a
nice liquid surface from which you
can lift out patterns and highlights
with a dry brush. Since pastels are
grainy and the particles tend to
become embedded in the painting
surface, each brushstroke you apply
on top of them becomes evident,
enabling you to bring out movement
and pattern.
Because pastel stops on the sur-
face, one of the beauties of painting For this demonstration I used a razor With a brush and water I dissolved the
with it is that you can continually blade, a #5 round brush and a 1" fiat, pastel, using it like watercolor to create
go back in and move the color and pastels. I put the color down in bold a wash pattern around the area. Then I

around. You can scratch into it and shapes, balancing them in an abstract accented the yellow with light blue.

create streaks of light to develop pattern.

dramatic effects; when it's dry, you

can remove the color with a regular
eraser or pull it out with a damp
brush to bring light back into your
paintings.
Another advantage of pastels is

that they can be worked from dark

to light — the opposite of watercolor
painting — and can thus be used to

add some very bright accents to an

otherwise finished watercolor paint-
ing; that's how I depicted the rig-

ging in Stars and Stripes, page 65.

When painting haze or soft light,
I've found success in blending the
pastels almost entirely out and blur- I
ring them well.

Personal experimentation and

careful observation are the best
ways to appreciate the many com-
binations possible with watercolor I then rubbed some pastel on the MORNING SAIL, 8" x 10"

unused margin of the board and dipped (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm), collection of
and pastel. When working with this
the artist
technique, I find Nupastel to be the
my #5 brush into it, picking up color
with which to add the figures and the
most satisfactory. Pastels are easy to
flag. Finally, I put down some darker
use on location, and when traveling,
blues and scraped areas with a razor
I've discovered that hairspray works
blade the same way I do with a regular
well as a fixative.
watercolor, finishing by adding a few
highlights to the water.

70 GLAZING COLORS
Using Watercolor Crayons

I also enjoy using watercolor are limited, and they can be used to
crayons for sketching, as they can accent light pen and India ink
be handled much like pastels. Many drawings. You may even find that
good brands exist; my preference is some of the regular children's water-
Caran d'Ache. They are excellent color crayons are satisfactory in this
for short trips when your supplies capacity.

An exhibit of Christmas trees

at Chicago's Museum of Sci-
ence and Industry inspired
this work, in which water-
color and wax crayons were
used in combination with
transparent watercolor un-
derpainting and acrylics. Be-
fore the final darker tones
were put down, the artist

applied Crayola crayons to a

couple of the trees to give
texture to the trimmings,
as is perhaps most evident
in the second tree from
the right.

Alex Yaworski, TREES FROM AROUND THE WORLD, 24" x 30" (61.0 cm x 76.2 cm), courtesy of the artist

The dark relationships in

this cross- shaped composi-
tion were established with a
series of underglazes; giving

context to the various pat-

terns and shapes are delicate
lacy lines the artist drew with
a watercolor crayon.

Dons White, NEW HARBOR, 30" x 40" (76.2 cm x 101.6 cm), collection ot Valfred Thelin

GLAZING COLORS 71
Making Monoprints

Another fun experiment with water- paper from the painted surface, and dries faster; the water does not have
color is monoprinting, which is a turn and twist it until something as far to go to penetrate the surface.
form of glazing. To make a mono- emerges from the patterns that If you want, you can slow down the
print, set out pigment at random on form. You may wish to add some drying time and keep the surface
a smooth surface of glass, plastic, or detail to this or keep it an abstract damp by spraying it with water
tile, and create a pattern with it. design; the preference is yours. from an atomizer. When necessary,
Then place a piece of bristol board In a monoprint, the interaction of you can go back into the surface
or hot-pressed paper over the colors and their drying times are with a wet brush, but work quickly,
painted surface, and apply pressure important factors in developing the because slow or repeated strokes
with your hand, a ruler, or a brayer effects you're after. One of the rea- will cause a blossom to develop.
to transfer the pigment onto this sons I prefer bristol board over
new Then

^
surface. lift the board or paper for this technique is that it

'V \

I laid glass over a piece of hot-pressed paper and marked the After moving the pigment around, I placed the paper face
paper's corners on it so I would know the perimeters of my down on top of the glass and used both hands to press against

painting surface. Then I removed the paper and turned the the surface.
glass over to preserve my perimeter marks. I mixed up
pigment and placed it directly on the glass.

Removing the paper rapidly gives one type of pattern, After making several prints onto the paper, allowing it to dry
removing it slowly another. You might want to try making two between printings, I used a razor blade to create the rock
or three prints using the same amount of color, but pulling the formations. The mountain form was caused by the monoprint
paper off at different speeds to discover the various effects. itself.

72 GLAZING COLORS
BEAR PASS, 14" x 16" (35.6 cm x 40.6 cm), collection of the artist

GLAZING COLORS 73
Other Interpretations

"When I saw the sun rising over the

fogbound marshes," the artist says of

this image, "I knew I had to record the

scene's quiet beauty, its appealing soft-
ness of form and simplicity of detail. I

began by applying a transparent wash

of neutral gray over my painting sur-
face. When the wash was dry I sketched
in the major shapes of sky, sun, marsh
grasses, and water. Over this I layered
washes of color, lifting shapes out of the
wet pigment each time and adding
texture with crumpled paper towels and
water spray. I continued this process
until I had a rich, dark surface. Using
the still-visible drawing as my guide, I

began to indicate light areas by adding

small amounts of titanium white to each
color as I mixed them on my palette. I

roughed in the sky and water, softening

the outer portions of these shapes with
dry brushstrokes and blurring them
with a paper towel. Once these areas
were loosely denned, I intuitively altered

the tree and grass silhouettes with a

transparent dark color. When I had
achieved the effect I wanted, I placed a
mat around the painting and looked at

it from a distance. The arrangement of

light and dark areas was pleasing and
exciting to me, but the light areas were
a little dull, so I glazed color over them.
The layering took time because I

wanted the transitions to be gradual. I

completed the painting by laying in

transparent glazes."

FIRST NIGHTER, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm),

collection of the artist

In this painting I kept all glazes in a very high key to

accentuate the intense street lighting. The cross-shaped
composition is simple, as are all the forms and figures.

74 GLAZING COLORS
 This painting shows just how exciting a monoprint can
become. Lee Weiss's approach in this case is slightly different

from mine in that she wet the paper and applied pigment
directly onto it. "While the paper was still wet," she says, "I
turned it face down on a plastic table surface. Then, using a
brush, I liberally wet the back of it and painted on colors to

enhance and modify what I remembered having applied to the

front. At this point I nipped the paper over again, allowing
the reverse side to pick up colors deposited on the table's

surface by the first side. I then added more color to the first

side, flipping again to add texture and color to the reverse.

Essentially I was using the table to monoprint with each
turning. I continued this process until I achieved an interest-
ing overlay of color and texture that would become the basic
background for direct painting. Next I lifted highlights; I

squeezed a 1" flat brush nearly dry and used first the edge,
then the flat side to suck up the pigment and reveal the white
of the paper again. Finally I added accents, applying some
delicate touches of color and some heavier ones to create a
representational image from what was an essentially abstract

takeoff point."

Lee Weiss, VIRGINIA CREEPER, 40" 26" (101.6 cm x 66.0 cm),

courtesy of the artist

Practice Exercises

1 . Practice the basic glazing technique in two or three small

paintings at a time, allowing each color application to dry
before you add the next.
2. See how you can add dark shapes to a painting by using a
transparent glaze, as in the sailboat demonstration on page 66.
3. Try painting flowers using glazes and the masking technique.
4. Practice the bucket stroke. See how many forms you can
define with it.

5. Make practice squares of color with pastels, crayons, and ink.

Notice how the different mediums respond when dampened.
6. Try a few monoprints, creating shapes and patterns with the
pigment when it is wet and when it is dry. Use a razor blade or
other found materials to develop details.

GLAZING COLORS 75
THE HUMAN ELEMENT

I once had a student in my class them into the interplay of dark and brings us into the scene and pulls us
who would ask, "What is he light, as in The Sandpiper Pub, toward the rocks in the middle
doing?" every time I put a figure in opposite. ground, and from there our gaze is

a painting. The only answer I could I like the human element in a drawn toward the crashing wave.
give was, "It is needed." Figures are painting. Figures are reference Not only can figures add dimen-
an important part of painting. They points we all can easily identify sion to a painting; they also can
give you an opportunity to let your with; they make a human connec- reveal the artist's vantage point. In
imagination run and you can
free, tion that pulls the viewer into a a picture done from life, the place-
make them do whatever you want picture and gives it life. Their scale ment of figures indicates where I sat
them to do, as long as you remem- in a composition is important in when I composed the scene.
ber that it matters where and how establishing depth and drama. For When adding figures to your
you place them in the composition. instance, in Charles Woodbury's work, always consider how they will
Seeing figures as integral parts of Seventh Wave, on the facing page, fit into the composition, paying
a whole painting is as important as the figure is small, emphasizing the particular attention to how they
noting who or what any particular immensity of the ocean. Here, as in relate to one another in terms of size
one represents. The application of Snow Skiers, page 15, the landscape and how they relate to the overall

overlapping glazes is a good method dominates in a dramatic way. Note action.

for establishing figures convincingly how Woodbury creates depth: The
in a painting because you can build man in the boat in the foreground

76

J
 The Sandpiper in Ogunquit,
Maine, was once a favorite
hangout for local artists,

poets, musicians, and actors,

and consider this large im-

1 I

age of figures sitting around

its massive, initial-carved
wooden table one of my best
4r Ctffli
barroom paintings. Based on
> 1
a number of sketches I had
drawn on location, I made
my
LI
rap If
0\
this painting in studio
using the glazing technique.

I
i
1
U^ 1
1 7' J H"^^H;
f. $
9
[fjTJ

THE SANDPIPER PUB, 44" x 60" (111.8 cm x 152.4 cm), collection of the artist

Charles Woodbury, THE SEVENTH WAVE, 16" x 24" (40.6 cm x 61.0 cm), courtesy of the David 0. Woodbury Estate

Charles Woodbury was a master at painting the ocean. By placing the small
figure in its midst, he established scale and perspective in the composition.

77
Getting the Essentials Down

You don't have to be a master home. When I was in school, we haps glasses, the slope of the shoul-
draftsman to paint figures suc- used to go to the railway station to ders and quickness of the person's
cessfully. Developing an exact rep- draw people waiting for trains. step. With just these essentials you
lica of the human figure is not Thousands of passengers, each in a can capture the reality of the figure.

important; indicating human move- different position and mode of As you begin working with fig-

ment and its patterns is what is dress, supplied as many ideas and ures, you will discover how their
essential. I have known a lot of very subjects. Don't ask anyone to pose; proportions work; for instance, on
good artists who avoid using the try instead to catch them as they go the average, figures are seven heads
figure in any major way but will about their activities. If there is a tall. I make mine eight heads tall

place small ones in the background life-drawing class near you, join it just by way of interpretation, so
of a painting to add interest. This is and practice, and don't worry what they have small heads on big
what we hope to achieve here. your contemporaries are doing. bodies. Strange as it may seem, you
Begin to familiarize yourself with Anytime you sketch a figure, will find that the figures you de-
figures by sketching their shapes, avoid trying to get down every last velop look a lot like you, perhaps
sizes, and movement. Some of the eyelash or hair on your subject's because your own body is the one
best places to sketch are airports, head. All you should seek are the with which you are most familiar.
beaches, markets, or your own general shapes of hair, clothes, per-

Down in the harbor area of Ogunquit, I make a

lot of little drawings of figures that I might be
able to use in a painting. One of my favorites is the
lobsterman. I painted the yellow rubber protective
trousers first, allowing space for the red shirt to be
added. Last, I painted the details that gave the
figure character: beard, sunglasses, and bait.

THE LOBSTERMAN, 8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm), collection of the artist

78 THE HUMAN ELEMENT

 Use the classified columns of a news-
paper as a surface on which to practice
constructing realistic figures. The small
spaces will force you to put the figures
together proportionally, and you can
depict them in a series of different
positions, making them stand up and
sit down in a row that allows for

comparison. Paint all the torsos first,

then the legs, and finally the charac-

teristic attributes — a hat, a golf club, a

fishing pole, and so on. If you use two
colors, one for the torso and one for the
legs, you will easily see what is happen-
ing. You can feel free to do as many of
these as you wish, as the paper is cheap
stock to be used and thrown away.

WANT-AD FIGURES, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), collection of the artist

4k \
.•#
I created these figures using the same approach as in The Lobstemian, opposite.

THE HUMAN ELEMENT 79

Handling Groups

Painting people in groups means another in terms of size and propor-

recognizing the story they tell as a tion. Sometimes these elements are
whole and being aware of the determined not so much by a per-
rhythms of their gestures as they son's actual physical size as by how
interact. Study not only the shapes aggressive he is in the group, which
of people in a group but also where you can express by the color of his
they are positioned. Who dominates clothing — red, for instance, suggests
whom? Pay attention, too, to how boldness; green, calm scrutiny.
one figure in a group relates to

I am fascinated with chess and checker Next I added the two opponents seated I stroked in the major shapes of the
players and with the crowd that gathers at the table, then placed figures around figures with a 1 W flat brush, then went
to question the next move. I like to work them, creating negative and positive in with a smaller brush to add details,
directly with a brush, but you may find shapes and carefully choosing my color allowing each stroke to create the ac-
it beneficial to draw lightly with a pencil complements — red against green and tion — the tipped-back chair, the en-

first.To begin, I mixed together Winsor yellow against purple. tangled legs, the involvement of the
red and cadmium orange and painted in audience — all important parts of the
the figures' heads, hands, and feet. story. This brought the painting to
completion.

THE CHESS PLAYERS, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), collection of the artist

THE HUMAN ELEMENT

Here the glazing technique worked to catch the color and Then I added oranges.
action of a Saturday market in Guatemala. First I put down
the yellows and allowed them to dry.

I followed these two glazes with alizarin crimson and cobalt CHICHICASTENANGO sketch, 8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm)
collection of the artist
blue, working back and forth with positive and negative, large
and small forms, to bring out the figures and create a sense of
their movement. This is the same technique I used for the
painting that appears on the title page.

THE HUMAN ELEMENT 81

Sketching with a Razor Blade

I enjoy sketching figures with a the blade into it. When I'm in the here were all done on location.
single-edge razor blade. The feel of field I take my own ashtray, but Instead of a blade you can also use
this tool is very similar to that of a when I'm in a nightclub or similar swizzle sticks, matchsticks, or twigs;
IV2" flat brush and offers the artist surroundings, I borrow any ashtray however, when I'm sketching in a

as much dexterity. In turn, using a sitting around. First I pick up some place like a tough barroom, where
razor blade also helps you develop a ink on my razor blade, then I begin the characters are interesting but I

freedom of movement that will drawing, using full, sweeping mo- may not be welcome, I always use
carry over to your brushstrokes. tions to get the action down. I can my razor blade. I find that people
To master the technique of suggest smaller shapes with a twist never bother anybody who's holding
sketching with a razor blade, pour a of the wrist. It takes a little practice, a dirty razor blade.
little India ink into a container — an but it's worth the effort.

ashtray is perfect for this — and dip The razor-blade sketches shown

**'

k*'1^.40

f *-
OT —1
While sitting to one side of the action, I did this sketch
rapidly to capture an impression of the audience, which was
scattered over a fifty-yard area. For freedom of movement I
worked on a 24" x 30" (61.0 cm x 76.2 cm) Strathmore
layout pad.

NEIL AND THE NIGHT LIFE, 18" x 24" (45.7 cm x 61.0 cm),
collection of the artist

I have done many sketches like this one on location and have
used many of the figures in paintings.

we

THE LIBBY ESTATE AUCTION, 18" X 24" (45.7 cm x 61.0 cm)

collection ot the artist

82 THE HUMAN ELEMENT

 LIMBO DANCER, 24" x 30" (61.0 cm x 76.2 cm),
collection of the artist

WINTERPARK FESTIVAL, 18" x 24" (45.7 cm x 61.0 cm),

collection of the artist Again I used a razor blade to catch the action of the limbo
dancer sliding down beneath the poles. I like to use India ink
While sitting at my booth during the Winterpark Festival art
because it dries rapidly and is permanent, so you can put a
fair, I did this gallery of people passing by. At no time were all
light watercolor wash over it without disturbing it. This
these figures at the booth; I added them in one at a time as
allows you to make color notations while you're sketching.
the sketch progressed.

BULL RIDER, 24" x 30"

(61.0 cm x 76.2 cm),
private collection, Atlanta

This razor-blade sketch was done in

Montana at a rodeo, where I aimed to
catch the rapid action.

BULL RIDER, 30" 40" (76.2 cm x 101.6 cm), private collection, Atlanta

I began this interpretation of the bull rider with a razor-blade underpainting to

capture the same action depicted in my sketch. I then went in with my watercolor to
create the texture of the large bull and the animation of the cowboy ready to slide
off into the foreground. The background was only lightly suggested, because when
you ride a bull or are watching a rodeo, the background seems to disappear.

THE HUMAN ELEMENT 83

 "
Varying Your Approach

For abstract figure representations I

use a flat brush with the bucket

stroke, as the step-by-step example
shows. When working more realis-

tically, a round brush works better.

In the series of practice figures, note
the difference between those ren-
dered with a round brush and those
done with a flat. Also note: To make
an upright figure balance, keep one
of its feet aligned beneath its head.
If you want more pronounced
figures, first draw them in lightly,
then proceed by using the glazing
approach, as in the nude studies
opposite. For the more loosely de-
fined figure in Turquoise Necklace, I

used plastic wrap and watercolor

crayon, which you might want to
try in your own work.

When you use the bucket stroke to paint a figure, the shoulders and head will be
dark and will fade down into the legs in a semiabstract shape. Although this is not
necessarily how the figure appears in nature, it seems to work in a painting.

/ZOCA/O B'/zaSM-

Xft H* '•
< ft*
".
n ft®
V v " *

To paint the top three rows of figures, I used a round brush, which allowed me the
dexterity I needed to get their patterns down.

84 THE HUMAN ELEMENT

NUDE WITH SUNLAMP, 8" X 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm),
collection of the artist

This painting is one of about twenty-five I did one day in my

studio. I began with the glazing technique, quickly putting
down a series of pale flesh tones using Winsor red and
cadmium orange to catch the mood and pose of the model. I

let her take one quick pose after another so as to establish a

relaxed atmosphere, which wouldn't be possible with longer
poses. As the day progressed, she returned to earlier poses to
allow me time for additional work. Slowly I built each glaze,

sometimes adding a touch of cobalt blue to give a cool quality

or a little ochre to emphasize the red tones, leaving a little of
the undertone from the previous layer every time, and ending
at last with alizarin crimson.

THE TURQUOISE NECKLACE, 30" x 40" (76.2 cm

private collection

For this seated nude I tried a new technique. First I laid in

cadmium yellow deep, orange, and flesh tones, then I added

alizarin crimson to the outer areas and placed brilliant green

in the upper right-hand corner. While the painting was still

damp, I put plastic wrap over it and let it dry then removed
it. Next I used the bucket stroke to pull the figure out of the
background. I finished by adding the turquoise necklace with
a watercolor crayon.

NUDE ON SOFA, 8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm),

collection of the artist

Another figure from the same series of nudes. I find the

glazing technique is an excellent way to catch a model's
movement.

THE HUMAN ELEMENT 85

Other Interpretations

Sports artist Wayland Moore

describes his speedy tech-
nique for getting the action
down. "First I coated a piece
of illustration board with one
layer of gesso. Then I

sketched in the figure, using

a bamboo pen and India ink
to capture the looseness of
movement. Next I added a
thin coat of acrylic paint to
get a watercolor effect that
would give me a finished
sketch fast, since acrylic
dries within minutes. When
painting action sports on lo-
cation I need to have dry
sketches in a hurry"

Wayland Moore, HOCKEY SKETCH OF PLAYER/COALIE, 20" x 30" (50.8 cm x 76.2 cm),
courtesy of the artist

This nude, painted in early-morning

light, is typical of Henry Strater's lim-

ited brushwork, which gives fullness to

the form. Here he used gouache, an
opaque watercolor. Originally a land-
scape artist, Strater evolved into a figure
painter and did a remarkable number of
studies of friends, family, and models.

Henry Strater, SEATED NUDE IN REPOSE, 18" x 24" (45.7 cm x 61.0 cm)
Permanent Collection, The Museum of Art of Ogunquit, Maine

86 THE HUMAN ELEMENT

Robert Hiram Meltzer, THE BULLDOGGERS, 22" x 30" (55.9 cm x 76.2 cm), courtesy of the art

"I first sketched this cowboy scene on a

California ranch," Meltzer says. "For
the painting, I made a line drawing in
Practice Exercises
6B pencil, placed a wet bath towel on
my drawing board, then put my paper
1. Try sketching at least one person per day, at home, in the
on top of it and wet the front generously
with a 4" brush. Next
park, the mall, or wherever you are. If you can do more, so
I sloshed tur-
quoise, alizarin crimson, cobalt violet,
much the better. Take photographs if possible.

cadmium orange, raw umber, and raw 2. Sketch people you watch on television as a fun way to
sienna on this surface. With an ele- practice "quickies."
phant-ear sponge, I then wiped out the 3. Use sketches you've already made as guidelines for practicing
area where the rider would be, dried it razor-blade figures and bucket-stroke figures. Notice how the
with towels, and removed the bath towel figures change with each technique.
from underneath the work. This system 4. Collect pictures of people in action from newspapers and
encouraged the luminosity I was after
magazines, and use them as guidelines for practicing "want ad"
by dispersing colors on the reverse side
figures.
of the painting. Next I built up dark
5. Work with your sketches and photographs to construct a
areas such as the horse, steer, dogger,
series of figures like the ones shown on pages 78 and 79.
and corral fence, and then lightly pen-
ciled in the figures on the fence. To
6. Do a landscape painting and add some figures for interest.

capture more light in the painting, I

touched opaque white on the fence-

sitters' hats, the bulldogger's shoulder,
the horse's rump, and elsewhere. Cad-
mium orange and cobalt violet through-
out added a radiant quality as well."

THE HUMAN ELEMENT 87

8
CITYSCAPES

I love the excitement of the city, the times of day. Make sketches and sions of urban life. In particular,
noise and the movement, the con- photographs. Look at the city from glazing is perfect for capturing both
stantly changing scenes that make it a distance, from a bridge or a high the dramatic and the subtle in
seem alive. Action takes place building. Then stand on a street urban and shadow; you can
light
twenty-four hours a day. The signs, corner and watch people and how express the complex multiple layers
the streetlights, the bold forms of they react; venture down a street or of city life in as many layers of
buildings, and the ceaseless commo- a little alley; visit the markets, the glazes. I soon discovered that you
tion all work to make up a city's parks, the restaurants outside and can apply the same techniques to
many shapes, patterns, and values. inside, and the nightclubs. What I depict most major cities around the
The colors of the bright lights at am saying is, get involved with the world. The buildings may change,
night vibrate in multiple reflections city, with its smell, its feel, its mood. as will the calligraphy and the dress
on the streets, especially after a Once you have done this, you will of the people, but the general en-
fresh rainfall; in the dust of day, all be inspired by the radical changes ergy and appearance will be similar,
are quietly dimmed. On sunny days, of color and value that take place with the same busy quality. To re-

pulsating crowds cross streets, and there, changes that are not nature's, create an urban scene, pick a sub-
shadows dance over figures and but are man-made phenomena. ject that identifies the city and then
buildings. But on gray days, the city I lived in the city for a while, and elaborate on it, as in these paintings
settles down into tonal values. most of my original concepts de- of New York and Hong Kong.
Take time to observe your city or veloped at that time, including the
town during different seasons and techniques I use to create impres-

This painting captures the frenzied activity of Hong Kong in

the signs, the laundry hanging out to dry the rickshaws, and
themovement of people in the street. First I put down
cadmium orange and yellow, then moved up to the reds, and
last added dark purples with alizarin crimson and Winsor
blue. With a palette knife I suggested the wires and lines
across the top of the street, thinking of them as a network of

spiderwebs holding the city together. The rickshaws moving

up the street animate the painting and give it depth.
ALWAYS AFTER EIGHT, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), collection of the artist

Here is an impression of New York

Broadway just before the show
City's

crowds move in. To make this painting I

wet the entire surface and began with

Holbein's opera, Winsor red, and cad-
mium orange, letting them bleed and
move around. When the board was
slightly damp, I came in with a palette

knife, scratching back and forth to

establish the signs and patterns of the

Times Square area. After this had dried
I put alizarin crimson in the back-
ground to establish the shapes of the
buildings. Then cars and people began
to appear. I finished by adding Winsor
blue over the top. Then, deciding it was
much too dark, I squeegeed away color,

allowing the buildings to reflect light

from the nearby street, as in the upper
right-hand corner. When the painting
was semidry I used my palette knife to

briskly stroke down through the board,

bringing up color from underneath.
Umbrellas started to pop out all over
the place,and the underpainted color in
the foreground worked to reflect lights
in the wet street.

HONG KONG sketch, 15" x 20" (38.1 cm x 50.8 cm),

private collection, Florida
Glazing Procedures

I approach both day and night razor-blade technique to squeegee of Winsor blue and alizarin crim-
scenes, indoors and out, with the out color and let the no longer quite son. While the color is still damp, I

glazing technique. I begin by laying white paper show through to create scrape out passages for lights, re-
down shapes of cadmium yellow fight areas. This is similar to the flections, lighted windows, signs,

and orange, then build up my color approach I used in painting trees and brighter buildings, allowing the
to create the positive and negative and rocks. underpainting to show through.
forms of lights and street signs, This works well for daytime This can result in a very dramatic
adding suggestions of figures and scenes, but for night scenes I over- image that has the appearance of a
buildings where the composition de- paint about eighty percent of the woodblock print, as in Boothbay
mands them, designing as I go. completely dry bright underglaze Harbor, page 92.
As the color builds, I use the with a dark color, usually a mixture

mf~'

This painting was begun with a glaze of Using the same process, I added cad- I then glazed on alizarin crimson, using
cadmium yellow, which I let dry before mium orange, then scraped out light the darker color to further define people
adding a second glaze of the same color. areas with a razor blade, creating even and areas of interest.

The overlapping layers created new more new shapes. Negative painting
shapes. was used to snap out the signs and the
figures that began to evolve.

I finished the painting with a

Winsor blue glaze. Through-
out the painting process I

kept finding forms that said

"city" to me. As I saw them I

used a darker tone to bring

them out and make them
visible.

SHOWTIME, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), private collection

90 CITYSCAPES
Special Techniques

When painting a cityscape, there The split brush is a very useful tech-
aresome special strokes you will nique. First, load a flat brush with color.
want to adapt. Then, using the handle of another brush
To pull out stop signs and posts, or a credit card, divide the bristles even-
paint negatively, using the bucket ly, as the illustration shows. Do not use

stroke behind these objects. Also a palette knife or a razor blade to split

use the bucket stroke to create your brush, as they will damage the

figures, as shown in the preced-

bristles. Hold the brush flat and draw

ing chapter.
patterns as demonstrated — tile roofs,

brick walls, windows.

For depicting the repeating pat-
terns of tile roofs, windows, and
brick facings, use a split brush.
Another way to get patterns is to
cut notches in a piece of cardboard
and use this tool as you would a
razor blade.

You can use a notched piece of card-

board to get the same effect.

>

Try using cardboard to draw buildings,

figures, and backgrounds the same way

' *r we have used the razor blade. This is

very effective for creating patterns; you
can dip the cardboard into different
colors and use various types of cards to
get a range of textures.

* *

u: i
I

CITYSCAPES 91
Focusing the Composition

In working out the composition for

a cityscape I usually choose a cross
format, which I prefer for man-
made subjects like buildings, I sup-
pose because all such structures are
vertical to the horizon line. Some-
times I use a double cross, meaning
simply that more than one cross
appears within the composition.
Double or single, the cross can have
a horizontal or a vertical axis, and
you can place it wherever you want
(I usually call it the "movable
cross" for this reason), even in the
center of the picture, but wherever C^oss Po-^r/i/0
the lines meet is where the action
should take place. That's where you These diagrams illustrate the highly

should place a landmark identifying adaptable cross format, which I find

the particular city you're depicting. particularly useful for cityscapes.

This landmark could be a monu- Whether its axis is horizontal, vertical,

or even diagonal, the cross can appear
ment, a specific building, a sign, or
anywhere within the picture plane; the
even figures in their native dress.
main action in your composition should
The compositions shown here il-
be focused where the arms of the cross
lustrate how adaptable the format
intersect. DocSif c/2c?ss
is. You can easily develop positive

and negative shapes within this type

of scheme; just remember that ac-

tivity should occur where the arms
of the cross intersect. To liven up a
scene, I sometimes focus on a cen-
tral area within a picture and keep
the movement around it circular,

creating a series of overlapping tri-

angles or rectangles, as in Monu-

ment Square, opposite.

BOOTHBAY HARBOR, 30" x 40" (76.2 cm x 101.6 cm), private collection, California

The cross composition is quite obvious in this painting, the angle of the pier lead-
ing the viewer's eye right into the scene. I used cadmium yellows and oranges un-
derneath the dark tone. Then I scraped out areas with a razor blade to develop the
boats along the harbor line.

92 CITYSCAPES
 To create a special spot, I pick out one subject that will iden-
tify the city I'm depicting. All the other things are abstract
forms that may or may not actually be there. In this picture
I wanted to show the city encroaching on the park in the
right foreground, where people are out enjoying the spring
sun. As in other paintings, I began with cadmium orange and
yellow. After wetting the surface, I put down alizarin crimson
and Hooker s green dark, then ran a palette knife through it

to develop design lines. (This type of action seems to work

best with cities and man-made structures.)

The kiosk that began to

appear gave shape to the
foreground, while the sun
bouncing off the ground and
the high-key lighting on the
monument reflect back onto
some of the buildings, pro-
viding contrast. To complete
the composition I added
street signs and other objects,
I added the figures using the bucket
details that were not specific
stroke. The dark alizarin crimson shad-
to any city but gave an im-
ows were added to the background to
pression of the place.
bring the monument forward.

J 11 H 8 <

TIL

MONUMENT SQUARE, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), collection of the artist

CITYSCAPES 93
Other Interpretations

"For this painting," says

Messersmith, "I taped a piece
of Bockingford paper to a
piece of Vi" panel board, then
dampened the entire surface
with a 4" housepainter's
brush. Using a reference
sketch, I took a 3" Japanese
brush and applied a heavy
amount of watercolor pig-
ment in the general area of
the horizon and sky, then
lifted up the board and let

the medium flow on the

flooded surface of the paper.
I prepared several pieces of
heavy mat board ranging
from Yi" to 3" wide to use as
implements for creating the
building forms; I dragged
each piece sharply down-
ward, applying enough pres-
sure to remove color until the
white paper showed through.
The fenestration of the build-
ings was achieved by dipping
Vi" pieces of mat board into
various colors and more or
less printing in the window
shapes. I also used my trusty
trowel-shaped painting knife
to add grasses, reflection

lines in the water, and bird

formations in the sky. I used
a rigger brush freely in the
foreground to stipple and
splash some of the linear
shapes you see there."

PERKINS COVE, 20" x 30" (50.8 cm x 76.2 cm), collection of the artist

This is an impression of Perkins Cove, a favorite spot of summertime visitors to

Ogunquit. At that time of year it is filled with activity characteristic of many urban
areas, but in winter it is lazy and Here it is viewed from the "Finest
laid back.

Kind" Pier looking directly out toward the sea, where the late afternoon sunlight
bounces back and forth off the boats. My studio sits in the distance at the back of
the cove.

94 CITYSCAPES
SIXTH STREET MARKET, 5' x 7' (152.4 cm x 213.4 cm), private collection, New York

Cities after dark are abstractions. Your

color palette will change rapidly under
any artificial light; at night the spec-
Practice Exercises
trum is reduced, and some colors
blues, reds, flesh tones —become satu-
1 . Collect pictures of cities and towns.
rated with reflected light and gain inten-

The inspiration for this painting

sity.
2. Visit a city and make your own sketches. Observe identifying

came after I had made many nighttime landmarks that set it off from other towns.
sketches in New York City, sketches that 3. Paint buildings using the bucket stroke.
caught the light reflecting down onto 4. Cut out pieces of cardboard and try sketching a city with
hands and arms of figures as they them, defining tile roofs, windows, and other architectural
seemed to disappear into the back- details. Experiment with the split brush as well.
ground. I did the painting in watercolor 5. Try doing a night scene using a series of glazes, scraping out
on a Masonite panel coated with gesso, and signs with a razor blade, as
lights in Always After Eight,
which I applied with a roller to get
page 89.
texture. After the gesso dried, I painted
6. Try developing a city or town using the cross or double-cross
in my initial patterns with watercolor,
composition. Use Showtime, page 90, as a guideline.
capturing the ghostly impression of the
figures' heads, leaving the skin tones
rather pallid in contrast with the bold
reds, purples, and oranges.

CITYSCAPES 95
9
THOUGHTS ON SKETCHING

We began this book with the sim- wherever I go, for I never know into play. Making a sketch on loca-
plest way of using watercolor, the when I am going to see something tion engages all your senses and
controlled drip. From there we ex- that appeals to me. You will often involves you more deeply in an
perimented with other techniques find that a sketchbook is welcome image.
and looked at different ways of where a camera is not, such as in With your sketch pad as well as
painting skies, trees, rocks, figures, some foreign countries, in bars, and your camera, you need to move
and cityscapes, always thinking, Let at private parties. I have been in- around your subject, recording
the medium do it. But there's an vited into many homes and made shapes, textures, spaces, colors, and
important "first step" that deserves many new friends because of my the intimate details that interest
special mention here — before you sketchbook. you. All this information is vital for
take all you've learned and put it Even with all my sketching, I still the store of knowledge you will need
together in your own painting. To find it necessary to take a camera as you work on more complete
capture the mood, the color, the along for collecting resource mate- paintings later on. Whether you
temperature, and the activity of a rial; it's a useful tool for recording work realistically or abstractly, you
scene in paint, you must visit it and some of the details I might other- need an underlying foundation of
sketch it. wise miss. I often use a half-frame form, composition, and balance,
Sketching allows you to collect a camera — a 35mm camera that ex- which you can obtain only from
variety of information and reveals a poses only half a film frame with observing your surroundings. This
lot about the things that will fit into each shot — so I can get twice as is one of the most important aspects
your interpretation of a scene. A many pictures on one roll of film of sketching. My grandfather used
sketchbook enables you to grasp the and thus don't have to reload so to say, "You cannot distort what you
flavor of an area, its music, the often. I do not, however, rely solely have not actually experienced; being
character of its people, the smells on photographs as reference there is the key." It is crucial that

and sounds of the marketplace. sources. Quite often they just can't you understand your subject matter
My sketch pad is my "security capture something you've seen with if you wish to interpret what you see

blanket"; I carry one at all times the power your imagination brings honestly and personally.

96
 Sketches are a form of short-
hand. Look at van Gogh's
drawing and note its sim-
plicity. He would do pencil
sketches on location, then go
and draw over
to the studio
them with pen to break down
the shapes.

•'•.!* .*•• •'•tf<ss .iiiif r(

• . lV »»H/ ,..il i

Vincent van Gogh, THE HARVEST, 12 /2" x 9'/2 " (31.8

1
cm x 24 .1 cm),
National Gallery ot Art, Washington, D.C., Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

This sketch of the Grand

Tetons was done on location
at a rest stop on a narrow,
winding mountain road. The
view was magnificent but my
time was limited, so I quickly
drew in fine, linear forms
with a permanent felt- tip

pen. Then I used a series of

colored pens, blending the
hues with an overlay method.
After five or ten minutes I

was back on the bus, where I

used cross-hatching to bring

out the values of the scene.
That night, while I still re-

membered the scene, I re-

fined the drawing.

97
Sketching Techniques

I do my initial sketches on translu- still begin with two or three create a painting, I sit back, listen
cent layout paper, using a marking sketches of the area before deciding to musk and project my slides.
pen or a razor blade with India ink. what my composition will be. Per- Little by little I recall the thrill and
That way I can either refine the haps the most difficult thing about excitement of the place, yes, even
drawing later by putting another painting outdoors is choosing what the smell of it that caught my
translucent sheet over it or transfer to focus on, because there are al- attention. As I start to feel that I am
it to watercolor paper. I carry along ways so many possibilities. back at that location, I turn off the
a small watercolor paint box so I The best advice I can offer you in slide projector and let my impres-
can develop color relations in my this regard is to find a scene that sions flow onto paper, working in
drawings. I also use Magic Markers, appeals to you and make an overall the realm of free association of
watercolor crayons, and felt-tip sketch of it. Your sketch can be of color, form, and space. When re-

pens. All this equipment fits easily an entire landscape, a room, or only sponding to an image this way,

in two or three pockets or a small the setting of some main point of drawing is not necessarily the first

bag; it's important to keep materials interest. Next, zero in on the subject step. What is necessary, though, is

to a minimum so that they're por- of most interest to you, moving that shapes be recognizable. Some-
table, because you never know about it and making two or three times a light pencil underdrawing
where you're going to be or when sketches from various angles. Then can be an asset to your painting,
it's going to rain. determine small details that charac- especially if you are worried about
When it seems appropriate, I terize the area, and record them. perspective or specific outlines of
sometimes carry my compact When I get back to the studio, I buildings, boats, or similar subjects.
French easel, which I can open up if use sketches like these as reference
I want to finish an entire painting material, as well as any photo-
on location. Even when I do this, I graphs I've taken. Before I begin to

I made this Magic Marker

sketch at the Grand Canyon
and elaborated on it with wa-
tercolor crayon and a black
marking pen. In this partic-

ular painting I sketched only

the canyon in the background
and left the foreground vague
to emphasize my center of
When am on I location I use the most interest.

convenient table available — a rock or

even my lap. Drawing right at the site is

important.

I made some sketches and

took photographs of this
arch. My photos did not re-

flect the red-gold of the light

that fell on the rock, but as
you can see in my sketch, I

shifted some of the details to

the left and moved the arch

to make a better composi-

An arch in Arches National Park, Utah tion, positioning it at an an-
I take reference photos after I do my gle that is almost impossible
drawings. to find with the camera.

98 THOUGHTS ON SKETCHING
I took several photos of this lobster
shack, a good subject for a painting,
capturing enough detail that could use This razor-blade drawing of boats in
I This India ink sketch gives an overall
make my image authentic, though the water is simply an indication of the
to impression of what the building looks
not an exact replica of the A medi- surrounding area and serves as a refer-
site. like, its location, and its relationship to
um close-up shot catches some of the and the water
ence for my composition.
the other buildings
character of the building and how it around it.

relates to the surrounding space.

I prefer to do my final painting in the studio, where the let the nearly completed painting dry before progressing to
solitary act of creation allows me a more impressionistic the next stage. This is the time to look carefully at your work.
approach to what I have seen. In this case, I began with a
light pencil drawing.

I felt the shack needed some highlights

that would give it more character, so I
used gesso overpainting to achieve the
effects you see here in the final painting.

LOBSTER SHACK, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), collection of the artist

THOUGHTS ON SKETCHING 99
Keeping It Free

One way to keep yourself from ble to "noodle," that is, to put in a
doing a full, detailed drawing is to lot of unnecessary lines. Using a
make your sketches on paper no tool as wide as a razor blade is like
larger than 8" x 10" (20.3 cm x using a broad brush; you can lay in
25.4 cm). This forces you to work general shapes and patterns very
out the forms, values, and composi- quickly. Another wide tool that's
tion very quickly — to do the think- excellent for sketching is a 4B
ing behind a painting immediately. sketching or carpenter's pencil,
Using a viewfinder — some type of which allows you to move rapidly to
frame, perhaps a small mat or, give value and texture to your
better yet, the cardboard border of a much as you
subject simultaneously,
35mm slide — will help you deter- would when making strokes with a
mine the scale of your overall im- brush. When you work in pen or
pression and find a specific regular pencil, it's easy to become
composition. As you look through too concerned with defining one
your viewfinder, move it about and particular area rather than move
consider the various compositional around the whole drawing. I've

possibilities. It makes it easy to zero found that wider tools keep my

in on a particular subject in a large sketches much looser, and when
landscape. I like the 35mm size using them, I like to also use a large These lighthouse drawings are typical
because it fits easily into a wallet pad, because it gives me the extra reference sketches made quickly on
and can be carried with you at all freedom of movement I need to location. Notice how I try to establish
a composition as I work.
times. catch the action at a scene.
By now you will have practiced I want you to remember that
with a razor blade and know how when you're sketching, it's impor-
handy it can be for sketching. With tant to relax and enjoy what you're
an implement like this, it's impossi- doing.

FORT MYERS, 18" x 24" (45.7 cm x 61.0 cm), BRAY'S BRICKYARD, 18" 24" (45.7 cm x 61 cm),
collection of the artist collection of the artist

For this Florida shrimp boat, I used a razor blade and India On location in Helena, Montana, I made this sketch of a
ink to do the initial drawing, then I found a sliver of wood on brickyard using a razor blade and ink. Because of Montana's
the pierand used it to get some of the halftone tints. When dry climate, the ink set quickly and I could use a watercolor
the drawing was done I used my small watercolor set to tint it. tint over it almost immediately. I sealed the completed sketch
India ink won't lift or blur when you wash over it. with polymer medium and mounted it for display as a

finished painting.

100 THOUGHTS ON SKETCHING

Another Interpretation

John Groth, BOAR HUNT NEAR MOULIN ROUGE, 29" x 38" (73.7 cm x 96.5 cm), courtesy of the artist

Groth says of this sketch, "This piece

reflects some of my experience as an
artist-correspondent during World War Practice Exercises
II. I would record scenes I had witnessed
in endless rough sketches that I could
1 Do some pencil sketches around your studio or home.
refer to later for details of uniforms and
Quickly put down the overall appearance of your surroundings,
background. In this piece, using Pelikan
sepia ink and working loosely, first I
establish the compositional format, and record as many of the

drew lightly, leaving all the lines, then I

smaller details of the scene as you can. When sketching a
increased the pressure of the pen to particular location, you should aim to capture its entirety, not
accent and move figures, creating the just the specific setting that interests you.
action and composition I wanted. When 2. Take photographs in conjunction with these sketches.
the pen drawing was completed I added 3. Use a razor blade to capture shapes and forms. Let the tool
color, also loosely. If at any point a work for you.
picture goes sour, immediately begin it
4. Bring your photos and sketches back to the studio and use
I

all over again. The first attempt serves

them together, elaborating on the information they provide to
as a rehearsal for the final picture, in
develop a composition for your painting. Try to come up with a
which I try to maintain the excitement
complete design of the location, striving not to re-create what is
of my original sketches, aiming for
immediacy in my finished work." truly there but to capture what you remember.

THOUGHTS ON SKETCHING 10
10
GESSO

Some of my favorite techniques in-

volve gesso, a medium I have used

off and on in my work for the last
twenty years. Gesso is a water-
soluble acrylic paint that can be
used for a wide range of effects such
as adding a few sparkling whites at
the end of a piece or overpainting
with it to create a pastel effect.
You can coat a whole painting
with gesso or just a part of it to
accent a specific area; you can use it

watered down for transparent

effects,or apply it heavily as an
opaque medium and build up pat-
terns with it. You can also use gesso
as an overglaze on a dry painting to
pull passages together.
GONE TO SEED, 20" x 30" (50.8 cm x 76.2 cm), collection of the artist
Before you try gesso, want I to
caution you: Do not use good In this painting I used the technique explained in the demonstration on page 104.
brushes with it. Gesso can build Here, however, I allowed more of the basic composition to show through the gesso
up in a brush and will eventually overpainting to achieve that gossamer look of fall. Over the dry gessoed area I used
ruin it. sepia umber to create the milkweed plants. When this was completely dry, I applied

The various techniques I use are acrylic spray to set the paint, then glazed the surface with polymer medium tinted

simply the means to an end. I can't

yellow to warm everything up.

stress this strongly enough: Don't

letany single technique become
This large composition represents fall along the Maine shoreline after the first frost,
obvious in your work; use one in
when the sumac turns multiple shades of red, orange, and yellow and the geese
conjunction with several others to
make their exodus as the season changes. The painting process included the use of
obtain an overall effect.
watercolor spatter, plain water spatter, and watered gesso spatter, in that order; then
I added a transparent gesso glaze — a thin mixture of water with gesso — over the
entire painting to tie it all together. I finished the painting by sealing it with
polymer medium.

102
WINTER EXODUS, 30" x 40" (76.2 cm x 101.6 cm), collection of the artist

103
Overpainting with Gesso

Everyone from time to time ends up completely dry. Since gesso dries sculptor cuts away at a block of
with a ruined piece of work. By quickly, I lay out all the necessary marble or wood to find the form
overpainting it with gesso you can tools before I start to work. Those I inside. I also draw in design lines,

create an entirely new surface. Over- need immediately include a \W flat over which I paint in details.
painting can be deliberately sabeline brush, a palette knife, and The first paintings of this kind
planned, or it can be a means for a razor blade. I begin by using my that I took to a gallery were met
saving the better portions of a com- large brush to lay in gesso patterns with resistance and were shown only
position on the verge of getting lost. over nonfunctional areas, leaving reluctantly. However, within a few
With this technique, the pigment intact selected passages of the origi- weeks I was asked for more of my
bleeds through the gesso painted nal painting that do work, where I "gossamer" paintings, as the first

over it, causing a gossamer effect wish to attract the viewer's atten- ones had sold quite well. Now I call

that adds a whole new dimension to tion. Then with a palette knife (or a gesso overpainting my "gossamer
your work. cookie spatula if the painting is technique."
This technique can be used only large), I quickly squeegee the sur-
on a watercolor painting that is face to move the gesso, much as a

I decided this painting needed more With my brush loaded with a lot of Next, I made design lines in the surface
pizzazz. water and a small amount of gesso, I with my palette knife. Then, using my
coated the painting, dissolving much palette knife and a razor blade, I pushed
of the watercolor pigment underneath gesso out of the way and brought back
while saving sections of the original some of the underlying color and white
image that I found most interesting. It of the paper. With a small brush I laid
is vitally important to work quickly in darks around the design lines, bring-

when using gesso, and you must con- ing out some patterns and toning down
stantly keep your composition in mind. others.

Once the painting was dry I put in my

final details, then sealed it with acrylic
spray. Next I covered the painting sur-
face with two coats of polymer medium.
Even on top of these protective layers

I can add a few details or make minor

changes with a mixture of polymer
medium and watercolor. For example,
if I want the fields to be browner or
greener, I can tint them at this stage.

CAPE NEDDICK RIVER, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50 8 cm), private collection, Florida

104 GESSO
 Compare this image with its

counterpart, Duplicate Trees,

page 107, to see how varied
the same subject can appear
when it is rendered by means
of two different techniques.
Here I painted the basic
composition with watercolor,
first establishing the tree
forms and the background,
then I applied gesso across
the surface and scratched it

out while it was still wet. I

finished by putting milkweed

pods in the foreground here
and there.

LOOKING TOWARD CHASE'S POND, 20" x 30" (50.8 cm private collection

This striking painting shows yet another way to use gesso

successfully with watercolor. As Vickrey explains, "I covered a
piece of hot-pressed Whatman board with gesso and all the
watercolor hues on my palette, using broad, broken strokes
and leaving quite a bit of white paper showing through. Over
this I scrubbed in cerulean blue, then I loaded pure gesso into
the slightly wet paint to create small whorls of light. I roughly
sketched in the nun and her headdress in a monochrome,
then began to work out the light, using stubby old watercolor
brushes. With a paper mask I covered the figure, then
spattered cerulean and cobalt blue liberally over the wall area.
Next I glazed and clarified the shadowed areas of the face
with a thin wash of Hooker's green, burnt sienna, and yellow
ochre. To introduce the trapped bird motif, I laid pieces of
tracing paper around the painting until I was satisfied with
their position. Carefully masking off the figure once more, I

spattered a very light coat of cerulean blue over the whole

background. Finally I glazed the darkest shadows on the wall,
then lit the figure's face with a light opaque flesh tone."

Robert Vickrey, WINGS, 22 30" (55.9 cm

courtesy of the artist

GESSO 105
Working on a Gesso Surface

Playing with watercolor on gessoed surface; just make certain you let it, the water spray moves the pig-
paper, board, canvas, or wood panel each layer dry completely before ment to develop wonderfully excit-
is an entirely new experience and a adding the next. ing shapes and patterns. All you
fun exercise. Try applying gesso to When you apply watercolor over need to do is look for them.
your surface with a roller instead of a textured surface, allow the pig- When working on a gessoed sur-
a brush or varying the thickness of ment to seek the texture lines on its face, I first lay in my light shapes.
the paint application to create an own and create interesting patterns. While the pigment is drying, I take
interesting texture. You might even You can pull out whites anytime you a palette knife and scrape out color
try putting gesso on with a palette wish using a clean, damp flat or to create white areas. The texture
knife or a piece of cardboard. You round brush that is "thirsty" lines of the underpainting begin to
can add even more texture by cut- enough to lift color and create new emerge and add interesting patterns
ting into the surface while the gesso designs and lighten specific areas. A to the composition.
is still wet. Conversely, if you want a spray of water on a gessoed surface When your finished painting is

slick finish, smooth your gesso- glazed with watercolor can create dry you need to apply acrylic spray
coated surface down with sand- some very unusual effects too. Since (I use Krylon #1303) and then seal
paper. It usually takes several layers the gesso seals the surface so the the surface permanently with poly-
of gesso to establish a good working watercolor cannot be absorbed into mer medium.

This gesso underpainting was applied with a palette knife to I put various greens over the dry gesso, allowing the pigment
create a rough texture that suggests tree forms. I let it dry to seek the textured lines of the underpainting. Then I picked
before proceeding. out forms with a thirsty brush.

Here I added more color, as well as the two figures. When the figures were dry, I sprayed the painting with water
to get an overall textural wash. Because the gesso prevents it

from being absorbed into the paper, the pigment sits on the
surface and is easily moved with water.

106 GESSO
 When the painting was com-
pletely dry, I reached back in
with my thirsty brush and
lifted out highlights on the
trunks of the birch trees.
Finally I washed light blues

over the foreground and over

the trees in the background.
You can see the texture of the
gesso underpainting coming
through, building the tree
limbs and the patterns of
rocks around the hunters.

TWO IN THE WOODS, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8cm), collection of Vincent Thelin

DUPLICATE TREES, 24" x 30" (61.0 cm x 76.2 cm), collection of the artist

This picture was completely underpainted with gesso, then overpainted with
from which I pulled out the grass forms with a thirsty brush. For the
watercolor,
background details I used sepia umber and Winsor blue, then wiped out the
pigment, leaving a stain in the gesso base.

GESSO 107
Correcting with Gesso

When paintings seem to get out of heavy coat of gesso and form shapes whether you would like to remake it

hand, there are ways to correct with it, much the way you would this way.

them. To that end, I have developed apply oil colors in an impasto tech- The beauty of trying to reclaim a
some techniques involving radical nique. When you cover a painting painting is that you don't have to be
changes that can make a picture this way, the tint of the original afraid to jump right in and really
succeed. You will find specific exam- watercolor will show through. While splash the pigment around. By
ples of these techniques in the chap- the gesso is still wet, you can apply adding more pigment, you add
ter that follows on how to save a watercolor directly onto it to estab- more power to your work. Re-
painting, in which I demonstrate lish a middle tone over the entire member, every painting, good or
how I've corrected some of my surface; then as the gesso dries, you bad, is a lesson. A successful work is
students' work. But here, let me just can continue to apply watercolor to judged by what you have learned
mention how handy gesso is for build detail in the foreground, as from it, not by the accolades it may
repairing paintings that have gone a the demonstration shows. My tools earn you. If you think about it from
little awry. in this case consisted of gesso, a IW this point of view, no painting can

One way to save a painting is to flat sabeline brush and a #5 round ever really be called "lost." It's

put gesso over it same process

in the brush, a razor blade, and various the challenge of new experiences
I demonstrated on page 104. An- watercolors. Look at a painting you that counts.
other approach is to apply a thick, feel needs more pizzazz and decide

I started this painting with cobalt blue I then moved the paint around on the When this stage was dry, I developed
and cadmium orange, then wiped the surface to develop the clouds in the sky, the texture lines and beach forms with
paint with a damp terry towel to create adding Winsor blue to the gesso to Winsor blue and sepia umber. Finally, I
fog. The image didn't work, so I coated increase the intensity of color. washed over the foreground and scraped
the tinted surface with gesso. out details with a razor blade.

The important thing to remember when

using this technique is that at any given
time you can change the entire texture
by going back with gesso, adding whites
and getting lighter. The areas over-
painted with watercolor can be wiped
back to white one more time. This is

very effective on damaged boards or old

paintings that you want to wash out
entirely so you can develop a brand-new
composition.

LONG SANDS BEACH, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), collection of the artist

108 GESSO
Using Tissue

Laying tissue or rice paper over entire painting with polymer me- watercolor mixed with polymer
problem areas in a painting can dium. If you want the tissue paper medium.
bring success to passages that to be exceedingly transparent, al- Once the polymer seal dries, you
weren't working out and is effective lowing the background to show can come back into the painting
for many subjects. To create very through, coat it with clear water with watercolor pigment mixed with
softly blended passages, try tissue first, then cover it with polymer polymer medium to add shapes and
overlays on a dry gessoed surface. medium to hold it in place. If you glazes in the areas you want to
Of course, this material isn't only want to diffuse the impression to strengthen and give more depth to.

for making corrections; you may make the background a little less Paintings made with this technique
plan to use it in a painting from the visible, paint the polymer medium can be exhibited as collage or mixed
start, especially once you find out directly over the tissue paper with- media work, but not as watercolor.
what it can do. out wetting it. This allows some air Heed this important warning:
For experimental purposes, the bubbles and white spots to form, When you use acrylic spray, always
tissue you find in department-store causing a haze to develop. You can work in a well-ventilated room or
packages or between shirts back also apply tissue paper in the same take the paintings outdoors, and
from the cleaners will work well, manner to a surface that has been don't spray toomany at one time. I
but do not use colored tissue paper either underpainted or overpainted know from personal experience that
for any reason, as it fades quickly. with gesso, as long as the gesso is too much spray can poison your
Instead, paint your tissue paper dry; the tissue can be tinted with system.
with watercolor, either before you
apply it to your working surface or The inspiration for this
afterward, depending on how you painting came from an over-
plan to use it in the painting. Tissue cast day in a Wisconsin val-

paper allows you to create collage ley. In the low level of the

effects; you can also use it to push hills, the sky is almost com-

back areas you want to make recede pletely white. The strength of
the foreground as you look
in a composition. As you become
up toward the barn brings
more proficient, I suggest you try
out the aloneness of the loca-
various kinds of rice paper, which
tion. But as I worked on the
comes in a wide range of interesting
painting, the foreground be-
textures and can be purchased from
came too dominant, so I
art supply dealers.
pushed it back by using
For landscapes, I tend to tear the layers of tissue paper and
tissue into irregular and thus more polymer medium.
natural shapes. When I am doing a
cityscape, though, I look for hard
edges typical of man-made forms,
so I cut the tissue paper with a
razor blade directly on the painting,
not worrying about the line going
through and scoring the surface.
This helps me get my compositional
elements in the right proportion to
one another.
When you use tissue paper in a
painting, it's important to follow
these three steps. First, to prevent
watercolor pigment from moving FIRST FROST, 20" x 30" (50.8 cm x 76.2 cm),
Rahr Public-West Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
around and dissolving beneath the
tissue, apply acrylic spray to your
painting. Next, apply the tissue
where you want it. Finally, seal the

GESSO 109
Other Interpretations

Edward Betts says that this painting

resulted more from technical experi-
mentation — here, combining watercolor
and acrylic — than from an intention to
create a work of art. As he describes it,
"I thinned some acrylic medium with
lots of water and applied it randomly
with a large flat brush in wide, gestural
strokes, leaving plenty of the paper
untouched. I let this stage dry; then,
knowing that the areas of paper coated
with acrylic medium would repel color
while the uncoated areas would absorb
it, I laid in washes of transparent
watercolor all over the surface. When
the painting was about half done, I

sprayed it with two layers of the same

diluted medium to prevent color from
bleeding through the thin acrylic whites
I used to further develop the image. I

applied more watercolor and acrylic Edward Betts, SEA MOVEMENT #7, 22" x 30" (55.9 cm 76.2 cm), courtesy ot
Midtown Galleries, New York City
glazes to complete the painting."

This artist worked on a coat

of gray acrylic-based paint

similar to gesso, which he

sprayed on to achieve a flat

surface, then smoothed with

a fine-grain sandpaper and
coated with a sizing made
from water and gelatin. He
describes how he proceeded:
"I mixed each of my colors in

a separate container with

water to a thin, creamy tex-
ture; then I wet my surface
with a wide brush and
poured the paints onto it all

at the same time, moving

them around to blend here
and there by tipping the sur-

face in different positions.

When the paint was dry I

was able to visualize figures,

at which point I decided to
Jason Williamson, DESERT RIBBONS, 22" x 30" (55.9 cm x 76 2 cm), courtesy of the artist
remove areas of color to get
back to the gray ground. The
forms emerged this way."

110 GESSO
Cher Thompson, WIND SAILS, 30" x 40" (76.2 cm x 101 6 cm), courtesy of the artist

This is a perfect example of overpaint-

ing with anopaque water-based me-
dium such as gouache or gesso.
Practice Exercises
Thompson kept the opaque area at the
top of the painting separate from the
1 . Work yourself out of a compositional problem by employing
transparent foreground. She painted the
sky by squeezing various transparent
the gesso overpainting technique.

watercolor hues straight from the tube 2. Execute a gesso overpainting, leaving some original passages
onto the board and blending them with showing.
white acrylic paint, using a very wet 3.Apply gesso to different surfaces as underpainting, making
brush. Next, the artist dropped plastic some smooth and some richly textured; then try watercolor over
wrap onto the wet surface and lifted it them. It might be fun to do the same subject on each surface
before the paint dried, leaving interest- and compare the results.
ing white forms that appeared to be 4. Use the tissue technique to soften a foreground or back-
sails. These she accented with tissue
ground passage in a painting.
paper cut into similar shapes, gluing
them to the surface with acrylic me-
dium. To further enhance the effect of
wind-filled sails, Thompson then
scraped with a razor blade, drew with a
pencil, and added transparent color
glazes, echoing their shapes in the fore-
ground.

GESSO 111
 —

11
SAVE IT!

There are no mistakes, only correc- the techniques you wanted to use, rework your picture into something
tions. This point was driven home have put in all the patterns you like, entirely different. Try out some of
to me day after day by my father along with your heart and soul, but the techniques mentioned earlier
and grandfather. Everything I did as your painting still doesn't work. adding tissue paper, using gesso, or
a child was critiqued. My father, What went wrong? Perhaps you overpainting with a darker color.
with his commercial art training, were so busy trying techniques, you Make the medium your partner;
would show me how to correct the forgot other important points work with each other.

faults in my paintings without redo- needed to develop a painting, such Here's a practice that's sometimes
ing the entire work. as composition, negative and helpful. When you get stuck in a
This approach instilled in me the positive space, interesting and var- painting, lay a piece of acetate over
habit of critiquing my own students' ied shapes and patterns, or values. it and try out new colors, values,

work at the end of a week's work- But just because what you as- and designs on this clear surface

shop. At that time I show them how sembled doesn't work as a whole before you make further changes on
to improve their paintings, using doesn't mean all your efforts are the original one. Pick up some
many of the same techniques dis- lost. Even a painting that seems pigment on your brush, then soap it

cussed earlier in this book. That is doomed has potential; sometimes so the paint will adhere to the
how this chapter came into being. you learn the most from it when you acetate.

Imagine that you have tried all let go of your original idea and

This was originally a landscape dominated by orange

reflections of morning sunlight. It wasn't quite working, so I

turned it on its side and struck into it with alizarin crimson,

Indian red, and warm umber. After I had almost completely
overpainted the picture, leaving just highlights of orange, I

used a razor blade and palette knife to scrape out and develop
the abstract structure of an Oriental floral design, which
eventually became the finished painting.

112
EARTH'S OMEN, 48" x 68" (121.9 cm x 172 .7 cm), private collection, Boston

This large painting originally depicted

the rocks and beach of Maine. I never
liked the composition, so I started work-
ing it over and continued to do so for
more than two years, leaving it and
coming back to it time and again. I tried
adding dark browns and oranges, over-
painting, underpaintmg, and sometimes
spattering in anger and frustration. I

turned the picture all four ways and

tried to make the composition work in
every direction. I never knew which side
was up or down until the plant forms
evolved. The patterns and shapes of
these Maine plants were constructed
with several of the tools we have dis-

cussed in the book. Eventually I grew

to love this painting, and consider it a
major work. One of the joys of being an
artist is that you have a place to vent
negative feelings, and can use them to

help turn out a successful painting.

STANDING STRAIGHT, 30" x 20" (76.2 cm x 50.8 cm),

collection of the artist

113
Student Makeovers

I believe that a student who is angles, and apply different colors. It must be said that relative to
willing to let me correct his or her Forget about the expression you content, technique is unimportant,
painting with a hands-on approach were trying to create; instead, con- but technique is what can be
will gain more than I can give in a sider it a fresh surface on which you taught. People who teach art risk
verbal critique. Some paintings can are starting a new painting. It can making imitators out of their stu-
be saved just by adding a few be exciting and challenging to re- dents; to me, though, the best art
shadows to pull things together, work a picture in this way. I like to teachers are those who try to avoid
while others require what I call think of a remark Picasso once this by offering their students the
"major surgery" — a drastic change, made about painting: "I work on it widest possible variety of ap-
in which only a few forms from the until I entirely destroy it, then I proaches, the broadest technical vo-
original composition remain. begin to create." Remember: If all cabulary that will help each develop
When a painting needs major you can always gesso over
else fails, his or her own artistic voice.

surgery, it is time to turn it upside a painting and begin a new one on a

down, look at it from different fresh white surface.

This painting of sailboats was not bad, but it needed What I did was restructure the foreground of the painting by
strengthening. adding sail-shaped pieces of tissue paper to it and placing
other scraps over the sky area.

I applied the tissue with polymer medium following the steps In the end, the difference between this version and the original

discussed in Chapter 10. In this case I wanted to haze out the is not that dramatic, except that the tissue paper softens up
background, so I put polymer medium over the entire piece the painting's foreground and suggests sunlight pouring
and added some more tissue. Then I added watercolor to through and animating the scene.
polymer medium to use as a final glaze over the surface.

114 SAVE IT!

 ^p> I turned the composition upside down
and added Hooker's green dark and
Winsor blue over the foreground, leav-

ing intact from the original certain

areas of light reflecting on the water at
the center. Then I scratched back into
the dark pigments with my fingernails
to create grass and put in a few palm
trees at the top, followed by a light

spatter in the foreground.

The sunset sky worked out very well
and had a nice blending, but the faded
islands seemed to add nothing to this

painting.

This made for an entirely new paint-

ing, now a view back across a field to-
ward a distant sunset reflected in a
quiet stream.

The original painting captured the I accented the design with alizarin crim- The finished composition is the same as
feeling of the flowers, but needed more son and Winsor blue to give the picture the original, except the added lights and
contour work and design. a nice purple tone, then used a white darks bring it all together.
crayon to bring out the stems, line
work, and highlights.

SAW IT! 115

More Makeovers

There were no large patterns and shadows to pull this work I put gesso over most of the painting, letting parts of the
together; it was too busy all over. watercolor bleed through to maintain some of the student's
original design while deleting many of the more compli-
cated areas to suggest a simple fishing village.

The sky in this painting was working fairly well, as it had

been painted during a "sky" class, but the foreground and
subject matter did not have enough power; the trees were
weak and the whole right-hand side of the painting had to

be built up.

By simply overpainting with Hooker's

green dark and striking in all the fore-
ground tree patterns, plus building up
a stone wall with a razor blade across
the bottom, I was able to connect the

painting from left to right. I sponged

insome fall foliage with cadmium or-
ange and added the figure to liven
things up.

116 SAVE IT!

Another Interpretation

Marc Moon, THE TILLER, 22" x 30" (55.9 cm x 76 2 cm), courtesy of the artist

Some paintings force the artist's hand.

"This painting," says Marc Moon,
"started out to be a transparent water- Practice Exercises
color on hot-pressed paper, which I soon
found too slick for my liking. After sev-
1 . Look over your paintings to find passages that you like.
eral hours of work, I was in all kinds of
2. Choose a work that needs help and overpaint poorly rendered
trouble and came to the point of having
passages with dark colors, leaving better areas untouched.
to make a decision about the painting:
a) forget it; b) start over; c) try to save
3. In the same painting, use tissue-paper overlays, allowing the

it. Since I had invested so much time successful passages to show through.
and effort in it, I chose to save the 4. Find a painting that didn't work and bring it back to life with
picture. I tore some very thin rice paper the gesso overpainting technique.
into small, irregular pieces and covered
the entire surface of the painting with
them, using a matte acrylic medium to
make them adhere. By applying the rice
paper, I saved the design and created a
new and interesting surface. To finish
the painting I used acrylic paints and a
drybrush drawing technique, which en-
abled me to be very expressive but still

in complete control of focusing in on the

subject."

SAVE IT! 117

12
ABSTRACTIONS

Abstract painting, in my opinion, is when he was painting a picture of and gathering information from all

the most difficult, because it is such his daughter, he was visited by a quarters. I look at the negative
a personal, emotional way of relat- friend who remarked, "Your daugh- shapes as well as the positive
ing to what is around you. Abstrac- ter is so beautiful, yet you are shapes, always considering the light
tion is the starting point for much painting her profile with an ear and dark forms, the points of inter-
misunderstanding of the kind re- lower than her eye." Picasso turned est themselves as well as the spaces
flected in comments like "Nature and asked his friend, "Do you have that surround them. It is these
doesn't look like that" or "My six- a photograph of your daughter?" shapes and patterns that make up
year-old could have done that," and When his friend showed him the an abstract painting. Basically we
so on. But we all glean different photograph, Picasso commented, "I have been working abstractly since
things from our surroundings, each never saw anyone so little." Then he the first chapter when we dropped
of us taking a visual census and said, "The only reality in art is art color on a wet surface and let it run,
cataloguing images to be used in itself, real or nonreal." In other controlling it but allowing it to
our own special way. words, any interpretation of reality move freely at the same time. In this
When talking on this topic, I like is an abstraction. chapter I want to open your eyes to

to relate a story that has been Everywhere I go, my eye is con- further possibilities, to the lim-
attributed to Picasso. One time stantly responding to visual stimuli itlessness of abstract painting.

Winter Cave records a remembered spot

when dawn's light crossed the waterline,

placing bright oranges and reds against

the white snow The painting was done
with cadmiums —
yellow, orange, and

red — plus alizarin crimson. I then broke

back into it with gesso, making design
lines with my palette knife. WINTER COVE, 24" x 30" (61.0 cm x 76.2 cm), private collection, Connecticut

118
CRUCIFIXION, 30" x 40" (76.2 cm x 101.6 cm), private collection, Wisconsin

In this painting multiple mixed media came together, all of them basically water-
color. I first developed the cross composition as I might have for a cityscape. As I

moved my palette knife up and down through the painting, the cross form be-
came stronger and the figure of Chnst began to develop. When this painting was
first exhibited, it was said that the figure's head seemed to move when viewed from
certain angles, an optical illusion caused by the different shapes surrounding it.

The lacy patterns were achieved by stenciling with lace doilies.

119
Developing an Abstraction

My composition always begins with drew a line on a piece of paper and rounding atmosphere conjure the
the water that initially breaks the asked, "Is this line short or long?" spirit that will give the painting its

surface of the paper and becomes It was neither until another line was direction. Follow the moving pat-
my first major shape. The way you added to dictate the length of the terns of pigments. After a certain
disturb the surface how much or — first one. That's exactly how you'll point,you must consider the dry
how little water you apply and over find the answer to the question of and wet places on your working
how large an area greatly influ- — color versus white areas. The im- surface and attend to what is hap-
ences how the medium is going to portant point is, each line, color, or pening there. You must decide, for
work and reflects in the design of form you put in a painting must instance, when to create the basic
the total picture. relate to a whole. For example, one reality of a foreground, middle
When you are creating a paint- color repeated in three different ground, and background. To de-
ing, make sure your light source hits areas but varying in size and shape velop a painting properly, patience
the entire surface so that you can will unify a painting, carrying a is important! Take time to let indi-

see by the sheen how wet or dry it is viewer's eye across its entire surface. vidual passages dry and to consider
at any given time. This will tell you When you're painting abstractly, I how each relates to the whole.
when you can add more color, when challenge you to simply throw out Remember, the viewer's eye and
it's the right time to use a razor some color — I mean this literally, let mind are quite capable of filling in a
blade or palette knife, and when to the paint fly. I often squirt spots of lot of information that a painting
glaze. As a rule, the paper should color directly from the paint tube may simply suggest. One well -con-
be wet if you want the color to onto a painting surface, a practice ceived form can be worth a thou-
bleed, damp if you are using a razor reminiscent of my old oil-painting sand words; a mere touch of realism
blade, and dry for glazing. days. Mixing the pigment right in within an abstract pattern can
As I add color to a painting, I ask the arena of creation causes prob- create depth and perspective in the

myself, How does the white area lems and effects that awaken the picture plane and establish the scale
relate to the color area? When I was imagination. As the medium begins of all the other components present
a student, Hans Hofmann once to flow, your feelings and the sur- in the work.

After visiting the Medieval Fair in

Sarasota, Florida, I returned to my
studio still some of the vibes, and
feeling

knew that was exactly what I was going

to paint. I used a \W flat brush and a

#12 round, a palette knife, and cad-

mium yellow, Winsor red, Winsor green,
cobalt blue, sepia umber, and Winsor
blue watercolor pigments. I also had on
hand tape for the edges and cardboard
for scraping out paint. I began by
squirting cadmium yellow directly from
the tube onto a wet board, followed by A.
Winsor red and Winsor green. I added
some more water to the central area and
moved the pigment around enough to
avoid a heavy buildup yet allow it the
freedom to run. The movement of color
in the wet areas and the white patterns
that remained stimulated my thoughts
and suggested a possible direction for

my composition.

120 ABSTRACTIONS
I then took my palette knife and stroked through the colors After this, I glazed mauve over the picture to tie it all to-

to establish design lines and patterns in the painting. At this gether. Last, I took a brush to add the flags, figure forms, and
point I could see that the image was moving toward a finished details of the shields.

look, that of a medieval fair, as I began to see the forms of

shields and armor. By developing relationships with these
lines I created recognizable shapes, gradually adding more
and more details to complete the painting. I immediately
came back with my razor blade and scraped through the
surface to accent the shapes that had begun to appear.

MEDIEVAL FAIR, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), private collection, Florida

ABSTRACTIONS 121
Taking Off from Photos

When I work abstractly, I am usu- This photograph shows how

ally inspired by things I've seen and light casting through Utah's
experienced directly. I do use photo- Bryce Canyon creates beau-
graphs, but only as a means to tiful negative and positive

stimulate my thinking, never as shapes as the sunset's warm

colors play on the rocks.
images to be duplicated in a paint-
ing. Use photos to suggest ideas, not
limit them to what the camera saw.
Try turning photos upside down
and concentrating on just the
shapes in them.

Phoenix evolved from a work-

shop tour to Bryce Canyon,
where I made many photo-
graphs and developed a
number of paintings. I began
with bright oranges and reds
for the underpainting, over

which I brought in accents

using Winsor blue, Winsor
green, and alizarin crimson.
With my palette knife I

stroked through the paint to

PHOENIX, 20" x 40" (50.8 cm x 101.6 cm), private collection, Arizona suggest the fluttering feathers
of the phoenix rising out of

the fire. That was enough to

complete the abstraction.

Photographed in late afternoon sun, these lobster buoys

strewn along the shores of Maine's Cape Neddick River
formed a pattern of bright orange positive shapes and dark
shadows.

CAPE NEDDICK INLET, 32" x 32" (81.3 cm x 81.3 cm),

private collection, Massachusetts

I used the photograph of the buoys as an inspiration for the

painting of Cape Neddick Inlet. I began by squirting color
directly onto the surface of my board, thenmoved it around
by adding water to the paint. The arrangement of the pigment
suggested the shape of the inlet to me, so I left it in place.

122 ABSTRACTIONS
Playing with Color

An abstraction demands the bal- example, or balance a large area of arrangement works best! I myself
ance of one color with another and blue with a small section of yellow; never try to win the battle but reach
a clear relationship of color to the that is to say, play opposites against a compromise and gain what is best
all-important white space. each other, warm against cool and for me and the painting. This means
Here Hans Hofmann's push-and- small against large, always aiming working back and forth, turning a

pull theory comes into play. As he for the variety in these composi- painting sideways or upside down
explained it, complementary colors tional elements that will give your and going in and out of it, con-
have a way of pushing and pulling painting some illusion of depth. stantly considering all the various
each other back and forth in the Don't dictate to your pigment, compositional possibilities. Think of
picture plane, as do small shapes don't try to push it too much, but the process as a conversation that
juxtaposed with large ones. In never let it trap you. Always be in exists for the exchange of ideas and
painting, this means that you mental control, but be willing to that neither you nor the painting
should counter a large pattern of yield temporarily to the pigment. I dominates.
green with a small square of red, for have found that such a mutual

Hans Hofmann, STUDIO INTERIOR, 8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm), private collection

In Hofmann's Studio Interior, the red area right of center moves forward because it

is offset by passages of complementary green, a cool color that recedes; likewise, the
small, warm yellow area stands out against the cool blues and greens. I find this
artist's theory very helpful, especially when working nonobjectively. The push-and-
pull principle isa factor in all paintings, but is much more easily recognized in an
abstract piece, where only pure form and color make up the composition.

ABSTRACTIONS 123
The Role of Imagery

Amid the forms and patterns you the surface of the paper, is what memory of someplace I have visited,

see developing in a painting, you watercolor is all about. Boats, that give direction to my painting.
may consciously or subconsciously buildings, people, and objects crop No doubt similar impulses will
recall images of things you once up where I least expect them. strike you during the painting pro-
experienced or abstract sketches When these things pop up in my cess. I can only recommend that
you created while working on loca- paintings, I can leave them in and you respond to them, not dismiss
tion.Such images enter the realm of elaborate on them, or I can remove them. Allow yourself to gain a sense
your painting and give it substance. them according to how I feel. But it of oneness with your materials
Taking the time to understand, to is just such unexpected subjects, this way.

observe what is happening across perhaps those that emerge from the

One of a series I did after a visit to the Rockies, this painting

expresses the streaks of first light crashing over snow-covered
mountains. I established the circular composition with mask-
ing tape. The color ranges from bold, dark blues to crimson,
then fades, arching back over what appears to me to be the
top of the Earth. I suppose it could be an imaginary view of
Earth as seen through the porthole of a departing space
capsule. The painting was developed in much the same
manner as Medieval Fair, page 121. 1 first wet the surface,
then applied cadmium yellow, cadmium orange, Winsor red,
alizarin crimson, and Winsor blue, letting the patterns emerge
from the color. After allowing the painting to partly dry, I

used a razor blade to establish a few lines just off center, sug-

gesting reflected light on some leafless trees on the horizon.

This completed the painting; the most important thing to
know is that when you feel a picture is done, it is.

REFLECTED SUN, 30" x 30" (76.2 cm x 76.2 cm)

private collection, Montana

I began Prima Luce with

bright oranges, yellows, and
warm sepia, striking back
and forth through the paint
with my palette knife, then
spattering with clear water.
While the surface was still

damp, I applied gesso to it,

bringing the painting to a

conclusion of floral patterns
inspired by tropical under-
growth.

PRIMA LUCE, 48" x 60" (121.9 cm x 152.4 cm), private collection, Sarasota, Florida

124 ABSTRACTIONS
 In the beginning I squirted
paint across my surface,
sprayed it with water, then
scraped it with a piece of
cardboard. As I added each
layer of color, I squeegeed
out various areas, creating
patterns until forms I liked
came to pass.

NIGHT LIGHT, 20" x 40" (50.8 cm x 101.6 cm), private collection, Illinois

This painting is part of a series I did when I became fasci-

nated by working with tissue and rice paper. To begin, I

crumpled up the tissue and sprayed it with a variety of colors

from a low angle, touching only the top to get a tie-dyed ef-

fect. When it was completely dry, I ironed it on a fiat surface.

Next, I laid the tissue on my watercolor

board and decided
what shapes I them out with a razor blade.
desired, then cut
I painted the board with polymer medium and gently laid

the tissue paper on it, proceeding with a coat of polymer

medium over this. It is not necessary to let the tissue paper
dry completely before adding two, three, or four more over-
lapping layers; this gives depth to a pattern. I stockpile paint-
ed tissue papers so they are ready to use whenever I want them,
in single or multiple colors and layers. When using these
materials, I find that my subject matter is never determined
before the painting is two-thirds to three-quarters finished.
At that point, last-minute decisions must be made and the
interesting forms need to be accented.

ROCK FORMS, 20" x 40" (50.8 cm x 101.6 cm), private collection

ABSTRACTIONS 125
What Different People See

Everyone sees an abstract composi- identifiable scene but are reacting to made and me what they saw. All
tell

tion in his or her own way, just as colors, shapes, and patterns. three of us had a different impres-
any two artists working in the same To emphasize this point, I worked sion, and each had a different idea
medium respond to identical shapes with my coauthor, Pat Burlin, and about the way the painting should
and by creating entirely
colors her husband, Jack, the principal go. I proceeded to develop the ideas
unique compositions from them. photographer for the book. I asked expressed (including my own) into
The beauty of abstract painting is each of them to look at the early as many paintings, as this demon-
that you are not interpreting an stages of a cross composition I had stration shows.

The abstract cross is one of my favorite compositional Jack came up with what he thought was obvious: a two- or
schemes, and in this case I am using it to show how differently three-mast brigantine ship. As he studied the cross further,
people see things. I asked Pat and Jack Burlin each to look he kept seeing the ship and repeated his observation. As the
privately at identical paintings I had made of a yellow cross second part of the demonstration, I brought out the move-
and come to a conclusion about what they saw. ment of the sails.

He agreed that this was

what he had envisioned, so
I completed the painting
and called it Pirate's Cove.

PIRATE'S COVE, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), private collection, Florida

126 ABSTRACTIONS
Pat looked at the yellow
cross vertically and, in the
gyration of lines toward the
bottom, saw the intertwined
roots of trees, like those you
might find in a mangrove
swamp.
I accented some areas with cobalt blue and She still agreed it had to be a mangrove
gave the painting a horizon line. swamp.

So I proceeded to develop it this way, placing

plastic wrap at the bottom to add texture;

after pulling the plastic away, I finished the
painting by adding some dark colors, allow-

ing red-orange reflections of sunlight to fall

across the cypress.

MANGROVE SHORE, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), collection of the artist

ABSTRACTIONS 127
What Different People See

For my own piece . . . I saw a single vase of flowers. But as I got into the painting, I turned it

around and saw a cityscape developing.

This same basic cross form was used to

create two other paintings.

MAINE INLET, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm),

SHADY SIDE OF THE STREET, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50 .8 cm), collection of the artist
collection of the artist
Placing the cross on a horizontal axis, I added just a few

So I continued along that vein. This type of transition takes touches of trees and a spur to turn it into a harbor area
place often in my work, as I am constantly evaluating the with a few figures walking along the beach.
painting from all four sides.

128 ABSTRACTIONS
 The painting I feel was the
most successful of all five

begun from the same cross is

also the most abstract.

After the oranges were com-

pleted I came back and wet
the entire surface, putting in
some Van Dyke brown and
Indian red. I then held the
painting in an upright posi-
tion and squirted it with
water, allowing the colors to

run. I sprayed it next with

acrylic to fix the colors in

position. A fishing hut de-

veloped in the background
and pine trees in the fore-

ground. added some poly-

I

mer medium to my water-

color and brought out a few
of the lobster buoys to the
right of the pine trees and a
small red figure in the dis-
tance. I then sprayed it again
with water. When it was dry
I added a glaze of cobalt blue
for the sky and the water by
the fishing hut. The rest of

the composition was left ab-

stract, the forms in the fore-
ground possibly suggesting
the reflected sun.

l/k
HIDDEN HARBOR, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), collection of the artist

ABSTRACTIONS 129
Other Interpretations

"This is one of a series of paintings

called 'artifacts' in which the images are

created on paper that has been prepared
to simulate ancient parchment, leather,
or fabric," the artist explains. "In this
particular example, I tore the edges of
plain white paper to give it a sense of
presence, a sense that it is part of the
object, not just a surface painted upon.
Next I crumpled the paper into a tight

ball, then smoothed it out as much as

possible by hand. I covered the paper
with a mixture of pigment and water,
pouring, dripping, and brushing it on
and letting the liquid settle into the

folds. When it was dry, I ran the paper

through a hot dry-mounting press to
flatten it and make it manageable. Next Larry Webster, TWENTIETH CENTURY ARTIFACT, 21" x 29" (53.3 cm x 73.7 cm),
courtesy of the artist
I drew the geometric composition lightly

on the painted surface and folded the

paper on the lines, making both hori-
zontal and diagonal accordion pleats.

After doing that, I tinted the planes of

the folds with color to reinforce the
image. Next I drew a circle, cut the
parallel slits, and removed the narrow
strips of paper. Behind this circle I

placed another image on a separate

piece of paper, attaching it to the back
of the painting and allowing it to show
through the slits. The completed paint-
ing was then mounted, by means of
linen tape hinges, on a piece of acid-free
rag mat board. When I framed it I left

about V»" between the Plexiglas and the

painting to retain its three-dimensional
quality."

/
"I didn't plan Web of Ice," says Lee Weiss. "With a flat sable
brush I applied reds with varying degrees of intensity. Then,
using a broad flat bristle brush, I wiped out color randomly
with water. A geometric pattern emerged, which I enhanced
with more wet-iri-wet painting, wiping out, and lifting,

working in layers. The composition was determined entirely Lee Weiss, WEB OF ICE, 40" x 27" (101.6 cm x 68.6 cm)
in the painting process." courtesy of the artist

130 ABSTRACTIONS
 To Glenn Bradshaw, there
are no barriers in the me-
dium of watercolor. Of this

image he says, "Several years

ago I assembled nine paint-

ings and showed them as a
single work of art. Not a new

idea, but I was intrigued by

how the units existed inde-
pendently yet interacted to
form an entity. That led me
to create a number of paint-
ings using multiple segments.
For this painting I applied
several layers of diluted
casein tempera to both sides
of four panels of Japanese
Okawara paper. Based on the
'God's eye' symbol of folk
art, the composition is one of
echoing geometry; the four
segments exist in concert. It

is my hope that the result is

an inviting, gently myste-

Glenn Bradshaw, GOD'S EYE: COSMOS II, 26" x 36" (66.0 cm x 91.4 cm), courtesy of the artist
rious visual adventure."

Practice Exercises

1 . Seek shapes and forms from nature and use them in your
painting without regard for their place in reality.

2. Once you see that a painting is near completion, turn it in

every direction and look at it from all angles before proceeding.

3. Wet a painting surface all over and create design lines with a
palette knife, then follow these lines to create an abstract
painting.
4. Make a painting using techniques you have learned from
previous chapters without any objective in mind except the
techniques themselves. Evaluate the results. Do you have a
painting you can call finished?
5. Prepare four separate pieces of board, and begin to paint
identical compositions. Stand back. Do you imagine developing
four different paintings from what you see? Ask a member of
your family or a friend to describe what he or she sees in the
preliminary work.
6. Make a simple realistic painting and evaluate it in terms of
negative and positive shapes you can develop into an abstract
composition.

ABSTRACTIONS 131
13
LEARNING FROM OTHERS

Each of us can strengthen our part of visual history yourself. its many variations as the result of
knowledge of art by studying its Learn about various mediums other such study Based on what I learned
tremendous tradition and history, than your own. Study artists who from other artists, certain things

for we stand on the shoulders of approach the creative process the became important in my own paint-
giants, artists who started out only way you do and a wide range of ing, including the great emphasis I

as tall as we are now but became others who don't. place on negative and positive
great and left us this marvelous Every painting you look at can space, light against dark, warm
legacy. As you learn more about art, teach you something. When viewing against cool, and the way I under-
you will come to understand legend- any work of art, study its composi- stand how these things interrelate
ary artists as human beings whose tion, the artist's use of color, the no matter which style my subject
skills and personal expression can symbolism, and the mood the image matter calls for. All of this is more
be appreciated on that level. You creates, and analyze the technique. significant than the subject matter
will also learn what distinguishes Whether the painting is abstract or itself and applies equally to working
the good from the bad there is— realistic, it is important that you try abstractly or realistically. As I sug-
nothing in between — no matter to understand what the artist is gested earlier, all art is abstract
what the medium, format, or size. saying as well as when, how, and anyway, regardless of how it's la-

According to the painter and why he said it. beled; it is a distortion of the reality
teacher Charles Woodbury As you analyze the work of old its creator sees. I have no inhibitions
(1869-1940), "Great artists teach masters and of contemporary art- about moving between these two
us that it is better to be definitely ists, you will find your own work poles; realistic or abstract, whatever
wrong and downright bad than to growing stronger and gaming new image emerges from an idea is what
be weak and tentative." confidence. Study not only the counts for me. The painting seems
Regardless of which medium you paintings, but also the lives of the to create itself during this process.

pursue, you must continue to grow artists who made them and how Forms spring into being from mem-
in knowledge and capability.To their various experiences affected ory or the subconscious, and the
become a good artist yourself, you Winslow Homer's
their work. picture unfolds before me and be-
should become familiar with the show in his work,
extensive travels comes a world of light and depth
work of many artists, past and whereas Andrew Wyeth found that develops its own life. The
present. Make an effort to reach out all his subject matter in his own experience is that of watching a
and understand art history, and backyard. curtain in a theater roll back at the
take up the challenge of becoming I have developed my own style in beginning of a play.

132
Winslow Homer, KEY WEST: HAULING ANCHOR. 14" x 21%" (35.6 cm x 55.6 cm), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC,
Gift of Ruth K. Henschel in memory of her husband, Charles R. Henschel

In Homer's work, color flows freely as the painting develops. It is particularly noticeable here in his handling of the water.

I feel Andrew Wyeth has

advanced the field of water-
color more than any other
contemporary artist; he has
elevated the medium to such
a stature in the art world
that it may no longer be
looked upon as a second
cousin to any other. In Field
Hand, Wyeth has painted a
tree he has used many times
in different compositions.

This shows how important it

is to be familiar enough with

your surroundings that you
can draw upon your memory
or sketches when you need
Andrew Wyeth, recto: FIELD HAND, 21%" x 39 5/a" (55.3 cm x 100.7 cm),
subject matter to complete
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Gift of Leonard E. B. Andrews
a painting.

133
What to Look For

While studying paintings, notice music, writing — of all art forms, for
how one color area can dominate each must have this conflict to be
another or retreat in the picture successful. Look for the artist's
according to its size, purpose, hue, technique. Try, for instance, to de-
and value. Watch how dark and termine what types of brushes were
light shapes interrelate. Notice the used and how, and try to detect
way the subject breaks down into evidence of any unusual tools or
positive and negative shapes. The techniques. Some artists guard se-

duality of positive and negative is crets like these well.

the heart of all painting, sculpture,

I admire Vincent van Gogh's drawings

and use of color, as well as his ability to
create distance and perspective with
line. The Olive Orchard shows the mar-
velous, constant animation one finds
throughout his work, which he accom-
plishes through color and his unmis-
takable calligraphy, the texture of his
heavy brushwork. In a free-flowing
manner he moves from foreground to

background; the trees seem to grow

right out of the ground, just as the

women stretching to reach the olives

seem to be pulling themselves directly
off it.

Vincent van Gogh, THE OLIVE ORCHARD, 28W x 36/4" (73 cm x 92.1 cm)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Chester Dale Collection

Painted in the 1930s, this picture is a

good example of calligraphy at work. In
his unique and bold style, Burchfield
conveys continual motion and anima-
tion by making the grass, trees, and
clouds perpetuate the storm's action.
During this artist's career, large-size

watercolor paper was not available, so

he painted Wind Storm on four separate
sheets and mounted them on a single

board.

<*• ., /v .« u
Charles Burchfield,WINDSTORM, 42" x 60" (106.7cm x 152.4 cm),
Permanent Collection, The Museum of Art of Ogunquit, Maine

134 LEARNING FROM OTHERS

Discovering Diverse Techniques

As you study various artists, you example of this is a comparison of believe to be our own, we discover
will discover that very often dif- Braque and Picasso, contempo- that they have been used before,
ferent people working great dis- raries bom within a year of each although perhaps in a different
tances apart develop similar other who found themselves work- manner or medium. Paying atten-
techniques at the same time. How- ing so much alike at times that tion to how one technique translates
ever, these will have evolved along even they had trouble telling their into use in diverse mediums enables
separate courses based on each art- work apart. the eye to acquire new judgment.
ist's personal background and This happens often in art. As we
unique interpretive vision. A classic develop techniques and methods we

Georges Braque, STILL LIFE: THE TABLE, 32" x 51 /2"

1

(81.3 cm x 130.8 cm), National Gallery of Art,

Washington, DC., Chester Dale Collection
Pablo Picasso, STILL LIFE. 38V4" x 51 W
(97.2 cm x 130.2 cm),
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Chester Dale Collection

Like many painters, Braque found contentment in working

This painting and Braque 's Table are so similar, yet each was
on specific challenges and maintained basically one style for
executed in different quarters. Picasso, a continual innovator,
most of his life.
would see a problem, step in, solve it, and move on to the
next, always changing his approach right up until Ms death.

The English painter J. M. W. Turner

used glazes in oil paintings as well as in
watercolors to achieve the luminosity
for which he is so renowned. A great
experimenter in a wide assortment of
techniques and tools, he kept his work
ing methods a closely guarded secret.

He was known to sandpaper his water-

color paper from the back and paint in

pale suns to give an extremely diffuse

effect from the front. This technique is

very closely allied to the Oriental way of

painting on the back of rice paper and

then on the front. Turner's paintings are
classic examples of camouflaging tech-
niques and making them work.

Joseph Mallord William Turner, APPROACH TO VENICE, 24 /2" x 37" (61.6 cm x 94.0 cm)
1

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Andrew W. Mellon Collection

LEARNING FROM OTHERS 135

Other Possibilities

Don Stone, FIRST PLANTING, x 30" (55.9 cm x 76.2 cm Betty Lou Schlemm, THE NORTH SHORE, 22" x,30"
courtesy of the artist (55.9 cm x 76.2 cm), courtesy of the artist

"In this painting," Stone says, "I took the unusual approach Betty Lou Schlemm explains how she approached this paint-
of working on the main areas of interest — the horses and ing. "I began by selecting my subject and placing it where I

figure — first, establishing the darks before the lights. My first felt it expressed my thoughts. Then I concentrated on
concern was composition; to keep the painting from being finding the white and the shadow. Next, I worked out my
commonplace, I made the peak of the house and one horse's overall color composition, first putting in all the blues — for
ears just about touch the horizon line and chose to have the the boat, sky, water, and so on — and following with the other
man and the horses face opposite directions." colors in succession. After completing that stage, I worked up
my forms. I finished by detailing objects in the foreground,
using their edges to direct the viewer's eye through the scene
and create a feeling of depth."

This painting uses a Z-shaped

compositional scheme to
direct our focus toward the
town of Ogunquit at left and
in the center background,
then toward Wells Beach
at top right. The light greens

and yellow ochres in the

foreground create the illusion

of sunlight hitting the grass,

while the gray-blues in the

background are darker, set-

ting up a contrast that gives

depth to the painting.

William Zorach, VIEW OF OGUNQUIT, 18" x 20" (45.7 cm x 50.8 cm), Permanent Collection,
The Museum of Art of Ogunquit, Maine

136 LEARNING FROM OTHERS

 ^GSpSX^, C.iTv^fe;

George Carpenter, VERMONT RURAL SNOW SCENE, 16" * 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), courtesy of the artist

For George Carpenter, the paper is the

most important element in a watercolor

painting. "I used Whatman 140-lb.

Practice Exercises
rough paper a while hack and it seemed
too soft; however," he says, "its pure
1 . Go to museums and art shows. Take time to look carefully at
whiteness was just what I was looking
for. By trial and error I discovered that
other people's work, paying attention to the mood of a painting,
the time of day, the rhythm, the composition, and the use of
a light wash of new gamboge gave me
the foundation I needed. In this painting color, as well as technique.

I wanted to bring out the dramatically 2.Study many different mediums, materials, and the art forms
sunlit cluster of buildings against the made from them.
deep purplish hills. I began with the 3. Compare the development of art during specific periods in
shadows in the foreground and built the various parts of the world. Copy paintings to learn from them.
painting quickly, spraying it with fix- 4. Heighten your awareness of your surroundings no matter how
ative a few times to dry the paper and simple or elaborate they may be. Become more attuned to the
make the paint more flexible. The leavesand flowers and what blooms together.
whitest objects — the roofs especially 5. Take a walk through your house or neighborhood and make
look almost fluorescent; that's only the
mental notes. After you leave a scene, make a sketch of what
new gamboge wash shining through. It

does not distort the blues or purples. I

you remember of it. Do it once more, and you will see things

used opaque watercolor just on the tree anew. This was Renoir's practice.

limbs to catch a spark of light."

LEARNING FROM OTHERS 137

14
EVALUATING YOUR OWN WORK

As you pursue the "how" of creat- an impression of a place; what you are the best judge of the particular
ing watercolors, it is important to think you saw makes it yours. The reality you have created. This is

learn the "why." To grow, your goal late Georgia O'Keeffe would give especially true for nonobjective
should be to understand the visual her students assignments such as paintings, in which you alone can
world around you and the immense painting the temperature of the determine whether the image that
stimulation it offers. sand dunes. When she painted appears is the impression you were
Together we have worked through flowers, I think she felt she was after. Evaluating the success of the
many techniques and ideas. Con- inside them; her work became her overall effect you've aimed con-
sider each of these steps as a build- being, as your work should become sciously or subconsciously to
ing block that adds to the artistic yours. That is what painting is all achieve —your reality — is what's
vocabulary you already have while about: getting inside of something. important.
allowing you to keep your own What you create is good art if it How do you know when a paint-
personality. This increase in your is an extension of your emotional ing reaches completion? When it is

skills,combined with our examina- being, which is what gives your finished in your mind, not in some-
tion of contemporary and past mas- work its integrity. Your art is a one else's. Basically, the forms and
ters, should help you analyze your reflection of all that has passed patterns should relate; the color
own work. through you, a reflection or perhaps harmonies should be appropriate
Here I would like to emphasize a refraction based on information and well balanced; and the painting
again that in order to render your gained from present and past expe- as a whole should offer an interest-
subject matter well, you must be- riences. What you create may be ing experience for the viewer. Most
come familiar and comfortable with simple or multidimensional, importantly, though, it should
it. A painting should capture the depending on your outlook. please you! In it you must see all

feeling, smell, and overall attitude of Because making art is so personal you need to see.

a subject. Remember, it need not be an act, evaluating your own work

a specific place you have seen, but can be difficult but is essential. You

When you evaluate a painting, look at all the components and techniques to see
what makes it work. This painting depicts a rock where I have sat many times to
contemplate, and I wanted to emphasize that mood. I used an oval composition,
which tends to give a picture a romantic look. The grasses swaying in the

foreground lead your eye to the rock, where the lone figure is framed by the tree

limb, expressing quiet solitude. The shadows, painted with cobalt blue and warm
sepia, are soft, as on an overcast day; I carried their color throughout to unify the
painting and maintain the contemplative atmosphere.

138
 For this painting I used a very wet
surface and painted cadmium yellow
and new gamboge over the entire back-
ground. While it was still damp, I added
warm sepia and Van Dyke brown to

suggest grass, scratching into it with my

fingernails. I spattered the foreground to
create sand, then lightly traveled
through it with my fingertips to suggest
footprints. After painting the dory, I

added the figure, the boats in the

distance, and finally the red scarf. Then
I set the painting aside for a few days.

The composition was working, but

something was missing. At last, inspired
by some gray weather, I added a tonal
wash over the sky, and when this was
slightly dry I sprayed it with clear water
to suggest a cloud formation. The com-
pleted painting gave me a strong sense
of place and mood.
RED SCARF, 30" x 40" (76.2 cm x 101.6 cm), private collection, Teaneck, New Jersey

PRIVATE PLACE, 28" x 36" (71.1 cm x 91.4 cm), collection of Deidre O'Flaherty

139
Questions to Ask

It is important to take time to the way, comparing how one relates ing from among them during the
evaluate your work as you progress. to another and to the whole? Did creative process. Occasionally a
Examining and understanding the you let the medium help create painting will not work as a whole
good facets of a painting will be a those interesting forms and effects? yet has parts that are quite good.
learning experience. Do you have Take time to find out. Did you Study these passages by placing a
enough patience to allow passages develop push and pull, negative and small mat over the picture and
to dry?Remember, once the surface positive, light and dark in your shifting it across the surface to
has been disturbed by water, pig- work? To gain a better perspective, isolate them. This will show you
ment, or in any other way, you step back and look at your painting new directions to pursue. But be
should not push it. Allow time for from a distance. It is so easy to miss wary of making an exact repetition
the natural occurrences. Let the dominating forms as well as the of a painting, as it can lose the
medium do its work. Try to under- subtleties in a piece when you're too emotional response you originally
stand how an effect occurred, how close to get an overall view of it. felt and will therefore lack impact.

much pigment and how much water Does the painting hold your atten- Your personal response to what
was used. How did the pigments tion? Is it interesting? Does your eye you see is always subjective and
interact? Did they blend? Or sepa- move through the composition? interpretive, never objective or lit-

rate? You need to understand all of Does the painting make as distinct eral in the way a camera may
these questions so that you can an impact from across the room as record it. The camera has one point
replicate the effect at will in the close up? Will it live for you? Are of view; your painting is your point
same casual way. With the proper you part of it? of view. Take time to investigate a

knowledge and control, you will From the very beginning of a subject. Let information flow into

find that "happy accidents" will painting you should be concerned the cornucopia of your mind as if

occur again and again. with the whole and work toward it into a funnel, then let the medium
Have you studied the shapes and constantly, bringing into play all the work for you.

passages in your work every step of observations you made and select-

Using an underpainting of yellows, or-

and blues, I began this view of
anges,
Pemaquid Point on location but then
:-
had to return to my studio. On a dreary
day a week later, I went back to the
composition and tried to capture the
bright light of that original morning,
but instead, the painting got darker and
darker. Still intrigued, I set it aside
again. Another week or so later, I looked
back at it just as the sun was coming up
on a bright, crisp morning. Immediately
Imixed yellows and oranges into gesso
and feverishly struck into the painting
with these bright colors. After this rush
of inspiration, I examined what I had
done and decided the painting was
completed. A watercolor may take an
hour or years to finish.

HERE COMES THE SUN. 30" x 30" (76.2 cm x 76 2 cm), collection of the artist

1 4( ) EVALUATING YOUR OWN WORK

To evaluate a painting, try looking at it in a mirror. When You will find that looking at your work through a piece of red
you view your work this way, you can pay more attention to or blue acetate helps break down shapes into values. This can
its composition, which becomes more emphatic in reverse and also be helpful in analyzing the works of others.
allows you to see any small mistakes you might have made.

As you examine your own work, you

will often find several paintings within a
painting. To discover passages that
work well on their own, use a cardboard
mat and shift it over the surface of the
painting to break it down into many
small pictures. Interesting areas will
indicate further possibilities you may
want to explore.

PERKINS COVE, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), private collection, Boston

I
\TING YOUR OWN WORK 141
Final Thoughts

To begin this painting, I laid

in yellow, cadmium orange,

and Winsor red and created
design lines with a cookie
spatula. In this state it stood
on an easel for two weeks
while I considered how to
proceed. I then covered the
surface with alizarin crimson
and Winsor blue and worked
out the three trees on the
ridge; while the surface was
still damp, I squeegeed in
floral patterns, paying atten-
tion as I finished each pas-
sage to any positive messages
the shapes might dictate.
After scratching in grass in
the foreground, I put the
AFTERNOON LIGHT, 20" x 40" (50.8 cm x 101.6 cm), private collection, Washington, D.C.
painting aside again and
looked at it through blue
acetate to study the values.
I also looked at it in the
mirror, which revealed that
the foreground was too dark.
So I scraped it out with a
razor blade and lightened
things up with a spatter of
gesso and cadmium yellow.

Seated in a classic pose, this is my mother, who has become

very involved in my career since my wife's death. I made this

picture using what call my "Crosshatch" technique, perfect
I

for capturing her in sporadic sittings, because the paint can

dry in between poses. The underdrawing was done in yellow
with a #5 round brush; then I washed in the flesh tones and
the basic elements of the room. When my mother was again
available to model, I worked up the picture in several series

of short, overlapping parallel lines, using cadmium orange,

alizarin crimson, cobalt blue, and dark purple. For this tech-

nique I used an Art Sign lettering brush, a flat-edged brush

with a round ferrule. I put in broad patterns and shapes with
overlapping glazes, crosshatched over these, and repeated the
layers, slowly building pattern upon pattern. This technique
is time consuming and requires a degree of draftsmanship,
but the completed work has been said to look like Impres-
sionist painting. The approach does capture the light of
an image, and has recently brought brilliant colors to my KNIT ONE PURL TWO, 24" x 36" (61.0 cm x 91.4 cm),
palette. collection of the artist

142 EVALUATING YOUR OWN WORK

Charles Demuth, MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPE, 16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm), Permanent Collection, The Museum of Art of Ogunquit, Maine

This is a beautiful watercolor painting

of light detailing without outlining.
Demuth used cobalt blue behind one Practice Exercises
hill to bring out the foreground, zeroing
in very subtly on the sagebrush. In your
1 . Set your paintings around the room. Take a look at them
own work, avoid outlining when you use
with your "new eye," considering the many techniques and
darks behind light areas. And do not
compositions you have learned from this book and tried.
even think of zeroing in on a detail until
you have reached the final stages of the
2. Pick works that seem to be particularly "you," the ones you
painting and can properly evaluate it;
enjoyed doing most and found the most rewarding, and
only then will you know what else might determine why they seem particularly successful.
be needed. 3. Block off quarters of each painting with a mat to see if

individual areas stand alone. Look at the composition as a

whole again. Do the quarters work well together?
4. Can you answer the above questions with regard to each
work? If not, go back and use some of the corrective techniques
you learned in Chapter 11. Remember, every painting is a lesson,
and if you learn one thing from each, each is a success.
5. While reviewing your work, seek the strong and the weak

points in each painting and reflect on them. Ask yourself: Have

I said what I wanted to say? Does my work reveal what is
emotionally appealing to me? Try to be quite honest with
yourself. There are no excuses, only results!

EVALUATING YOUR OWN WORK 143

INDEX
Abstract painting, 118-31 steps in, 64, 66 Salt, 42
Acrylic spray, 109 with watercolor crayons, 71 Sand, 42
Grass, 32, 33, 34, 36-37, 40 Schlemm, Betty Lou, 136
Betts, Edward, 110 Groth, John, 101 Shapiro, Irving, 52
Bfflis, Mitch, 69 Sketching
Bradshaw, Glenn, 131 Handprinting, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 52, 60 figures, 78-79, 82-83
Braque, Georges, 135 Hofmann, Hans, 9, 26, 123 materials and equipment for, 32, 98
Brouillette, Al, 74 Homer, Winslow, 133, 134 with razor blade, 82-83
Brushes, 12, 66 techniques in, 96-101
Bucket stroke, 68-69, 84, 91 Kuhn, Walt, 69 Skies, 20-31
Burchfield, Charles, 134 background/foreground, 26-27
Burlin, Patricia, 42 Masking tape, 20, 40, 66 color contrast in, 28-29
Masking technique, 33, 40-41, 50, 67, haze/fog, 30-31, 53, 74
Cardboard technique, 54, 60, 91 69 overcast/stormy, 22-23
Carpenter, George, 137 Masterfield, Maxine, 42 at sunset, 24-25
Cityscapes, 88-95 Materials and equipment, 12- 13, 20, 66 Spatter technique, 37, 43
Clouds, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29 sketching, 32, 98 for rock forms, 54, 58, 60-61, 63
Color See also Found materials Split brush technique, 57, 91
contrast, 28-29 Meltzer, Robert Hiram, 87 Sponge brush, 20, 46, 59
lifting out, 27, 39, 46 Messersmith, Fred, 94 Sponge technique, 37, 46, 49, 59
palette, 12, 13 Meyers, Dale, 19 Stenciling, 39, 47, 49, 53
push-and-pull principle of, 13, 26, 123 Monoprinting, 72-73, 75 Stone, Don, 136
Comb painting, 35, 51 Moon, Marc, 117 Strater, Henry, 86
Controlled drip technique, 10- 19 Moore, Wayland, 86 Sunset, 24-25
Corrections, 108, 109, 112-17 Mutilated brushstroke, 51, 53, 61
Crosshatch technique, 142 Thompson, Cher, 111

Nechis, Barbara, IS Thon, William, 55

Demuth, Charles, 143 Negative spaces, 36, 39 Tissue overlays, 109, 125
Distance, 18, 49 Nicholas, Tom, 59 Trees and foliage, 44-53
Double-loaded brush, 50, 68 Nudes, 85, 86 distant, 49
Drybrush technique, 55, 59 of geograpliical regions, 44, 50-51
O'Hara, Eliot, 29 masking technique for, 40-41
Evaluation of paintings, 138-43 O'Keeffe, Georgia, 138 palm tree, 50
Overpainting, with gesso, 104-5 pine tree, 51

Figures, 76-87 sponge technique for, 37, 46, 49

in action, 86-87 Palette, 12, 13 stenciling, 47, 49, 53
in composition, 76 Paper, 12, 20, 137 Turner, J. M.W, 32, 135

glazing technique for, 76, 77, 81, 85 Pastel glazing, 70

in groups, 80-81 Picasso, Pablo, US, 135 Van Gogh, Vincent, 97, 134
sketching, 78-79, 82-83 Pine needles, 35, 51 Van Hasselt, Tony, 62
Fingernail scratching, 32, 33, 36, 40 Plastic wrap, 16 Vickrey Robert, 105
Flower painting, 67, 68, 69 Plummer, Carlton, 43, 63
Fog, 30-31, 53, 74 Watercolor crayons, 71
Found materials, 32-43 Razor blade, 20 Wax resists, 40
creating textures with, 34-38, 42, 43 Razor-blade technique, 21, 33, 36, 40, Webster; Larry, 130

stenciling with, 39 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 69 Weiss, Lee, 75, 130

for rock forms, 54, 56-57, 60-61 White, Dons, 64, 71

Gesso, 102- 11 in sketching, 82-83 Williamson, Jason, 110
correcting with, 108 Rock forms, 54-63 Wire brush technique, 33, 35, 38, 51
overpainting with, 104-5 masking technique for, 40 Woodbury, Charles, 62, 76, 77, 132
surface, 106-7 razor-blade technique for, 54, 56-57, Wood textures, 33, 3S
Glazing technique, 64-75 60-61 Wyeth, Andrew, 133, 134
in cityscapes, 90 spatter technique for, 54, 58, 60-61, Wynn, Ruth, 31

for figures, 76, 77,81, 85 63

in flower painting, 67 sponge technique for, 59 Yaworski, Alex, 71

monoprints, 72-73, 75 with square-edged brush, 62

with pastels, 70 Rubber cement re.sr i

67 Zorach, William, 136

144
 ?/&»' (.IBRARY

3 9999 01819
475 1

Boston Public Library

HD2420
BRIGHTCf^b
BRANCH LIE
H900321H-22
BR

The Date Due Card in the pocicei in-

dicates the date on or before which
this book should be returned to the
Library.
Please do not remove cards from this
pocket.
Valfred Thelin, an internationally recognized
was trained as a youth by his grand-
artist,

European apprentice tradition.

father in the
He went on to study at the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago, the University of Wiscon-
sin, and the Art Students League in New
York, participating as well in seminars
throughout Europe and working one-on-one
with Hans Hofmann and Georgia O'Keeffe.
Thelin has receivedmany national and in-
ternational awards for his work, which has
been featured in major art publications and is

in many museums, private collections, and

galleries here and abroad. He also conducts
workshops across the country. A resident of
Ogunquit, Maine, Thelin teaches and paints
in his studio overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Patricia Burlin, a writer and an artist, has

studied with Valfred Thelin for some ten years
and credits him with introducing her to the
excitement of watercolor. She began her train-
ing at the Philadelphia College of Art,and
today is and award-
a painting instructor
winning exhibitor on Florida's west coast. She
also holds a B.EA. degree in communications
from the New York Institute of Technology
and currently writes travel and general inter-

est articles for magazines.

Jack Burlin, who shot most of the photo-

graphs for the book, studied at the Rockport
School of Photography in Maine and under
the well-known nature photographers Bi: i

Thomas and James Carmichael. Recently

retired from TWA, where he was employed as
a pilot/engineer, he now devotes himself full-

time to photography. He and h

have worked as a team oi

WATSON -Gl PI ILL PUBLICATIONS

Getting the Essentials Down

Innovative
trtm.
watercolor
\m techniques for:

Controlling a Drip
I Depicting Skies
^ ft ^ v\ Working with
Found Materials
//
Rendering TVees
Combining ftdmiquci
and Foliage

Describing Rock Forms

Glazing Colors

Handling the Human

Element

Composing Cityscapes

Sketching

Using Gesso

Saving a Painting
Other Interpretations

Creating Abstractions

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