NEW
Essential tips for perfecting your composition
WATERCOLOUR LANDSCAPES STEP BY STEP GUIDES
FIRST EDITION
Digital Edition
Learn new styles and techniques
Glaze with gouache
Layer water-soluble gouache for vibrant opaque colours
Master brushstrokes Use free and fast painting techniques to capture a scene
Mix natural-looking colours
Learn how to combine pigments to create fresh and natural landscape hues
Contents 42 Learn to
achieve depth with shadows
30 Top tips
revealed
B Basics asics 10 Mastering the basics
of watercolours
16 Composing landscapes:
10 Get to
grips with the basics
6
Line, tone and colour
28 Colour theory 30 Tips and techniques
TuTutorials torials 50 Working freely in
watercolour
54 Winter farm 62 Capture spring light
in watercolour
68 Paint a dazzling landscape
50 Loosen up
your painting
74 Tips to paint vibrant water 78 Depict a luminous
harbour scene at dusk
84 Simple tips for an English
church in line and wash
Taking i tfurther further Taking it 92 Capture light for a
harmonious result
98 Bring the outdoors in with
ink and watercolour
104 Get outdoors and
paint with gouache
106 P aint the landscape
in gouache
114 Create great quality digital
copies of your art
118 Mount your artwork 122 Frame your own art
68 Create a
vibrant colour harmony
118 Learn how to
mount artwork
Basics
Mastering the basics of watercolours Robert Brindley RSMA explains how to simplify a watercolour by using a limited palette and interpreting tonal value THE FLUIDITY, TRANSPARENCY AND IMMEDIACY of watercolour allows the artist to interpret a wide variety of subject matter. Although challenging, especially for beginners, watercolours can be simplified by adopting a limited palette and choosing a subject with good ‘tonal contrast’. In the following snow scene demonstration, I followed the above criteria and worked from photographic reference, in conjunction with a ‘plein air’ oil painting. Working from a sketch – or even a painting in the final stages – helps to eliminate the often overwhelming detail in a photograph.
ROBERT
Carlisle, Cumbria, England Robert aims to capture light and atmosphere in a contemporary impressionistic style. He tutors watercolour around the UK and abroad. www.robertbrindley.com
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Basics
Reference I used this reference image, but altered it to suit my needs
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Draw and mask
Using a 2B pencil, I drew out just enough of the image to enable me to apply the initial loose wet-into-wet colour washes accurately. The predominant areas of sunlit snow, together with smaller highlights, were then preserved with masking fluid using an old No. 2 Pro Arte Acrylix brush. It is important to mask these areas as accurately as possible. Clean the brush immediately after use.
Ma terials
n Arches, cold pressed, ‘Not’ watercolour ‘block’ n Brushes: Escoda Perla - Nos 8 and10; Pro Arte ‘Acrylix’ Series 202 Nos 2, 4; 203 No 2 Rigger n Winsor and Newton artists tube colour: Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Cobalt Blue, Cerulean, Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Violet, Permanent Magenta n Masking Fluid n Masking tape n Ceramic mixing palette n Small tube of white acrylic paint n 2B pencil n Plastic eraser n Kitchen towel
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Basics
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Composition
Composing landscapes: Line, tone and colour THE COMPOSITION OF AN IMAGE is the arrangement and relationship between the elements it contains. This is an abstract property that lets us reduce images down their to basic elements, devoid of any identifying details. By looking past the ‘window dressing’ of details, we can use composition to create more appealing images with greater emotional impact. Composition allows us to make the most of a subject. A crude drawing can be interesting with good composition. However, an otherwise masterful painting will look boring if the composition is bad; one might appreciate the execution, but it won’t be eye-catching. In landscapes, composition is an essential tool, as it allows us to reduce the complex scenery around us into pictures. Everything we see is material we can select from, and manipulate in order to describe that
scene. We are going to dip our toes into this huge subject with ten tips to get you started. Sketch to explore ideas Composition is an important step in planning our work. A big challenge we encounter is fighting our human urge to straighten things out and divide them equally. As much as we love to do this, it often doesn’t make for an interesting picture! The solution to this, aside from being more self aware, is brute force; we must make lots of sketches to plan our work. Use these as experiments, and treat them as disposable. Most of them will go no further. By thinking on paper like this, we get to explore and compare the possibilities that we cannot picture in our heads. They don’t need to be pretty sketches – in fact, the opposite is better. If you have a polished sketch,
LANCELOT
Brighton, UK Lancelot Richardson is a painter and freelance illustrator. He also works at independent drawing school Draw Brighton as a life-drawing tutor. lancelotrichardson.com
you are more likely to sink time into it without being critical of the foundation, and find yourself with a boring painting later. With 20 napkin sketches that were run off in a few minutes each, it is easier to thin out the bad ideas – when something can look good as a rough plan, it will look fantastic as a finalised piece. Understanding composition Whilst these tips may seem close to being rules at times, remember that rules are made to be broken. For every rule or convention, there will be examples of excellent landscapes that break it. Study artists whose work you like and do compositional sketches of their artwork. Make lots of quick sketches whenever you can and try to figure out what works. Furthermore, figure out what doesn’t work – learning what kills a good composition is just as important as what makes one.
Credit: Lancelot Richardson
Lancelot Richardson gives ten essential tips for composing landscapes using line, tone and colour
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Basics
Colour theory Whether you have half an hour or an afternoon to spare, follow these quick, simple and fun tips to start experimenting with your art today!
Create a colour theory chart to improve your colour mixing GETTING TO GRIPS with colour theory can seem a little bit too much like learning maths or science. You may feel you just want to be creative and express yourself, not work out calculations. But colour theory is one of the fundamental things you need to learn in order to progress and grow as an artist. Read on to create a colour theory chart that will transform your creative life.
ROB LUNN
Bath, UK Rob is a self-taught painter, and loves painting in oils. His influences are Vincent Van Gogh, Caravaggio and Ilya Repin. He has been teaching art workshops since 2012. www.roblunn.co.uk
Follow these steps... 1
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You can read every book on colour theory, but there is no substitute for getting stuck in. This exercise should help you take control of your colour mixing.
Your medium
The following exercise can be completed with acrylic, oil or watercolour paints, but colouring pencils are best. Not only do you just need the pencils themselves – there’s no need for water, spirits, brushes or a palette – but they’re are also a lot less messy than other mediums. And they’re portable, so this exercise can be completed on the bus if need be!
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Materials
I recommend using an A2 piece of quality cartridge paper, but you could scale the exercise down. Draw a square of 300x300mm (12x 12in). Then divide that square up into 12 equal parts (the squares should be 25x25mm or 1x1in). Starting from the bottom left corner, mark 1–12 running horizontally and vertically as shown in this image.
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Colour theory
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Fix up, look sharp
Keeping your pencil sharp is vital when drawing, sketching or colouring. If you like to use a long-leaded pencil then a new scalpel blade is key. Never skimp on changing your blades, they’re cheaper than good quality pencil leads.
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Extending colours
Now it’s time to extend the Ultramarine line out horizontally and vertically. Still try to shade each square as an individual, though – it will help keep them consistent and stop you from making some much darker than others. Don’t worry about going over the lines, just give it a nice relaxed feel. And don’t get too uptight while laying down your colour; it should be fun.
The spectrum
The wonderful thing about the spectrum is how the colours all work together. Understanding the relationships between the colours is key to getting great results while mixing. Using the lovely Derwent Procolour pencils, I chose the following 12 colours to represent the full spectrum: 01: Ultramarine (31) 02: Midnight Blue (40) 03: Racing Green (44) 04: Grass Green (49) 05: Primrose Yellow (02) 06: Buttercup Yellow (03) 07: Middle Chrome (08) 08: Spectrum Orange (10) 09: Primary Red (12) 10: Plum (15) 11: Imperial Purple (26) 12: Dark Violet (27)
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The diagonal
Start with the bottom left corner (square 1–1) and shade it in with the Ultramarine (31) pencil. If you’re using good-quality pencil, a light touch is all that’s needed. This will be one of our ‘pure’ colour squares. There will be a line of ‘pure’ colour squares running in a diagonal from the bottom-left up to the top-right as the two sets of colours converge.
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A new colour
Move to colour 2, square 2-2, colour in this square as one of your ‘pure’ colours. Then add Midnight Blue in squares 1-2 and 2-1. Continue with the rest of the colours, colouring in the ‘pure’ square first and then the surrounding colours. As you’re starting off with the blues and greens, the initial effect of mixing won’t be obvious at first, but stick with it.
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Colour chart
As you move into the oranges and reds, the effects of the 12-step colour mixing wheel becomes more apparent. See how the colours that are opposite each other on the 12-step wheel seem to ‘cancel’ and ‘grey each other down’ when mixed together. This effect of desaturating the colour is one of the cornerstones of effective colour mixing.
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Basics
Tips & techniques Keep watercolours fresh and loose THERE are many things that contribute to the attractive and free nature of watercolour, but here we’ll concentrate on the simplest and most basic: how to apply the paint to the paper. I’ve found the easiest way to make the paint look happy on the paper is to touch the paper once. That is, I know how I want my picture to look straight away, and
Fishermen’s Sheds, Suffolk An advantage of this one-wash method is I don’t have to paint in any set order, plus I remain interested and committed. It’s an enjoyable way of painting.
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don’t plan to do any over-painting. I avoid painting anywhere twice, until I have painted everything once. And I don’t correct as I go along either– I wait until the end, when it is easier to judge the passages that haven’t quite gone to plan. Remember, we are all trying to narrow the gap between our vision and the execution of our vision.
ANDREW PITT
Suffolk, UK Andrew started painting when he was 11. He is a self-taught painter who lives in Suffolk and is well known for his plein air paintings and simple style. www.andrewpitt.co.uk
Tips
Follow these steps...
To get a fresh-looking watercolour
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Sketch it out
The purpose of my preliminary drawing is to ensure the image fits the paper. As my aim – and I don’t always succeed – is to go for the end straight away, I can start anywhere I like. I don’t paint to a set formula, but I do like to begin somewhere small and easy.
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Get painting
I decide to leave the sky until later. I like to feel my way before tackling large areas. I continue to paint the sheds and some of the greens, all the while going for the final look in one wash. I also keep varying my colour to add interest. 3
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Make the sky
The sky is painted in one go on dry paper. Starting at the top, I work down and across, and I use the paper to separate the clouds – the flecks of unpainted paper add life and movement.
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Add the details
Finally, I add selected detail – masts, figures, shadows and texture. I avoid tidying up my picture, in fact, I often ‘muck it up’. I think this adds life – I certainly don’t start painting everywhere again. That is guaranteed to muddy fresh washes. 4
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Tutorials
Working freely in watercolour Jem Bowden used photos, plus a large helping of artistic licence and traditional techniques, to create a harmonious, impressionistic landscape MINE IS A fairly impressionistic style of watercolour, where detail is less important than a sound composition, good atmosphere and a bit of verve and directness in the painting process. In this way, I try to capture the overall sense of a place, at the same time as allowing the medium itself to shine. I paint outdoors – “en plein air” – as often as possible, as I like to interpret from life with the influences of the weather,
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sounds and smells, and the compulsion to work quickly. Working from photos, however, allows for a bit more reflection, with a different element of creativity and fun added to the process. Although this scene was sunny, there was a strong wind that would have blown over my easel, so instead I walked all around the scene, snapping it from different angles, towards the light, away from the light, recording as many
JEM
Bristol, UK Jem paints and teaches watercolour full time, with a focus on landscapes. He gives demonstrations, runs workshops, and tutors on residential painting holidays. http://bit.ly/jembowden
potential compositions as possible. Taking a lot of photos will give you some facts about a place. From this you can take or leave whatever you need to create a painting that will work on its own terms. Use “artistic licence”, to move or exclude items, change colours and so on. It’s a fun process, and you’ll see that even “bad” photos can be useful to you. In the stages I follow, the brushwork is done swiftly, with regard for some important aspects of the photographic reference but not restricted by it. Don’t worry about the result when painting, focus on the process! Enjoying your painting brings good results.
Working freely
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The reference photo
The photo has a nice atmosphere, typical of the beach at Aldeburgh. I like the composition in general because it has depth. The eye is led into and around the scene by a series of virtual zigzags, from foreground to distance. The sky is interesting, and will be fun to paint. There are some bright colours we can make the most of, and some things we can change... Have fun with “artistic licence” to improve on photos. Alter composition, contrast or colours, as necessary, to spice them up.
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Creating an initial working sketch
First, I created a small watercolour sketch. To lighten up the scene, I tried out a sunnier sky. I also increased the size of the main boat, moved the crab baskets to the left, and added a couple of figures by the distant boat, to create more of a focal point. I also changed that boat to a dark one so it stands out. Finally, I put the whole background under the shade of a cloud. This could work, but the sky could contribute more. Let’s go for it!
Materials
Jem says working in the studio is different from painting outdoors, but these materials suit his traditional, impressionistic style... n Winsor & Newton French Ultramarine, Light Red, Indian Red, Cobalt Turquoise, Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow n Bockingford 200lb (NOT) paper (56x38 cm) n Squirrel hair “wash brushes” – great for covering large areas quickly and easily n Medium/large size (14) synthetic-hair brush with a good point – ideal for accurate painting and fine lines n Large plastic mixing palette n Board and easel n Soft pencil (8B) n Putty rubber
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The exciting sky!
I draw out a horizon line with a soft 8B pencil. Having mixed plenty of paint for the sky colours, I dive straight in. First I wash on some Light Red near the bottom in a random fashion with the medium mop brush. Using my large mop brush loaded with French Ultramarine, I put in blue-sky sections. I move the brush fast to cover paper, looking at the photo for inspiration but not copying it closely. It’s the general character we’re aiming for.
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Work fast with energy
Being careful to keep some white paper where sun is catching, I add in a greyish mix of Light Red, French Ultra marine and a bit of Indian Red (for variety) for shaded parts of clouds. This touches into the blue-sky areas “wet against wet”, so the two blend into soft edges. Where the blue or grey meet white paper there are hard edges. Moving downwards I work into the Light Red areas I did first, which are still damp, giving mainly soft edges.
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Tutorials
Capture spring light in watercolour A visit to Derbyshire's Peak District provides Robert Brindley with the chance to paint a rural springtime scene filled with crisp light and colour
SPRING IS A wonderful and exciting time of year. As we move from the cold, damp, and dull conditions of winter, many artists feel the desire to venture outdoors to paint the fresh colours of the new season. However, many inexperienced painters return to the studio disappointed by their efforts. In many cases, failure comes from their inability to simplify the subject matter and also to reduce the overwhelming strength of colour. In this painting, The Bridge at Milldale, I hope to illustrate how clean, transparent colour can be controlled to produce a more considered, sympathetic rendering of the British spring light. The importance of a solidfoundation of drawing, composition, colour and especially the use of tone will be stressed. I was attracted immediately to this subject for a number of reasons. The most obvious reason was for the quality of the light and colour, which I felt perfectly encapsulated spring. I also felt that the composition was sound where the banks of the stream provided a gentle lead in to
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the focal point under the bridge. In my painting I decided to reinforce the focal point with the introduction of two figures. I'll be using the controlled wash method for painting atmospheric watercolours. This method begins with an overall loose and airy wet-into-wet application of colour. When dry, the tonal relationships from light to dark are developed, before adding the final darks and details. The reference photographs for this painting were taken on a crisp, bright day in mid-April on a trip into the Derbyshire Peak District to gather subject matter.
ROBERT
Whitby, England As a member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists, it's unsurprising that Robert loves to illustrate the light in coastal and landscape scenes. He counts Venice as a favourite painting destination. www.robertbrindley.com
Vibrant water
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Tutorials
Tips to paint vibrant water Jennifer Branch shows you the secrets behind painting energised water and realistic reflections in any situation
PAINTING WATER CAN sometimes seem overwhelming. Water moves constantly, so capturing a moment without the aid of a camera may appear impossible. But paintings can convey the constant movement of water in a way that photos struggle to, as long as you have a good water-painting technique that ensures your pictures are as full of life as the real thing. The following top ten tips explain a few basic skills and techniques you can use to paint water that looks spontaneous and vibrant. Although I use watercolours, these tips also translate to the medium of your choice. Practise en plein air whenever you can, but you can work from photos when you need to. You can’t paint the same water twice, since it’s ever-changing. Capturing the energy in that movement is what makes water so amazing to paint. I love to sit by a lake or the ocean and paint at different times throughout the day, using several sketchbooks to capture these fleeting scenes. One sketch dries while the others are in play. Take a photo before you start, so that if the light changes you can finish the last wash at home. Water can be opaque, transparent, choppy or smooth, but you use the same techniques for painting it. Follow these tips to make sure that all of your water paintings are vibrant and lively.
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JENNIFER
Northwest Georgia, USA Watercolour artist and lifelong teacher Jennifer Branch travels the world with her husband and two sons, to find inspiration for her next painting. paintingwatercolor.com
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Paint still water first
Start practising when the water is calm and reflective, then later you’ll be able to use the techniques you develop here to paint any other type of water, from raging surf to a rippling pond surface. All of the wave and wind action makes the surf seem far more complicated to paint, but the principles are the same as for still water. If you learn to paint reflections and subtle ripples on that calm pond, a crashing wave at the beach will be easy to paint. A wave is just a very big ripple, after all.
Vibrant water
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Notice colours
Water is only blue if it’s reflecting blue! Look at the colours in the reflected trees, sky and objects and use these colours as your palette for any water that’s not white foam. Even the hull of a boat or sky not seen in your painting might still be seen in a reflection. To connect the water and landscape, pull the colours from the reflected objects directly into the water reflection, then go back and sharpen the shoreline with a few strokes of strong darks.
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Flatten distant water
Water appears flatter as it grows more distant, and horizontal lines can convey this flattening of the water’s surface and the shortening of reflections. Use a few connecting horizontal dashes to show the distant water and reflections from the shore or objects on its surface. Streams and rivers also appear to flatten at a distance. Almost the same strokes you use for a reflected squiggle (as seen in the tip 2 picture) can look like an entire river as it snakes away.
Reflect down
No matter what angle you’re painting from, reflections always come directly towards you from the source. It’s simple physics, but sometimes people may expect reflections to follow the same rules as shadows and perspective. To paint them, first pick a simple line in the reflected object such as a tree trunk or building façade. The reflection of that line will always be perpendicular to you, or the bottom of your page. This makes it easy to pull some pigment down from the reflected object into the reflection. All you need are a few dashes of movement on the next wash.
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Depict a luminous harbour scene at dusk Abigail McDougall shares her passion for using the fluidity of watercolour to describe an atmospheric waterscape at sunset
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Waterscapes
WATCH THE VIDEO http://bit.ly/pad13_dusk
ABIGAIL Bristol, England Growing up in Italy, Canada and Dorset, Abigail has always been inspired by the beauty of the landscape. Watercolour is her favourite medium and she is focusing more and more on painting water scenes. www.abigailmcdougall.com
I AM GOING to talk about light, tone, colour and creating interesting brushstrokes. I always love to paint outdoors whenever I can, especially at dawn or dusk. The light changes fast, so you have to learn to work quickly and spontaneously. I am always out on my bike looking for subject matter to paint, I treat it as an adventure. I take sketches, colour studies and photos to make sure I have enough reference in case I want to make a larger painting in the studio. Choosing a subject matter at these extreme times of day means that I have the best chance of creating an atmospheric and relaxing landscape. I always work from light to dark to keep the colours fresh and avoid smudges. I also try and use transparent colours whenever possible. You can check on the watercolour tube whether it is a transparent or opaque colour. The more transparent colours you use, the better the chance of keeping the luminosity of the white paper shining through. Painting at dusk means also having a few pinky or pastel shades, I try and look for the colour naturally present in the scene. 79
Taking it further
Capture light for a harmonious result Margaret Merry demonstrates how to produce a simple architectural landscape using the clean, vibrant colours that give watercolour its charm
Materials
Margaret uses tubes of Schmincke watercolour paints with synthetic brushes. She likes to paint on Arches 300gsm paper with a fine surface, which she prefers as “the surface has the right amount of resistance to enhance the transparency and brilliance of the watercolour”.
THIS WORKSHOP SHOWS how a wide range of colours can be produced from a limited palette. This gives colour harmony to the finished picture and avoids muddy colours resulting from the use of too many pigments. I never use black or synthetic greys as they contain pigment that can easily contaminate the purity of the other colours. It’s a lesson I learnt when I first experimented with the medium. It’s important to understand how to mix your own greys and greens, and I shall demonstrate this as the painting proceeds. I shall also talk about the most important component of watercolour painting: water. Before starting, make sure you have several containers of clean water to hand
and keep the water you use to rinse your brushes separate from the water you paint with. On the subject of brushes, although I have sable brushes that I keep ‘for best’, I mostly work with synthetic brushes, which are cheap enough to replace as soon as they begin to lose their points. I like the flexibility of these brushes and they are particularly good for drawing in watercolour, as I’ll be doing in this architectural landscape. Because I work on a fairly small scale, my brushes are also small, the largest being no.12, which I use mostly for skies. I have experimented with various brands of watercolour and have decided that the Schmincke range of pigments suits my work best. I find, tubes are better for working in the studio, while paintboxes containing little pans of pigment are better suited for sketching outdoors. Watercolour can be a difficult medium and it takes years of practice to become an expert. It’s worth the perseverance, though, and I love it for its ability to perfectly capture light and mood with just a few, rapid brushstrokes.
MARGARET Almeria, Spain Professional artist Margaret lives in Almeria in Spain. She has art training from Falmouth Art School, Hornsey College of Art and the West of England College of Art. margaretmerry.wordpress.com
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Capturing light
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