U-W-O Figures

One of my watercolor teachers showed me this wonderful way to construct figures, a technique developed by watercolor artist Tony van Hasselt (www.tonyvanhasselt.com/). We want to leave figures out of paintings because we are afraid that we won't get the anatomy right or there is too much detail. Well, the solution is to leave out the detail and be aware of a simple lesson in proportion. To leave out the detail, use only the three letters, U-W-O.

1. Start with the U. Paint an upside down U and fill it in. This becomes the torso.
2. Use the O for the head, but make sure that it slightly overlaps the upside down U so that it doesn't look like it is floating.
3. Then add a long, elongated W for the legs. Make sure that the legs are long enough. The midpoint of our body is about where the legs attach to the hips.

Try with this simple technique to make the figure more interesting by changing the position of the torso, adding arms, shadows, feet, bending the legs, etc. A good drawing exercise is to take a sketchbook and pencil and sit down in a public place. Draw the figures that are walking past you, waiting for a bus, riding a bicycle, etc. Learning to quickly respond to these gestural figures will give you plenty of figure sketches that can then be incorporated into your paintings. Have fun!

Figures in a Landscape

The lesson this week demonstrates how to paint figures in a landscape. Portrait paintings feature the human figure so artists often paint realistic, detailed figures. But in the landscape, the figure becomes less important than the setting and can be rendered as simple shapes. However, these simplified figures often become the focal point of a painting because we are so sensitive to the human form. So make sure that you place these simple forms in a good focal point spot in your painting.

The figures shown here are silhouettes of groups of people. Notice how easy it is to recognize that these are figures even though we see only shapes with no detail. Even the colors are totally unrealistic. Notice also how I painted the feet. Feet! What feet? You're right, there are no feet and also no hands or arms. What you are looking at are just simple shapes showing the basic masses of the body. A good way to practice painting these kinds of figures is find a photo of a group of people in the distance (walking on a beach for example). Then, cover the photo with tracing paper and just outline the figures. Transfer or redraw this outline onto watercolor paper, wet the inside of the shape, and drop in color.

Stay tuned, in my next blog, I will demonstrate how to draw and paint U-W-O people.

Colorado Sunflowers

Well, it has been a busy, busy summer. I have been painting a lot and traveling and taking care of my son and hosting visitors. It was a hot summer and dry, but it did not seem to bother many of the native Colorado plants. The sunflowers by the side of the roads are spectacular and I love to paint them. Here is a bunch and I have more to upload. Enjoy!