Whites are not White!

On January 8, 2009, I am starting a series of watercolor workshops that will focus on how to paint whites. The first of these lessons will demonstrate how to make a white shape three-dimensional. As you can see, this is a white flower, but it moves in and out of the flat space of the paper.

To paint whites, artists have to be aware, first of all, that whites are not white. Artists also have to learn a new language, the language of “ish” words. They have to become very sensitive to describing the type of white. This is a great lesson in learning to see color. For example, is that white “green-ish” or “pink-ish” or “blue-ish?” Because whites reflect color around them, the artist has to be sensitive to these “ish” colors. But sometimes these colors are not so subtle. The most amazing shadows I ever witnessed occurred one morning when I was lying in bed. The sun was streaming into the room and the ceiling fan over my bed cast a double shadow onto the white ceiling. One shadow was bright green and the other was deep red. It took me a while to figure out that the color for those shadows was being picked up from the colorful quilt on my bed!

Study this painting of the magnolia blossom. How many different “whites” can you see? Isn’t it amazing that our brain identifies which areas are white and which are not, even though some of the white areas are painted blue? Try to imagine how this painting would look if all my shadow areas were painted grey. Would the painting be as interesting?

Part 2 of Creating "Summer Meadow"

To create the final painting "Summer Meadow" I completed a full size drawing of the painting. I learn so much about my subject matter when I drawing what I will be painting. Non-artists and also many artists believe that the freer an artist works, the better the artwork. I have learned over the years that I can paint with more freedom if I have done my homework. Doing homework means being very familiar with my subject matter and with the various components of the painting.

The painting "Summer Meadow" is very complex. It has several rows of trees that are different and each type of tree has to be painted differently. The water is another complicated element in the painting. How do I show movement and reflection and water receding into the distance? And then there is the meadow! Again, I have to show detail in some areas, create a sense of distance, and suggest a vast meadow that is convincing and interesting. So, I start by carefully drawing. My "cartoon" or detailed sketch for the final painting was all done in pencil and consisted of outlines of the major areas and subjects. Because each painting is different, I sometimes render shading and shadows, but I did not need to very much shading for "Summer Meadow."

I do my final drawings on gridded drafting paper. Again this is probably different from the way many artists work. I use drafting paper because I need a large sheet that is durable and can take a lot of erasing. I like having the grid on the paper because I can make sure that horizontal and vertical elements that need to be at right angles really are at right angles to the outer edges. I prefer using transparent paper because that way I can easily position my final paper underneath when I am ready to transfer the drawing. And if I need to redraw elements, I can again reposition the original drawing over the final painting. I rarely draw directly on my watercolor paper because erasing can damage the surface of the paper. Also, having that separate sketch means that if my watercolor paper has been damaged, or if I mess up a wash, or spill coffee on my painting, I can transfer my sketch onto a new sheet and just start over!

From Sketch to Final Artwork

I was going to write more information about clouds, but I have been sidetracked by participating in Boulder Open Studios 2008. The past two weekends I invited the public to visit my immaculate studio so that they could view my artwork and learn about my techniques. One of the topics that I talked about was how I create a painting. Most people believe that watercolor artists just work freely with the paint without a lot of planning. Well, that is not how most watercolor artists work. My mantra is "happy accident, carefully planned." In my next couple of blogs, I will talk about the process I use to create a finished painting.

The painting that appears here is a plein aire oil sketch. It was completed in a few hours on site in Rocky Mountain National Park. What I am trying to capture is the feeling of that morning and the colors. I do not have time for detail or to work very large. I take lots of photos so that I can add the detail in the studio when I paint an enlargement of the scene. This oil sketch is only 8" X 10". The final painting will be 22" X 30" or a full sheet of watercolor paper. Why do I paint the sketch in oil and then do the final painting in watercolor? Most artists do their sketches in watercolor and then paint the final artwork in oil. Thomas Moran is an example of an artist who works that way. But every artist is different and has their quirks. I am more comfortable painting with watercolors and I prefer the way watercolors look as final paintings. I do my sketches in oil to challenge myself and force myself to see differently.

So here is the sketch and my next blog will talk about how I carefully plan a final painting from a small sketch and photographs.