48 artistMarch 2020 http://www.painters-online.co.uk
WATERCOLOUR
DETAIL
This close up shows how
the di erent colour mixes
were allowed to work
together – over-working
the colours would result in
dull, at, lifeless colour STAGE TWO
To ensure that the colours would mix together properly, the paper
was wetted all over. The mixes were then introduced to the damp
paper, starting with the unmixed colours raw sienna, cobalt violet
and cobalt blue, followed by the remainder of the colour pools.
I applied the colour mixes as quickly as possible, generally from
light to dark, working as wet as possible. Don’t worry about the
washes di using into each other as this creates the underlying
looseness and atmosphere. The paper was then left to dry
completely
TIP
For the best results, never
work the pigments together
too much, instead allow the
pigments to mix and di use
on the paper naturally.TIP
There are many combinations to be
made from these colours, so always
be led by your own instincts and
interpretation of the scene when judging
colour bias, colour temperature and
tone. These colour pools were used again
for the entire painting with only minor
adjustments as the painting progressed. Colour pools were then prepared with
cobalt blue, cerulean blue and raw sienna – a
weak and strong mix of each. These three
colours were the basic primaries upon which
the entire painting was based.
Further pools were prepared from raw
sienna plus cobalt violet; raw umber plus
cobalt violet; cobalt blue plus cobalt violet;
cobalt blue plus permanent magenta with
a touch of raw sienna; ultramarine blue and
burnt sienna and, nally, burnt sienna plus
ultramarine blue STAGE ONE
I made a simple outline drawing using a 2B pencil before masking out the relevant highlights