MASTERCLASS
8 Make a comparative mix
Remember I said it was the electrical cables
and poles that interested me? It is only at
this stage that I added them. I needed to get
the background in there first to guide me
when it came to mixing the correct strength
of French Ultramarine and Burnt Sienna.
I wanted the poles to stand out without
being too dominant, so I varied the strength
of colour within a single pole and even left a
few gaps. I also allowed the pole to blend
with the background. The size 6 round brush
is an ideal size and shape for this.
9 Add further details
I continued to paint in the electrical bits
and pieces and added a little more strength
to the buildings behind to allow more
connections with the main pole. As before,
you want to keep altering the relative
quantities of water and pigments in the
French Ultramarine and Burnt Sienna mix
to give you variety in colour and tone.10 Deepen the tones
More definition is applied to the figures area
by using stronger mixes. This also helped to
balance the tonally stronger electrical poles.
I was trying for the effect of a general crowd
of people, not a specific number – the
blending helps this effect further. Is that
vague smudge a figure? Even I don’t actually
know exactly how many people are there.11 Darken for impact
The painting is nearly finished, but I like to
add small touches of very dark tones. It is
amazing how these darker strokes can make
a painting sparkle.
I felt that the buildings on the right also
needed a bit more impact so I worked back
in with the French Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna
and Quinacridone Magenta mixes.
12 Finishing touches
Ifinishbyaddingthehangingcables.Brushes
canproduceoverlythicklines,whileinkwould
standout,soIusearulingpen.Itallowsme
to draw with watercolour while keeping
controlofthewidthoftheline.Thepenhas
twoadjustablebladesandcanbefilledwith
watercolour simply by stroking a full brush
againsttheinsideedgeofthepen.Forbest
results start with the pen almost fully closed.
Ioverlaidalittlewhitegouacheonthe
partsofthecablesthatwereinfrontofadark
background to create tonal varietyTop tip
Don’t overfill your
ruling pen as it
can blot. Practise
lines on scrap
paper first.