54 Watercolor artist | APRIL 2020
demo
The White Balance
By carefully using white to highlight her subject’s skin,
Kathleen S. Giles creates a portrait that glows.Step 1
I startedwithapencildrawingofmysubject,
Leah,onArches300-lb.cold-pressedbright
whitepaperandappliedliquidmasktoher
necklaceandshirtstraps.I putapieceof
frisketfilmoverherleftbreastandsealed
theedgeswithmaskingfluid.Step 5
I wanted to add a highlight to the top of her forearm for shaping, so
I brushed on a thin strip of white after dampening the paper slightly.
Mixing yellow and pink, I made a light orange wash and brushed it
over the white to remove any chalkiness created by the white paint.Step 4
I wet the paper and brushed on another diluted coat
of Chinese white to the right forearm. While it was
still damp, I lightly brushed on the same skin mixture.
To create darker color, I use more paint.Step 2
Working one section at a time, I wet the
paper and painted using a mixture of
permanent rose, permanent yellow light and
a touch of Winsor blue. (This triad can lean
toward any of the three colors by adjusting
the ratio). While the paper was still damp,
I added more color to develop the contours.
As I continued to paint, the paper became
more saturated with pigment than water,
building color and value. Since I was going to
create a dark background, I knew I could
paint outside the lines.Step 3
I applied the fi rst very wet gray wash onto the
background and made the mistake of thinking
I could control it by simply keeping the fi gure
dry. As I moved the paper, however, I got a large
bleed of color that ran across the subject’s face.
I should have masked the edge of her fi gure and
hair. I quickly blotted the paint away, but it had
already stained the paper. The color also bled
onto her right elbow. I lifted out as much as
I could. I had already applied one light coat of
Chinese white on her right forearm in this photo.123
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