The Artist - UK (2021-04)

http://www.painters-online.co.uk artist 55

TA w

April 2021

Paint watercolour

portraits that glow

Jo W Pickering demonstrates a watercolour

portrait using layering and glazing techniques

W

hen I teach my older
students, who have more
often than not taken the
decision to rekindle their
passion for art since retiring, I ask
which medium they first painted with.
The answer is invariably watercolour.
And one of the questions, as a portrait
tutor, I used to dread being asked was
‘Can you demonstrate watercolour
techniques?’
As an oil painter for most of my career
I have always considered watercolour
painters to possess some sort of
magical qualities – to be able to create
such watery masterpieces with just
the fine flick of a brush! In short I have
always struggled with watercolours and
found that my paintings lacked any
sense of depth or richness.

Build layers of colour

About a year ago, however, I decided
to face my watercolour fears head-
on by researching watercolour
techniques in depth and practising
on several watercolour paper samples

in building layers and even glazes of

colour to achieve the required depth

in my paintings. Who knew we could

build layers of glaze in a watercolour

painting? Not I!

As an oil painter I like the ‘process’

of oil painting, from sketching to

underpainting to ‘building’ layers. I

mistakenly thought that watercolours

had to be a one-layer wonder.

I also began experimenting with

different surfaces and discovered

Ampersand Aquaboard, which is

essentially a fine layer of clay over

a board, which holds watercolour

extremely well and will never buckle. It

can be expensive, so I only use it for big

projects. The same effects, however, can

be achieved with watercolour papers.

I prefer to use watercolour pan sets as

tubes can often be too vivid for portrait

painting. Rather than work across the

entire painting I prefer to work on one

section at a time in building layers. I

usually begin with light flesh tones.

Remember with watercolours to build

from light to dark. When one layer

is completely dry I work glaze layers

over the top, which will strengthen the

underlying colours. A glaze is simply

a watery layer with a touch of colour

added. You can add as many glazes

as you wish in order to achieve the

required density of colour. For the flesh

tones I use a mix of white, yellow ochre,

cadmium red (I find crimson shades can

be too harsh for portraits) and a very

small amount of Prussian blue to tone it

all down and become less ‘peachy’.

Although I consider myself a relative

newcomer to watercolours, I now

thoroughly enjoy taking my time, and

building layer upon layer of colour in

building intensity.

Self Portrait, watercolour on Aquaboard, 16 3 20in (40.5 3 51cm)