The Artist - UK (2021-02)

56 artistFebruary 2021 http://www.painters-online.co.uk

WATERCOLOUR: 3rd of 3

W

atercolour is transparent,

so the white of the paper is

used as the white and the

paint is put down in order

from lightest to darkest tone. If you

wanted to paint a white circle you would

leave the white paper as a circle and

paint around it in a contrasting colour.

In acrylic or oils you would just paint

a white circle on a darker ground. It is

important to be quite clear about the

organisation – the more complex the

subject, the more we have to consider

the lights and various shapes that we

would like to preserve.

All the traditional pure watercolour

The order of painting

In his last article of the series, Nicholas Poullis explores the order of painting

a watercolour with a demonstration of a light-filled scene

techniques respect the order of

painting, which is how a luminous

painting is accomplished. There is some

freedom in this and, depending on the

painting and the painter’s style, lighter

and darker tones can be placed down

at the same time (look at John Yardley)

with lighter areas just left as white

paper. Other artists like to wash a tonal

layer over the whole surface, leaving

white highlights by using latex resist

(look at David Curtis). I don’t think

there is a better or worse approach but

the choice of subject is important if you

are really determined to apply a certain

technique. I use a range of approaches

depending on the subject and design of

the picture. Ideally we allow the subject

to determine the appropriate technique

rather than impose ourselves on it.

p Montagnac Light, watercolour on

Hahnemühle140lb (300gsm) Rough paper,

103 12in (25.5 3 30.5cm).

This painting demonstrates how we paint

light by painting the darks. The sky went on

first followed by the lightest tones – mostly

yellow, then the mid-tones. The blue in the

shadows of the buildings was added next,

followed by the darker tones of the shadows