60 Watercolor artist | OCTOBER 2019
Watercolor Essentials
Setting the Stage
Consider these four key elements when preparing
to tell a visual story.By Steve Griggs with Sue Martin Griggs
W
hat would a movie or play
be without a carefully
planned set to create a
backdrop to the story being told?
Whenset designers prepare for a play
ormovie, the fi rst thing they do is
mapout the scene. Th ey pay attention
totheenergy and vibe as well as to
theessential details that best create
thebackdrop and draw the audience
intothe story. Without a compelling
backdrop, the story is incomplete.
Soit is for visual art.
When I paint, I don’t try to depict
exactly what my eyes and brain regis-
ter.Instead, I interpret, evaluate and
manipulate the two-dimensional scene
tofind an intriguing set of shapes and
details that will allow for the most
interesting story to be told.
I start by creating sketches to use
asreference, changing the focus,
elements and shapes to fi nd the
combination that will enable the story
toemerge. To determine which
elements of the scene will create the
most interesting painting, I consider
several factors: space division, format,
composition and painting execution.
To demonstrate, I’ll walk you through
my creative process for One Fleeting
Moment (at left).SPACE DIVISION
I begin by imagining the actual scene
before me (A) as a page, and I look for
specifi c divisions among the elements.
Th ere are a multitude of divisions (B)
that can be created from one scene.AOne Fleeting Moment (watercolor on paper, 15x11)