Watercolor Artist - USA (2019-02)

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a

s a watercolor instructor for

many years, I’ve observed

that some students fall too

easily into what I call the dreaded

“mid-tone crisis”: Once they’ve

painted over a white surface, they

don’t know where to place the darks.

In short, they have a mid-tone mess

on their hands. I’m particularly aware

of this because I’m passionate about

notan, a Japanese concept focused on

the balance between light and dark—

and because I’m a shape and value

painter. I like drama and contrast and

interesting shapes dei ned by values.

Here’s my super-simple

technique for using a

three-value notan study

and India ink to take

the guesswork out of the

painting process and

produce work with impact.

IN THE INK

After selecting a subject

and locating the light

source, I create thumbnails

that help me break down

the scene into a three-value

notan featuring positive and negative

ABOVE

The black-and-white image

(A) is the original ink painting,

and the full-color detail (B)

shows a section that has been

painted with transparent

watercolor. Paint applied

over dry water-proof India ink

remains stable; depending on

the pigment’s transparency,

the watercolor easily covers

it. This creates beautiful

translucent/transparent

effects. Using this process

will give you the creative

confi dence to paint

a more dramatic, exciting

and powerful image.

LEFT

In Water Lily (watercolor

on paper, 22x30), you can

see how using color as a

value creates the illusion

and depth that gives the

piece its visual interest.

A

B