Artists & Illustrators - UK (2019-10)

PROJECT

The rich, dark greens will be made

from mixes of Permanent Mauve, Sap

Green, Indigo and Cobalt Blue. There

were warmer greens in the summer

foliage, which could act as a bridge

between the palest greens and the

rich, dark greens of the trees

themselves. However, this huge range

of greens would not serve the

purpose of the painting, so it could be

simplified by mixing the warmer

greens from the paints used for the

bright, pale greens and the rich, dark

greens of the leaves on the trees.

In such strong sunlight, the trunks

appeared to be almost black;

although I wanted strong contrasts,

black deadens a vibrant image, so it

is to be avoided. To keep the darkest

areas interesting requires some very

dark mixes: mixes that appear almost

black but still have a range of colours

within them. These can be achieved

with Indigo, Permanent Mauve and

Sap Green. The addition of Cobalt

Blue to this mix both softens and cools

it, helping to give the impression of a

cool tunnel under the trees.

Also important in avoiding flat,

uninteresting darks is the use of

glazing. It is used throughout this

demonstration to build up layers of

tone and colour. As more layers of

paint are applied, it is possible to

build up colour and tone, thus giving a

richer, more interesting finish than

can be achieved with just a single

layer of paint. The use of glazing also

makes it easy to leave patches of the

lower glazes peeping through, which

will be read as dappled light.

It would be easy to be drawn into

producing a very busy, highly textured

image, particularly when working from

a photo. Keeping the inspiration in

mind, the texture of the foliage is not

that important in this image, so it

makes sense to keep it as simple as

possible. Using round brushes and

daggers to print enough leaf shapes

to encourage the viewer to read the

rest of the marks as foliage is all that

is needed – the danger here is

overworking. Stop regularly to assess

how the painting is developing.

http://www.moortoseaarts.co.uk

Sian’s materials

•Watercolours

Bismuth Yellow, Cobalt Blue,

Indigo, Permanent Mauve and

Sap Green, all Daler-Rowney

Artists’ Water Colour; Winsor

Blue (Green Shade) from Winsor

& Newton Professional Water

Colour; May Green from

Schmincke Horadam Aquarell

•Brushes

Da Vinci Series 35 size 4;

Swordliners, medium and small;

Dagger, medium and small

•Paper

Bockingford NOT 300gsm

watercolour paper

•2B pencil and eraser

•Tracing paper

•Black pen

•Masking fluid

•Mapping pen

•Colour shaper

•Palette

•Kitchen roll

1

Lightly draw in the outlines of the

trees on to the watercolour paper

by using a 2B pencil. Take care to

ensure that the negative shapes are

interesting. As a result of the dark

shadows, some of these silhouetted

shapes may look a little unnatural at

this stage. Take care to ensure that

the shapes form an interesting

pattern on the paper.

2

By using a mapping pen, apply

masking fluid for the depiction of

a few grasses and to reserve

highlights. Take care to apply the

masking fluid as if you were drawing,

using similar hand movements as you

would use with a pencil, to achieve the

tapering effect needed to depict a

blade of grass, that is, lift the pen

towards the end of each stroke.

Practise first, using the same type

of watercolour paper that you will be

working on for the painting. When the

masking fluid is dry, apply a dark paint

(for example, Indigo) so that the

masking-fluid lines show up easily.

This practice will give you more

confidence when making this painting,

as the pale tones and colours used for

the texture of the grasses are

indistinct and difficult to see.

3

First, apply varied washes wet-in-wet. Use the photo to

guide the placement of the various mixes. Keep the

tones very light, as this layer will provide highlights. Paint

across the tree trunks, as painting around them will inhibit

the making of loose hand movements and the flow of paint.

This layer of paint being under later layers of much darker

paint on the trunks will add interest and depth.

Keep this wash loose. Work only while the paint is very

wet. Once it starts to dry, unwanted cauliflowers may occur,

so stop before this happens. Do not worry if the application

of paint doesn’t work out exactly as you had hoped. This

approach involves layering paint, and corrections can be

made in subsequent layers; this layering approach is

preferable, rather than losing freshness by trying to be too

precise while applying a single wash. Allow the paint to dry.