Artists_amp_amp_Illustrators__July_2016_

50 Artists & Illustrators

5 EXPECT AN UNEVEN SURFACE

Now the aubergine is also ‘going over’ from

sopping wet to damp, I add its stalk too. Your

painting will dry unevenly, meaning that some

parts still bleed into the newly painted area

while others keep their definition. You can

see this here, where the top side of the calyx

is defined and the bottom flows into the

purple of the aubergine body.

8 FLOODING THE ELEMENTS

I add the deeper tone to the lemon where it

meets the chilli, and because this top edge is

still wet, there is bleed from yellow into red.

The wetter paint will flood into the less wet

paint, and I like the addition of yellow to the

red chilli. I decide to flood the lemon with wet

pigment at its top edge too at the risk of

more bleeding into the aubergine; I want it to

look as saturated and ‘lemony’ as possible.

6 CONTROL THE BLEED

Areas of the aubergine and the chilli are

now beginning to dry out, (you’re looking

for a ‘sheen’ not a ‘shine’ as explained in

step 4) and dropping water in creates more

‘controlled’ bleeds. The bleeds don’t travel

as far and push the paint away from the

areas that water is added to, creating

lovely textures as they go.

7 LET YOUR COLOURS MEET

At this stage, the bottom edge of the

aubergine, where it meets the lemon, has

begun to dry somewhat unevenly as some

areas were wetter than others. I’m unwilling

to wait until it’s completely dry as I do want a

little bit of bleed between these two

elements. Using Hansa Yellow, I paint in the

lemon. You can see that where the aubergine

is still wet, it starts to bleed into the yellow.

4 ASSESS THE DAMPNESS

I introduce water with the dropper bottle

along the top edge of the chilli to add some

lighter areas, and I paint in the green stalk

when the paper has gone from being a

puddle to ‘pretty damp’. The dampness you’re

looking for at this stage is a soft sheen,

rather than a shiny puddle. As red and green

are so close in tone, I tend not to worry about

some bleed going on between them.

48 Masterclass.indd 50 10/05/2016 15:00