http://www.painters-online.co.uk SUMMER 2019 41
Watercolour
LPDemonstrationWhite peony
Youwillneed
nSurface
lSaunders Waterford NOT
300gsm watercolour paper
111 ⁄ 2 x15in. (28x38cm)
n Winsor & Newton
Professional Water Colour
lWinsor yellow
lWinsor red
lPermanent rose
lPrussian blue
lWinsor violet
lSap greenn Brushes
lRounds Nos. 12, 8, 6
& 1
n Miscellaneous
lA palette
lMasking fluid
lColour Shaper
lHB pencil
lBoard and masking
tape to fasten the
paper on to the board
lWater potStep1
1 Draw the shape of the flower onto watercolour paper, beginning
at the centre and working outwards towards the edge of the petals.
We need a large area to practise the glazing technique so almost
fill the page with the flower rather than making it too small.
2 Use masking fluid on a Colour Shaper or old brush to mask the
inner edge of the outline of the flower so that when the background
paint is applied it leaves the outline of the flower crisp and clean.
3 Mask the stamens in the centre of the flower to reserve some
highlights and mask out the stalk.tStep2
1 Prepare large washes for the background colours:
Winsor yellow, Prussian blue, Winsor violet and sap
green. Use plenty of paint and only a little water or the
washes will dry too light. If you don’t have these colours
practise overlapping different yellow and blue paints on
a spare piece of paper to see which combination you
prefer, but remember overlapping yellow and purple
makes brown so avoid putting these side by side.
2 Thoroughly wet the background area around the
outer edges of the flower with clean water. Ensure
no water goes on to the flower area or some of the
background colour will run on the petals.
3 Working quickly, apply the yellow paint with
a No. 12 brush to the outer corners of the paper.
4 Add sap green then Prussian blue, allowing these
colours to merge into each other on the paper. Add
purple next to the blue then make darker shades of
green by adding the blue on top of selected parts of
the green areas. Allow these colours to dry thoroughly
before removing the masking fluid that is around the
edges of the flower by rubbing it off with your finger.
Leave the masking fluid in place on the stamens but
remove it from the stem and paint this green.
5 Once the masking fluid has been removed use a
damp brush to drag a little of the blue background
colour on the flower to create a shadow effect behind
some of the petals, as shown in this illustration.tit with dark colours, suggesting blurred
foliage.
The flower is very delicate and as I can’t
overwork the shadow colours on the
petals I decided to glaze pale transparent
washes onto them using transparent
paints on dry paper, overlapping each
shade and leaving highlights of pure
white paper. I chose this method rather
than wetting the paper first so that I can
control how much of the white paper is
showing. If I wet the paper first then add
the paint, the colours may spread too farand I will have lost the white, turning
it into a yellow or pink flower.Transparent and opaque colours
Watercolour paints are transparent, semi-
transparent, semi-opaque or opaque.
When layered on top of each other in thin
washes, transparent paints are translucent,
meaning the previously painted layers
shine through and are ideal for the glazing
technique. Opaque colours when painted
in layers on top of one another cover
over the underneath colour rather thanallowing it to show through. To find out
which colours are transparent or opaque
look on the side of the tube of paint;
some manufacturers print this underneath
the name of the colour. Winsor & Newton
have a small square shape on the reverse
of the tube; an outline empty square
means the colour is transparent and a
small solid square represents an opaque
colour. Other manufacturers don’t indicate
this information on the side of the tube
of paint so you will have to go to their
website for more details. LPLPS 40-43 Scott_Layout 1 28/05/2019 13:26 Page 41