The Artist - UK (2020-03)

28 artistMarch 2020 http://www.painters-online.co.uk

WATERCOLOUR

T

he ability to execute a bold,

loose watercolour that reads as

a good representation of the

scene can take a long time to

develop, as you need to be comfortable

with your materials and techniques,

and be able to control the medium

without your painting becoming ‘stiff’.

The transparent nature of watercolour

dictates you have to have a solid plan

before you start as opportunities to

fix mistakes are limited. Students are

intimidated by this, which is why their

work typically is slow and calculated,

with an emphasis on small details too

early in the process.

Keep it loose

Andy Evansen reveals how to paint a loose yet

bold watercolour that will still read as a good

representation of the subject

Value studies

I’m a firm believer in value studies and

mine are different from most in that I

paint them using Payne’s grey. By using

brushes and water you’ll be making

the same marks and using the same

materials as you will in the painting –

with watercolour, the more preparation

you can do, the better.

Value studies are especially useful

en plein air as they tend to ‘freeze the

light’. One of the greatest challenges

of working outdoors is dealing with the

rapidly changing conditions, and many

times the wonderful shadows that can

transform a scene are lost by the time

we get around to painting them. If a

large cloud happens to block the sun for

periods of time, I can simply glance at

my value study to remind myself of the

large connected shapes created with

light and shadow. They also serve to

remind me to keep things simple. When

working on site you’re confronted with

180 degrees of details and distractions

and I find myself getting bogged down

with the task of accurately representing

the subject versus making a painting.

One look at that big simple shape gets

me back on track.

I keep my scale to three values. If

you think of a value scale from 1 to 10,

1 being white and 10 black, the white

of the paper represents values 1 to 3;

the large middle value wash represents

values 4 to 7; and the dark details are

values 8 to 10. I begin by squinting

at the scene and determining all the

areas that appear light – these I leave

the white of the paper. Everything

else is painted in one flat, connected,

middle-value shape; this step is vital

as it provides possibilities for lost

edges. This is the stage where we first

paint the objects in the scene, so we

tend to think about ways to separate

them rather than connecting them: we

see trees, cars, people, animals and

buildings, whereas we should be seeing

shapes.

Colour shapes

I begin the colour painting before I put

the darks on my value study. When

switching to colour it’s easy to lose sight

of the large connections found on the

study because colour also separates

objects – this is why so many students

leave white gaps around their shapes.

Once I have the initial light colour

wash on (represented by the white

paper on the value study) and it’s dry,

I replicate the middle-value shape from

the value study, using various colours

instead of one flat middle-value grey.

I concentrate on the large abstract

shape, occasionally painting around

a small light shape from the previous

Andy Evansen

tutors workshops internationally. He is a

signature member of the Plein-Air Painters

of America ( PA PA ) and served as their

president from 2015–2017. He has won

many awards, including the Bronze and

High Winds Medals from the American

Watercolor Society. Andy’s DVD Watercolour

Plein Air is available from AVP Films, price

£28.55; http://www.apvlms.com

http://www.evansenartstudio.com

t 4pm, watercolour, 1115in (2838cm)