20 Artists Magazine May 2019
Build TUTORIAL
NATURAL IRIDESCENCE
1
Toning layer and line drawing:
I chose to paint on an archival board,
knowing the smooth surface would help
me mimic the texture of the shells; the
board receives fl uid brushwork as well as
palette-knife applications. First I applied
a thin toning layer of raw umber diluted
with paint thinner. I let this dry. Then,
using vine charcoal, I drew the edges
of the forms and indicated lines across
them to describe the turning planes.2
Establish lights and darks:
With thinned paint, I washed
in the shadow areas, leaving visible
brushstrokes. The directional strokes
inside the nautilus reinforce the form.
Some parts of the initial brushwork in
the shadows will remain visible through
the subsequent paint layers. For the
light areas, I tried to simplify colors with
a mixture of white, yellow, magenta and
cobalt blue.3
Develop the background: In order
to brighten the appearance of the
shell, I darkened the surrounding area
with an application of raw umber and
black. It was important to cover the
entire surface with paint, removing
any gaps that reveal drawing lines;
the objects could easily be redrawn
with a brush on the next layer. While
the current layer was wet, I selectively
blurred the brushstrokes with a soft
watercolor mop brush. Alternatively,
I could have used a fan brush. The
blurred, “out of focus” areas seem to
recede from the shells.4
Redraw: When the paint had
dried to the touch, I redrew some
contours and details using a small round
sable brush. A good-quality nylon brush
also would have worked.5
Add color details: I rendered the
colorful mother-of-pearl surface in
detail using Nos. 0 and 1 sable brushes.
The rainbow hues contain a mixture
of permanent yellow-green, phthalo
green, ultramarine blue, magenta and
white. I laid in these colors carefully
with minimal blending in order to avoid
dulling the eff ect.6
Incise lines: The wooden handle
of the brush is an excellent tool for
incising. While the paint layer was wet,
I scratched lines to describe creases on
the abalone interior.