ArtistsNetwork.com 53usefultosoftenthemwitha scrubby
toolorwashoverthemwitha watery
glazeofwhite.Thosetwotechniques
helptoscalebackthecontrastjust
enoughtoheightentherealism.
Representationalart,whether
looseorhyperrealistic,requiresan
understandingofvalueandshape.A
successfulvalue-basedpaintinglooks
goodwhetherit’sincolororblackand
white.I tellmystudentsthatvalueis
moreimportantthancolor,even
whenpaintingrealistically.I wantthe
facesI painttolookaslife-likeasI can
makethem.Meet the Artist
Kathleen S. Giles (kgiles
studio.com) is an award-
winning artist, teacher and
workshop instructor and has
been
painting
in water-
color for
more
than 25
years. She
received
the first-
place Purchase Award in the
2019 National Watercolor
Society show, and has served
as a judge for both the
American Women Artists
show and the Adirondacks
National Exhibition of
American Watercolors. Her
work has been featured in
Pratique des Arts, International
Artists and previously in
Watercolor Artist. Giles is
a signature member of the
National Watercolor Society,
American Women Artists, the
Pennsylvania Watercolor
Society, the Niagara Frontier
Watercolor Society and a
member of the Watercolor
USA Honor Society and the
International Guild of Realism.
The artist maintains a studio
in her home in western New
York and teaches workshops
around the country.Turn for a demo
ABOVE
I used only
transparent paints
in The World Fades
Away (watercolor on
paper, 30x22). I lifted
out some highlights
on the man’s coat,
but the residual
texture worked well
in this case.
OPPOSITE
I added some white
paint to the subject’s
lips and beard in
Grape Pickers
(watercolor on
paper, 15x22).
Objects tend to look more three-dimensional when I can
show at least three well-defi ned values on as many parts of
the painting as possible. First, I reserve whites, whether
hard- or soft-edged, with masking fl uid or by leaving the
paper dry in those areas. Second, I lay in soft- or hard-
edged middle values. Working wet-into-wet creates soft
edges. Th ird, I apply the darkest value and/or color, which
may or may not be hard-edged. Th ese three values of vary-
ing textures defi ne just about every shape I can think of:
skin, fl owers, water, etc. Smooth areas contrasted with
textured areas will further the look of reality.
Watercolor, because of its fl uid nature, makes it the
perfect medium to achieve all these things. While it’s
often thought of as a fussy medium, the careful use of
white paint can transform it into just the paint you need.