30 Watercolor artist | AUGUST 2019
Quayside Boats
(watercolor on paper, 16½ x28)Pausing to Finish
“Th e most enjoyable part of the painting process is early
on when the painting is really free,” Bartholomew says.
“Orchestrating the painting through the second half is
inevitably more diffi cult because I’m trying to maintain
the freshness while bringing all of the elements together
so that they work as a whole.”
His biggest challenge is often knowing when a painting
is fi nished. To help with that determination, he keeps
a mirror on an easel about 10 feet behind him as he works,
looking at it quickly throughout the process to gain a new
perspective or viewpoint. Once Bartholomew is happy with
the fi rst half of a painting, he’ll often lean the work against
the wall of his studio for a while and return to it later when
he knows how he wants to fi nish it. Other times, it’s not so
straightforward. “A painting can sometimes change radi-
cally,” the artist says. “It’s a bit like a Rubik’s Cube in that
I sometimes have to undo a large chunk to make the rest
work as a whole. I’ll also sometimes cut a painting in half
if I’m not happy with how one side went.”
His primary objective, however, is to avoid overworking
a piece. “I know that leaving a painting alone once the
essence has been conveyed is often what makes it sing,”
Bartholomew says. “A picture easily can be spoiled by fuss-
ing and overworking, so it’s a balancing act.”Tools of the Trade
“My brushes are
an assortment of
battered, mis-
shapen relics,”
Bartholomew says.
When he does buy
new brushes, he
usually buys the
largest available—
mops or flats with
lots of holding
capacity.
He uses blunt
Stanley blades or
squares of plastic
to scrape off areas
of wet paint or
Rembrandt pastel,
his brand of choice.