Artists & Illustrators - April 2016_

50 Artists & Illustrators

SPRING PROJECTS

WORKING FROM PHOTOS

Painting a strong sense of light in

watercolour is a time-consuming task.

It not only involves accurate drawing

and planning highlights, but also

layering washes and waiting for each

to dry. This is why I favour working

from a photograph.

A photograph can capture enough

information for you to base a detailed

still life painting upon. I always have a

camera to hand. I could have set up

this still life arrangement myself, but

nothing beats the thrill of spotting an

accidental composition and capturing

it in paint. This gives you a moment

that your viewer can recognise – not

quite staged, yet not quite perfect.

This gin glass and bottle were on the

side from the night before; in the

morning light, the objects presented

themselves as an ideal composition.

Try and photograph your subject

without a flash to maintain the strong

light and shade needed for your

contre-jour painting.

HOW TO... PAINT GLASS

1

Painting glass is a daunting

prospect. How do you paint

what is clear? The simple answer is:

you don’t. Try instead to paint what

you see. Start off by studying the

glass. Look for the highlights and

mask out even the smallest details.

2

Look for the colours, shapes

and reflections, as you have

done with the shadows. Remember

that items may be distorted through

the glass and create shapes that

are different from what you might

expect. Always look, never presume.

3

If there is water in the glass or

the back of a label refracted on

the bottle, try to see them as a

series of tones and colours. If you

concentrate on painting what you

see accurately, the glass will appear

as the painting progresses.

4

Once you have painted the

coloured areas, remove the

masking fluid. If the reflections

appear quite crude, try masking the

main highlights again and adding

some more delicate washes of

colour to soften the effect.

PICKING OUT DETAILS

A straight edge is often needed in

a painting. To avoid smudging the

paint, hold a ruler to the paper and

tilt it towards you. Place your

brush’s ferrule (the metal neck) on

the ruler’s edge with the bristles on

the page and draw a line as you

would with a pen or pencil. For best

results, make sure the brush isn’t

too wet but has enough paint to

finish the line.

The best way to reserve

highlights is with masking fluid –

I use Winsor & Newton’s colourless

version, as it doesn’t stain the

paper. Apply it with an old nylon

brush or a colour shaper, as the fluid

can dry stiff and ruin good brushes.

Coloured pencils can then be

used to enhance areas of detail,

such as the reflections or foliage.

Use a good quality pencil to avoid

‘scratching’ your painting and don’t

overwork details – it will spoil the

painterly feeling of spontaneity. For

a finishing touch, use a fine brush

and white gouache to refine the

highlights and pick out reflections.

Gouache is an opaque paint and

sits well on watercolour so it can

give your glass added sparkle.

BE PATIENT

Don’t rush your painting. Watercolour

takes time to dry, so trying to remove

masking fluid when a painting is still

wet can rip the surface of the paper

and ruin your final picture. Likewise,

if your washes are damp and you try

to add another wash, the colours will

bleed and can become muddy.

Leave your painting to one side for a

couple of days before deciding if it is

finished. The temptation is to stare at

a painting for several weeks and over

work it. In my experience, looking at it

with fresh eyes can help you see little

details that may need adding and also

teach you to love your painting.

http://www.matthewjeanes.co.uk

TOP TIP: Use coloured pencil on top

of dry watercolour to enhance details

• a white pencil is perfect for adding
  sparkle to sunlight hitting glass.

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