image on next page) there is
only one small area of bright
light but that area is crucial to
the whole painting; it suggests
the heat of the sun that you
might feel if you walked through
the gateway. I blocked in shape
after shape until the whole
surface of the paper was toned
down so as to give maximum
impact to the crucial flash of
sunlight on the middle
ground. A more
extreme use of the
white paper can
be helpful when
you are painting
snow scenes in
sunlight. ‘Garden
Bench in Winter‘
(see image on next
page) shows how minimal
applications of shadow colour in
carefully considered shapes can
create the impression of snow.
Take care to keep sunlit
parts clear of any tone to give
maximum brightness and only
add colour to define shadows
upon the snow.Watercolour light and shade
ARTWORK:
SUMMER VERANDA, ENGLAND, TAKEN FROM SUNLIGHT & SHADOWS IN WATERCOLOUR
, PUBLISHED BY BATSFORD
W
ith a complex
composition
like this, full of
little patches
of light, it is important not to
burn your boats by putting large
areas of wash on the paper at
the beginning and thus lose
the chance to retain a highlight
where you need it.Leaving white paper
It is possible to paint
watercolours on paper of any
colour, provided it is fairly
pale. However, after a few
experiments with coloured
and cream papers I returned
to white or very slightly off-white
as it gives the brightest tones
and the greatest potential
for translucency.
Just as you might
leave white paper
to denote the
highlights on a
shiny shoe so
you can do when
denoting bright
sunlight. Although
I may touch in hints
of colour later,
I find it helpful to leave
highlight areas completely bare
while I work on the shadows
as this way I am more likely to
succeed in representing the
strong sense of sunlight that I
am after. In ‘Agia Triada, Crete,
Greece‘ (in my book, Sunlight
& Shadows in Watercolour - seeMATERIALS
OWatercolour palette
OWhite gouache (to return
to the white paper)
OBrush (Lucy favours round
sable brushes)
OAcid free paper (Lucy uses
190-200gsm for medium-
sized paintings like this one)Lucy Willis trained at the Ruskin School of
Drawing and Fine Art in Oxford. She lived
in Greece where she set up an etching
workshop, then ran art courses at her
Somerset home. She was artist in residence at
Shepton Mallet Prison and winner of the 1992
BP Portrait Award. Lucy tutors abroad and
travels extensively, recently selling prints of her paintings of Syria
for Oxfam‘s Syria Appeal. Lucy has had many solo exhibitions,
including at the Chris Beetles Gallery in London.MORE INFORMATION
Owww.lucywillis.com Oemail: [email protected]Lucy Willis
One small area of
bright light is crucial to
the whole painting; it
suggests the heat
of the sun.