Helen Fitzgerald >>
WATERCOLOURS
WORKSHOP
I
t’s autumn and the ornamental grape vines are
turning the most beautiful shades of purple and
red. I’ve picked some of these lovely leaves and
I’m going to do a watercolour painting showing
some of the colours. I will include a number of
superb blue wrens who frequent the grape vines to
seek out insects. I’ve chosen to do this subject in
a formal manner and to keep it botanically correct.
I will also use references to ensure accuracy in the
rendering of the wrens.
I’ve chosen a long narrow format for the painting
as I feel it suits the long stems of the grape vine.
Above the paper I have taped one of these stems.
I’ve wrapped some wet tissue around the stem of
the vine so the leaves don’t dry out too quickly.Step One
I irst pencilled in the outline with a soft pencil,
usually a 2B or softer as this allows me to alter
things as I proceed. A painting should be a dynamic
entity, not something that is set in concrete soto speak. So I deplore the habit of drawing a
composition to get it all ‘perfect’ and then tracing
it onto ‘good’ paper. Tracing is the best way to
efectively kill a painting and make it lifeless. The soft
pencil allows alterations as the work proceeds. I do
make alterations. Just the mere addition of colour
can change the dynamics of a painting. Being stuck
with a tracing that you are afraid to alter dooms it to
a static, lifeless painting.Step Two
I have started on the leaves with really wet
multicoloured washes. I allow for the highlights with
clear water amongst the coloured wash. While it is
still wet I can drop more colour in to give it more life.
I’ve used ultramarine, scarlet lake and permanent
rose. The leaf is then shaped according to the
venation patterns found in these leaves. They should
be accurate as they follow a distinct format. A darker
wash is fed into the shadow area and then the edge
is ‘lost’ with a damp brush.