Watercolor Drybrush Technique by Ottorino de Lucchi
About Ottorino
OTTORINO DE LUCCHI, born in Ferrara, works in Folgaria (Trento). In recent years, he has developed a painting technique based on watercolor drybrush which allows to mantain the brightness of the watercolor.
To learn more about Ottorino and to see more of his work, please visit his website by following the link below:
http://www.ottorinodelucchi.com
Watercolor Drybrush Technique by Ottorino de Lucchi
Watercolor drybrush is an unconventional artistic technique. It creates unique painting effects that are not produced by other methods. It requires practice and skill and a good deal of patience, perseverance and inclination to experiment .
I will explain the drybrush techniques that I developed by studying the works of Andrew Wyeth, a master of drybrush methods, that I had the opportunity to see in the original. Hence, what I am presenting is a kind of personal technique that may not be approved by academicians or other artists.
In essence, watercolor drybrush uses an oil brush technique with watercolor paints. The painter works with amounts of paint comparable to that used with the oil technique and proceeds to build up the painting the way oil painters do. I deem drybrush paintings to have superior brilliance: they appear with more vivid colors, higher color saturation and overall a better contrast of light and dark.
Watercolor paint offers several significant advantages over acrylic or oil paint. The watercolor vehicle does not polymerize when it dries, so the paint can be rewetted and reused. This allows the painter to reuse paint left on the palette and permits easier cleaning, a longer life of brushes and removal of adventitious spots and losses. Furthermore, water is the most easily available solvent, safe, non odorous and non flammable.
Drybrush paintings are even more durable than oil paintings as the binder (gum arabic) dries with no chemical transformations while the oil binder (linseed oil) undergoes polymerisation while drying promoted by oxygen and light. Such reaction basically never stops leading to a slow deterioration.
To counterbalance the high number of pros, there are a few cons. First, although watercolor paints contain relatively less binder (gum arabic), and there is a higher concentration of pigment and higher color purity, this does not necessarily mean the colors are more brilliant. In oil or acrylic painting, the pigment is surrounded by the vehicle, and this reduces the light scattering from the surface of the pigment particles that can make the color appear dull and faded. When watercolors are applied in the normal way, the binder sinks into the paper as the paint dries and the pigment particles are left naked on the paper, which increases the scattering of the incident light and results in an opaque appearance. However, the drybrush technique helps to counter this effect because the paint is applied at a very high concentration.
Another drawback is that the reversibility of watercolor paints creates a difficulty in working layer upon layer because the lower layer can dissolve when a new layer is applied. Later I will explain how these drawbacks can be overcome.
Drybrush Materials
I start with the choice of materials necessary to produce a good drybrush painting and explain the important considerations behind each choice, in case you must, or wish, to substitute different materials.
Choice of Support
The choice of the support is very important. The wrong choice of paper is the most common cause of a failure. Personally, I deem the choice of support critical to the success of a drybrush painting.
The most important feature is that the paper support can absorb water without warping or cockling. For this reason, heavy paper stock (600 grams per square meter) or board, rather than lighter sheets, are recommended.
The second important feature is that the support should be able to withstand masking glue or latex resists, and to hold up under scraping or lifting operations with erasers, sandpaper, razors etc. Watercolor paper is generally too delicate; however hot pressed paper has been compressed during manufacturing and hence has improved strength and higher resistance to abrasion. You must be able to rely on the paper and know exactly its limits, i.e. how far you can go before spoiling it. You should not be afraid of damaging the paper. Andrew Wyeth masterpieces show scratches and holes that demonstrate he did not care much about the finish of his drybrush watercolors. The final result must drive your choices and justifies any kind of tool or stratagem.
The third feature is that the paper must be archival quality, acid free, buffered and containing no lignin. Even a slight lignin content can cause the support to yellow and become brittle with time or exposure to light. Remember that paper is molecularly exactly the same substance (cellulose) as linen canvas, and hence the belief that canvas is more resistant and durable than paper is false.
In my own paintings, I use Schoeller 4R (dick rauh) or 4G (dick glatt) boards (1360 gsm). There is no need of any special treatment before use, though I have noticed that when you paint over a part which was washed and wiped with a paper towel it behaves differently and it is easier to get a uniform paint layer.
The texture or finish of the paper depends on the work one wants to carry out and the paint textures or images one wants to create. If the subject is wood, leaves, grass or rough textured objects then a rough or cold pressed paper is preferable, while a hot pressed paper is better for portraits, skin, metals or bright lucid surfaces such as fruits.
It is good to wash the paper before using it. This operation partially dissolves the surface sizing and slightly raises the tooth of the paper, and removes any dirt. This gives better painting results and an easier performance. It also helps the support to remain flat after the painting is complete. I soak the paper with a broad brush, wait a little and then wipe with a paper towel the excess of water.
I usually use boards that do not need stretching. I may add that today the maximum size of the Schoeller boards is 51×73 cm. Years ago the double size 73×102 cm was available. If you need a larger surface you may buy the 4G or 4R paper available in larger sizes and glue the paper on wood or canvas.
Choice of Paints
Watercolor paints packaged in tubes are preferable to dry pan paints because the color is already moistened to the right consistency. I use mostly Winsor & Newton but also Maimeri, Talens and Lukas. The early layers are Maimeri because of the lower cost and the bigger tubes. Beside the quantity, I like the Maimeri permanent green yellowish (PY97+PG36), golden lake (quinacridone gold, PO49) and avignon orange (quinacridone maroon, PR206), and the burnt green earth (PY155+PR176+PBk7) and especially the indian yellow (PY65) of Lukas. My ivory black (PBk7) is Lukas: no other blacks perform in the same way. Talens paints are also convenient and transparent, though Winsor & Newton are from my view point the best (except a few). (Unfortunately, other brands are not readily available in Italy.)
Pan paints can be used but they rapidly dry out, display a small surface area, and can become discolored by other paints. As such they are not as practical and I do not recommend them. I find the problem with pans is that they are usually contained in boxes where they stay too close to each other and display such a small surface that when you use a large brush you get the close pans mixed up with the tints. It is also difficult to get the right amount of paint, i.e. when they are dry is too little, when they are wet is too much.
Depending on the manufacturer, watercolor paints react differently when a new layer is painted on top of them. This depends on the paint ingredients, especially the type of plasticizers used (glycerine, methyl cellulose, etc.). Another feature that depends on the manufacturer’s formulation is the tendency of the dried paint to crack if it is applied in very thick layers — although, in more than a decade of drybrush painting, I never encountered this in my paintings.
To use the paints you will need a good palette. This must have room enough to distribute your colors and a white surface that allows you to see them as they would appear when applied. However, mixing colors on the palette, except for a few cases, should be avoided. A visibly superior color effect is obtained by applying pure paint colors layer upon layer. Convenience mixtures, made of two or more pigments mixed by the manufacturer, are acceptable; but if a choice can be made, chose single pigment paints. Purer constitutions are always more vivid, clean and bright than those in convenience mixtures.
Choice of Brushes
Synthetic brushes used for other techniques (oil, acrylic) are good for drybrush also. I use many different brands of brushes. A few of them are so old that the brand label has discolored. Most importantly they need to be flat. The very small ones #1 and 2 must be replaced frequently because after a while they lose their edge. I use especially #2, 6 or 8, 12 and 20 flats. For very large areas I have also brushes 40 and even a 60! The shape of the brush must be flat but possibly somewhat rounded at the edges.
Brushes are the most common tool for transferring paint to paper, but any other instrument may be good as well, especially for the texturing effects it can create. Paper, fabric or sponges are alternative tools. For example, Kleenex tissues or a piece of paper towel are very useful to partially blot or emboss wet paint onto the painting, to obtain a rough paint texture to represent wood, old concrete, the bark of a tree, etc. To make the texture, just moisten the tissue using a spray bottle, crumple it up (or not) to obtain the desired texture, touch the tissue to the paint and then apply to your painting! A somewhat important issue may arise is that some brands of tissues or paper towels have a tendency to break apart when wet or leave a residue of paper lint. Here is just a question of trial and error.
The Drybrush Technique
I now describe the steps in making a painting with my drybrush method. This should be sufficient to get you started in the right direction, but patient practice is necessary to achieve the most satisfactory results.
Pencil Underdrawing
Pencil drawing is often an essential step in the preparation of a drybrush but is not as essential as one might believe. It depends on the type of work that one wants to perform. Very detailed and precise works require an accurate drawing but often the pencil marks are visible in the finished painting and one has to decide at the outset whether this is acceptable. I personally do not dislike it and in several of my paintings the underdrawing is visible. Water and paint may cancel your drawing beneath and you must always be careful not to cancel it completely. When it become too faint refresh the drawing with the pencil so that it does not get lost.
I use a graphite pencil H. Softer graphites would dirty the painting, while harder pencils would not be visible.
Drybrush Method
The basic drybrush method is rather simple. I basically sit on a chair with a blower on the left and the palette plus water, water sprayer, brushes and so on the right. I hold the board on my knees.
To start a painting, I squeeze raw paint from the tube onto the palette. I wet a brush in water, wait until the bristles are thoroughly soaked, then shake out the excess water; just enough water should remain in the brush to dilute the paint slightly and to make the brush easier to rinse. (Shake out excess water in the same way each time the brush is rinsed.) Then draw the moist brush over the paint and apply the paint to the paper holding the blower with the left hand. If the paint has the correct consistency it will lie flat on the paper and dry within a few seconds. If there is too much water in the brush the paint will form a wet bead on the paper, which can dissolve paint already on the paper; or the bead may be scattered or pushed across the paper by the current of air from the blower. The light source (illumination) should come from above and one side, so that you can easily see the difference between wet (reflective) and dry (nonreflective) paint. You must apply the second stroke only after the first stroke is dry. Rough paper makes this step somewhat easier, though is more delicate in other steps.
The quantity of water in the brush is mostly a question of practice. Dipping the brush in a very small amount of water (a few drops from a cup or jar of pure water), only using flat brushes, and using an air blower to dry the paint quickly are the three essential hints. Do not worry about diluting the paint a little too much. It is better to work with paint that is too diluted rather than too thick. Thus, you reach the right consistency by applying layer upon layer. Not much difference occurs by applying 100 or 110 layers! The paper texture is always visible, and emerges later when removing or lifting the paint, which produces different effects.
A thick paint or heavy brush strokes are to be avoided. Remember that the porosity of the support is critical, as the paper must quickly absorb water and the paint should dry within a few seconds. Any paint layer that is already on the paper will also absorb water so that there is no limit to the number of paint layers that can be applied. To shorten the drying time, you can add 1 part ethanol to 4 parts water when you dilute the paints, though this stratagem is not necessary when you reach some skill. Depending on the quality of your tap water, it might also be wise to use distilled (demineralised) water, just to avoid whitish mineral deposits or rings in deep colors.
Apply the paint in small quick strokes, and change the direction of the brush to produce the desired tint and consistency. If you work carefully, and with a little practice, you will be able to apply a uniform layer on the first attempt. If a paint stroke is too strong and stands out in your painting after the paint has dried, you have at least three ways to solve the problem: (1) continue patiently to add diluted paint or even plain water, which little by little dissolves the stroke underneath and makes your paint layer uniform; (2) use an eraser (the pink or white type, not a kneadable eraser) on the dry surface (never use an eraser on paint that is not completely dry!) and continue your painting before; or (3) use a moist paper and touch it softly to the edges of the stroke, then smooth out irregularities with dilute paint. Each treatment gives slightly different results. Only experience will tell you which one is the right one at the relevant moment.
It is of utmost importance to apply the new layers of paint at the correct tempo and consistency (dilution with water). As already said, paint that is applied too slowly or with too much water will irremediably damage the layer below, and often the colors will blend and produce a dull dirty appearance. With a little practice one finds the right painting tempo.
Hair dryers or hot air blowers significantly help at this stage of the work. I hold the blower in the left hand, set at the minimum speed to produce a warm (not hot) air flow; then I hold the painting at the right inclination to the light source so that I can see from the surface reflection when the paint has dried.
Especially at the beginning, use masking films (those used for airbrush works, e.g. Friskette, or any other type) to isolate your area of work. Sometimes paints will dissolve or bleed along the edges, and this is especially visible between a dark and a light paint. Such problems can be prevented by using masking tape to cover the edge, or can be corrected by gently scraping the bleed with the edge of a razor blade or craft knife. Bleeding is also minimized by brushing from inside a color area toward the edge, rather than starting the stroke at the edge and brushing into the color area.
The belief that drybrush does not take advantage of the transparent quality of watercolor washes is incorrect. To produce mixed colors, use transparent colors in the layers on top, or apply the paint in small strokes so that the layers underneath show through. In fact, there is more color show through in drybrush than in oil painting, and a colored background can have a strong impact on the final appearance. The sequence in which the paint layers are applied should follow the simple and obvious rule — opaque colors (usually light valued colors) first and transparent colors on top. One starts with the opaque cadmium or other synthetic inorganic pigments, and ends up with the transparent colors made from synthetic organic dyes. I like cadmium yellow (PY35) as the foundation or base layer because it makes the reds, greens and browns applied on top appear brighter. Yellow ochre (PY43) is a good foundation layer for paintings of woods, barks and meadows.
The most common method is the direct application of the color on the board; but an alternate method is to remove the paint by scraping, rewetting or lifting. This is difficult with other kinds of paint but not with watercolors. You can obtain different texture effects by wetting with moist paper, fabrics, sponges or splashing a little water with a hard brush as well. Furthermore, useful textures can be created with wax crayons or other media available from any art store. The variety of effects is thus larger and the number of ways to reach a convincing effect makes painting easier and more rewarding.
Here are some final hints. Start with simple subjects and paint at the natural size (i.e. an apple of the size of the apple). Work comfortably and relaxed. Take care of the illumination, chair and of any aspect that might you feel better. You must rely on the fact that you will be able to face any problem and overcome any difficulty. Do not be impatient: I find that a standard painting (about 25×50cm) needs 30 hrs or more of work. Drybrush is the opposite of watercolor, where speed is a desirable quality.
Finishing the Painting
The painting can be finished with a coating of a completely transparent paint to give the old flavour to furniture or other objects. The common practice to use bitumen to give an older appearance with a yellowish appearance. A higher saturation of tints can be obtained using quinacridone gold or similar very transparent laquers. The quinacridone gold hue (PY150) by Winsor & Newton works sufficiently, Maimeri quinacridone gold (still available) is somewhat greenish and I like it too, also the Winsor & Newton green gold (PY129) is very nice! They must be applied carefully with the brush towards the end of the work. They are simple to be laid down because they are very transparent.
The use of a varnish to cover the particles to a flat surface results in a bright, lucid effect. Dammar varnish is a non polymerisable material, fully lipophilic, completely insoluble in water while completely soluble in lipophylic solvents as e.g. white spirits, volatile hydrocarbons, turpentine natural and non. It can be applied to watercolor drybrush to eliminate the opaque feature of the artwork and bring all colors to their maximum saturation. Dammar varnish also seals the surface of the painting so well that you can splash water on it without damage. For this reason, a framing cover of glass or acrylic plastic is not necessary.
Last but not least, if you have any second thoughts, changes can be made after removing the Dammar varnish with turpentine or any hydrocarbon solvents without causing undesired effects on the painting below.
Some Painting Examples
In this section I will briefly describe how a few of my paintings were made, focusing on the choice of paints and the order in which parts of the painting were done.
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self portrait (2006)
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This is a drybrush painting on G4 (glatt) Schoeller board (25.5×51 cm). Here the skin and fabric were rendered mostly by laying the paint into moist paper and then reinforcing the lights by lifting completely dried paint with a rubber eraser. The hairs were done with a stiff brush. The skin is mostly a mixture of yellow ochres, burnt sienna, quinacridone gold, quinacridone red and perylene maroon (all Winsor & Newton). The hair was done with Talens burnt umber and van dyck brown. The black background is Lukas ivory black.
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winter morning (2006)
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This drybrush was done on R4 (rough) Schoeller board (25.5×73 cm). The wood box was obtained mostly with the ochers (W&N) and raw umber (Lukas) mainly with the moist paper method. The yellowish effects come out of indian yellow (Lukas) and quinacridone gold (Maimeri). The blue is cerulean blue (W&N) plus raw umber (Lukas). Splashing and rubbing was necessary to obtain the corn envelops. The corn grains are out of cadmium yellow (Maimeri), Winsor yellow, Winsor orange, burnt sienna (W&N) and indian yellow (Lukas). To obtain the grains first I painted the corn homogeneously laying layer upon layer the colors and then with the brush I took out the paint in the shape of the grains.
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easter noon (2006)
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Drybrush on G4 Schoeller board (36.5×51 cm). The bread is done of ochers, burnt sienna, Winsor orange and perylene maroon (W&N) with the moist paper method followed by eraser and blade scraping to obtain the lights. The table was obtained painting first the wood (ochres, burnt sienna, burnt umber, van dyck brown (Talens) and eventually laying the cerulean blue and cobalt turquoise (W&N) plus raw umber (Lukas). At the very end the blue paint was removed here and there and at the borders of the drawing, showing the wood painted beneath. The paper is made of ochres, burnt sienna and perylene maroon (W&N). The antique flavour was obtained with a final glaze of quinacridone gold and green gold (W&N).
Preparing Your Paper For Use With Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils
Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils are water-soluble and made of professional artist quality grade pigments. They are sold individually or in sets of 12, 24, and 36 pencils. Used with or without water, the smooth and rich colored leads lend themselves to creating dynamic drawings. Additionally, all Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils precisely match the color palette of Prismacolor’s other products – Premier, Verithin, and Art Stix.
The technique to using water-soluble pencils is up to the individual artist’s imagination. There is no wrong way to use these pencils, except to avoid over saturating paper with water, which can lead to tearing, especially when using light weight paper. Artist grade watercolor paper is recommended, rather than drawing paper.
An alternative to watercolor paper is cold press illustration board, which is a thick, high rag content paper similar in thickness to cardboard. It has what artists call, tooth, which means that the surface is textured and not smooth. The textured surface will absorb water better, allowing for greater artistic control.
A smooth surface will cause running, because there is no place for the water to go. Pencils in general work much better on a textured, porous surface. When purchasing either watercolor paper or cold press illustration board, be sure to check that it is made from 100% cotton fiber and is acid free.
Illustration board can be used with a combination of media and is much more resilient to water than watercolor paper. When using either, particularly if you plan to apply water, it is best to secure your paper to a hard, smooth surface such as Masonite board. The reason for this is twofold; first, when paper absorbs water and dries, it expands and buckles. If taped down, your drawing surface will maintain better integrity.
Secondly, the tape allows for a border, which will come in handy when it comes to framing your drawing. Some artists prepare their watercolor paper by first gently immersing it in lukewarm water before they tape it down. Soaking time is generally no more than 10 minutes, and should be less with lighter weight paper.
Always handle your paper by the corners when removing it from water. Allow the excess water to drip into a basin before placing it on your board. Before taping down your paper, you will want to remove excess water using a sponge, applying smooth, even, straight, and gentle strokes across the surface.
Once all bubble and bumps are removed, tape down one side using drafting tape. Make sure to use only one piece of tape; multiply pieces will cause your paper to dry unevenly. You will need to hold the tape taught, and begin in the middle of one edge of the paper, working it evenly from the middle to the edges. Once one side is evenly taped down, again use your sponge to smooth out your paper, but this time, apply even strokes away from the taped side. When you are satisfied that the paper is bubble free, apply tape to the opposite side of the paper.
Depending upon whether you are right or left-handed, will determine which side you will begin your taping – keeping in mind that you want to use the sponge to stroke away from the taped side. If you are left-handed, you may want to begin on the right side of the paper. Once the right and left sides are taped down, your paper should be adequately stretched, and won’t require further sponge work when taping down the top and the bottom of your paper.
In order to avoid making a hole or tearing your paper, it is probably best to wait before you paper is fairly dry before applying your first markings with Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils. Once the paper is dry, you may begin your drawing! Applying water to your drawing will require at least one watercolor paintbrush. Brushes come in a variety of sizes and shapes; a fan brush is especially useful for pulling your pigment away from the point of pencil saturation, in order to create a wisping or fanning effect.
Written by, Brenne Meirowitz, B.A., M.S., M.A. This article, Preparing Your Paper for Use With Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils Online was written while researching information about Prismacolor Colored Pencils.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brenne_Meirowitz
10 Watercolor Painting Demonstrations to Get your Creative Juices Flowing
Over the years, we have accumulated a number of exceptional watercolor painting demonstrations both here at artinstructionblog.com and creativespotlite.com. I thought it would be a good idea to create a post that highlights some of the best demonstrations that have been submitted in the event you have not already viewed these during your stay here.
Here are 10 wonderful watercolor painting demonstrations to get your create juices flowing:
Watercolor Painting Lesson – How To Paint With 4 Pigments
Watercolor Painting Demonstration – Fluffy Young Duckling
How to Paint Darks and Shadows in Watercolor by Mara Mattia
Free Step By Step Watercolor Lesson By Aileen McLeod
Watercolor Brushwork Lesson By Steve Fleming
How To Paint a Rose in Watercolor Step By Step By Doris Joa
Step by Step Watercolor Painting By Alistair Butt
Painting in Watercolor: Alyssa’s Portrait
How to Paint Backward by Ken Hosmer
Watercolour painting – Equipment, Materials and Demonstration
Watercolor Painting Lesson – How To Paint With 4 Pigments
About Cyrille
Once upon a time … August 96, weary of the ordinary pleasures of the seaside, I left my wife and children playing on the beach and went to write a few letters to our friends in France. My children’s felt pens were lying on the table, so I used them to sketch a few scattered scenes to illustrate my letters. I sent out about 20 letters. Back home, at the end of the holidays, I received a very enthusiastic phone call : “your letter was great and we absolutely loved your drawings ! You should become an artist”. In the space of a few days, I received 18 identical phone calls. Eighteen ! That’s a lot !
“Bet I will !”
It was then and there that I decided to become a painter before even having touched a single paint brush. I started with my wife’s watercolor box, my kid’s gouache paint brushes and began my own experimenting. Not taking a few watercolor lessons and learning it all on my own could be considered a total waste of time, but instead, I just see the good side of it: I created my own style !
To be honest, I should tell you that this little talent, stumbled upon at the age of 42, was written in my genes. My mother received the first prize of the Beaux-Arts drawing contest. This small heritage has been transmitted intact to my children who already draw remarkably well.
October 96, when I decided to become a painter, I spent about 9 months painting game birds in still lives. Woodcocks, partridges, ducks, suspended head down on a wall in the very classic (French) manner. Why French manner ? In France, artists have always painted game birds hanging from one leg. I discovered when I exhibited in the U.K., that British birds were hung upside down, hooked by the head.
You already know that Brits are very strange. Why else would they be sitting in the passenger seat of the car to drive on the wrong side of the road?
My watercolor game birds stood out, perhaps, by their light, the freshness of their colors and by the meticulous attention given to each detail. Each individual feather was painted without omitting any reflected light or any shadow. I was painting for my own pleasure, taking all the time I needed to go to the end of my dreams, creating beauty…..
Follow this link to learn more about Cyrille and to view more of his work
HOW TO PAINT WITH 4 PIGMENTS BY CYRILLE JUBERT
My palette :
cobalt blue, yellow ochre, magenta et indigo. The indigo will allow me to create dense colors, close to black, while melting it with ochre and magenta. The cobalt melted with the same two pigments, will give me light shades of grey close to white.
Watercolor paper:
Arches 140 Lb Hot pressed 12″ x 16″ . For once, I did not stretch my paper before painting.
Drawing:
“A beautiful watercolor is first a great drawing”. I drew my portrait in Paris, to be able to paint at once in front of my students with a light 3H graphite pencil.
Learn to see
The most important teaching of this page is perhap’s to learn how to look at the reflected colors on your subject, in deep or light shades. Try “to see” with an artist eye who exagerate contrasts and colors. It is rather easy if you start with photos. When you will be more familiar with this way of seeing, perhap’s ill you look at life differently.
REFERENCE PHOTO
On the left :
The photo portrait of a drathar. Concentrate your eyes on his left ear. Do you see the blue reflection on the top of it ? and one inch on the richt, the violet-blue lock that become purple and ochre blond in the sun light ? Now look at the top of the skull. Do you see the blue, violet or purple shades, where the fur reflects the dark sky, while the fur on the forehead reflects the ocre and orange colors of the sunset?
On the right:
The same photo contrasted with photoshop to exaggerate these reflections. I drew blue, yellow and red lines pointing to the strongest shades in the dog’s fur.
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First glaze
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The first glaze will give roughly the prevailing colors in the fur.My aim for that portrait painted in a workshop was a demonstration.
So I ovedid a bit, and exaggerated the colours. But I think now that it gave a more artful portrait. Glazes after glazes, these strong colors will melt. Notice that from the first brush stroke, each lock is painted in the sense of the fur. From the beginning to the end, whatever the size of the brush, you should always comb the hair and remember that each brush stroke will be seen by transparency. On the right side, this strong color close to black is a mix of indigo, ochre and magenta. |
Succeed the Eyes
Is there anything worse than this blind mask ? Before to go on with the fur, I had to create the eyes of the dog to give a soul to the portrait. If the eyes turn out well, the whole painting will be successful.
As I paint in watercolor without adding white gouache, I have to search for the most intense light in the reference photo and always think to preserve it in my painting. My first brush stroke in the eyes will be for this white sparkle in the middle. I shall use a very light glaze of cobalt blue. So light, that I dont see the pigments when it is done. Nevertheless, I think it is really necessary.
Working on the iris, I paint a very light glaze of ochre and let it dry. The next glaze will add a mix of ochre and magenta on the edge of the iris. Then I start to paint the pupil with a mix of my three colors, close to a dark brown-red. I did not try to find the exact shade at my first glaze, not even the exact shape.
Colors are relative data:
Their values change with their immediate surrounding. Consequently, I shall take my time before to finish the inside of the eye. While painting the eye lids with a very light glaze of indigo, I create a humid light reflection, even if it is not in the photo. I know that such a tiny detail will bring more life in the eye.
Now thet my first glaze of the pupil is dry, using a very dark mix of pigments based on indigo, I paint the edge of the sparkle in the eye and what is pehaps the heart of the pupil.
NB: I painted these eyes during the workshop. As we used to scan the portrait only once a day, I cannot show you images of all the stages. I shall try to create a special watercolor lesson, step by step, on “painting the eyes”.
A few steps further, details of the same eye. As you may see, instead of adding a glaze on the iris to get closer to its brown red color, I chose to keep the transparency of the thin original ochre layer and added red-brown streaks. They give at the same time more volume to the eye.
The lower eyelid was not painted in one horizontal brush stroke, but with small vertical strokes to give matter and volume. On the upper eyelid, you see my three basic colors : blue, yellow and magenta.
On the eyebrow but also on the top of the head, I paint the wooly fur with “tremolo” brush strokes. Even if I paint stronger glazes over it, your eyes will see it and feel the impression of wool.
On the final image, the basic colors are still there, as strong as at the beginning: The magenta and indigo mixed in a deep violet blue sing beside their opposite colour ochre.
A very humid nose
Most of the time, ahealthy dog has a very humid truffle. The nose of the dog will allow the painter to give light, life and brio to his portrait. So take your time to succeed it. Underneath, a blow-up of the first glazes. The above of the nose has been painted wet on wet, with a light cobalt shade and a darker mix on the right side, where you can see a few magenta and ochre pigments. With a large brush I sucked part of the cobalt pigments to give more light on the top.
On the left, you see the first glaze of the nostril. On the right, the attempt to paint its relief. It seems perhaps difficult to realize, but it is not. Have a closer look. You have streaks to the right crossing streaks to the left. Easy and quick, but giving a great effect, even with darker shades painted over it.
The proof underneath !
As the fur was getting more color and contrast around the nose, I dared to give more value to my nose. I damped again all the top of the truffle and part of the fur around it, before to add a mix of cobalt and magenta, wet on wet , wthout laying any pigment on the light. The hole of the nostril is painted with indigo, magenta and ochre, wet on wet first. Then dry on dry. The darker the shadows, the brighter the light.
This detail shows the fine work on the dog moustache. Once more you can see brush strokes of pure colors, whose shades are changing by superposition.
Complementary colors
The blind mask of the beginning take sense as soon as the eyes appear. The whole head is searching for its balance between truffle and eyes. Consequently, You have then to counterbalance colors and masses.
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A dog portrait close to “Fauvism”
Notice the background:
Nearly pure ochre at the bottom right, pure cobalt on the top left and a violet blue (cobalt-magenta) at the bottom-left painted wet on wet.
Dedicated to my friend, Nina Gagarin.
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I hardly worked 3 days on this portrait during this workshop in Palm Beach. So it is not really finished.
I could hardly be concentrated enough during the workshop hours, while each one of my students was hoping for my particular attention and advices on their own work. On sunday, I painted about 10 hours as on monday morning, I had an appointment in a gallery to present my paintings. This Fine Art gallery uses to present each year in Palm Beach, the Willian Secord’s dog paintings. Beyond my prints and press-book, I needed a portrait to loud me to the sky. Please, tell me I succeed ! I did not meet him, but he saw my work. Next year perhap’s ? |
Last glanceLook at this photo in B&W. Interesting, is not it ?
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Watercolor Painting Demonstration – Fluffy Young Duckling
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My name is Dawn McLeod Heim, author of the book “Step-by-Step Guide to Painting Realistic Watercolors “. |
| Over the years I have had numerous inquiries and requests to create a website not only geared towards learning how to paint watercolor in a realistic manner, but also a place that fellow watercolor enthusiasts can have the opportunity to purchase and paint the class projects that I have taught my students. |
| My Website: http://www.watercolorpaintingandprojects.com/ |
About the Artist
Gaining a better understanding |
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When I first began teaching, the students in my class ranged from beginners to award winners. After demonstrating my watercolor techniques on a painting that I had already been working on, I answered all their questions and they were finally ready to sketch and paint. |
| As I walked around the room to see how they were doing, I noticed that some students were having difficulty gauging the amount of pigment to use when mixing their colors, while others had trouble seeing and understanding values, and the students who were new to watercolor were lost because they hadn’t yet learned the basics. There were even a few students admit they didn’t know how to draw. | |
| I decided the best thing to do was to teach those who were new to watercolor separately, starting with the basics. I needed to design a way of teaching that would accommodate all their needs, boost their confidence, and enable them to produce artwork they could be immediately proud of. | |
Developing my method of teaching |
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| Once my beginning students had learned the basics, I was then able to incorporate them into my regular ongoing classes. I knew they still needed guidance and with a class size of 14 students all learning at different levels, I needed to figure out a method of teaching that would accommodate them all. After several weeks of jotting down notes, my interpretation of a “Class Project” was born. | |
| The goal of my “Class Project” was to provide my students with as many visual aides and tools possible to make their learning process not only smooth and easy, but also successful. | |
Award winning results |
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| I am pleased to say that after putting this method of teaching to the test over the years, the results have been remarkable. Not only have my students sharpened their skills and techniques, but they have also gained the confidence in themselves to create artwork on their own. They are now selling their paintings, entering shows and winning awards! | |
Fluffy Young Duckling |
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Painting Terms and Techniques |
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Palette, Brushes, and Paper |
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| The following is a list of colors, brushes, and paper that I used and recommend for achieving equivalent results to that of the finished rose. | |
| Palette | |
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| Brushes | |
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| Paper | |
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Color Key |
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Line Drawing |
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| Transfer this line drawing onto your watercolor paper, enlarging or reducing it as needed. |
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Step 1
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The Underpainting |
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| When you are finished with Step 1, your duckling will look like this. | |
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| Mix colors [ 1 ], [ 2 ]. | |
| With your kneaded eraser, remove enough graphite from the duckling to make the lines barely visible. | |
| Beak | |
| Load your brush with [ 1 ] and paint the beak, carefully painting around the areas that need to remain white, and softening the one inside edge with a clean moist brush, as shown in the illustration. Rinse your brush and blot well. | |
| Fluffy down feathers | |
| Duckling head
Load your brush with [ 2 ] and, starting at the beak, paint upwards along the eye line, and as far as the illustration shows you to. Take a separate brush loaded with water, blot lightly, and soften upwards to the top of the head. Let that area dry completely. Paint the small area to the left of the beak in the same manner, keeping the eye area a very pale value. Let dry completely. Rinse your brush and blot well. |
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| Duckling body
Load your brush with [ 2 ] and paint along the top of the chest stopping at the top of the beak. Quickly take a separate brush loaded with water, blot lightly, then charge the water from your brush into [ 2 ]. Paint with this combination until you reach the wispy feathers at the end of the chest. With [ 2 ] still in your brush, quickly paint the large area surrounding the beak as far as shown in the illustration, allowing the left edge to gently charge into the water. Quickly take a separate brush loaded with water, blot lightly, and gently charge the water into [ 2 ]. Paint with this combination to the ends of the wispy feathers on the wing. Let dry completely. Rinse your brush and blot well. |
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| Take your brush that has a fine point, load it with [ 2 ], and paint all the wispy feathers surrounding the duckling (a small section at a time), softening the lower edge with a clean moist brush. Let dry completely. | |
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Step 2
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Adding the Details |
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When you are finished with Step 2, your duckling will look like this.
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| Mix colors [ 1 ], [ 2 ], [ 4 ]. | |
| Beak | |
| Load your brush with [ 1 ], and using the beak illustration as a guide, paint only those areas as shown, softening some of the inside edges with a clean moist brush. Let each area dry completely before painting the one next to it. Rinse your brush and blot well. Let dry. | |
| Fluffy down feathers | |
| Duckling head
Load your brush with [ 4 ] and, starting at the beak, paint upwards and along the top of the eye line as shown in the illustration. Quickly rinse your brush and blot well. Load your brush with [ 2 ], and charge [ 2 ] into [ 4 ]. Paint only a short distance with this combination. Rinse your brush and blot well. Take a separate clean moist brush, and soften upwards as far as shown in the illustration. Let dry completely. |
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| Paint the eye area next. Load your brush with [ 4 ], blot once, and carefully paint along the top and around the white shape as shown in the illustration. Quickly rinse your brush and blot well. Load your brush with [ 2 ] and gently charge [ 2 ] into [ 4 ]. Paint a short distance, switch back to [ 4 ]and finish at the neckline. Quickly take a separate clean moist brush and soften all the inside edges. Rinse your brush and blot well. Let dry completely. | |
| Duckling body
Paint the chest area first. Load your brush with [ 4 ], and paint a short distance across and down the chest. Quickly take a separate brush loaded with [ 2 ], and charge into the lower edge of [ 4 ]. Paint down the chest a short distance, then soften with water. Repeat this across the rest of the chest and down the wing. Charge [ 2 ]into the wing, and soften to the ends with water. Continue to paint upwards, causing [ 2 ] to charge in with [ 4 ]. Soften with water. |
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| Load your brush that has a nice point with [ 4 ], and paint all the wispy ends of the fluffy feathers along the top of the head, the chest, and along the back, as previously done in Step 1. | |
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Step 3
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The Finishing Touches |
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| When you are finished with Step 3, your duckling will look like this. | |
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| Mix colors [ 1 ], [ 2 ], [ 3 ], [ 4 ], [ 5 ], [ 6 ]. | |
| Beak | |
| Load your brush with [ 1 ], and paint the light pink areas, softening some of the edges with a clean moist brush as shown in the illustration. Let each area dry completely before painting the one next to it. Rinse your brush and blot well. Let dry. Load your brush that has a nice point with [ 3 ]. Quickly paint all along the top of the beak. Keep the lower edge moist. Blot your brush well. Quickly load your brush with [ 5 ], and gently charge into [ 3 ], then soften the edge with a clean moist brush. Let dry completely. | |
| Rinse your brush and blot well. Load your brush that has a nice point with [ 5 ], and paint the nostril hole. Let dry. | |
| Fluffy down feathers | |
| Duckling head
Load your brush with [ 6 ]and, starting at the beak, paint upwards and along the top of the eye line as far as shown in the illustration. Soften the edge upwards with clean water. Let dry completely. Rinse your brush and blot well. |
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| Load your brush with [ 4 ], and paint the area that separates the head from the chest. Rinse your brush and blot well. Load your brush with [ 6 ] and charge into [ 4 ]. Soften upwards a short distance with a clean, moist brush. Let dry. | |
| Load your brush that has a nice point with [ 3 ], blot, and paint the narrow area under the eye line, using very tiny brush strokes. | |
| Duckling body
Load your brush with [ 4 ]. Paint across the top of the chest to the beak, and as far down as shown in the illustration, softening the edge with water. Rinse your brush and blot well. Let dry. |
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| Paint the area directly under the beak next. Load your brush with [ 3 ], and paint the small dark area as shown in the illustration. Do not rinse out your brush, but blot it well. Quickly load your brush with [ 4 ], and gently charge into the surrounding edges of [ 3 ]. Paint with this combination as far as shown in the illustration. Rinse your brush and blot well. Load your brush with [ 6 ], and charge into the left and right side of [ 4 ]. Paint as far as shown in the illustration, softening the edges with water. | |
| Load your brush with [ 6 ], and paint the area to the upper right of the beak, softening with water. Rinse your brush and blot well. Let dry completely. | |
| Paint the wispy feathers. Load your brush that has a nice point with [ 4 ], and blot. Dip the tip of your brush into [ 2 ] and, using wispy brush strokes, paint the individual feathers on the head, the chest, and the areas shown on the back. Let. dry. Take a separate clean, moist brush and randomly soften across the feathers you just painted. Let dry completely. | |
| TIP | |
| When painting the wispy feathers, try to keep the lines as narrow as possible, and stroke your brush upwards and away – not downward toward yourself – using a quick motion. Try not to make them straight. If you find they are wider than you would like them to be, try blotting your brush once to remove some of the color, and/or try using a lighter pressure with your brush. | |
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