Book review: Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils

Have you read any interesting books lately?
 
May I recommend you read "Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils" by David Bayles and Ted Orland.
 
This book is about the challenges in making, or not making, art. It is a quick, no-nonsense, part-philosophical-part-practical examination of what it means to make art, no matter the medium or the form, and to continue to do so in spite of its inherent challenges. The authors' basic premise is that you can and will only ever be you, and all the other people in the world will also only ever be themselves. It might seem obvious, but the logical conclusion here is that it is a pity to not make art because you are the only person who could ever make the art that you make.

Another message from the book that resonated with me is that it is useless to compare your art to that of other artists. With that notion in mind, the authors explore different forms of fear that lead people to stop making art, and explain concisely why each one is silly, surmountable, and ultimately up to you to overcome. It's a beautiful piece of quasi-self-help that offers only blunt and useful considerations without any of the fluff and hand-holding with which self-help, as a genre, is infested.
At the end of the day, the individual recipe any artist finds for proceeding belongs to that artist alone and is non-transferable and no of little use to others.

Overall, the authors address the question of not "why do we make art?" but "why do we stop making art, why do we quit, how do we keep going?".

Here is a quote from the book:  “To require perfection is to invite paralysis. The pattern is predictable: as you see error in what you have done, you steer your work toward what you imagine you can do perfectly. You cling ever more tightly to what you already know you can do – away from risk and exploration, and possibly further from the work of your heart. You find reasons to procrastinate, since to not work is to not make mistakes.”

Today's artist find is Angus McEwan:

Have a great week
Danielle

Sizing on watercolour paper

Have you ever wondered what sizing was all about? I attended a session at a local art association meeting recently where the topic was paper and included watercolour paper and sizing. So I’ll try to transmit what I’ve learned in a simplified fashion. 

 

Why should we learn about sizing and how it can affect your preference for wetting your paper for stretching?

 

First, what is sizing? Sizing is a gelatin added to your watercolor paper during the manufacturing process.  Manufacturers of good papers include it in the pulp before pressing, while others also add it to the outside layers of the paper.

 

So what does sizing do for us? It controls the absorbency of the paper. Since most papers are made out of cotton and many are 100% cotton, without sizing the paper would be very absorbent - maybe too absorbent. That would translate into the paint/colours being "swallowed" by the paper. If the paint would be absorbed immediately, without sizing, you not be able to push the paint around. Sizing allows you to control your paint. Bottom line - gelatin makes the paper less absorbent and helps you control the paint on the paper and make even washes. 

 

Absorbency affects how vibrant the colours looks. More sizing keeps the paint on top of the paper which make your paintings more brilliant. Some people reduce the sizing and this practice results in the paint seeming to disappear. Actually, the paint just goes deeper into the paper fibers hence the increased lightening of colours as the paint dries

 

I remember a discussion at a recent workshop where some participants were talking about the unevenness of sizing with some papers. Uneven sizing can cause dark spots when the paint soaks into the paper. Imagine working on a sky and having unexplained blotches in your sky – regardless of your most skilled paint strokes. Luckily, my favorite brand of paper, Fabriano, had no reported incident of uneven sizing.

 

One needs to make some choices before applying paint to paper. Should you want more absorbency, you lessen the sizing. On the other hand, if you want less absorbency, you keep the sizing.

 

In addition to soaking the paper to stretch it, some do it to lessen the sizing of the paper. To get the desired amount of sizing, the correct timing for the soaking takes practice. One of the dangers of soaking the paper too long is that too much soaking can move the sizing to make an uneven absorbent surface. Spots where there are increased sizing will resist the paint placed on it. Someone once reported that spots are less likely to happen when the paper is wet by running water than by soaking.  with this method, there is no chance for the displaced sizing to stay in one place and make spots. 

 
Remember, there is still sizing mixed in with the paper pulp itself so the sizing is not gone completely.  

 

Other practices that remove sizing include using the Magic Sponge. If you've ever used it, you know you can get to the white of the paper but then the paper behaves differently - that's the lack of sizing on the surface.  There is also scrubbing your paper with a stiff brush to lift paint.
 
Other things I've heard but have not been able to nail down is how sizing on older paper behaves. I've read anecdotes of the sizing not behaving well.
 
Should you wish for a more comprehensive explanation, you'll find a lot of more technical information available online.   Here are a few:

• http://www.naturalpigments.com/art-supply-education/sizing-paper-gelatin/ 
• http://catherineanderson.net/q-a/38-what-is-sizing-in-watercolor-paper

 This week's art find is Hannie Rieuwerts:

Have a great week,

Danielle

Do your find some topics more difficult to paint?

This is a very simplistic question, and I'm sure everyone would answer with a different topic. What's easier varies from person to person.

Are there generally recognized "easier" and "harder" subjects to paint? Or alternatively, are subjects different enough that some people are "naturally" just better at painting certain types of things, and always will be, regardless of how much work or practice they do?

I've always been attracted to nature and the outdoors.  This includes landscapes and florals.

Some people find landscapes difficult for two major reasons: composition and perspective. Landscapes generally have more elements and require more to think about compositionally. Then there's the issue of perspective: atmospheric perspective, point perspective (one, two, or three?). Both of those are complex subjects. 

For some reason I feel comfortable painting landscapes, what intimidates me are portraits and figures.  Any thing that is "off" with a portrait throws off the entire painting and the person looks like he or she is disfigured. Accuracy in portraiture is critical and  every paint stroke must be full of purpose and intention. Hence, I admire those who paint portraits well.

In the end, there might not be topics that are easier or more difficult to paint, but subjects that we have a close connection to.  If we like something, we find ways to paint it even if we have technical problems. If we don't like it.. there's no salvation and of course...no painting. 

This week artist find is Silvia Pelissero (aka Agnes-Cecile)

Have a great week
Danielle

Use of a granulating medium

A few weeks ago I was painting a scene with a lot of large rocks and decided to use a granulating medium to see if I could create more of a mottled appearance to enhance the granulation of pigments and give the rocks more texture.

I was using the Winsor & Newton product instead of water to mix my colours. The granulation medium will cause colours which usually give smooth washes to granulate to a greater or lesser degree depending on the pigment. Generally the modern pigments, prefixed by ‘Permanent' or ‘Winsor' will be most affected by the medium.  I've since learned that for maximum effect, it is best to wet the desired area of paper with the medium and then make a washes using the medium instead of water. Apply it and leave to dry. All granulated washes dry flatter, if this occurs, as the wash dries keep disturbing it with a brush. This will prevent the wash just flowing into itself and levelling out. Granulation is also increased by the roughness of the paper and by the absorbency.

As with all techniques any new method needs practice and as with all water colour washes it can never be guaranteed to get exactly the same results every time.

To the casual observer of the painting that I did using this medium, I'm not sure the granulating medium will make much of  a difference.  I'll have to try it again to make to get more information.

What has your experience been with a granulating medium?

For this week's artist find, here is  Jacqueline Gnott:

 Have a great week
Danielle