Saturday, February 28, 2015

Watercolours on different surfaces

Have you ever been curious about what it would be like to try your watercolours on a surface other than paper?

Recently, I tried painting watercolours on a few different surfaces and here are some of my observations after my limited experience:

Watercolour canvas:

These canvasses are fairly new on the market. Painting on watercolour canvas is a different experience than painting on watercolour paper. Although, I have only tried this surface once, there appears to be a steep learning curve as you first start out. 

I experienced a number of challenges, for example, the canvas stayed wet for a longer period of time. This meant that colours spread out more than I was used to. When applying the colours on the canvas, the colours all blended too much and losing the variations in colours which is one of features that I like about watercolour on paper. The watercolour canvas is coated with a gesso that is specially formulated for use with watercolours, however, the surface is still not as absorbent as watercolour paper. Consequently, the canvas seems to repel the first coat of paint - if the canvas wasn't pre-wetted, the paint seems to float on the canvas. I also had great difficulty in applying paint evenly. When dried, the colours appeared less vibrant than paper. Also, layering will lift much of the underlying coat of paint. Bottom line - quite a few adjustments were required to produce this painting. To finish off a painting like this, you need to apply a UV protection spray.

   
The advantages of these canvasses include:
  • No buckling - since the canvas is mounted on stretcher strips;
  • The surface is very durable and can withstand any scrubbing;
  • These canvasses come in large sizes – up to 24” X 36” for pre-stretched canvas; 
  • If you are not happy with the painting, take it in the shower and wash the painting out and start over;
  • The painting can be hung without glass.
Given the cost of the canvas and the challenges with my first experience, this is not likely something that I'd pursue.
 
Nevertheless if this is something your might want to explore further, you might want to make your first painting on watercolour canvas an experiment, so you can test out different techniques and take note of how the watercolours and your technique react to the canvas. This can save you from making lots of mistakes when you paint a "real" painting on watercolour canvas. This surface will certainly work well with some styles. 
 
 
Regular Canvas:
Regular canvas for acrylics or oil is not absorbent enough for watercolours. The first steps in preparing the canvas in applying a few thin coats of gesso and sanding the gesso to get a smooth surface. You can then apply absorbent ground (Daniel Smith in my case) to prepare the canvas for watercolour paint. The more coats you apply, the more absorbent the canvas will become. You should wait a full day before starting to apply watercolours. When you apply paint, if it is the same consistency as you would use on paper, the paint will spread too much. The paint has to be applied more thickly. It's also more difficult to achieve different variations in colours. I found layering very difficult because the first layers wanted to lift. You have to be very delicate with your brush. However, I did like the rougher texture for dry brushing.  
 
If you happen to drop water on your painting, you must not touch it; otherwise all of the paint will lift.
 
Tips for this surface include
  • Sand each layer of gesso with fine grain sandpaper;
  • Choose a topic which will not require many layers of paint;
  • Use a thicker consistency of paint;
  • Choose your subject carefully so it lends itself to the properties of the absorbent ground.  

What led me to try this was the ability to frame these painting in floating frames which seem to be the new way of hanging paintings. Almost all paintings in local galleries are framed in floating frames .
  
Natural Stone:
You’re probably wondering why would someone want to paint watercolours on stone. Last fall I saw a few beautiful paintings on slate at an Art Show. Aren’t these gorgeous?
The artist (Debra Tate-Sears) shared her secrets with me. To get the paint to adhere to the stone, she applies a clear coat of gesso. She uses india ink for many of the lines. Then she applies a UV protection spray.
 
I tried using watercolours on a few stones that I purchased at a tile store. Similar to other gessoed surface, the paint needs to be applied thickly. The paint does not mix as it would on paper, therefore a different style is required. However, probably the most important thing is selecting a topic that lends itself well to the colour of the stone. As you can see from this example, the colours do not appear very vibrant.
 
Wood panels
Similar to the examples above, you can apply gesso to a piece of wood for your watercolours. Here is a small one from a local artist - Alan Bain. As you can see, the paint doesn’t appear to mix much on the surface and what was applied remained as is. This artist uses this approach for much of his plein air painting as there is no buckling.

 
 
Other options 
I’m sure that there are countless other options. For my next experiment, I purchased some stretcher bars and will be stapling wet watercolour paper to it to create my own “canvas”. I figure that this will give me the best of both worlds: a surface that I am familiar with and the ability to frame in a floating frame for the finished look I’m trying to achieve.
 
What other options have you tried?
 
This week's artist find is Michael ve Inessa Garmash.
 
 
Did you know that you can subscribe to this blog to have delivered to you automatically each week?  See right hand menu options.
 
Have a great week.
Danielle
 
 
 
 

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Recommended resources on improving composition of your paintings

For Christmas 2014, my husband bought me, a set of resources from Ian Roberts on composition. The package included some DVDs (http://www.northlightshop.com/mastering-composition-with-ian-roberts) and a book entitled "Mastering Composition" (http://www.northlightshop.com/mastering-composition).

Composition is key to the success of a work of art in conveying its message and visually holding everything together. The way in which a painting is composed and the way in which the painting's elements work together form a coherent whole. The composition is an important part of the foundation of paintings.  If you're not convinced on how important composition is, watch which paintings hold the viewers eyes in galleries and museums.

When composition is done successfully, it will draw in the viewer and pull their eye across the whole painting so that everything is taken in and finally settles on the main subject of the painting – without being drawn out of the painting.

The book and DVDs by Ian Roberts are excellent resources because he is a great communicator of concepts. In the various resources, the author explains the essential points for understanding painting composition, one of the budding artist's most illusive challenges. However, what sets these resources apart is his excellent teaching methods. As an example, in one DVD, the author gives the reader a tour of paintings, showing in each what happens when he changes something in the painting. Thus the reader gets to see the effects of the changes, experiencing them in a hard-hitting way. You can watch this short video on YouTube to see his unique approach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YDLhV24YOA

The book "Mastering Composition" begins with an excellent discourse on what composition is and how one can use the book to grow as an artist. It is very well written and includes practical rules to follow. In addition there are plenty of illustrated before and after demonstrations, as well as examples from Masters of the 19th and 20th Century.

Ian Robert’s book is organized around six subjects: Armatures - how to arrange shapes and how to create coherent flow; Abstract Masses - how to think in value masses not in subjects; Color Shapes - how these are all that we really have to create meaning, how to understand them and use them effectively to express our creative core; Guiding the eye through a picture plane; Gallery of the Greats - 19th and 20th Century Masters; and, Your Artistic Voice.

If you're struggling with composition, this book and DVDs are for you. If you know composition, they are still an excellent review.

Today's art find is Sandra Strohschein
Sandra L. Strohschein
 
Have a great week,
Danielle

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Lighting for Your Studio

Years ago I was fortunate to build a dedicated area in my basement to paint. I had installed in the ceiling three recessed lights above my 14' working area. Then I went out to buy some bulbs thinking that I was only looking at how much coverage each bulb would provide me on the work surface.

Little did I know that there were so many differences between lighting types, styles, colour temperatures, Kelvin’s, CRI’s the list seems to go on!

Of course natural light would be ideal, but that's not possible for some of us.  In any event, natural light changes throughout the day.

There are three things to know about light bulbs for your studio.

1. Color Temperature: The colour temperature of bulbs are measured on the Kelvin (K). 5000K will give you a nice white light


The color of the light that illuminates the painting you are working on or your palette where you mix your paint affects the visible hue, value and chroma of the paint. Painting with a standard incandescent light bulb is like looking through a yellow filter. It shifts all the paint colors towards yellow.

Chart from:  http://willkempartschool.com/art-studio-lighting-design/

2. Brightness:  The amount of light emitted from your bulb is measured in lumens. For example a candle emits 12 lumens and a 32 watt compact fluorescent bulb emits 2000 lumens. Compact fluorescent bulbs are much more efficient in light output than incandescent bulbs. A 42 watt compact fluorescent bulb is equivalent to a 200 watt incandescent bulb.
 

For a medium sized room, a total of 7000-8000 lumens is plenty. With a compact fluorescent light, that is usually about 110-125 Watts. It might be a good idea to get 2 or 3 bulbs totalling 7000 lumens and spread them around.
 
3. CRI Rating:  The Color Rendering Index (CRI) measures how much of an effect the light has on the perceived color of an object. The scale ranges from 1 to 100. A higher rating (+80) makes colors look natural and vibrant while a low rating can completely change the hue of objects.  The sun has a CRI of 100.  A high CRI alone does not mean colors will be accurate if the color temperature is extreme. Incandescent bulbs for example have a perfect CRI of 100, but the extreme yellow light will shift the colors.

What to choose
For many people, the compact fluorescent bulbs have many advantages. They come in a large range of color temperatures, they use less energy, they are brighter, and last longer. These bulbs are eco-friendly and you end up saving money in energy costs. Their only disadvantage is they take a few minutes to fully light up, but the benefits are worth it.

In my case, I'm still looking for the better bulb. Although compact fluorescent bulb work well, it certainly gives an odd look to the lighting and ceiling.


Can someone recommend an ideal bulb for recessed lights?

This week's artist find is Joan Zageris

watercolour by Joan Zageris

Happy valentine and have a great painting week,
Danielle

Saturday, February 07, 2015

Making your own field kit/ painting box by JAKA

I prepared the following because Skylark posted a link on AT on a similar project using an  ALTOID box.  This shows that in choice of box there are many possibilities and alternatives. ALTOIDS seem to be readily available in the Western Hemisphere but we don't have them here (yet).   A lot of similar projects are on YouTube as well.

This one is customized in the sense of what I want in it, you can customize to your preferences easily (as long as it fits in the box.

Mine is based on a Candy box I found in an Asian Grocery Shop in a Melbourne suburb.   It had a sliding cover that would slide all the way off, this at first I saw as an inconvenience but later turned out could be an advantage Smile
I sanded the paint off the cover using fine metal sanding paper.

The cigarette box and card (equal to credit card size) is there for scale. It is a 20's, Aussies have one that holds 25's Smile

The contents are most likely what you already have or can easily be obtained at a Dollar store and art supplies-shop.

So, TOP ROW : piece of natural sponge, piece of "magic eraser sponge (I got this one from SAA, UK. But as Neal (NM Serie) has pointed out the household microfibre sponge available from a supermarket will be just as effective) , a hotel key card.   The latter I chose because it fits as is, you can cut an expired credit card or any credit card sized card at the corners to fit.

SECOND ROW : a Koi/Sakura waterbrush, they are short and come in 2 parts that fit the box., An item from my wife's discarded manicure set, cut in half. One has a two pronged metal end (for scratching) and the tail a flat but pointed end. A metal pencil sharpener and a piece of eraser.  Avoid the kneadable ones as they tend to stick when packed. Last is an item from a make up shop, one end is a blending tip and the other is a brush end. ( might as well use your time and browse while doing porter or ATM duty for the wife LOL)

THIRD ROW : An alligator clip and a 2 B Pencil stub.
ON the far right you see the cover and the box in which I have mounted 4 full paint pans and 4 half pan s, initially empty and later filled with tube paints.

NEXT : cover the filled pans with the card divider, if you let the tube paints dry overnight they wont run but still need to be separated from stuff put on top.  The it is like a jigsaw puzzle, fitting all comfortably but not loose on top. Place each part of the brush on opposing sides and the eraser sponge in the middle.


On the 2nd pic you see a pink brush I found in said cosmetic shop that I put in as it looked useful for brushing artefacts and special effects. Have NOT used it for washes etc cause cosmetic brushes are generally not built for that purpose.  This can be left out Smile
Closing the box is by sliding the cover on, in the event you include a similar brush as the pinkie make sure the hairs point in the direction of the sliding movement.

Using the box :
The cover is attached to the box's side using the alligator clip, it gives you a reasonably flat mixing area.  There are 3 ways you can do this, which will position your mixing area in 3 positions.


The 3 rd is the opposite of the last one.  I found the space between the wings of the alligator clip useful as a "thumb rest" (mine is not that well developed Smile )
This I found were the redeeming factors of a separated cover lid.

NOTE : keep the box in a plastic zip-lock bag as you need to keep the other items together when not in use.  If you don't carry that many items it may even fit folded in the box.
When you carry a 5X3 inch sketchbook (165 gsm minimum) you can flip it open, rest the box on the level part, hold it down with your thumb and keep the vertical part on which you sketch upright with your forefinger and rest of your hand.
This allows you to sketch standing up, against a wall , a corner would be ideal or a tree and make it less easy for onlookers to look over your shoulder LOL.

POSSIBILITIES :
You could spray the inside of the cover with white ENAMEL paint, however in use I found that the metal color actually served as a midtone to compare color tones with. White does tend to set off color tones relatively darker.

You could make carrying the box easier and make it waterproof IF it is the exact size of a cigarette box.  I found an item made of plastic on a neckstrap that would open flip-like (fliptop) and was meant to waterproof your cigarettes. Again, the Dollar store. It would also conveniently house other items not in use and easy to retrieve as it is clear plastic


Lastly, there is a huge Shop selling craft material and lots of other stuff called : "Spotlight", our Aussie members will know it . On their 40th Anniversary they gave away this cute Sewing Kit to customers, which I immediately swiped before the ladies noticed.


I guess I need not explain as to why, right ?  LOL

It has an attached lid and may not give a level mixing area but that is easily remedied by gluing a thin long piece of double tape under the hinge, enough to level it when opened.  You can leave the silicone coated paper on the other side on.

That wraps it up, happy tinkering and happy painting.

Jen (aka JAKA)