Experimental Landscapes in Watercolour E-Book

Ann Blockley

• Herausgeber: Batsford
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 95

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Artist Ann Blockley is renowned for her innovative approach to traditional subjects. Following the huge success of her previous book, Experimental Flowers in Watercolour, she now explores ways to interpret landscape. Packed with stunning examples of her colourful, expressive work, this book encourages you to experiment with the same techniques in your own watercolour painting to develop a personal style. Techniques covered include combining water-based paint and ink with other media such as gesso and collage to create dramatic effects; manipulating paint with materials such as plastic wrap (clingfilm); tearing, layering and reassembling paintings into watercolour collages; and developing textures and marks made using fabrics and other found objects. Throughout the book Ann offers her personal commentary on how her paintings were created, giving us a unique insight into the mind of the artist. Both practical and inspirational, this glorious book is the ideal companion for watercolour painters who want to take their work a step further.

Leseprobe

Artist Ann Blockley is renowned for her innovative approach to traditional subjects. Following the success of Experimental Flowers in Watercolour, she now explores ways to interpret landscape. Packed with stunning examples of her colourful, expressive work, this book encourages you to experiment with the same techniques in your own watercolour painting to develop a personal style.

Techniques covered include combining water-based paint and ink with other media such as gesso and collage to create dramatic effects; manipulating paint with materials such as plastic wrap; tearing, layering and reassembling paintings into watercolour collages; and developing textures and marks made using fabrics and other found objects. Throughout the book Ann offers her personal commentary on how her paintings were created, giving us a unique insight into the mind of the artist.

Both practical and inspirational, this glorious book is the ideal companion for watercolour painters who want to take their work a step further.

Ann Blockley is a well-known watercolourist with an international reputation. She is the author of seven bestselling practical art books, including Experimental Flowers in Watercolour, also published by Batsford. Ann runs her own very popular watercolour courses, teaches at international workshops, has made three DVDs of her painting techniques and regularly writes for The Artist magazine.

www.annblockley.com

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Experimental Landscapes in Watercolour

Seascape 11.5 x 11.5 cm (4½ × 4½ in.)

Woodland Reflections 39 × 28 cm (15 × 11 in.)

Dedication

For my family: James and Tom, Pam and Andrew. And to Kevin, for being my rock.

Acknowledgements

To all you lovely readers I would like to reach out with a massive thank you. Without you, this book would not be possible.

Landscape in Blue 10 × 46 cm (4 × 18 in.)

Contents

Introduction

About this book

Landscapes and nature

Making personal interpretations

Methods and mediums

Enjoying the qualities of watercolour

Expressive watercolour mark-making

Acrylic ink

The versatility of gouache

Drawing materials

A bit of ‘bling’

Scraping, scratching and cutting

Salt techniques

Granulation textures

Clingfilm patterns

Further adventures with clingfilm

Cellophane

Printed impressions from found objects

Creating texture with fabrics

Integrating printed marks

Surface texture and collage

Applying gesso

Adding ingredients to gesso

Watercolour on gesso

Reconstructing your painting

Collage

Creative thinking

Gathering ideas and information

Feeding your imagination

Creative colour

Composition

Towards abstraction

Instinct and intuition

Landscape interpretations

Flowers and nature in the landscape

Index

Towards the Barn

27 × 35 cm (10½ × 13½ in.)

Introduction

In this book I want to lead you through some of the rich store of possibilities that experimenting with watercolour and other mediums offers. By sharing some of my favourite methods and newest, most exciting ideas, I hope to encourage you to explore further on your own artistic journey. I would love to think that by sharing my secrets and passion for painting I will help you discover your own special way of creating personal interpretations of landscapes and nature.

The subjects in this book are more about evoking the atmosphere and mood of a place or moment in time than about painting a traditional scene. The aim is to feed our souls and explore the romance and beauty of the world around us through the magic of paint.

Summer Hogweed

50 × 33 cm (19½ × 13 in.)

About this book

Painting a picture is like being a magician. We can transform the world through our paintbrushes, changing the weather and colours, getting flowers to grow and making things vanish or appear. Through our pictures we can play the most wonderful game of pretend, which is only limited by our imagination. To nurture this and to grow as artists, we need to give ourselves permission to have fun and experiment in painting. I explored this theme in my previous book, Experimental Flowers in Watercolour – the aim was to encourage artists to challenge themselves and try new ideas.

It became clear to me, on this earlier journey, that the abstract textures seen in flowers and their backgrounds echo those within other landscape subjects. I felt encouraged to start exploring further, using the landscape as inspiration. The organic, natural shapes and textures that I was familiar with were easily adapted to paintings of trees, foregrounds, skies and land. My explorations had led me to develop a way of looking at subjects in a more abstract and imaginative style. I had also proved to myself, through teaching others, that the combination of playing with paint and undertaking a series of open-minded paint experiments really can help to shift old ideas or affirm current ones.

This book offers a wide range of methods for you to experiment with and combine in different ways to develop an original way of working. My finished interpretations of landscape and nature are included to give ideas for where you might use the techniques and to inspire you to explore further.

The first chapters focus on practical advice about how to experiment with a range of really exciting methods. Researching and choosing the techniques that suit you is part of the journey towards finding your own voice. Basic traditional watercolour and brushwork techniques have not been described in depth, as there are many other books that cover these topics. The emphasis is on painting in loose, expressive and experimental ways using watercolour as well as other water-based mediums and plenty of added ingredients.

The middle section of the book looks ‘behind the scenes’, covering the background steps of gathering reference material and making original and creative decisions. It is important to play in order to learn how to paint, but we also need to be thoughtful and consider why we might paint something in a particular way in order to create a sincere and personal response to a subject.

In the final chapters I have included my own interpretations of landscapes and nature, using techniques described in the earlier sections. I describe the most significant methods, colours or thoughts behind each picture to give you ideas for how you might develop your own interpretations.

Bluebell Walk

76 × 55 cm (30 × 21½ in.)

Landscapes and nature

The area you live in can influence your choice of subject. I am based in the gentle rural landscape of the English Cotswolds. It is an area of hills, fields, hedges and woodlands. I am especially attracted to the close-up details of the landscape with their infinite variety of texture: wild flowers in the meadow, a bird in the brambles, a crumbling wall or a windswept tree. My interpretation of the word ‘landscape’ includes intimate views of these features as well as the wider picture. I think of all this as ‘nature on the doorstep’. When I go on holiday, subjects such as twisted olive trees or rainforest ferns attract me; my eye is tuned to finding foreign versions of what I see at home. Every artist needs to stamp their own identity on their work, and painting subjects close to home and therefore closer to your heart can help you begin to identify and develop your style and interests.

Autumn Magic

28 × 34 cm (11 × 13½ in.)

Making personal interpretations

In my research for this book, I explored a multitude of ideas and a wealth of amazing methods. At times I was sizzling with excitement at the vast potential that watercolour and paper have to offer. I soon realized that there would not be space for all my findings and so have carefully selected my favourite techniques. I hope you will enjoy experimenting with these and add your own personality to them. It is easy to feel that there is nothing fresh to say, but I believe there is always something new to be discovered. I hope that by sharing my passion for painting, you will look at the medium with fresh eyes and feel encouraged to create your own original landscape interpretations.

Landscape Patterns

22 × 28 cm (8½ × 11 in.)

Sloes in the Hedge

36 × 50 cm (14 × 19½ in.)

The methods in this chapter are fun but often unpredictable, so experiment with different pigments on varying papers to discover what works best for you. Most of the paintings in this book have been made on Saunders Waterford Not or Rough in various weights.

Methods and mediums

Watercolour is a sensuous medium with its dreamy, translucent and flowing washes. Let us hold onto these qualities but complement them by exploring other water-based materials to make the process even more exciting and versatile. This chapter is about having fun creating unique textures and marks and manipulating washes. We will be using these to develop loose interpretations of, or allusions to, a subject rather than literal or detailed representations. Release yourself from the need to perform every time you paint, and work with a spirit of adventure. If you feel an exploratory piece is unsuccessful, I will be showing you ways to use or change it in the next chapter, so don’t throw it away!

Enjoying the qualities of watercolour

Throughout the book we will be looking at many techniques, combining watercolour with other mediums and manipulating both paint and surface to create interesting marks, textures and effects for painting landscapes. However, I want to emphasize at the beginning the necessity of enjoying and understanding the fundamental qualities of watercolour that underpin all these experimental procedures and are the key to successful painting. By this, I do not mean looking at the so-called ‘rules’ of watercolour about how to create perfect washes. I mean exploring the full potential and glorious possibilities of such a versatile medium. This means letting the paint flow and allowing the ‘happenings’ and magical effects that artist’s-quality watercolour will naturally create if you give it permission.

Watch how certain colours push others around whilst others mingle in a friendly way. Combine opaque and translucent pigments. Paint on wet or dry surfaces or a mixture of both. Be playful with your paint and give it some freedom. Being free and loose with watercolour is more about letting go than technique. It may help to think ‘lose’ instead of ‘loose’: lose yourself in the paint; lose a little control. Lose edges and gain expression and vitality. Let the actual quality of the painted work, with all its joyful textures, luscious washes and abstract properties take precedence over painting the reality of a subject. Try not to be tempted to ‘tidy up’ your paintings. Let’s be messy and have some fun!

It is important to experiment and practise applying watercolour on a regular basis for its own sake without always thinking in terms of the finished picture. Celebrate and enjoy your marks and washes and paint, paint, and paint again until you understand how they work. You will still get surprises, but your work will be loose and full of expression.

1 Paint on a dry surface to achieve ragged edges. Use only slightly diluted watercolour to create a dark, patchy wash.

2 Let back-runs develop by allowing pools of wet paint or water to flow back into a drying wash.

3 Dilute several colours to a milky consistency and let them blend themselves together on damp paper in a wet-into-wet wash.

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