Learn Watercolour Quickly E-Book

Hazel Soan

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

Seitenzahl: 43

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Bestselling artist and writer Hazel Soan has distilled her art teaching into the things that matter most and can be digested in a short period of time – in just one afternoon you can start painting. Learning to paint is one of the life-long aspirations of many of us, and these techniques can be picked up faster than you think. Hazel Soan's concise book, filled with easy-to-follow instructions and step-by-step exercises, is written in an accessible way for those completely new to painting. Chapters include: Getting Started (the materials you will need and those you can ignore in the art shop); Choice of Colours; Mixing Colours; What's the Subject?; What Surfaces to Paint on; Basic Painting Techniques; Brushstrokes and Composition (with details on how to design paintings with horizon, focus and balance, a hint of perspective and the light and shade of a subject). Packed with illustrations for guidance, this is the most comprehensive guide to learning watercolour very quickly.

Leseprobe

LEARN WATERCOLOUR QUICKLY

Piazza dei Signon, Verona(28 x 35.5cm / 11 x 14in)

LEARN WATERCOLOUR QUICKLY

Hazel Soan

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Kristy Richardson and Zoë Anspach for bringing this book into fruition. To Cathy Gosling for believing in me and to Tina Persaud for asking. To my husband John and son Sean, always many thanks for your support.

Contents

Introduction

CHAPTER 1What you should know about watercolour

The medium of watercolour

You need only the desire

Be curious

Creation and failure are interlinked

CHAPTER 2 The stuff you need

Less is more

Don’t buy cheap products

Brushes

Paints

Palette

Paper

Water and kitchen towel

Pencil and eraser

CHAPTER 3 Choosing the colours

The primary colours

Secondary colours

Tertiary colours

Transparency

The fabric of the colours

Colours have temperature

Your first set of colours

CHAPTER 4 Putting paint on paper

Mixing on a palette

The right amount of water

The brushmarks

Using the brush

Try the flat brush too

Painting techniques

Other useful techniques

Reserving the white paper

Masking fluid

Washes

Restoring light in watercolour

CHAPTER 5 Selecting a subject

What makes a good subject?

Shape

Silhouette

Negative spaces

Light and shade

Form

Rounded forms

Angular forms

Space and depth

Proportion

Designing the picture

Don’t be a slave to veracity

Knowing when to stop

CHAPTER 6 Go for it!

Gaining confidence

Index

Introduction

I guess you picked up this book because you’ve always wanted to paint watercolours but haven’t got much spare time. Or maybe you just like learning new things quickly. If so, this book is for you. You can read it from cover to cover in about 30 minutes and, before you reach the end, you will be ready to start painting.

Floating By(15 x 20cm / 6 x 8in) Watercolour is a medium that can very quickly catch the essence of a subject.

Jewel of the Adriatic(28 x 38cm / 11 x 15in) With just two colours, light red and Ultramarine, the captivating medium of watercolour is able to evoke the glorious light of the rising sun over a majestic silhouette in Venice.

The medium of watercolour

Watercolour is a transparent painting medium that is diluted with water, mixed on a palette with a brush and then applied to paper. The light in a watercolour painting is represented by white paper, the painter paints the shade and tints the light. Watercolour paper is heavier than cartridge paper to prevent it from buckling when wet. You can use any tool to apply watercolour, but the brushes that are made especially for this medium make it much easier to get satisfying results.

You need only the desire

Watercolour is known for its radiant washes and clarity of colour. The appearance of the watercolour is more important than the content it conveys – grasping this concept allows even a beginner to achieve attractive results. Always keep it in mind that you are using the subject to paint a watercolour rather than watercolour to paint the subject.

It is true that mastering watercolour to a high level of expertise will take time, even a lifetime, but the beauty of this medium can be found as soon as you start, just by letting the lovely pigments and papers do their stuff and not worrying too much or trying too hard.

The Student(28 x 36cm / 11 x 14in)

Be curious

Inquisitive people learn fast; art does have rules, but there are no boundaries. Here is a medium that benefits from thought before action and enjoys concentration. ‘Less is more’ should be the watercolourist’s motto and being succinct often takes more preparation and care than being long-winded.

Do not be afraid to experiment even though you may waste paper in doing so, and don’t be afraid to break the rules. Most great discoveries are made by mistake, so get out of your comfort zone and explore the medium. As much as is possible, paint from life rather than from photographs. Great pleasure is found in the process of painting and if you produce a worthwhile result, bliss will be your reward. The exciting thing about watercolour is that it actually does provide an adrenaline rush because of the precariousness that can be involved in using this medium.

The Lighthouse(25 x 25cm / 10 x 10in)

Creation and failure are interlinked

Creation and failure are inescapably linked: without doubt, among your successes there will be failed watercolours. These are part of your creative archive and are just as important as the paintings you come to cherish: get used to it, don’t let it get you down, just carry on.

Watercolour can be unforgiving, but usually only when it is overworked and loses its fresh and lively appearance – as you haven’t got much time, you are unlikely to fall into this trap! If it goes wrong it is only a piece of paper, so simply get a fresh piece and start again.

Crossing the Kalahari(23 x 30cm / 9 x 12in) You need very few colours and little time to paint a watercolour. Here Ultramarine, Yellow Ochre and Permanent Rose are used in combination to create this desert scene in just a few minutes.