The Essence of Watercolour E-Book

Hazel Soan

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

Seitenzahl: 77

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

A paperback reissue Hazel Soan's classic practical art book. Hazel Soan is a well-known and popular artist and an enthusiastic and inspirational teacher. In The Essence of Watercolour Hazel shows how wonderfully versatile and beguiling the medium of watercolour is and how to get the most out of it. Hazel stresses how important it is to understand the characteristics of the medium in order to exploit it to the full. She encourages the reader to explore the properties of watercolour and to be unafraid of strength of colour and brushstroke. Hazel shows through demonstration and projects that tone is king in watercolour and illustrates how to paint light with the use of shade. Armed with this understanding she demonstrates that watercolour is not such an unforgiving medium after all: accidents and mistakes can be disguised, overridden and corrected. The Essence of Watercolour is a culmination of many years of Hazel's teaching and demonstrating, in which she offers inspirational insights into the secrets of watercolour painting and encourages artists to take their art to the next level.

Leseprobe

The Essence of Watercolour

Belonging

33 x 25 cm (13 x 10 in)

Watercolour is the perfect medium for capturing moments in time.

Ripening in Tuscany

30 x 30 cm (12 x 12 in)

The organic colours and overlapping tints of watercolour breathe life into the apricots ripening on the tree.

The Essence of Watercolour

Hazel Soan

Dedication:

Acknowledgements: Huge thanks go to Cathy Gosling for her faith in my writing and to Kristy Richardson who has been a joy to work with. Thanks go to Winsor & Newton for responding to my questions so effectively. Thank you also to Angela and Janice for their help and to Lorraine McCreery for the photo reference on here. A special thank you to my husband and son for their love.

Contents

The Appeal of Watercolour

1 Being Transparent

2 The Fusion of Colour

3 The Way of the Brush

4 Playing the Right Note

5 Painting the Light

6 Open For Manipulation

7 The Kiss of Simplicity

8 Learning to See

Gallery

Wild Intervals

25 x 102 cm (10 x 40 in)

Watercolour can suggest so much within its gentle evocative blends.

The Appeal of Watercolour

Sunlight bathes the Cloisters

35.5 x 51 cm (14 x 20 in)

The transparent, radiant tints of watercolour convey light with a mystery hard to emulate in other painting media.

It is easy to see why watercolour is so appealing. The brilliance of the pigments, the transparency of the colours, their exotic names, and the infinite variety of radiant blends, combine to offer a medium of unsurpassed quality. Mixed with water, laid on paper, easy to carry, and quick to apply, watercolour is supremely practical for anyone wanting to paint. Shimmering light and delicious darks are the province of watercolour, adding to the joy of working with such a satisfying medium. All these qualities are the distinctive characteristics of this versatile medium. They give it a unique identity and are the essence of watercolour.

A Captivating Medium

The more I paint with watercolour the more impressed I become with the medium. Its intrinsic beauty, and the brilliance, radiance and transparency of its pigments, seem to offer more than the opportunity to make paintings of breathtaking beauty. Choosing the pigments, brushes and paper is an aesthetic experience in itself; mixing colours in the palette is immensely satisfying; making brushmarks is a thrill; and even watching paint dry becomes a fascination as the flowing colours blend. Researching the science of watercolour’s action on paper for this book has made me fall in love with the medium even more! So perfectly suited to its purpose, the less you order it around the more ably it performs, and the more you put your trust in the materials the finer the reward.

Shoes With Attitude

51 x 51 cm (20 x 20 in)

Watercolour has the ability to transform something ordinary – even these shoes – into something magical. The transparent, fresh, brilliant colours makes this lovely medium so appealing.

A Big Hat in Oxford Street

15 x 15 cm (6 x 6 in)

The gentle diffusion of colours, the untouched white paper for the highlights, and the irregular edge to the brushstroke, are three of watercolour’s most-loved characteristics.

Lay it and Leave it

Yet, with all these benefits watercolour remains a very challenging medium. When confronted with a sheet of white paper there is often fear in the first brushstroke, the adrenaline pumps, the stomach churns, anxiety is high. Why?

Unlike oils or acrylics, watercolour is essentially a kinetic medium – the wet pigments move on the paper. This means the painter may not always feel, or be, in control of the medium and this can be intimidating. Once you understand what might happen, however, you can harness this action and encourage it to head in the direction you desire. Soon you will trust the perfected pigments, silky sables and tactile papers to uphold their promise, and the results reflected in your paintings will increase your confidence.

Watercolour welcomes decisiveness, it does not really like prevarication. My motto has become ‘Lay it and leave it’. Plan the painting, mix the pigment, lay the brushstrokes and then leave the watercolour to work its own magic on the paper. This is the essence and art of watercolour painting.

Castles in the Sand

13 x 18 cm (5 x 7 in)

Many of the delightful effects of watercolour occur after the brush has left the paper.

Full of Surprises

Watercolour often surprises. It is not an exact science. The artist sets the painting in motion, but the outcome is not certain. The watercolour takes on a life of its own and anything can happen. Sometimes the result surpasses the artist’s hopes, but there is also the risk of failure – this is all part of the thrill. The aim of this book is to help you gain confidence through greater knowledge of what you can expect from this remarkable medium. To encourage you to exploit the properties of watercolour to the full and to make you less afraid of strength of colour and brazen brushstroke, practise the techniques using the ‘Explore’ spreads at the end of each chapter. Knowing how to achieve clarity, transparency and radiance will put you in the driving seat.

Fynbos (detail)

7.5 x 10 cm (3 x 4 in)

Salt dropped into a wash creates delightful patterns as the water evaporates.

The Thrill of the Chase

My understanding of how watercolour behaves is gleaned through many years of practice, and I am still learning. I do not believe I can conquer this medium and it is that challenge that keeps my adrenaline running high when faced with a sheet of white paper. Almost every painting I make is an experiment, a chance to find out something more about watercolour. I love this medium. I love the intense concentration it demands, the bliss of being totally caught up in the painting, the lure of such beautiful colours, such sensuous brushes, such tempting paper. For me the time spent mixing in the palette, waiting for the right moment to add even the tiniest touch of pigment is just as exciting as making the brushstrokes on the paper. The finished result is no more important than the joy of the painting process.

Valetta

25 x 35.5 cm (10 x 14 in)

The immediacy of blended colours could be ruined if this painting was taken any further, even though in my planning it had only just begun! The medium of watercolour is so dynamic that a painting can be considered ‘finished’ at any stage.

1

Being Transparent

Sleeping Lions

56 x 76 cm (22 x 30 in)

Transparent watercolour bestows a warm glow on these lionesses dozing in the shade.

The transparency of watercolour is its most intriguing asset. Rich, exotic pigments, diluted with water and laid on paper, glow as if light itself emanated from the myriad hues. There are dozens of jewel-like colours to choose from, each with different levels of transparency, and the white of the paper offers a light-reflecting background to add to their brilliance. The sheer variety is a treasure-trove for the artist, but can also lead to misapplication and confusion. Learning how to use these properties to your advantage is the intended aim of this chapter – to make transparency, transparent!

Resonant Pigments

Watercolours are made by combining finely ground pigment with a binder, usually gum Arabic from the acacia trees of Africa. When the artist adds water the binder dissolves, carrying the particles of pigment in suspension and enabling the painter to spread colour freely across the paper. The water evaporates and the gum dries, providing adhesion for the pigment upon the surface and allowing the artist to apply layer upon layer of resonating colours without disturbing the colours underneath. Light shines through the pigment layers and is reflected back from the white paper, creating an extraordinary and unique radiance. Some of the pigment particles also cause refraction of the light, adding to the luminosity.

The radiance of watercolour is apparent even in the palette. Here the transparent colours Prussian Blue, Indian Yellow, Aureolin, Permanent Rose and Winsor Violet mingle together to make a wealth of secondary hues.

The transparent colours Ultramarine Blue, Permanent Rose and Aureolin can be overlaid and continue to maintain transparency.

Many of the vibrant pigments made from metal particles – for example, Cadmiums Red, Orange and Yellow, Cobalt Blue, Cerulean Blue and Manganese Blue – are opaque.

Transparent or Opaque

All watercolours are transparent when diluted with water, but some are less transparent or even opaque in their concentrated form. The transparent pigments remain transparent however thickly they are mixed. They are bright and clear and can be overlaid in successive glazes without losing transparency. They can be mixed together without losing clarity and, in concentration, form deep, clear darks.