The Magic of Watercolour Flowers E-Book

Paul Riley

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

Seitenzahl: 94

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

Watercolour is the ideal medium for painting flowers due to its wonderful translucency and in his new book, The Magic of Watercolour Flowers, Paul Riley shows readers how to paint colourful, vibrant flower paintings. He explains how to achieve exciting special effects in your flower compositions by using certain textural techniques, such as soft edges, and different light sources to make the most out of watercolour's natural translucency and create mood for your paintings. Paul Riley encourages readers to be more adventurous in their paintings by adding figures and still life objects to their compositions, which can lend character and personality to a painting. There are many step-by-step paintings and useful tips and techniques throughout with chapters on flower markets, flowers in the garden, flowers in the landscape and a fascinating section showing how to combine imaginative decorated still life objects with flowers. In addition, Paul Riley shows how to use collage to create exciting and unexpected compositions. Capturing the beauty of flowers in watercolour has been the aim of painters for centuries and in this book, Paul Riley, inspires and encourages readers to take their watercolour flower paintings a step further, to make the most of the medium's natural versatility.

Leseprobe

THE MAGIC OF WATERCOLOUR FLOWERS

THE MAGIC OF WATERCOLOUR FLOWERS

Paul Riley

Dedication

To our grandchildren, ‘With flowers and sun.’

CONTENTS

Introduction

1 INSPIRATION

2 TIPS AND TOOLS

3 COMPOSITION

4 COLOUR MAGIC

5 LIGHT

6 STILL LIFE

7 FLOWERS AND FIGURES

8 FLOWERS IN GARDENS

9 FLOWERS IN THE LANDSCAPE

10 USING YOUR IMAGINATION

Acknowledgements

Index

INTRODUCTION

Seeing the title on the cover, some watercolour painters might well think, ‘What, another flower book!’ Fair enough, but I wanted to make this one very different. I wanted more oomph, passion and inspiration. And I wanted to express original thoughts, exploring the subconscious and stirring the imagination.

Looking at the contents list should give you a flavour of what to expect, not to mention taking a flick through the pages to see the explosions of colour – for vivid chromatics are the essence of flower painting, along with the magical world of wondrous abstract shapes. This is a multi-dimensional book touching on the many aspects of our world that flowers grace – not just gardens, parks and the greater landscape; they are part of our own mental landscape, for we nurture them, we present them as gifts, we enliven our homes with them and we visit famous gardens for the sheer pleasure of admiring them and enjoying their delicious fragrance.

However, if you want to paint flowers you cannot just rely on your familiarity with them. This is why I have put together a book that will not only inspire but also instruct in a way that is both accessible and stimulating for beginners and professionals alike. Some of the information will be a little simple for the experienced, but it is worth repeating. In other areas a more advanced approach is used to challenge all – not least myself! I start with a chapter on inspiration, looking at sources and methods. I then put the tools into your hands and give you advice on how to use them. We shall then explore the world of chromatics and light, observing carefully and evaluating. Finally, we shall use our imagination, which knows no bounds, and see where the study of flowers in all their wonder takes us.

Chicken in the Courtyard, 54 x 74cm (21 x 29in)

This image shows what is possible using a variety of tools and techniques. One’s imagination is allowed to run rampant, veering towards the abstract at times.

CHAPTER 1

Azaleas and Red Onions, 51 x 70cm (20 x 27½in)

The idea is to transform the mundane into something more inspirational. In this case I have introduced a conversation with a ‘love’ cup of coffee.

INSPIRATION

What is that elusive ingredient that sets a painting on fire; that magic that beguiles the viewer? It comes from the inspiration of the artist. We artists need inspiration like lifeblood and seek it from numerous sources. In this chapter I shall give directions as to where I found my own inspiration and where you can look for yours. It will be derived from your subject matter, be it from family and home, the seasons, or a particular colour. We all have a natural affinity with a particular theme. It’s how we relate to it that enables us to produce the images we do.

Following the seasons

Inspiration is about how things move us. Like nature, it is an outside force that has the ability to affect the way we think and feel. As a species we react like any animal to the need to breathe, eat, drink and procreate. We are moved by birth, love and death. It’s natural, and in the observation of flowers we are made conscious of the beauty and transience of life.

As a painter I am acutely aware of how the seasons affect the way I feel and see the world about me. I am lucky to live in the countryside, so I am very aware of the differences in character between spring, summer, autumn and winter. I can see the weather changing constantly, from swathes of rain to racing cloud shadows or brilliant blue sky. The earth where I live is particularly fertile, rich in iron that gives a beautiful red glow beneath the green of the grass. Wild flowers grow profusely and it is one of my special joys to see them arrive at their allotted time as the seasons progress.

Probably the most inspiring time is spring. We wait so long during the winter months for signs of fresh new growth that the first sight of spring flowers gladdens the heart. First come the snowdrops, often while there is still snow on the ground, then the hellebores (winter roses), rapidly followed by the joyous yellows of daffodils. By this time ideas are spinning out of me to try to capture this freshness.

Following hard on the heels of this bounty are the explosions of whites, violets and reds from magnolias, camellias and rhododendrons.

Daffodils and Primulas, 56 x 76cm (22 x 30in)

The cheery explosion of yellow daffodils in spring gladden the heart – hence the love cup and the chicken about to lay.

Then in rolls summer and the opportunity to really make the most of the world of flowers. If you are lucky enough to own a garden you have the opportunity to plant and nurture the blooms of your choice. If you don’t, public gardens, florists and garden centres can give you just as much stimulation. I’m amazed at the choice of flowers, even in supermarkets, that enables us to produce the most flamboyant of still lifes using blooms such as roses, dahlias, fuschias and all manner of daisies.

Come the autumn things change rapidly; the fresh spring chlorophyll that greened everything is now going. The cells in leaves die and in their death produce remarkable browns, reds, oranges and yellows. However, flowers are still there to whet your appetite, including montbretia (crocosmia), calendula, and asters. At the beginning of winter you can still come across iris, begonias, witch hazel and cyclamen which will provide ample inspiration.

Throughout the year, the main sources of inspiration are greens with whites and yellows in spring; summer is a veritable kaleidoscope of primaries and secondaries; autumn is all reds and golds, while winter brings deep violets and reds. No wonder the seasons inspire painters and also poets and writers, who express the way in which flowers evoke love, pain, sorrow and joy. Reading poetry and prose gives the painter another view of the subject and invariably kicks off ideas for arrangements or ways of seeing.

When I am out walking I pick flowers and leaves and bring them back to study. I like to think I’m immortalizing them. They have such brief lives it seems only right that we as humans give something back to nature rather than just destroy.

Summer Bouquet with Pink Roses, 38 x 51cm (15 x 20in)

I like the fact that flowers have been the source for innumerable patterns. Here I have shown them move in shape from naturalistic to simple abstraction.

Autumn Leaf Study, 23 x 33cm (9 x 13in)

I collect leaves in autumn, noting the beautiful variety of reds and golds. Making studies of these is one of the great pleasures in life.

The qualities of white

I am sure the one thing I miss most when my eyes are shut is colour. It moves me in so many ways and reaches right down into my psyche to stimulate all kinds of responses. Later on (see here) I cover this amazing subject in more detail. Here I want to refer to just one very inspirational colour – white. You might say that’s not a colour at all, but I say it’s nearly every colour, as it picks up colour from all around. Shadows and reflections add a special inspirational quality that talks of what is not obviously there.

Pure white in watercolour is not painted – it’s untouched paper. This means that you paint only what is not white. For example, if you wanted to paint a white daisy you would first paint the yellow centre then colour all around the petals, leaving the flower as reserved white paper. This is known as negative painting and requires an agile mind (see here).

Study of Cherry Blossom, 51 x 70cm (20 x 27½in)

Springtime brings a plethora of white flowers, with cherry blossom among the first to appear. I place my easel right in amongst it and paint as spontaneously and quickly as possible.

White Daffodils, 30 x 50cm (12 x 19½in)

In this painting I wanted the flowers to be especially white against a dark ground. To achieve this, I used masking fluid and once that was dry I applied a dark background wash. I then tinted the petals with a delicate series of transparent greys.

White Rhododendrons, 33 x 51cm (13 x 20in)

White rhododendrons are fiendishly difficult to paint: firstly the shape of the basic floret then the assembly, all to be done by negative painting including stems and leaves.

I particularly like painting white flowers for the challenges they present. There is an extra frisson when there are many flowers overlapping one another and acute observation is needed to see which petal is darker or lighter than the one behind. It is this concentrated looking that exercises the mind like no other subject matter in any other medium. Challenge can be equated with inspiration – if you choose subjects that stretch and question your capabilities you will open a door to new possibilities.

Flowers are available in all colours, so at any given time you should be able to choose one particular colour that expressly moves you. Each one has its own story waiting to be told. Using the visual medium of watercolour can make the story especially vibrant. I choose white because it has that clean purity that expresses hope, most of all in the emergence of cherry blossom in spring – no wonder the flowers are so cherished and venerated. They herald the notion of rebirth.

Close to my home is a very large and beautiful garden with a riverfront location which is a major source of inspiration to me. There are numerous established trees and shrubs that burst into leaf and flower once spring kicks in. The first giant to announce its presence is a Magnolia grandiflora (see here). This magnificent display is rapidly followed by the bright detonations of the reds and whites of camellias. It is important to strike while the weather is fine as March and April can be capricious, bringing in high winds, rain and sleet which hammer the large blossoms.

The essence of painting

What inspires one to paint in the first place? As a child one doesn’t need much encouragement – it seems to come almost as naturally as breathing. Then comes writing and it all seems to change. The magic of reading takes over, and the magic of painting diminishes. In my case I embraced both with a passion, probably because I lived in an artistic household and was encouraged on all fronts.

Fragments, 51 x 70cm (20 x 27½in)

Fragments is a bit like a personal collection, holding cherished memories. Each element is an abstract reduction distilling the pleasures it evokes.

Goldfish in the Lily Pond, 28 x 48cm (11 x 19in)

To create the effect of fish submerged in water required a specific approach. I used a sponge dipped in shades of red and orange and wiped the fish shapes into the sky-coloured water (remember that still water is reflective, so look up and paint the sky).