There are times when one is struck, by a breath-taking scene that may never be encountered again. Should you lack a camera in such a situation, put your pencil to use and do a quick sketch of the scene with detailed pencil notes about the actual color. This will give you a chance to apply your knowledge about the warm and cool classifications of color because it will be almost impossible to remember each individual color by name.
A sketch like this should not be too detailed, yet it should includes the essential elements in proper relation to each other. Any hills in the background are merely outlined and if there are woods at left and right, as they get nearer, they should still be merely wiggly lines. Buildings, too, are merely indicated rather than actually constructed.
When you get back to your base of operation, make an immediate color sketch based on the drawing and notes made on location as well as anything you may be able to remember and visualize about the scene. This procedure will give you a solid basis for a future finished painting.
Painting windows
One of the most frequent queries I've had during my years of teaching is "How do you paint a window?" It is essential to learn this if you are to paint buildings successfully. A window, of course, is transparent, but often it also is a reflecting agent.
There are three stages in painting a window. First, apply a wash of Payne's gray and yellow ochre (stage 1). While this is still wet, apply a darker wash of the same with a touch of Antwerp blue at the top of the window (stage 2). When this dries, paint the frames. Should you wish to put in a curtain, paint a dark area to the center and then add other, less dark, values for wrinkles (stage 3).You may leave one pane lighter than the others to lend an interesting contrast.
Painting texture
Two very commonplace subjects - an old barn and a stone wall-make interesting subjects. The silvery quality and rotten, weather-beaten wood, complete with knot holes and rusty hinges usual in a barn make it an intriguing subject for professional and amateur artist alike. This also applies to any picturesque stone wall. Both subjects are a challenge to any artist because of the subtleties of textures involved.
First place the structure of the fence wall within a cube in order to get the proper dimension and perspective. Having done this first, then break up the wall into an interesting, irregular pattern.
To achieve the texture of the old wood in a barn, work from light to dark - a series of light washes. For the silvery quality of old weather-beaten wood use a thin wash of black. To show wood that is warped, work from the basic middle tones up through lighter tones to the dark shadow edge.
Many texture effects are achieved by using an almost dry brush. Remember, it takes time and patience to get good texture. Don't finish any specific area - work over the whole picture until it is completed. If your light area gets too dark, use a bristle brush with clean water to make it light. If the area is large, use a sponge.
Mastering these aspects of watercolor painting will get you of to a good start.
Even the beginner, who must spoil and throw away a lot of paper, should not start off with too cheap a grade of paper. Adequate machine-made rag-content papers are available for practice. However, as soon as possible, the beginner should switch to a good handmade paper. Such paper not only takes paint better but shows up whiter at those times when the paper becomes an integral part of the design, such as when painting snow scenes.
It also pays to be consistent in the grade of paper you choose. This makes it possible to evaluate your work as you progress. After you've learned to achieve a certain effect on one grade of paper and find that it doesn't work on another grade, you'll understand the importance of this point. By using the same grade, you can, under ideal conditions, achieve the same effect rather consistently.
In the beginning you may want to use a lightweight unmounted paper, say 72 pounds. However, you will soon discover that it will tend to buckle when heavy washes are applied. The resulting wrinkles can be most disconcerting when you are trying to paint reasonably straight objects such as telephone poles, fence posts, and piles. I have found the 300-pound weight to be nearly wrinkle-proof.
In choosing paper you must also consider its texture. Surfaces from very smooth to rough are available. Selection is usually based on the technique employed by the artist. I use the rough paper almost exclusively because I find it of great help in softening edges, creating textures, etc. I prefer the 300-pound d'Arches rough or the 300-pound AWS rough. The d'Arches has a slightly yellowish tint, whereas the AWS is pure white. Both are handmade and of the same high quality.
Sandpaper it used chiefly for scratching off paint in areas where more white is needed.
Masking tape is used to cover those areas of a painting that you wish either to leave as white paper or to paint later on. Maskoid serves the same purpose for small areas.
Butter knives are very useful as tools and, because of their blunt edges, are particularly handy for scraping off paint softly for textural effects.
Although there are many colors of fine quality available, I find that for my work Rembrandt colors are the most satisfactory I use the following watercolor brushes: 2-1/2 inch second grade camel hair and 1-inch Grumbacher aquarelle which are flat; 1-inch, 1/2-inch and 1/4-inch short-hair flat bristle brushes, made for oil painting; numbers 12, 8, 5, and 2 red sable Winsor & Newton or Grumbacher round watercolor brushes.
Additional equipment needed by the watercolorist are a soft cosmetic sponge (fine-textured and natural - not rubber) ; a water container; paint rags; hand mirror ; a low sketching stool; kneaded and sand erasers; HB, 2B, and 6B pencils; drawing board; tube of rubber cement; paint-box and mat knife.
A 5-inch by 7-inch sketch pad is another useful adjunct to the sketching trip for thumbnail sketches preliminary to working on the main picture or for pictures to be finished back in the studio. This also serves as a record of the amount of work you have done during the year.
Jimmy Cox has sinced written about articles on various topics from Web Development, Horse Racing and Investments. Discover The Secret To Becoming A Well-Known Water Coloring ArtistClick Here For Free Online Ebook