Alternative solution to watercolour difficulty

The difference between a photograph and a painting is that a painting expresses more than just the surface appearance of things when each stroke of the brush the artist expresses his or her own personality and feelings about the subject.

This applies particularly in a watercolour painting, in which every brush mark remains visible and therefore becomes integral part of the finished image. Beginners, though have a tendency to be rigid and inflexible in their brushwork because they lack the confidence to be able to let go and adapt to the spontaneous qualities of watercolour.

Slavery

Don’t be a slave to your subject. Break loose from it and let your enjoyment of it come through in your painting. Take the landscape painting I have done for instance. Observe the energetic brush strokes convey movement in the trees. Downward sweeping strokes propel the eye to the water.

Transparent glazes of violet blue, yellow and green are used throughout, helping to the whole painting together through colour harmony. Loose dry brush strokes allow the picture to spread out, concentrating our attention on the trees at the distance and the huge tree on the left corner as the focal point. Every inch of the painting is alive and vibrant with sweeping brushstrokes. It makes us feel the energy of the wind in the trees and observe the reflection on the water clear as crystal. Achieving the energy and spontaneity without losing control of the medium, requires skill, and this can only be gained through practice.

Familiarization

Learn to paint the same subject many times, so as to be come really familiar with it. The more you paint the more one gets the feel of the subject and freer and looser his brush strokes become. Remember, you don’t have to paint a master piece every time, sometimes it’s good simply to experiment and discover new ways of manipulating the brush and the paint.

Expressive brush strokes can only be achieved of your hand and arm are relaxed. Hold the brush closely, not too close to the ferrule, and apply the paint to the paper lightly but confidently. To help you loosen up, it may be helpful to work on a larger size paper than you normally use and with bigger brushes that encourage a more expansive approach.

Line speed

Try to convey the movement and energy inherent in living from by varying the speed, thrust and direction of your brush strokes. The interaction of fingers, wrist and arm is important here. Use your whole arm to make fast, sweeping strokes that capture the turbulence of a stormy sky for fine, precise details rest the heel of your hand on the paper and use your fingers and wrist only. Remember, the way you manipulate brush, water and paint can have a marked effect on the emotional quality of the finished work.

By varying the pressure on the brush, you can make lines that vary from thick to thin in a single stroke. You can even “lose” lines and “find” them gain, creating strokes. You can even “lose” lines and “find” them again, creating broken contours that lend rhythm to the work and allow it to “breathe”.

Broken contours also break down the barriers between one form and another, allowing them to link together harmoniously. One common mistake made by beginners is putting rigid lines around everything so that the finished painting looks not unlike a jigsaw.

Be aware of the emotional impact of the lines and strokes in your painting and try to chose those which are compatible with the mood you want to capture. To help you “limber up” before starting a painting, make random brush strokes and consider what emotions they convey.

Problem subjects

Every painter is confounded by certain subjects that seem to cause particular difficulty. When painting skies for instance, we encounter most of the technical problems associated with controlling large areas of wet paint. Flowers are another popular painting subject, yet capturing their delicate forms and subtle colours is no easy matter.

Many of the problems encountered, however, steam from the same source. The student tries too hard to make a photographic copy of the subject and ends up with a dull, routine picture.

This lesson shows you how to harness the expressive potential of watercolour to suggest textures and forms without overstating them.

Water colour paint can be removed from the paper with a clean brush.

Wherever the brush touches the background, the wet paint is absorbed.

The paper must have the right weight and must be especially for watercolour. Otherwise, the colour will make a soggy patch on the paper surface and it will not be possible to paint.

Composing a picture in watercolour presents its own particular problems. You have to plan things carefully in advance because you can’t paint over mistakes as you can in oil paint.

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