Before the horrible heat became an issue, we were creating watercolor nature art outdoors. I do always go for the simplest solution whenever there is one, therefore we did not use any masking fluid or any other extra watercolor enhancing supplies. The simplest technique with watercolor is painting around the parts which you want to leave light. It was very tricky in some parts regardless of the large paper size. Let’s just say, I added an element every time when somebody asked how to paint one or another part.
Nowadays, classes are not like art classes we used to have even 10 years ago when I would start with color properties and selection, features of brushes, techniques of using that particular brush, techniques of adding washes, glazes and details. I mean, I would make sure that my student knows at least a little bit about the medium, its application and the important aspects of painting. The shift has been towards very quick paintings, – the quicker, the better. Although, I’m not trying to squeeze in impossible steps, everything still takes time.
Students jump now from knowing nothing to trying to paint something great. It is what I told a girl who was attending a few nature art classes: to learn using brush and paint properly and automatically takes years, not hours. Our brain is wired in such a way that it will not allow doing automatically things which haven’t been rehearsed for numerous times. You have to add to this the novelty of particular technique, and mental attitude towards learning fast. Altogether, learning art has become an activity when one learns and applies the new skill immediately. I mean, they didn’t know it existed before the class. Most often, it won’t result in something great taking into account what I said before.
Since we all have started with something, for beginner, any scene is probably good enough. It’s just so that the potential participant judges the worthiness of a class by an image which I have painted. That is an absurd way of accessing the task ahead because I know what I’m doing and I can paint anything no problem, especially when the sketch is drawn by me. I know how to make parts of painting work or how to improve them if they don’t. Students take every brush application as final which by any means it isn’t. We certainly worked a lot, and due to the outdoor settings, I don’t have all steps on photos. I have finally started creating the downloadable materials, and steps will be available.
Before we start painting, we must explore our tools: watercolor paper, set of paints, brushes, everything. We cannot create a good painting when we don’t know what colors we have and how they act on paper. The same about color combinations, like burnt sienna plus any dark blue, but French Ultramarine and Prussian blue in particular, like in these paintings. We need to know what our paper does when it’s wet. One paper I used for demo, absolutely didn’t accept paint. I later found out; it was Fabriano. I avoid using any Fabriano papers, since my experience has been horrible with them. It’s not Arches either, but Strathmore 400 series.
I hope we can have more confidence and trust ourselves to a higher extent. That is absolutely necessary with drawing and painting. Nobody really cares if you get it right or not for as long as you’re happy with the outcome. It sure would look better and cleaner if I had masked out all tiny areas, but I am ok without having too much detail. If that were Arches paper, the washes on bigger parts certainly would have looked nicer. However, art class is not my own painting session. There are many interruptions and many times when I have to go over and over some part.
As you might know, watercolor requires perfect timing. That can be an issue outdoors with higher temperatures when paper dries too swiftly. I’m not that meticulous that I wouldn’t paint just because something around isn’t right. I also use only 1 number 14 brush for practically entire painting. It has an extremely great tip, but due to frequent use it starts wearing down. Well, time to start looking for replacement brushes.
I use St. Petersburg watercolor paints because they’ve been my favorite ever since I remember. When I was about 10 or so, that’s a bit more than half a century ago, I stopped by at my neighbor’s place. They rented a room to an artist. She was great with watercolors. I noticed the large paint box on the table and colors in it looked so fantastic, nothing like my small student grade paints which I had. So, I asked: what paints are these? Her painting was extremely vibrant, literally alive. She said: Leningrad watercolors. Those times, it was still Leningrad, it only later reversed to St. Petersburg. I got my first St Petersburg watercolor paints about 20 years ago and have used them since.
I hope you enjoyed the new large paintings which resulted from my demos.
I spent months painting the outside of my house with the largest brush being 1.5″ and small trim brushes being those I came to use for oils on canvas. The exercise was to get my hands and body used to brush work before attempting my oil paintings. Sightseeing tourists and the building inspector were all amazed at my brush choices, with many jovial comments.
Thanks Cheyenne!
Brushwork is an extremely important part of any painting. It’s too bad not everybody who starts out is aware of that.
I’ve been at painting for many decades now, I cannot even recall how I started. With practice, brushwork evolves over time, but, certainly, giving the hand a good exercise is a very good idea.
When I think about how many details you have to get just right, like brushes, paper, paint, colour, texture, white space, skill, it’s a wonder new painters turn out anything at all.
That’s true, lots of things to consider.
If you look at the new painting style online, it’s very often all the same: not completely abstract, not realistic, just something.
It all comes from the fact that most people who want to start painting often assume it really takes no thinking, no figuring out, just brushing around.
Quality of supplies matters for any product. It would be great to do use just the best of everything.
Hi Inese – you sure have been painting a long time and brush skills really do matter
– when I painted many years ago (very amateur) I do recall mostly using the same three or four favorite brushes out of so many- and agree that more talk should be around brushes and brushwork and then individual preferences
Thanks!
That’s very true: brushstroke and the manner of using brush, or at least knowing how to do that is very important, beneficial, too.
It takes a while to adapt the brushstroke and ability to apply paint using sensitive approach. Most beginners paint sort of like painting a wall: back and forth, back and forth, etc. That can completely destroy a watercolor. For acrylic, it makes everything more difficult if one cannot hold the paint where it needs to be.
Therefore, the new format of art teaching isn’t right, but these times dictate and demand it.
Just imagine, if you tried as your first attempt playing Beethoven’s symphony, but didn’t know what notes are and how to make chords. Could you do that? You couldn’t. That’s why we also should first learn how to use whatever paint, how to use brush and how to achieve certain results. Yet, we have to go from zero to master within 90 minutes. Never happened, never will.
I hope you have a good weekend!
🙂
These are absolutely beautiful…….I love your work!
Thank you! Lots of work go into them, and sometimes it can be tricky doing such large paintings as demos for students.
Lovely works, and fascinating to read about the detailed work involved, and compare the qualities of the light in the different versions. It’s so different to what I do.
Thanks Steve!
Each medium requires different approach, but while I have some abstracted parts in my paintings, I love sticking to reality, too.
These particular works are somewhat different also from what I would do on my own without any student watching. When somebody asks, how to add tree, how to create background washes, how to add front details and so on, I just paint it in. Therefore, these works evolve depending on somebody’s need to know how they work on some part.
I’ve always loved drawing, and that’s where I started about 50 years ago, just drawing on any paper, even wrapping paper, school book pages, etc. because I didn’t have any special art supplies.
Our creations are unique to us, just as finger prints, iris of the eye, handwriting and DNA.
So true about uniqueness: that personal, intimate, aspect is everything.
Thanks Steve!
Regardless of style, subject and medium, we always paint and draw ourselves.
what an awesome artist you are, Inese! it’s beautiful to see how art helps us to see things differently 🙂
Thanks!
We create art differently, just as we do pretty much everything else. The result should be something which is us.
Just like with handwriting, it is very difficult to mask one’s personal style. We can sure add something, make something simpler, but the origin shines through.
Generally speaking, apart from artists who follow closely market demands, we normally paint ourselves, with every brushstroke, with every line and spot of color.
Have a good evening!
Beautiful paintings! I’ve never tried St. Petersburg watercolor paints. I use a lot of Daniel Smith, Holbein and Winsor & Newton paints. It depends on the color I’m looking for. But I’ll have to give the St. Petersburg paints a try. Thanks for the tip 😊
Thanks Maria!
After relocating to Canada about 17 years ago, I tried most brands, and I found that St. Petersburg is still the purest, most translucent and cleanest. Even on bad paper using multiple layers, there’s no mud, ever. Just be careful with the internet orders. My students bought some, and they didn’t feel authentic. You probably have to pay attention who’s selling. I buy them in person in Latvia when I go to see my family. I haven’t seen them for almost 3 years now. When I get short of some brushes or paints, I ask my daughter to send them over to Canada.
Thanks Inese, good to know. I did find them on Dick Blick’s site, Jerry’s Artarama and Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff. All three of these are reputable art supply companies that I’ve bought from before (Mostly DickBlick.com), so I think I’d be safe there. Thanks again and have a wonderful day!
That sounds good.
I have the ones which contain a lot of paint, quite big containers, like they are originally from manufacturer in a cardboard box, 24 colors. My yellow, ocher, burnt sienna, blue and Payne’s grey end quicker, so I have about 30 spare ones. Last long, work well, what else can you ask for?
Their red, purple and blue colors are truly brilliant. I don’t have a specific rose or coral, but will try to get some other time. I mix up pretty much what I don’t have.
Good luck!