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Working on a series relieves the artist of the problem of thinking up a subject. All that is needed is a variation on the subject. That frees us to concentrate on other elements and principles. Composition is also a variable to explore.
In this painting, I invented a scene so I could concentrate on abstract compositional elements.
1. Line. Obliques direct the eye. Also notice that I found ways to interrupt lines. The far shoreline would be far more boring without the breaks created by the two rocks and the branch.
2. Consider also the intervals in those interruptions. Try to avoid equal spaces between those elements.
3. Textures. I limited the textures to the tree and the area under the fallen tree. The midground and background are simple shapes that gain their interest through color, not textures.
But all good things must come to an end. I've decided that I'm going to move on from this series on driftwood. The challenge is to think of another subject that will excite me. Check in soon to see what I've settled on.
Mark your calendars! My 2013 summer workshop in beautiful Boothbay Harbor, Maine will be held
from September 9th - 13th. Sign up now so you don't miss out!
The workshop headquarters will be in the Lions Club in West Boothbay Harbor. It is a spacious facility with plenty of room to spread out and paint. An overhead mirror allows students to view my demonstrations. There are also kitchen facilities if you want to bring soft drinks or snacks.
There are plenty of motels, B & B's, and inns in the area. A half block from the Lions Club is the Beach Cove Resort which is perched high above lovely West Harbor Pond. ( www.beachcoveresort.com ) Other accommodations can be viewed by Googling the Boothbay Harbor Chamber of Commerce.
The workshop day begins with a brief overview of the day's lesson. Then we will procede to one of many beautiful painting locations. Ocean Point is popular with tourists and painters alike.
I will do a demonstration painting while referring to the day's lesson and other topics dealing with procedures, techniques and possible problems.
After the demo, students will be free to paint while your instructor remains available for any questions or suggestions should you need them.
In case of rain, I have many exercises and painting techniques that can be done indoors. Lessons on values, negative painting, creating interesting shapes and color choices will be discussed on those days or on location.
At the end of the day, we will return to the Lions Club for a brief critique which will focus mainly on the topic for the day.
Most students find that time away painting for five straight days improves their paintings immensely.
I hope to be a catalyst in jump starting your progress towards successful paintings!
Tuition for the five day workshop is still only $400. Checks may be sent to:
Carol Jessen
P.O. Box 254
East Boothbay, ME 04544
Questions may be emailed to me at:
caroljessen@yahoo.com
Or you may call me at :
1 - 207 - 633 -6414
I hope to see you in Boothbay Harbor this September!
Happy Painting!
Carol
How to get that effect of bright sunlight? Try using a high key palette. Most of this painting is painted in midtone and light values. The granite ledge was actually darker in the shadow areas, but by not going above a light mid- value, even the shadows say "sunny day". And avoid painting grass dark green. If you look at sunlight on grassy areas, it is a very light yellow green.
I painted with the Plein Air Painters of Maine today, a loose knit group of painters in the mid-coast region of Maine. The only instruction is gained from walking around, looking at the works of other painters to see their interpretation of the scene. I enjoy the comeraderie of being with other like-minded people.
Try a high key painting.
Sitting here in the early morning, looking over the paintings I've done this summer, I've been trying to put my finger on a subtle change in this year's work. I think I've finally nailed it.
I've swapped out my old workhorse blue--ultramarine--for cobalt blue. Making that one color change has altered the look of my paintings. Cobalt is a purer blue. It is harder to mix with certain other colors, so I've had to resist the temptation to combine it with other opaque yellow paints. The result is a shift to the cooler side of the palette.
I also just ordered some quinacridone gold, a color that keeps getting mentioned in articles, videos and discussions with my watercolor friends.
Switching up your palette will shake up your work even if your style remains the same. Try not to add too many new colors at once or you may get confused in your enthusiasm. Experiment with new colors to keep your work fresh.
This was the kind of perfect Maine day that I dream about in the winter. So after a lobster roll at my favorite dockside restaurant, I headed to one of my favorite painting locations: Grimes Cove on Ocean Point.
Plein air painting can overwhelm you with the sheer amount of details and textures, so it demands that you simplify shapes and limit textures. Painting every leaf and limb in the trees serves no purpose other than accurate reporting, which has little to do with creating a work of art. Likewise, painting every rock on the stone littered beach accomplishes little. Better to choose one or two boulders to come in aid of the composition, and suggest the textures. Omitting the rocks on the beach also keeps the spotlight on the cliff face.
Simplifying shapes and textures allows me time to think about more important things, like color intensity and values.
"Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose
Won't you let me go down in my dreams...
And rock-a-bye Sweet Baby James."
I know, I know......James Taylor was singing about pills. But I still like the sentiment applied to painting!
Mixing greens on the paper instead of making a homogenized soup on your palette is much preferable. Here I used combinations of cobalt blue and yellow ochre, cobalt blue and cad red for the rocks, and ultramarine and burnt sienna plus a hint of thalo green in various percentages for the deep greens. Ultramarine blue and burnt sienna make a darker green than other color combinations.
This the cove out my front door here in Maine.
"Driftwood With Crow"
15" x 22"
I woke up two mornings ago, having dreamed this painting. I'm doing a series on driftwood, and also started thinking about the crows that roost in a tree on the cove side of my road here in Boothbay. The two melded in a dream, and so I got up and drew the composition directly on my watercolor painting.
Due to some appointments and social engagements, I waited a day before painting it. That also gave me time to think about color choices. Meanwhile I checked with several artists and one playright who said that they had all had the same experience with dreaming their next composition.
So don't ignore the content of your dreams for source material!
This is Ocean Point near Boothbay Harbor, Maine, where I live in the summertime. Every year I do at least one obligatory surf and rocks painting. Here's this year's offering.
The underpainting was very important in setting the stage for the rocks. By alternating cool and warm grays, it created a kind of alternation in the rocks. Then I started adding mid tones and eventually the darks.
A woman came by and asked if I was going to put in the lighthouse out on the island. I explained that even though it would be very small, a man-made structure would immediately pull your attention away from the foreground subject matter, so I had chosen to omit it. The painting is about the rocks and the surf. The islands are there to speak to the space and distance as well as to stop the eye. I don't think she was convinced!
The tree foliage on the left acts as a frame for the driftwood in the mid-distance where the focal point is. The shadows on the right serve the same purpose. See sketch for planning.
Now that I'm in Maine, the paintings are starting to gain momentum.
Don't forget that my workshops in Boothbay Harbor and Acadia, Maine are starting to fill. Reserve your spot so you don't miss out!
Here's the result of yesterday's plan and sketch. Two things students have trouble with are trees (they're soooo green!), and rocks, which can quickly turn into marshmellows if you don't pay attention to some groundwork.
Yes, trees are green. But if you paint every tree the same green, pre-mixed on the palette, you'll get no depth to your trees, and a rather dull depiction of them.
Solution: In your first wash, vary the underpainting from yellow to blue and throw in some earth tones. Then when you put on the second and third layers, some of the underpainting will shine through, even if you put the same green on top of them.
Rocks are hard (as in solid, not difficult, although they can be). The first wash is again important. I mix some grays on the paper: ultramarine blue and burnt sienna, thalo green and alizarin crimson, cobalt blue and cadmium red. Brushwork is important here. Make your strokes go different directions. Vary the ratio of the mixture. Then let it dry. If you've not over-mixed the underpainting, the paint will suggest where some of the rocks will go.
Look for places where you can make angular shapes. Hard edges, not soft, will suggest angularity.
Practice mixing colors on the paper and don't over mix them.
Somebody once said, Plan like a turtle, paint like a rabbit. I used to think that I could visualize my paintings in advance. I would draw directly on the paper, and end up erasing a lot of what I was trying to compose. These days my sketchbook is filling up fast with all kinds of images. I've learned to slow things down and plan my strategy of attack. That way the spontaneity of brush work is possible because I've already got a plan as to how to proceed and what colors I want to utilize.
Here's a pen and ink drawing from my sketchbook. I mostly liked the result, but I did notice one thing. The floating log in the distant water was pointing the same direction as the focal piece of driftwood in the foreground. To stop the eye, in the drawing on the watercolor paper I decided to point the log back into the composition when I do the final painting, something I may not have thought of until the painting was finished.
Get those sketchbooks out! Doodle, sketch, draw, and plan, plan, plan.
When I paint a subject like this one, I'll often get to the midtones and then start thinking about how to highlight the focal point. More often than not, I'll start putting in really dark values near the point I want to emphasize. Then I'll work out from there, diluting the value as I go to retain the strong contrast I've created around my focal area.
This approach also has the added benefit of "forcing the lights", a term I learned from Robert E. Wood's book to describe the dramatic lighting that can occur as a result of extreme contrasts of value.
One thing to be aware of: If the values around the dark are all light, the dark shapes will pop out instead of the object or area that you want to give attention to. So try to get midtones leading up to the darks as a transition. This is especially apparent in the water where the near water is dark, but there is a midtone transitioning to the highlighted area in the reflection of the tree.
So much to think about, isn't there?!
Don't forget my workshop in Acadia, Maine---Sept. 16 - 20th. Still a few spots left.
One last entry from the road. This is the famous drawbridge over Perkins Cove in Ogunquit, Maine where I spent a delightful evening and night. The photo is the view from my room. Next stop, Boothbay Harbor!
My annual trek to Maine has found me in the Poconos of Pennsylvania....Hawley, to be specific. The Ledges Inn is poised over a wonderful waterfall which is the whole reason I came here: to paint it! It lived up to its billing. This morning I was up early to climb to the top deck on a ledge overlooking the upper falls. It was mighty hot because I forgot my hat. But for the first painting of the season, it's not a bad effort. Next, the Berkshires.
I've done quite a few watercolors lately that have predominantly cool colors, so I decided to do one on the warm side. This is a scene from Disney World in Florida, so it only makes sense to limit cool colors when painting the Sunshine State.
In the photo reference I used, there were quite a few colors present, but I stuck to a limited warm palette for the sake of unity. Making a decision about temperature before you begin can help focus your attention on other elements such as value, contrast, shapes and direction. You don't have to keep wondering which colors you will reach for. Choosing two or three colors and alternating their percentage in the mixtures will give you enough variety while maintaining unity.
Happy Memorial Day!
After not painting for three weeks due to bronchitis and asthma problems, I got the urge to paint the harbor that has been home for the past 33 summers. I wanted the warmth of the sails to contrast with the cool neutrals of the background.
I'm a little rusty, but I wanted to let you know I'm alive and kickin'!
Here's your chance to critique one of my paintings. I deliberately chose this one for its imperfections.
There are strong and weak qualities present. Feel free to comment on both.
Scroll down through my past entries and leave some comments about values, composition, color choice, shapes, or any other subjects I've covered in the last 450+ posts.
Can't wait for your commentaries!
P.S. Sorry for my absence. I haven't been painting due to asthma problems.
The Cliffs of Monhegan
22 x 30"
In this painting of the cliffs of Monhegan Island, Maine, part of my goal was to use a variety of blues to depict the chilly coastline. Planning the range of blues was deliberate, and considered the placement of warm and cool blues.
I began with the sky. Since it is the most distant space in the painting, I used cerulean and thalo blues, both cool blues. Near the horizon I added some new gamboge to make a light green which would later be echoed in the cliffs.
The sea consists of cool thalos: blue and green.
The cliffs are rendered in warmer blues to contrast with the surrounding colors. The first layer was the purist blue: cobalt. Since it is more opaque than the other blues, it also makes sense to place it on the bottom.
Next came a very transparent blue: ultramarine, a warm blue leaning to the red side. I dashed in a little alizarin to further enhance the violet, mixing all colors on the page, not the palette. As I got to the foreground, I warmed up the blue with a bit of burnt sienna and raw sienna.
All these blues needed some contrast, hence the grassy green areas on the the mid-ground cliffs. That was also a mixed green of new gamboge and a dash of cobalt blue. The use of another blue that was used elsewhere in the painting gives some unity.
Experiment with a variety of blues to create contrast and interest.
"Acadian Reflections"
22 x 30"
Here is the finished painting from yesterday's post.
Q. Should I start by wetting the whole page? A. In this painting, I wanted all hard edges, so I painted section by section. I let each layer dry completely before beginning the second layer. But I still painted the first layer everywhere before continuing. The sky down to the mountain, the beach, the lake.
Q. What do I want as my focal point? A. The treeline and reflections on the righthand side of the page.
Q. What layers came next? A. I looked at my black and white sketch for the answer. Midtones come next. The distant mountain forms (not the modelling), the closest mountain and the land that was to be reflected, and the foreground gray rock in the left corner.
Q. When did you make the decision that some of the trees would be light and warm while others would be dark and cool? A. When I made the decision about the focal point. This was important for two reasons: first the mountain could not be painted through the warm trees. I stopped just short of the treeline. Yellow cannot go on top of a blue without being influenced and muddied by it. Second, since much of the painting is cool, the contrast of warm greens in the trees, the rocks and the reflections would emphasize the focal area.
Q. How did you know when the painting was finished? A. When I painted the foreground rocks, I stepped back to see how it was going. I decided if I made them any darker, they would compete with the darks in the trees. So I left them a light midtone with just enough definition of their form to give the foreground interest but not attract too much attention.
Also, study the linear directions in this composition and you'll discover that they all lead to the focal area. I'm very pleased with the outcome of this full sheet watercolor "Acadian Reflections".
The most frequent question I get from students is "How do I start?" Should I wet the entire page?
Should I paint on dry paper? Should I paint all over the page or just in one section at a time? How do I know what to paint first?
1. Think about composition. What am I trying to emphasize about this scene/still life/ portrait?
where should it be placed? What should surround and point to it?
2. Most important is to plan your values. Since most watercolor proceed from light to midtone to
darks, it is important to know in advance where those are going to be. Oil painters can easily change their minds. Watercolorists need to know so they can proceed from light values to darks.
A value sketch will tell you this.
3. Make some decisions about color choices. It's probably wise not to be reaching for just any old color because it "feels right." Limiting the number of colors you use will provide unity.
Here is a value sketch and compositional placement for a painting. Next time, the painting stages and final result!
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| Acadia National Park |
September 16th - 19th, I will be a guest instructor at the Art Workshop Center on Mt. Desert Island, Maine, location of Acadia National Park. Dramatic cliffs, quiet harbors, carriage roads through thick pine forests....all these make this a location you won't want to miss and a painting experience worth the effort! Fall foliage will also begin around that week, so sign up now for a great week of painting in a spectacular setting.
Contact: www.artcenterworkshop.com for sign up, supply lists, lodging information and lots of
enticing photos of the area.
Hope to see you there this fall!
Here is a photo I took in Acadia National Park in Maine. Although the cliffs were dramatic in person, the photo does little to communicate that. The light is especially dull, and it flattens the scene.
While looking out my window here in St. Louis the other day, I saw the effects of early evening sun hitting my neighbor's roof with shadows cast by another building highlighting the orange glow of the shingles. That gave me the idea to apply that effect to this scene in Acadia. The light is early morning, and another cliff unseen to the left is casting its long shadow on the cliff in the painting.
I also decided to make the rocky, pebble strewn beach into a sandy shore so that the textures would not draw attention to the beach, but let the color-and-light show on the face of the cliff be the "star" of the painting.
Asking "What if.....?" will sometimes help spur your imagination to think of other lighting situations that will go a long way to dramatizing a scene.
I am pleased to announce that both of the paintings I submitted to the annual St. Louis Watercolor Society's show were accepted, and "Falling Down, Falling Down" won an award. The juror/judge was nationally known artist/teacher/editor Christopher Schink. I was also awarded Signature Member status in the St. Louis Watercolor Society.
Entering shows and competition is a risk. Our fragile artist egos can sometimes be bruised by rejection. I can tell you that I've had plenty of "Not Accepted" notices. So the trick is to remember that judging is a subjective activity, and that the decision of the judge might even be different on another day. Keep submitting, but more important, keep painting and paying attention to your growth as a painter. The work and the process is what is most important, not a momentary recognition of the results.
Happy painting!
Being able to see values while painting in color is extremely important. Knowing how to go darker in any color should be automatic after lots of exercises. So don't skip the exercises and the practice. That's how you get more confident in going from lights to midtones to darks.
Here is a painting which I've converted to black and white to show you the values of colors. I've again used the alternation approach that I mentioned in the last entry.
Alternation creates a kind of checkerboard effect, only with a few more values. The idea is to have each value shape border on two other values. For example, look at the area on the porch. Then look at the midtone and you will see that it will be bordered by a light and a dark. Light, midtone, dark,
midtone, light. You can also see alternation clearly in the rowboat.
I was first made aware of this approach by looking at the work of California style watercolorists, especially Rex Brandt and Robert E. Wood. Study their paintings and you will see that what first appears simple is quite complex.
Hesper and the Luther Little
A silhouette can be more powerful than a detailed depiction of a subject's parts. And when the silhouette carries the day, a monochromatic color choice makes sense. Besides, you wouldn't want to describe the rotting hulls of two shipwrecked schooners with colors from the Mardi Gras!
Using a monochromatic color scheme will force attention to values and accurate shapes. Sometimes going back to the basics is good practice.
A favor...... consider leaving a comment or a reaction or even becoming a follower. If you are already a follower, maybe you could alert your friends to my blogsite. I don't want to sound like I'm crying in my beer, but I'm getting a little discouraged about the reach of my blog. If it is of any value to you, please let me know. Or if you have a subject that I haven't addressed lately, feel free to make a suggestion! Thanks, Carol
Lately I have been tending towards a warm color palette. But yesterday I decided to play with cool colors. I put down the first wash and then walked away. This morning I got up and started picking around and came up with this painting.
Notice, though, that the variety of cool blues and greens that dominate are balanced with a touch of warmer colors. I've never been able to completely manage a totally analogous painting. I always need a hint of a complementary color, either as a pure area or a neutralized gray. So you'll see a hint of warmth in the clouds and a hint of yellow ochre and reddish purple on the ground.
Try a painting of mostly analogous colors, adding only a hint of the complementary. And step out of your color habits. Safety often makes for boredom.
Look at these two paintings and you will discover the importance of direction in creating mood, energy and movement.
Horizontal lines create a feeling of peace, restfulness, and calm. The farm scene has a predominance of horizontal lines, especially in the area leading to the focal point.
Vertical lines suggest dignity, solidity, and stability.
If you are trying to suggest movement, excitement and energy, the use of oblique (aka diagonal) lines is essential. Oblique lines create tension. I once heard an instructor state, "Which would you rather look at if you wanted to feel a sense of excitement? A British soldier standing guard at Buckingham Palace, or a drunk staggering down the street?" Obliques make us feel tension.
Other elements work to create peace or tension: long, quiet, uninterrupted areas with a marked absence of texture vs. lots of texture and smaller, disrupted shapes. But line direction is critical in determining mood.
Knowing what you want the viewer to feel is a critical decision to be made before the first brush stroke is made.
I hope when you like my paintings, it's for something more than just the subject matter. In this painting, my love of strong color is just as much the subject matter as is the dock scene. I began by carving out the whites using the cooler color notes of blue and violet as a relief from the dominant warmer oranges and reds. I was careful to preserve the white areas while "finding" various dock objects.
It took me a very long time to be able to use strong colors as dark values. When I was still finding my way as a watercolorist, I mostly resorted to blues and browns to create the darkest values. Now I mind the dominant color temperature and reach for a color on that side of the palette to report the darks. By staying on the same side of the palette when putting down one color over another, you also avoid the problem of creating a muddy area.
It's also helpful to avoid putting any darks in the corners of the paper away from the subject matter. Strong color and strong values draw the eye. Reserve those eyecatchers for the area surrounding the focal point of the painting.
Being on the road is not conducive to painting, especially in the winter. I finally made it home, but am busy catching up on things and have not resumed painting yet. So here is a sketch from Naples of another in the restaurant series.
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This painting, done behind the guest house, was painted as the demo for a lesson given to two students.
One of them wanted a lesson on foliage. I looked at the path and the first tree I saw was the one leaning into the painting. Trouble was, it was on the left side of the path and was pointing out of the composition. So I simply moved it to the right side of the picture where it would be leaning into the focal area.
I see this as one of the best advantages of painting on location. You can look around and find elements of interest and then move them to where they are needed. The rights of the picture come first. In the planning stage, always be aware of elements that can contribute to the compositional aspects of the painting.
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