Jump Start your watercolors....and more!

Notice: Waterloo Watercolor Group has rescheduled my live demo of this process that was to be aired on Thursday evening Feb 18th due to severe utility outages in the Austin Texas area . I will post the new date as soon as it’s available. 

 Jump In......

If you haven’t tried creating an underpainting for your paintings you may be missing an opportunity to enrich your colors , loosen up and/or get out of a slump. This method is not new but it escapes some beginners as well as advanced watercolorists because a) it’s scary b) you do give up some control and c) it’s not the way you usually start your paintings. Guess what? Those are all good reasons to try it. How else will you grow? It literally jump starts your creative processes whether you had already sketched a scene or you were not sure what to paint.

I was first introduced to a 3 color underpainting at a workshop given by Lian Quan Zheng in 2018. We actually painted this entire painting with just these 3 colors: Napthol Red, Hansa Yellow and Antwerp Blue. The key is their transparency as it allows the mixing and layering to occur resulting in a rich glow of hues. The transparency of a color is available on the tube and on the manufacturers website. I used a mix of brands but rely on Daniel Smith colors.  

My normal pattern had been to start a painting at the largest area like the sky in a landscape scene. Or I started at the top with a graded wash and worked down the paper for my first glaze. And my paintings were just fine. But I wanted to try some new tricks and this one has literally changed how I paint. I hope you will let me share this technique with you.

Let’s recreate my painting “ Hi Biscus”. This is my completed painting and one of my many reference photos taken from my back porch. I love these gorgeous plants! 

                                 

 If you follow my blog, you know I print a BW and color copy to refer to as I paint. BW creates an easy value study; I am all about shortcuts if they work.                                                        

The blooms, buds & leaves all had their own prominence in my design. I also chose to leave most of the obvious mask lines which are rather hard rather than soften them. They created a nice rhythm throughout the painting.

Working backward here are the tools I used:

11”x 22” Arches 140# paper taped

3 transparent colors (red, yellow and blue). Permanent rose, Lemon yellow and Prussian blue

3 brushes, 3 droppers

3 bowls, 3 stirrers

1 spray bottle

1 straw or atomizer

Masking fluid , if desired

I sketched my scene and masked ( blue lines are Pebeo masking fluid) a few spots to preserve the white of the paper . You do not have to do this but if you are quite sure of placement and values , as I was, this is a needed step. Not only do I have a ready made background for my floral but I also have beautiful patterns to play with in my leaves, stems and petals.

As I started painting, I played with each petal, stem and leaf separately to play up these lovely undertones.

This start is a very satisfying way to prevent you from staying in your comfort zone! You can’t control the outcome and that is a good thing. And there's no worrying about how to handle the background...it's done. 

 Here are a few more starts and finishes done in this manner:

This one is titled 

“Jump in, the Water’s Fine”

I sketched and masked this lighthouse scene and used the underpainting to help create rhythm and color in the water, rock and lighthouse. I held a very fun work shop using this scene and all attendees were pleased with their outcomes. Of course, all different because this is not possible to copy. It’s an individual, unique happening.

 

                                                                               

                                                                    “Snip, Snip” 

I was inspired by a basket of scissors I found in an antique shop in Fredericksburg. The underpainting really changed my game plan and it was a delightful experience that earned me a first place award in a Waterloo Watercolor Show in 2020.

I think you can see that my 3 colors were changed, they simply need to be transparent so I used violet as my red. Violet already is a combination of blue and red so this was a purposeful maneuver. I did add quinacridone red on later glazes.

 And last but not least a Christmas scene of decorated ornaments under the tree titled

"What a Beautiful Sight..."

I hope this inspires you to start your watercolors in an exciting new way. I think you’ll enjoy it!

Now for a promised announcement of my next workshop: it will include the jump start you have just seen with 3 different transparent colors. It will be titled           "Catch a Wave” 

and will be held on March 10, 17 and 24th. These are my Watercolor Wednesdays and classes are held via Zoom from 12:00-2:00 + CST

This is the reference photo.  We will paint together but you have a week to accomplish what I demonstrate. Individual email critiques are included from me. I will provide a supply list and more details. Let me know if you would like to join me. Cost is $45