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Achieving A Beautiful Glow By Under-Painting
I don’t always start out a watercolor painting by deciding on a
subject. I do start a painting with a non-staining, transparent,
under-painting of red yellow and blue, (rose madder genuine,
aureolin, cobalt blue) and an open mind to possibilities. I use
cold-pressed and smooth hot-pressed papers as they allow me to lift
color easily. I some times pre-size the paper with a
one to one
diluted matte medium and water and allow that to dry.
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Portrait of a Grandma Sea Turtle
by Connie "Zekas" Bailey |
| With no thought of subject matter at this time, I wet the paper and
begin charging in colors allowing them to mix on the paper; tilting
the paper and also pouring the color on. At this stage of the
painting I usually add some texture such as salt, saran wrap, water
sprinkles, or lift shapes. My friend and mentor Jane Burnham AWS,
usually calls this " the underwear of a painting"- so do I. When
the under-painting is dry, I study it to see if there is a direction
that it is going or suggesting. When there isn’t, I use either white
printing paper or tracing paper for my drawing and a 4b pencil; this way
I can keep the paper clean of erasures. I then transfer the drawing to
the watercolor paper.
I am always excited by a color in an unusual spot. I then leave the
most beautiful color passages in the under-painting untouched and use
the unpainted white shapes as a part of the focal point. I save as much
of the under-painting as I can; using colors already there by changing
the values. I then paint out and pull together, shapes and values at the
end for greater unity and harmony. This method works with other reds,
yellows, and blues… Experiment and enjoy the freedom this method
allows you!!! |
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