Simplifying Design & Color for Artists: Positive Results Using Negative Painting Techniques

Table of contents :
Title Page......Page 2
Special Offers......Page 3
Contents......Page 4
Supplies You Need......Page 10
Introduction......Page 12
Simple by Design......Page 15
A Little Planning, A Lot of Purpose......Page 16
Dynamic Simplicity: Order and Conflict......Page 20
Take Your Viewer on a Journey......Page 24
Shape: Need-to-Know Basics for Design......Page 26
Family Relationships of Line, Shape and Movement......Page 30
Design Formats Incorporating Line, Shape and Movement Relationships......Page 32
Overlapping Frames: A Format and a Building Method......Page 39
Get Shape-Conscious......Page 41
Searching for Shapes......Page 44
The Designing Eye: Seeing the Big Picture......Page 47
Designing With Negative and Positive Shapes......Page 56
Design With Interlocking Shapes......Page 60
Applying Design Basics......Page 70
Stylize for Unity......Page 75
Simplifying Color in Your Paintbox......Page 83
Uncomplicating Color......Page 85
Classify Color Before Mixing......Page 92
Color Terms......Page 95
Make Your Own Personal Paintbox Color Wheel......Page 97
Mixing Vibrant Secondary and Intermediate Colors......Page 107
Simplifying Color in Your Paintings......Page 110
What Is Painting by Color Property?......Page 112
Making Property-Related Choices......Page 114
Painting by Value......Page 118
Paint by Changing Value: Light to Dark......Page 122
Paint by Changing Value: Dark to Light......Page 132
Achieving Visual Shimmer......Page 140
Painting by Hue......Page 150
Painting by Analagous Hues: Changes in Color Temperature......Page 159
Paint by Changing Hue: Analogous Warm Colors......Page 164
Paint by Changing Hue: Full Spectral Color......Page 176
Paint by Changing Hue: Triadic Colors......Page 186
Paint by Changing Hue: Complementary Colors......Page 194
Painting by Intensity......Page 203
Paint by Changing Intensity: Pure to Neutral......Page 208
Color Rescue Alternatives......Page 216
Simplifying Complex Shapes......Page 219
Shape First, Edge Second......Page 221
See It, Create It: Multilayered Shapes......Page 230
Hard Edge, Soft Edge......Page 237
Big Shapes Before Little Shapes......Page 246
Paint Multilayered Shapes......Page 257
Design & Color Challenges and How to Resolve Them......Page 279
Becoming a Puzzle Master......Page 280
Let the Underpainting Do the Work......Page 282
Take Shapes From Flat to Round......Page 288
Apply Color to a Value Structure......Page 301
Harmonize Shape, Color and Movement......Page 316
About the Author......Page 326
Dedication......Page 328
Acknowledgments......Page 329
Copyright......Page 331

Citation preview

Simplifying Design & Color for Artists Positive Results Using Negative Painting Techniques Linda Kemp

NORTH LIGHT BOOKS Cincinnati, Ohio www.artistsnetwork.com

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Contents Supplies You Need

Introduction Simple by Design A Little Planning, A Lot of Purpose Dynamic Simplicity: Order and Conflict Take Your Viewer on a Journey Shape: Need-to-Know Basics for Design Family Relationships of Line, Shape and Movement Design Formats Incorporating Line, Shape and Movement Relationships Overlapping Frames: A Format and a Building Method Get Shape-Conscious Searching for Shapes The Designing Eye: Seeing the Big Picture Designing With Negative and Positive Shapes Design With Interlocking Shapes Applying Design Basics Stylize for Unity

Simplifying Color in Your Paintbox Uncomplicating Color Classify Color Before Mixing Color Terms Make Your Own Personal Paintbox Color Wheel Mixing Vibrant Secondary and Intermediate Colors

Simplifying Color in Your Paintings What Is Painting by Color Property? Making Property-Related Choices Painting by Value Paint by Changing Value: Light to Dark Paint by Changing Value: Dark to Light Achieving Visual Shimmer Painting by Hue Painting by Analagous Hues: Changes in Color Temperature Paint by Changing Hue: Analogous Warm Colors Paint by Changing Hue: Full Spectral Color Paint by Changing Hue: Triadic Colors Paint by Changing Hue: Complementary Colors Painting by Intensity Paint by Changing Intensity: Pure to Neutral Color Rescue Alternatives

Simplifying Complex Shapes Shape First, Edge Second See It, Create It: Multilayered Shapes Hard Edge, Soft Edge Big Shapes Before Little Shapes Paint Multilayered Shapes

Design & Color Challenges and How to Resolve Them Becoming a Puzzle Master Let the Underpainting Do the Work Take Shapes From Flat to Round Apply Color to a Value Structure Harmonize Shape, Color and Movement About the Author Dedication Acknowledgments Copyright

Supplies You Need Most of the supplies needed for these projects can be found in a basic painting kit. The projects are presented in either watercolor or acrylic but the concepts can be applied in any painting medium. Use your favorite products and equipment. Any specific colors, brushes, papers/canvas and extra tools needed to complete each exercise are listed at the beginning of each project; the following is a comprehensive list of the materials you will need. Surface 140-lb. (300gsm) cold-press watercolor paper Optional watercolor paper: 90-lb. (190gsm) cold-press; 140-lb. (300gsm) and 300-lb. (640gsm) hot-press Ampersand Claybord Prepared canvas or canvas panel Gessoed paper (optional) Paints Watercolors of choice Acrylic paints of choice (transparent and opaque) Brushes For watercolor: soft, flat wash brushes in 1⁄2-inch (12mm), 3⁄4-inch (19mm), 1-inch (25mm) and 1 1⁄2inch (38mm) sizes nos. 8, 10, 12 and 14 round (my preference is synthetic) For acrylic: ⁄ -inch (12mm), 3⁄4-inch (19mm), 1-inch (25mm) bright no. 6 round soft fan brush 1-inch (25mm) hog bristle or natural bristle housepainting brush 12

Other supplies Smooth white gesso Glazing medium Black fine-point and broad-tip markers Water-soluble fabric marker (for very fine and easily removable lines) Watercolor pencils (optional) Graphite pencils Sketchbook and sketch paper Tracing paper Palette paper (neutral gray) Spray water bottles (fine-mist and large droplets) Rag or untextured paper towel Sponge Plexiglas or nonporous plastic board Wooden board for drying Ruler or T-square Reference photos and sketches or live resource material Photocopier or scanner and computer Hair dryer

Working small While I thoroughly enjoy tackling a large canvas, the smaller sizes of the projects and finished works in this book were specifically selected to allow you to clearly see the brush marks, surface textures and techniques. Working on a small scale allows for lots of experimentation without investing a great deal of time or expense in materials. With the exception of the last few demonstrations, each project should take no longer than an hour or two.

Introduction

Unspoken Series #1 Acrylic on panel 11" × 14" (28cm × 36cm) Making good paintings isn’t about knowing all the answers. It is about delighting in exploring solutions to challenges and visual problems. When we make a painting, we reveal a lot about ourselves. Beyond simply displaying skill level and technical abilities, the paintings we make give insight into our sensitivities, natural sense of design and color, mood, personality and our ever-evolving interests. A painting is a visual narrative of the relationship between the subject and the artist. Some painters believe the subject is everything and that it is their job to portray its essence with accuracy. For others, the subject is insignificant in itself but serves as a symbol or device for revealing and expressing how the artist thinks and feels. The subject is pliable and is molded to suit artistic intent. I am continually inspired by the intricacies of interwoven forms and the tangled layers of patterns I discover when I hike through woodlands and countryside. It is my curiosity and desire to decipher, understand and organize the shapes and colors that motivates me to paint. In an attempt to unravel nature’s elusive mysteries and understand how “it” all fits together, my strategy relies on two things: simplifying the complicated and taking an alternative negative (subtractive) approach to build my imagery.

I confess that I am obsessed with negative painting—creating an object by painting the space around it, rather than the more usual practice of filling it in with color. While it is a simple concept, to make a successful painting there are many decisions to be made beyond choosing whether to put paint inside or outside of a shape. Challenging the way we approach subject matter We typically describe our subject matter as landscapes, figures, portraits of people and animals, florals or still life. Further defined, favorite themes might be described as light patterns and shadows on trees, children playing at the beach, a bouquet of roses, or trinkets on an old dresser. It is frequently with these types of subject-specific descriptions in mind that instructional books and workshops teach us how to paint. While most instruction also presents direction for color and design, this information is secondary to the objective of depicting things. It is perfectly acceptable to want to paint these subjects, but as you work to improve your art, I suggest working with a different purpose. Concentrate specifically on exploring color and design concepts as the objective or subject of the painting. You can still paint your favorite subjects, but they are no longer the point of issue of the painting. Think of it this way: when you paint, you hang essential concepts of color and design on shapes and symbols, just as a clothing shop displays the latest colors and fashions on mannequins. Use the shapes you find in this book or choose anything that interests you for your paintings. The examples you see in this book may feature daisies, leaf patterns and lace along with an assortment of other objects from nature to merely serve as opportunities to explore the real objectives of the projects: To provide tactics to help you simplify color and design concepts To build your knowledge and confidence so that you can think your way through the problems of future paintings To teach you strategies for working in the negative In this way, rather than the portrayal of things, the objective of each project becomes breaking down design and color into practical, easy-to-use concepts. When your goal is to become a better designer and colorist, you will become a better painter regardless of what objects you depict or style you choose to work in.

Whether you paint in a highly realistic, abstract or modernist manner, the concepts of simplifying can be readily applied. The style of painting demonstrated in this book is contemporary and semi-abstracted with a stylized treatment of form, color and design. How to use this book In this book you will not find strict rules or formulas to be rigidly followed, but instead you will find recommendations to stimulate an observation-based attitude that will help you think like a designer and colorist. The exercises are not intended to be paintings unto themselves; they are lessons to be puzzled through. The first ones walk you through shape-making (working with negative and positive shapes), simplified design strategies and need-to-know color basics. The skills and understanding you gain while working methodically through each fundamental lesson will train you to think and see in a different way. This knowledge will prepare you for the lessons later in the book, as you learn to paint by color property and reduce forms to their basic shapes by flattening and eliminating all but the most essential details. The final projects in this book deal with layering complex shapes and address tactics for massing shapes, suggesting volume and depth and creating beautiful surfaces. Each project starts with specific Before You Begin notes and color charts, outlining the purpose and suggesting planning strategies. I encourage you to complete each project in turn. If the particular imagery does not initially interest you, the assignment will be more challenging, thus increasing the potential for discovery. Joyful experimenting will lure you to begin; purposeful challenges will keep you learning.

Simple by Design Following the guidelines for a simplified approach to design, you can strip down design to the essentials. Use basic shapes, lines and movements to help you work with increased confidence as you create more successful paintings.

Through repeated circles and curves, Love Nest weaves together a complicated network of lines and shapes to build a harmonious and unified design. The strongest value contrast has been situated to draw the viewer’s attention away from the nest, my attempt to help the parent birds conceal their precious eggs. Love Nest Series #4 Acrylic on Claybord 12" × 12" (30cm × 30cm)

A Little Planning, A Lot of Purpose Painters arrange elements of color, shape and line to express the meaning of the subject matter, their response to it and for the simple objective of making an interesting design. Effective expression depends on good visual design; good visual design depends on careful observation and creative thought, along with the proper handling of painting tools and techniques. As a painter you work with the design you see in your subject matter and the design you create in your paintings as you arrange the elements (colors, shapes, lines). It takes deliberate observation of the subject to understand what it expresses and how the design enhances the expressive intent. Good composition supports the natural or intrinsic design so that the subject matter, message or theme becomes clear. The viewer is not distracted or confused by unnecessary details or led to incorrect conclusions. Designing vs. decorating Do you design or merely decorate the surface of your painting? Effective visual design components reinforce the theme or purpose of the painting and draw attention to it, whereas the decorated surface displays ornamental extras which may be pleasing to look at but which draw attention to themselves and away from the subject matter. Painters need to be aware of this difference because it is natural to become involved in the joy of mark-making and building textures as you decorate the painting with things you like, but which distract from the theme. As you select the elements you will include in your paintings, consider these questions: Do the parts enhance, reveal something important and focus attention on the subject matter? Are they essential to the visual design, making the statement clear, or are they merely embellishments included for decorative entertainment? Making a plan Composition in painting is concerned with the arrangement of pictorial elements, and how they relate to each other and fit together as a whole. Thoughtful decisions need to be made about the placement of colors, shapes, lines and textures with the intention of creating balance, unity and harmony. Consideration needs to be given to the flow, or the pathways, that lead the viewer through the painting to the desired areas of interest. Many painting instructors recommend that design possibilities be investigated with

thumbnail studies, value plans and color swatches before they become big problems in your paintings. Although painting students know they should work out the composition first to save themselves from design disasters, pushing paint around seems much more enticing than working through diagrams to figure out focal point, light source and a value pattern, along with the required elements and principles of design. Perhaps it is an eagerness to start painting or just a matter of not knowing how to make a practical plan that frequently results in students applying very little thought to “what to put where” before the images and color are applied to the paper. I certainly understand how alluring the joy of painting is and, if you were to join me in my studio as I work, you might think that my paintings spontaneously happen, but this is not the case. Before I begin, I devise a plan that balances my desire to charge in with paint with a measure of control and forethought. As you work through the projects in this book, you will gain more understanding of my simple approach that makes designing less complicated to enable you to get at painting straight away and still make successful compositions. You will also see how to use a design format known as “overlapping frames” as an option for building a composition that evolves as the artist works, to keep preplanning to a minimum. You will be happy to know that simplified designing only takes a few moments and doesn’t require a lot of thumbnail sketches or elaborate notes. When you first begin building design-based paintings, work your plan out on paper. Eventually, with practice you may be able to visually think your way through the process.

A brisk autumn morning finds the first traces of icy frost settled on bright, warmly colored vines. As one season takes a sharp turn into the next, I become aware of the heightened contrasts of light and dark, warm and cool, and the vibration of the complements blue and orange. When the emphasis is placed on arranging shapes in a pleasing, balanced composition, your design should work from any direction. This painting appears on the cover, only rotated. Did you notice? Unspoken Series #2 Acrylic on panel

14" × 11" (36cm × 28cm)

Dynamic Simplicity: Order and Conflict “Art is the elimination of the unnecessary.”—Pablo Picasso When the artist depends solely on fixed rules of composition, the arrangement of elements can become predictable, contrived or superficial. To achieve an innovative, clear and effective expression, the artist relies on balancing the conventions of visual design with flexibility in thinking. Dynamic simplicity is established through a relationship of order and conflict. Order provides unity; conflict adds some spice.

Points to remember to establish order and unity The subject is what you want your painting to communicate. Effective design reveals the subject matter. The artist uses visual design to support and deliver a clear expression of the subject matter. Each element used in your painting needs to reinforce your message. Always keep the subject or theme in mind while you are painting. It may be helpful to jot your theme on a piece of paper and keep it in view as a reminder while you work.

Creating order Simplifying your paintings is as much about what you leave out as what you put in. Simplicity in art brings order, harmony and stability to the composition regardless of how many objects are in the painting. In order to simplify, eliminate anything that distracts from the objective and enhance, exaggerate and repeat the elements that serve to reinforce that theme. For the purpose of unifying your painting, simplicity depends on dominance, balance and repetition. Establish dominance Choose one aspect of the design as the major player or influence in the painting. This dominant feature may be a single color, a color concept, value, shape, line or movement. Maintain balance Balance may be perceived as symmetrical or asymmetrical (formal/informal). Symmetrical balance is organized around a central axis and strives for a sense of

equilibrium: one side equal to the other. Asymmetrical balance depends on tension created through a less formal weighting of the color, value, intensity, line, shape and size. The resulting conflict establishes an active dynamic synergism. A well-balanced asymmetrical painting feels unified as it displays a combination of tension and control. The eye moves around the painting on a pathway predetermined by the artist through the selective use of the elements of design. Note that asymmetrical balance is quite different from imbalance. An imbalanced painting lacks unity and appears awkward or lopsided. It may feel uncomfortable or in need of “cropping” to stabilize the composition. Use repetition to form patterns and rhythm Regular or random repetition of design elements (shapes, color, etc.) establishes patterns and rhythm. The eye seeks out similar elements as it follows from one to the next, creating movement and flow through the painting. Creating conflict While unity in your painting is the goal, if you reduce and overly simplify all the elements in your painting, you risk losing visual excitement. To make a more dynamic statement, offset the stability with a bit of conflict. Introduce contrasting elements Dissimilar elements spice up your paintings and create movement and excitement. A little goes a long way; too much tension makes the work overly active and confusing. A good guideline is to feature the dominance of one element and a little of another. The more dissimilar your contrasting elements are, the greater the attraction. For a more subtle effect, reduce the contrast. Provide an area of interest for dramatic impact Contrasting elements immediately grab our attention. They automatically establish focal points, so position them with purpose. Decide early in the painting process specifically where you want your viewer to look. Showcase these areas with some attentiongrabbing devices: Highly-textured marks placed in quieter smooth passages A large shape to command attention away from many small shapes. Conversely, a few small shapes actively demand attention when surrounded by many large forms.

A different shape, such as one triangle in a collection of circles A sudden or unexpected change in direction, such as one triangle that stretches to the left while several others lean right A little of something placed among a lot of something else Extreme contrast of a color property: hue, value or intensity

Does every painting need a strong area of interest? Not necessarily! There are times when a strong focal area works against the objective. If your goal is to present a more pastoral, calm feeling, then the contrasts should be less dramatic in keeping with the desired mood. In cases where the painting is developed with an all-over pattern, the appearance of a focal area detracts from the idea of the repeated decorative motif.

The appearance of pansies in the spring brings happy thoughts and the promise of renewed life. To celebrate the joy and drama of the season, I relied on both order and conflict for this small watercolor. Repeated curves and circles and the analogous transitions of hues help to provide unity. Complements of yellow and violet and extreme

contrast of value are used in the areas of highest impact to provide the excitement. Dorothy’s Pansies Watercolor 7 1⁄2" × 7 1⁄2" (19cm × 19cm)

Take Your Viewer on a Journey

Sunlight seeping through a tangle of branches never fails to bring me to a halt! With every whisper of the gentlest breeze or the sharp, quick movement of a bird, the glow shimmers and reshapes. To lead you to the light through the twisting lines and shapes, the highest contrast of light and dark—as well as crisp, hard edges—are placed with purpose. The balance of the piece is more diffused, with lower contrast of value, softened edges and veils of opaques that have been thinned with acrylic medium to a translucent quality. The Color of Light at This Particular Moment Acrylic on canvas 16" × 16" (41cm × 41cm) You are the tour guide who leads your viewer on a sightseeing trip through your painting. The colors, shapes, lines and textures that you include provide pathways that lead to entertaining destinations and specific areas of interest (focal areas) and set the viewer’s visual speed. How we make our marks and where they are positioned has the power to influence the mood and the speed in which the viewer travels through the painting.

If you wish to convey a quiet mood or encourage the viewer to comfortably drift through the painting, include: Lines, edges and shapes that are lost and found Open areas with little or no detail Softly blended brushstrokes Harmonious, gradual transitions and gradations Reduced contrasts in hue, value, intensity, size and shape Lines and routes that meander rather than point directly to any area of interest No major center of interest; instead, numerous areas of minor impact To provide a directed pathway and stimulating visual information, include: Hard lines and sharp angles Intricate details and collections of small shapes Energetic brushwork Active, descriptive edges that are visually entertaining Lines and shapes that provide direct pathways or routes to the areas of interest Extreme changes in hue, value, intensity, size and shape A strong focal area

Shape: Need-to-Know Basics for Design You probably have a favorite color, but do you have a favorite shape? Most people are immediately attracted to color and don’t realize how effectively shape and line impact the visual experience. Shapes simplified A shape is an enclosed space having both height and width, the boundaries of which are defined by line. The delineating line can be real or implied by a change in color, value or texture. As artists concerned with design we learn to see that natural and man-made objects can be broken down into three basic forms: the sphere, the cube and the cone. Simplify these three-dimensional forms further by flattening and you have the three primary shapes: circle, square and triangle. By combining and modifying these three basic shapes we are able to make all other shapes, both geometric and organic. Thinking in terms of positive and negative A figure, bouquet of flowers or other objects in your painting are positive shapes. Often overlooked but of equal importance for the support of the design is the area that surrounds the objects, known as the negative space. Positive shapes and negative space share edges and link together to create the complete design. In two-dimensional work, such as painting and drawing, the negative space is contained between the solid positive shapes and the edge of the paper or canvas as well as in the smaller spaces between objects. I call the trapped shapes “captured negatives.” The trick is to see the negative spaces as shapes, not just as insignificant, empty holes.

Painting the positive shapes The most common approach to drawing and painting focuses on working in the positive. A shape is made to represent a particular object and then filled in with color. The artist concentrates on the area inside of the shape while adding texture and details. Shading can also be added within the shape to suggest volume.

Painting the space around Working in the negative is an alternative approach to drawing and painting. For this method the same object can be created, but instead of filling it in with color, texture or shading, these elements are applied around the shape. The focus is now on the area outside of the shape, rather than on the inside. In painting and drawing, you can communicate a subject by painting the subject itself (positive painting) or by painting the space around it (negative painting). Strong paintings can be made by working in the positive or negative or by combining both approaches. Whichever you choose, you can depict any object or subject matter. The approaches work equally well whether you work in a highly realistic, loose, stylized or abstract style in oil, pastel, acrylic or watercolor. It is a matter of recognizing that there is more than one option for tackling painting problems. When you know the options, you can make informed decisions. In this book most of my solutions revolve around negative

painting concepts using simplified shapes.

Building with positive shapes Building in the positive is an additive process, as new shapes and details are added on top of the existing forms. As the layering proceeds, the shapes that are made first are pushed back and the layering typically builds from back to front.

Building with negative shapes Building in the negative is referred to as a subtractive approach. New shapes are positioned behind and under the previous forms. When developed in this manner, the first shapes created remain on top, closest to the viewer, as the layers are built from front to back. In my work the objects that are closest are made first.

Family Relationships of Line, Shape and Movement One elementary principle for simplifying design that works for me can be found in a logical series of interconnected steps linking shapes, lines and movement. The order of steps is not fixed, as each relationship is fluid and dynamic: Recognize that everything we see and draw can be built with the primary shapes: circles, squares or triangles (along with combinations and modifications of the three primary shapes). See that the three primary shapes are created with only three kinds of gestural motions: curved, straight and diagonal movements. Notice that each of the primary shapes is constructed by its own particular kind of line. The circle is formed by a continuous curved line, a square is a series of straight horizontal and vertical lines intersecting at right angles, and a triangle is built with straight lines on the diagonal. Be aware that as your eye follows a line or around a shape, movement is created. The pathway can be curved, straight or diagonal. Families working together Lines can be thick, thin, any length, continuous or implied. Shapes can be open or closed, solid or merely suggested to allow the viewer to “connect the dots.” While this may seem like an unnecessary lesson in basic geometry, it is important to start thinking about the fundamental relationships between shape, line and movement and how you can put them to work in your art. Feature one family relationship or interrelated partnership of line, shape and movement throughout a piece to solidify the theme, build design formats and establish visual unity.

Curves

A curve is a line that continuously changes direction. When a curve radiates around a fixed center, it creates the primary circle shape. Squeeze or stretch the circle to make a secondary oval form. Follow a curve along a pathway that can spiral or create a wave, serpentine or arc. Curved lines, circles, spirals and ovals are all part of one family.

Straight lines Horizontal and vertical lines come together to form the primary shape of a square. Stretch or compact a square to create a secondary shape: a rectangle. If you move your brush over the paper using only horizontal and vertical straight lines, the movement changes and turns at right angles where these lines meet, making grid patterns. The speed of movement is determined by the length of the line.

Diagonal lines Diagonal lines are straight and cut across the page in any direction or angle. The primary and most stable triangle has three diagonal lines intersecting at 60-degree angles. For dynamic secondary triangles, vary the length of the lines and size of the angles. Connect diagonal lines for a trip across the paper that zigzags and radiates in many directions.

Design Formats Incorporating Line, Shape and Movement Relationships Art scholars have made fascinating studies of the composition formats used in great historical and contemporary paintings. Often what may at first appear to be very complex designs are actually founded on the basic fundamentals. While there are many examples of spectacular paintings that involve multiple complex relationships and complicated arrangements, our goal is to simplify design. Begin by limiting the structure to the most basic equations. Shown on these pages are some of the classic design formats (skeletal structures or armatures) that are used in formal and abstract compositions. Notice the simplistic and repeated use of the three basic lines: curved, straight and diagonal. You won’t need to memorize all the possible configurations; remember that the design formats predominantly feature a relationship between one primary shape, line and movement, ensuring that the composition will be visually unified and harmonious. Straight lines

Combined horizontal and vertical straight lines (cruciforms)

Now try this Re-create these composition plans and add your own variations in a sketchbook, using black and gray markers or pencils. Begin by marking the outside edges to set the boundaries of your designs in a variety of sizes to match your favorite painting proportions.

Curves

Diagonals

Other formats

Cantilever Just as an architectural cantilever allows a structure to project beyond its support, this option balances a small and a large shape by a real or implied line. The smaller form floats freely except for a delicate tether to the larger, grounded shape.

All-over patterning This design format employs repeated and random motifs and marks. There is generally no focal point and the surface is highly active with limited areas of rest. If a focal point is desired, color, value or intensity contrasts are incorporated.

Overlapping frames (or forms) This is more a method of building than a composition format (see Overlapping Frames: A Format and a Building Method for more information). Through the repetition of shapes and lines, the structure is built on a grid or all-over pattern or may follow other classical design formats. A focal point is established by the addition of any contrasting shape, hue or value. Modify and combine to spice up your design The repetition of one kind of line paired with its partner shape guarantees a harmonious relationship in your painting. It’s a safe approach to design. You won’t get into much trouble with this strategy, but before long you will most likely want your design to be more exciting. To make things more interesting, add a little of something different such as another kind of line, shape, direction or movement. Limit the variable, modify and insert the changes one at a time as you adjust the plan. Be sure to maintain a predominance of one motif for unity, but counterbalance with just a bit of the spice that another type of line or shape will add. Blend and combine forms to soften geometric shapes or stylize organic forms. As you make your plans, predetermine which movements you will feature before you begin.

Combine and conquer Combinations could include a straight horizontal paired with curves or with diagonals.

Introduce changes gradually Break a straight horizontal design by inserting a few diagonals that intersect one of the lines. Though short, the diagonals instantly attract attention and break the action from speeding across the paper. In the third diagram more diagonals are added for balance and to pull the eye around the design.

Use shape and line to set up areas of interest Set up a competition between shapes and lines as you play one against the other. The balance you set up will be unique to you alone.

Now try this Build a design with a major emphasis on curves and a minor on diagonal, then reverse the design to put the emphasis on the diagonal with a hint of curve. Remember, use a lot of one and a little of something else for dynamic simplicity in any design.

Overlapping Frames: A Format and a Building Method The design format known as overlapping frames (forms) warrants further mention, as you will put it to work it to accomplish many of the projects in this book. This easy-touse method of composition is often featured in contemporary painting, collage and scrapbooking, as the layouts are arranged with overlapping images, photos and memorabilia. This adaptable format allows the artist to move, adjust and realign components as the overall form is modified to balance shapes, lines and colors in response to the evolving design. The shapes may be open or closed and change in size, direction and placement as they are repeated to establish a strong pattern. As the structure of the composition evolves, the overall framework transforms into cruciform, straight-line format, all-over pattern or another classic design arrangement. How do overlapping frames work? Your design changes and grows as each new form is added. Begin by placing one shape anywhere on the paper. Introduce additional shapes one at a time in response to the existing elements, as if playing a balancing game. As you add new forms, consider the visual weight of the shape, its size, color and position and how it affects the balance as a whole. Multiple shapes and colors can be used, but this approach also works well with a single shape repeated as a motif throughout the design. Building with overlapping frames is typically done from back to front as new items are applied on top of each other. It works equally as well for negative painters and is the approach used in many of the projects in this book. For the objective of working in the negative, you will adapt the process by “underlapping” shapes, but the concept is the same whether you work front to back or back to front.

Overlapping frames using repeated circles, squares or triangles Repeat a single shape or motif for a simple design that evolves through the building process. Make your design visually entertaining by stretching and changing the size and placement of the forms as they are layered.

What about a focal point? When an attention-grabbing focal point is required, insert a dissimilar shape or line into your overlapping-frames design. For example, one circle in a framework of triangles immediately draws attention. For added attention include another form of contrast such as a change of value or hue complement. In cases where all-over patterning is the design scheme, a focal point may be a distraction that is contrary to the plan and can be omitted.

Get Shape-Conscious When you start building with shapes instead of things, you take a big step toward becoming a better designer and painter. Making great shapes is especially important if you are working in the negative. Artists who work with the more typical positive approach generally fill shapes that represent objects with color and details. Shadows and gradations suggest volume and form while textures or other “inside information” help to provide visual clues about the subject. Working in the negative is all about shapes and how they fit together. When a painter chooses to work in the negative, great shapes become crucial, as the viewer must recognize objects without the help of interior details. The shapes tell the story. The focus is not on the inside details of the specific subject, nor is it about suggesting volume with shading. There may be little or no emphasis on modeling form, so the shapes flatten and space appears shallow. Any suggestion of texture may appear along the outside edge of the shape as indicated by a soft edge, broken or serrated line. Good, descriptive negative shapes allow the viewer to differentiate a cat from a bird or a tree without the artist needing to provide fur, feathers or leaves. It won’t matter if the depiction of a cat is blue, green or paisley—get the shape correct and there will be no need to match the color and fur texture of your favorite feline. Expressive shapes go beyond accurately reproducing the silhouette of an object. As a designer you have the opportunity to modify, stylize and exaggerate to make your shapes informative and visually entertaining.

Symmetrical and uninteresting Fill this shape with beautiful color and intricate details and it will still be a poor shape. Draw a line vertically through the center and notice that the two halves are almost mirror images. There is no movement or variety in the positive or negative shapes or lines. This face-on view of a flower is too symmetrical and unimaginative.

Variety and movement in shape gives interest Even without color or details, this shape is more revealing and expressive. There is variety in the edges, and the four corners are different sizes and shapes. Rather than paint an object just as it appears, change the angle of view to find the most interesting profile. I like my shapes to “swing,” curve or slant on a diagonal to create a feeling of movement.

Searching for Shapes Shapes are all around us, but all too often we miss seeing them as we immediately jump to a mode of identifying objects by name. As children we are taught to label and catalog items—for example, when we view a landscape our reaction is, “There are two green pine trees and a rock.” To become a better designer you need to make a more shapesensitive analysis: “There are two triangles and a square.” Shapes become easier to see when color, texture and interior details are eliminated. Test this on your computer by manipulating your photos. You may need to experiment with the color adjustments of your particular software, but here are the steps that will make the shapes, both positive and negative, more obvious.

Reference photo Open a favorite photo in a photo-editing software program on your computer. For your first few attempts I recommend close-up photos of flowers or plants.

View in black and white Convert the photo to black and white by adjusting the gray scale or reducing the saturation.

Increase the contrast Increase the contrast to the maximum and reduce the exposure. Your large positive shapes will become solid black and the negative space will be white.

Convert to negative If your software can convert your photo to negative, apply this change. Positive shapes are now white while the surrounding negative space and captured negatives become black. The small, scattered darks are not just random marks; these captured negatives represent the spaces between the leaves. They have specific shapes and sizes, and their location is essential in defining the leaves and stems of the plant.

The Designing Eye: Seeing the Big Picture A perfect blossom or cluster of berries practically begs to be painted. To preserve the vision until you can get into your painting place, you grab your trusty camera and close in on the subject, focusing in on the amazing detail and color. The subject of your admiration lures you in, all the while seducing you away from seeing the big picture. Working with photographs When I head out for a hike, I tote along a camera to photograph the countryside, birds, close-ups of wildflowers and just about anything I can wrap my shutter around. I like taking pictures, and judging by the abundance of photo-graphs that appear at workshops, painting students do too. I have no doubt that at this very minute there are cameras snapping potential subjects for paintings. Photographs serve as a good starting point for inspiration and provide lots of information. We select a particular photo to paint, often because we like the colors or for sentimental reasons. We become emotionally captivated and it is understandable to want to put heartfelt, special memories into a painting. But how often do you choose to paint a vacation picture for its great lines or unusual placement of shapes? It is natural to think that because you love a photo or have sweet memories of when it was taken that it will make a good painting, but that isn’t necessarily the case. When you use photographs, images from magazines or the paintings of admired artists/instructors as resource material, it is easy to fall into the trap of allowing the ready-made compositions to dictate the design of a painting without considering whether the composition is balanced or interesting. If you want to paint from a photograph, be sure to use your own, but don’t rely on it to do your design work. Rather than being swept away by an emotional reaction, analyze what it is in particular that draws you to that photo. Then extract that important essence as the theme of your painting, but improve the composition by redesigning it. On the next few pages are photos and diagrams that show you some common design pitfalls, along with suggestions for working around them. Next time, before you choose a special photo for resource material, take a moment to plot out the basic structure. Make the adjustments before you put your favorite photos into paint.

Tips for better designs when using photographs

Take more than one photo of your subject for reference. Pick and choose pieces from several to make a better composition. If you can’t move the subject to get a better photo, move yourself. Squat or lie down if necessary or circle the subject looking for the best angles before you capture it with your camera. Upload digital images to your computer and modify the contrast, eliminate color and convert to “Negative” to see the bones of your photos to help identify design problems. Use your photo to inspire you but don’t become a slave to it. Once you start to work, turn the photo over and look at your painting. Remember that you are the designer, not your photograph.

Not so picture-perfect This photo of a pretty flower is typical of the images students frequently choose to paint. It is great for botanical details or a nursery catalog, but unfortunately, it doesn’t make a good composition for painting.

Distracted by little shapes Following the photo from The Designing Eye: Seeing the Big Picture, the center button and all the petals, leaves and stem of the daisy were sketched. The little shapes are fun to draw and entertaining, but they just temporarily distract from a poor design.

Seeing the big shapes When it comes to good design it’s the big shapes that do the work, not the little ones. Eliminate the ruffles and frills at the edges of the flowers and leaves to see the design: a centered bull’s-eye. This is the most common design problem that I see when painters rely on photos of a large flower, a bouquet in a vase or a single figure.

Develop x-ray vision Because the photographer is so intent on capturing the beauty and color of the flower, the image is centered in the viewfinder with no attention paid to the negative space around it. There are times when you may want to center your subject in your composition, to make a powerful statement or sell an idea, but generally a less formal balance (asymmetrical) will be more interesting.

Change up a balanced (but boring) square

Four clusters of “face-on” flowers, all approximately the same size, make a very stable and uninspiring composition. The outside corners (negative space) are similar in size, shape, value and color. If your photo looks like this, you need to make some adjustments. Provide variety in the size and placement of the flower shapes. Make the daisies more interesting by turning some to show them in profile. Adjust the corners so that no two appear the same.

Connect the dots to see the big shapes The angle has changed slightly to provide some variety in the shapes. The square arrangement isn’t as obvious, but the large daisy cluster in the lower left drags the corner down and feels imbalanced. Try blocking this corner out with your hand. The square of flowers becomes a triangle that offers interesting design possibilities. Did you notice the vertical stem that divides the photo into two equal halves? The captured negatives on either side of this line are almost mirror images. Shift, tilt and adjust the

positive and negatives shapes for a more attractive arrangement.

Divide a painting into unequal parts On the plus side, the angle that this photo was taken from shows the daisies in profile so they don’t look like flat, round disks, and there are some nice little buds providing variety in size. There are also a few interesting captured negatives between the leaves. Unfortunately, the top half of this photo is filled with evenly spaced, light flowers while the bottom half is dark leaves. The stems subdivide the base into almost equal quarters. Group the flowers into blocks of differing sizes and provide for uneven spacing. Stagger the placement of flowers and leaves above and below the center line to move the eye in a zigzag path rather than a straight line.

Seeing around corners I like the changes in value, size and shape of the corners shown here and the pattern of captured negative spaces between the leaves. The dark leaves against the light background and the light flowers surrounded by darks are excellent for playing with dramatic value contrast. This photo offers some better possibilities, with the exception that the line that separates the flowers and greenery cuts the paper in half, this time on the diagonal. Did you notice the dissecting diagonal is echoed by the reverse transition of dark and light of the background? If you choose to work with a photo like this, move some of the flowers across the dividing line and then change the angle of the light/dark line to help balance the weight of your painting.

Designing With Negative and Positive Shapes In most paintings, solid positive forms establish the subject, which is surrounded by airy, open negative areas. Often paintings begin by defining the positive subject; the negative space is a minor consideration. As the work progresses, the “background” may remain empty until near completion. Eventually it may be filled with diluted color, nondescript shapes, the suggestion of something, or left untouched so as not to distract from the subject. Whether the space around the subject is washed with delicate color, solid darks, decorative patterns or a vague distant view from a window, the negative space is unfortunately often dealt with only as an afterthought and not an influential element that can enhance the subject. Before beginning a painting, consider the importance of the negative areas of your painting and how they can be used to strengthen your subject and the composition.

A floating positive Here, the positive subject (a green triangle) is centered in a field of black negative space that visually outweighs it. The small positive floats in a large sea of negative space.

Shift the balance of power Change the balance of the proportions of positive and negative areas to make your design visually active. This is easily achieved by increasing the size of positive elements or reducing the negative. The green triangle has been expanded to become the dominant player. Blocking out or reducing some of the negative space changes the balance to clearly place the emphasis on the positive subject. This is why cropping a painting with a smaller mat seems to magically improve it. Notice that in this case the negative space remains symmetrical and uninteresting.

Empower both positive and negative The enlarged triangle becomes more dynamic when rotated and extended beyond the boundaries of the design. The negative space has been divided into three smaller pieces, each differing in shape and size.

Make every shape great To build your design and make the negative spaces more engaging, subdivide it further. Here is your chance to repeat and connect forms and lines. Echo the primary images to reinforce your subject. Aim to make every piece interesting. Once the parts interlock in an arrangement that is to your liking, they may be filled with texture, pattern, graded value or color.

Design With Interlocking Shapes The linking of negative and positive shapes in a painting is often compared to fitting together pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. However, the pattern used to cut a puzzle into pieces rarely relates to or follows the shapes of the subject matter. To see the scene you need to look past the network of die-cut honeycomb tiles. Perhaps a more helpful comparison can be made with the interlocking shapes in colored glass window panels or Tiffany-style lamps. The shape of each piece of glass intentionally represents a specific object or grouping of objects, which when pieced together contributes to and influences the design. The complete design fills the entire space as defined by a solid border. As painters we have greater flexibility with our shape-making than artists working with glass, due to the fact that glass prefers to break only in a hard, straight line. We can soften edges and easily cut into our shapes to make serrated edges, highly informative silhouettes and small captured negatives. It is up to you to discover the unique shape and edge characteristics of your subject. Follow along to see how I design with negative and positive shapes for a subject more complex than clusters of triangles.

Supplies Black permanent markers (fine-point and broad tip) Sketch paper Tracing paper 2 L-shaped mat boards or 4 cardboard strips Cut flowers Before you Begin Practical suggestions for success:

When doing preparatory sketches, draw the outside border first to define the space and establish the boundary. Stretch your positive shapes to connect to that framework and extend them beyond the edges. Use semitransparent paper as an overlay to conceal the small details so you can see the big shapes. Working from life lets you fully explore your specimen from every angle.

STEP 1: Start sketching On a generously sized piece of paper, make detailed pencil sketches of your subject from many viewpoints. You won’t need a large bouquet of flowers for this project since a stalk or two will provide all the variety of shapes you need. Rotate a single stem in one hand so you can view it from every possible angle. Overlap the shapes and be sure to include various sizes of flowers, buds and leaves. Don’t worry about the composition, shading or details—just enjoy the process of sketching.

Seeing the big picture To avoid getting caught up in the details when you need to focus on evaluating overall shapes and composition, try the following techniques:

View your painting from across the room. Reverse the image in a mirror. Observe the piece in reduced light. Turn the work upside down. Look at your painting through a reducing glass or binoculars turned back to front.

Take a digital photo of your painting and view it on the small screen of your camera. Don’t use the zoom! Import the digital image into a photo-editing software program and manipulate the contrast or reverse the image.

Step 2: Focus on the contour Place a piece of tracing paper on top of your sketch. The details and small shapes will be partially obscured. Trace the outside contour of the major shape with a fine-point marker.

STEP 3: Block in the outside negative space Use a broad black marker to fill in the large negative areas on your tracing paper. These big shapes have the greatest impact on the design.

STEP 4: Creative cropping

Improve the balance of the design by reducing the amount of negative space with a pair of L-shape mat boards or cardboard strips. Move the borders in to frame the design on your tracing paper. Concentrate on the shape and proportion of the negative spaces.

STEP 5: Play a balancing game Adjust, shift and reposition the mat-board cropping tools to change the spatial relationships between the positive and negative shapes. Your design may be improved by cropping positive elements to make the negative shapes more interesting.

STEP 6: Break it up Keep your own plan intact for later while you take a look at the bits and pieces of my design. Notice that the white shape is the solid, positive subject, and the black shapes are the negative areas which are used to define and support the subject.

STEP 7: Every piece plays a part Every shape should be fascinating! I aim for variety in size, edge quality and shape, but there is a need to relate these elements for a harmonious effect.

STEP 8: Great negative shapes make great positive shapes I have pushed the negative shapes back into position and removed the positive. You can clearly identify the subject as defined by the edges and shapes of the negative space.

STEP 9: Find the captured negatives

Analyze your large shapes, then slide the tracing paper back over your original sketch and realign. On your tracing paper, mark the spaces between the stems, leaves and flowers. Fill in these small negative shapes (captured negatives) with black.

STEP 10: Use captured negatives to break up the inside forms and define their edges To give you an idea of the significance of the small captured negatives, I prepared a separate overlay. This is the pattern of captured negative shapes that I have added to my drawing (can you tell where?). It is easy to get carried away by sprinkling them liberally across the sketch, but a few well-placed, purposeful negatives is all it takes to make a big difference to the design and provide visually entertaining clues about the subject.

STEP 11: Look for future designs Test your design again with the mat-board strips. One drawing can offer many design possibilities for future paintings.

Applying Design Basics Designing paintings of people, places and things may seem to be a giant step beyond making diagrams with primary shapes and lines, but it really isn’t. What you do need to know is how to apply simplified design ideas to subjects that appear to be more complex. Begin by identifying the big shapes before you get sidetracked with the smaller ones.

Reference photo Earlier in this section, photos of this chrysanthemum were analyzed for design problems and possibilities. Follow along with the diagrams to learn how to move past

looking at the objects in the photo and see the framework of essential big shapes for designing a painting.

Begin with the triangle of flowers Sketch a rectangle similar to the proportions of the photo. Plot the large, medium and small masses of flowers with dark, solid marks. The eye visually connects similar elements (objects, shapes, colors, etc.), so connect the three spots with a line to form a triangle.

Make a second triangle Mark the diagonal line of the bottom edge of the foliage. Adjust it so it doesn’t run exactly parallel to the base of the upper triangle. The lowest point of the foliage rises to the right at an angle to make a “V”. Extend this line beyond the boundary. Close the shape to form a triangle that overlaps the other.

Expand the design Plot the top edge of the pot and stretch the sides beyond the outside edge of the plan, as illustrated. Extend the lines to form another triangle.

Make connections and break up the outside space In the photo is a blue-green line behind the flowers (the side of a painting propped against the wall). I like how it intersects the upper space and repeats the diagonal motif, so I put it in my plan. The plant’s shadow and its pot anchor the design and break the space into two separate values. Rather than indicating the division with a horizontal line, make it diagonal to continue the motif.

Stylize for Unity The big shapes and lines (solid or implied) establish the bones of the design. Choices you make as you fill them with color, texture and smaller shapes can reinforce the theme and mood of the painting. Take your design to the next level as you move away from depicting your subject in a literal way. Begin by pairing lines, smaller shapes and edges within your master plan. The objects in our reference photos and the things we see around us are more complex than primary geometric forms. You can redesign the pieces to suit one classification of shape/line relationship by modifying and exaggerating the shapes and colors. Move away from a realistic depiction as you adjust and refine each form to fit within your theme to turn the ordinary into an extraordinary, cohesive, unique design. In a word: Stylize! Any subject you wish to paint can be interpreted and stylized in a number of ways. Some subject matter lends itself more naturally to one kind of geometric motif than another; nature’s organic forms are easily modified to curves and diagonals, whereas architectural structures, broad landscape vistas and towering trees morph effortlessly into straight lines. Challenge yourself to investigate different ways of stylizing the shapes and lines for each of your designs.

Shapes as we see them Compare the original photo in the Applying Design Basics section with this quick sketch. I have included the many different shapes and lines, just as I see them. The flower forms and the pot are built with curves. The leaves, stems and the edges of the painting that sit in the background feature diagonals. The top of the shadow on the ground is a straight horizontal line.

Circles and curves All of the objects in the photo are drawn here with overlapping curves, circles and ovals. The leaves, stems, shadow line and the edge of the painting have all been modified, while existing curved forms retain their character. Rounded lines and forms suggest softness and a quieter mood.

Angles and diagonals Diagonal lines, sharp angles and pointed shapes are featured in this plan. The flowers and the container need to be adjusted to fit into this dynamic family. Working with triangles and diagonal lines evokes drama and excitement.

Squares and straight lines These forms are created with horizontal and vertical straight lines for a stable, yet energetic feeling. Converting flowers and leaves into squares and rectangles can be challenging, but viewing the pixelated low-resolution zoom of a digital photo may give you a clue of the transformation required. Transitioning from diagrams to paintings The following sets of illustrations provide a glimpse into transforming line, movement and shape families into three different geometrically stylized interpretations. Beyond the practical means of unifying artwork, I have found this way of thinking provides a balance of freedom and control. When you know the shapes, lines and movement you will be

making, you can confidently charge in with brushloads of thrilling color while still ensuring a sense of structural harmony. Stylizing steps 1. Set aside the original photo of the potted chrysanthemum in the Applying Design Basics section and select one of the stylized structural configurations in Stylize for Unity section as your point of departure. 2. Begin with a wet-into-wet underpainting that is influenced by the specific geometric family in your chosen diagram. Employ the gestural movement that complements the structure and apply long gestural sweeps and shorter strokes of paint to very damp paper. In other words, use only curving or diagonal or straightarm movements and not a combination while applying the brushstrokes. The moisture on the paper will soften and blur any hard lines, but the motion will not be lost. 3. Once the underpainting is dry, create daisies, leaves, stems and the container by modifying these shapes to reflect the family theme. As the layers develop, continue to partner the directional sweeps of color with their counterpart shapes. In each of my examples I have attempted to feature just one theme to clearly illustrate the topic. However it is perfectly acceptable for a limited number of off-theme elements to infiltrate the plan; just be sure to give one theme a strong dominance. Inserting unlike elements into the plan can provide sparks of conflict, so place them with purpose or keep them more subdued. These examples were accomplished with the layering of negative shapes, but you needn’t limit yourself to this approach. Circles and curves

More ideas for stylizing Stylizing your artwork encompasses more than just distorting shapes. When you depict elements of your painting in a nonrealistic way, you are working in a stylized or abstract manner. A few of the many options you can incorporate include:

geometric representation of forms (as shown in my examples) painterly, gestural or active brushwork highly textured or patterned surfaces color selections that are based on color theory relationships rather than naturalistic color extreme or reduced contrasts of color or value hyperrealism distorted perspective flattened forms unnatural scale and proportions invented impossible objects or a combination of elements of disparate means

Angles and diagonals

Squares and straight lines

Now try this Consider the design framework of your favorite photographs. In your sketchbook, prepare several small diagrams that explore various options for stylizing each photo as you alter the skeletal composition.

Simplifying Color in Your Paintbox In attempting to capture the amazing and seductive spectrum of color in the world around us, we turn to our palettes and begin to match paint with what we think we see in our subject. It doesn’t take long before our color mixing becomes a discouraging struggle of stirring too much of this and not enough of that for paintings that are plagued with muddy passages and wild color fights. It’s no wonder that our natural colorconfidence fades, leaving us to mistrust our instincts. But working with color doesn’t need to be complicated or frustrating. It is all a matter of learning how to reduce the concepts to their simplest by applying the basics of color theory.

Summer Light Watercolor 7 1⁄2" × 7 1⁄2" (19cm × 19cm) Creating the impression of summer’s vibrant blossoms provides the ideal opportunity to lay down pure hues of orange, red and violet straight from the tube. The simple floral forms were carved by painting the negative shapes with thin layers of opaque

white.

Uncomplicating Color Color is considered the design element that most profoundly expresses mood and personal taste. As artists we love to spread it around on paper, canvas and the walls of our homes. We pull together color schemes for home decorating projects and our wardrobes that reflect and enhance our individual style. If you are like me, you enjoy looking through the racks of brochures in the hardware store’s paint department that classify designer collections with catchy labels such as “Harmonious Blends” and “Lifestyle Colors.” But despite their presentation as “new” colors for the season, the color concepts used in fashion and home décor are based on the same color theories that are commonly used in painting. The decorator color strips for each theme follow a prescribed plan for pairing and combining colors. For example, we will find suggestions for using light and dark versions of one hue while another option features a neutral enhanced with a few bright accents. Whether we follow the latest trends or not, when we choose color for our homes and clothes, we incorporate basic ideas for combining colors. We don’t have to think about it too much. We just naturally pick a limited number of our favorite colors and then carry the scheme throughout, making colorplay easy. However, when it comes to working great color into our artwork, color selection seems to be a more daunting undertaking. So many colors… so, where do I start? Paint, beautiful paint! It arrives in abundance at workshops in plastic bags, little peppermint tins and heirloom-quality wooden pochade boxes. Your paintbox may be brimming with tubes large and tiny or blocks of assorted brands of your favorite colors. Overstuffed new tubes of creamy, fresh color offer hopeful promises of painting delights yet to come; old, squeezed-dry tubes of favorite colors are treasured reminders of past happy painting days. Some artists may sort their paint in a very orderly manner by color, brand or pigment quality, while others spill out a large sack of jumbled tubes like a bag of candy on Halloween! Along with the large assortment of paints that are lugged to class, many kits also include a color wheel or chart. These range from a simple, photocopied diagram to laminated, elaborate sheets with lists of chemical codes and notations. With the hundreds of hues available and technically precise, colorful illustrated charts, it seems reasonable to assume that mixing any desired color should be an easy recipe to follow. Yet, so many still struggle with color mixing and identification, even when assisted in

the study of color theory in books, online and in workshop instruction. I believe there are a few main reasons for this problem: There are many different color theories, variations and conflicting information. Prepared color charts can include a lot of overwhelming technical details beyond what may be needed for the practical mixing of color. Prescribed mixes require specific names/brands that do not identically match the products in your paintbox. Inaccuracy in color reproduction on printed charts makes correct color comparison difficult. The results of this are: Students purchase more tubes of color to match supply lists for each teacher or instructional art book. Paint charts are abandoned instead of being used as a working tool. Students think that there must be secrets for color mixing and sign up for more classes. Overall frustration when the desired colors and effects remain elusive. Straight talk about color theory A theory is a set of principles or ideas intended to explain something. In the case of color theory, the ideas serve as practical guidelines for color mixing and the visual impact of specific color combinations. It is important to remember that theories are not facts—only ideas, and when it comes to color theory there are many differing opinions. In your quest to be a better painter, you will want to find a logical theory that allows you to easily create the color qualities that you wish to include in your artwork. You need a system that is fairly straightforward, sensible and user-friendly. It also must work with the paints in your paintbox. My suggestions for the projects in this book follow a popular, easy-to-remember color mixing theory. Let me show you how it works and how to apply the strategies to your personal paintbox colors. Let’s begin with a quick review of the color mixing basics that you probably learned early in your painting life. You will want them fresh in your mind once we start applying the theory to your paintings.

Primaries The foundation of this theory is comprised of three primary colors: yellow, blue and red. The primaries are placed at three points of a triangle.

Secondaries According to the basic theory, when two primaries are mixed together they produce secondary colors; blue and yellow make green, yellow and red make orange, and red and blue result in violet.

Complements On the triangle formed by the primary colors on the wheel, the secondary hues are located mid-line between the two primaries from which they were created. This positioning is directly opposite the remaining primary—its complement. The plan suggests that any color can be made by varying combinations of the primaries. Notice that a primary hue is positioned diametrically opposite one of the secondary hues on the basic color triangle (red–green, blue–orange, yellow–violet). Each combination contains a primary and a secondary color. The secondary color was created by mixing the remaining two primaries: red plus yellow makes orange. The primary located directly across from the orange is blue. Pairings of opposites are referred to as complementary colors, which when placed side by side are credited with enhancing and intensifying each other to set up a visual color vibration.

Mixing primary colors will create the secondary colors.

Mixing complements The next important factor you have probably discovered is that when complements (opposite colors) are mixed together they neutralize each other. The resulting color reduces in intensity; gray is eventually created.

Classify Color Before Mixing In an ideal color world you would only need three hues in your paintbox: a yellow, a blue and a red. What could be simpler? It’s a great system, but unfortunately when it comes to paintbox color, it isn’t quite that straightforward. If you have tried mixing with just three primaries, you know that the resulting hues may lack in clarity and brilliance and appear rather dull. What if you want sparkling bright purples, greens and oranges? While there is always the option of buying more tubes of dynamic color, you can successfully mix them yourself by understanding that all you need to do is expand the three-primaries theory a little. To start to solve the riddle of what makes so many mixed colors less than vibrant, you need to know that the reds, yellows and blues available as paint don’t fit exactly on the perfect primary positions—they slip slightly off the apex of the primary triangle. For example, any manufactured yellow will appear either slightly orange or have a green cast. To clarify the situation, hues are then described as being either warm or cool, in accordance to their proximity on the color wheel in relation to each other. It is this color bias that influences the purity of mixed hues. With the understanding that there are no perfect primaries in your paintbox, include a warm and a cool version of each of the three primaries. Expanding the three primaries to six colors is a good start to successfully mixing the colors that we want in our painting. Next you need to locate where the colors you have in your paintbox fit on your personal color wheel.

Seeing color bias and temperature It is hard to discern the temperature of an isolated color, so compare each hue against another within its family.

Expanding the three primaries to six To make it easy to describe the locations of hues on the color wheel, divide the circle into the twelve positions of a clock. The perfect primaries of yellow, red and blue would be located at 12:00, 4:00 and 8:00 respectively, so the warms and cools of each are situated on either side of these positions—straddling the points of the “perfect primary” triangle. For consistency, I recommend always locating yellow at the top of the wheel and working clockwise through red and then to blue.

Color Terms As a colorist you need to be able to identify and sort colors by their color qualities. Every dollop of paint on your palette can be cataloged by each of the three color properties: hue, value and intensity. Hue is the term used to distinguish the actual spectral color such as yellow, red, violet and so on. Value is the lightness or darkness of a color. Intensity (or chroma) indicates the strength, brilliance or purity of a color. A pure color is fully saturated. Each of these properties affects the appearance of the colors we see around us and use in our paintings. When used in a painting that focuses on brilliant hue contrasts, pure color generates great visual excitement. Typically, however, if you are painting the natural world, excessive amounts of pure color can be overwhelming. Pure color can be tamed down by adding water, white, black or color from the opposite side of the spectral color wheel. There are specific terms that are used to describe how color has been modified. Tints/muted tints Tints are the result of adding water (in watercolor) or white (in watercolor, oil or acrylic) to pure color. The value of the color is reduced and so is the intensity. Tints remain clean but are lighter than the original pure hue. Muted tints are created by combining pure color, water (or white) and the opposite hue on the color wheel. It is also possible to substitute a small amount of black or gray along with the water or white. The intensity is reduced, as muted tints are more neutral than pure color. Shades Shades are a combination of pure color and its complement found opposite on the color wheel or added black. No water or white is added to make a shade. The value generally darkens and the intensity lessens as the pure hue becomes grayed. Add water or white to a shade and it would then be considered a muted tint. Both are neutralized versions of pure color, but shades are darkest.

Make Your Own Personal Paintbox Color Wheel With all the conveniently prepared color wheels available, why bother making your own? Although ready-made charts will quickly give you names of specific colors and where they fit in a color system, they can be misleading and inconsistent. You can try to match your paints to the prepared color chips, but remember that the charts are reproductions; there will always be some color shift in the process of turning real paint into ink swatches or digital imagery. To match the color samples exactly, you could head back to the art store and load up on the exact color names of the specific brands listed on each new color wheel or list of instructor’s supplies, but I am guessing that if you have some painting experience, you probably already have most, if not all of what you need in your paintbox to make a great color wheel. You simply need to know where your paints fit on the plan! By making a color wheel with the selection of paint in your own collection, you will have a truly useful tool for understanding color and color mixing. Your growing knowledge of color can be applied to watercolor, acrylics, oils or mixed media, regardless of the consistency or form that your paints come in. There is no need to memorize lists of paint names or where they sit on the wheel. This project will teach you to see subtle differences as you figure out color and color temperature relationships.

Supplies Watercolors: All of the tubes and blocks you have Watercolor paper scraps (or use the backs of discarded paintings), at least 90-lb. (190gsm) Round brush One medium-sized piece of white or gray mat board, for mounting your color wheel Other: Scissors; Glue or double-sided tape; Pencil; Clean water that is to be refreshed frequently

STEP 1: Begin by sorting all of your tubes of paint Discard any tubes that have hardened; be sure to check with local regulations for proper disposal of paints. Note favorites that may need to be replenished. Separate watercolor tubes from any acrylics, gouache, etc.; individual color charts and wheels should be made for each medium.

STEP 2: Prepare color swatches Cut strips of watercolor paper to approximately 1" × 2" (3cm × 5cm). Prepare

swatches of each color in your paintbox using a thoroughly clean, round brush and only enough fresh water to allow the paint to spread. Apply a stroke of solid color at the top edge, then wash down the color with water to grade the value. Write the name of the color and the manufacturer below the color chip.

STEP 3: Ready for sorting When the strips are dry, spread them out on your table.

STEP 4: Eliminate some color chips Remove any chips that would be described as brown, black, white, cream, rust, gray, earthy or neutral. While Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre, Payne’s Gray, Burnt

Umber and Raw Umber may be some of your favorites, they are not pure spectral colors and will not be included in this color wheel.

STEP 5: Keep the beautiful brights The chips that remain must appear clean and vibrant or jewel-like—beautiful, pure spectral hues. Think rainbow color!

STEP 6: Sort the hues Divide the paint chip samples into hue families. For example, gather all of the yellows together in one area; all the blues will form another collection.

Can you mix different brands of watercolor? Yes! Because the formulation of watercolor paints is similar among manufacturers, you can intermix brands. Generally this is also true for most acrylic paints and acrylic mediums. However, the preparation and bases used for slow-drying acrylics and water-soluble oils can vary. In these cases you may need to work with just one brand. Many paint companies provide information on their websites about their products and changes in manufacturing technology.

STEP 7: Compare and arrange each family Arrange the chips of color within each group of specific hues. This is best done by comparing the samples side by side. You will need to concentrate on one hue at a time, so clear some space and begin by laying out samples of a single hue.

STEP 8: A family of green These greens are now rearranged in a row with the bluest on the left side, progressing through to the greens that appear more yellow on the right. Trust your eyes as you

compare one color chip to its relatives.

STEP 9: Keep assembling color groups Continue the sorting game through each of the color families.

STEP 10: Points of reference Shown is a typical twelve-color wheel as a guide to help you assemble your personal color wheel. As you lay out your swatches, compare them here first to approximate where they will be located on your chart. Remember that color reproduction may have altered the hues. The clock numbers have been labeled as reference points; it’s a good idea to include them on your chart.

STEP 11: Lay out your chips on the wheel, starting with yellow Begin with yellow; those with a green cast (cooler) will be to the left of the 12:00 position, and the yellows which lean toward orange (warmer) are to the right. Position the yellow-orange chip approaching the 1:00 position. Orange will be at 2:00. Proceed through your swatches working around the wheel, arranging your labeled color chips so the spectral hues flow naturally from yellow to yellow-orange, orange, red-orange and finally to red, positioned at 4:00.

STEP 12: On through violet to blue Moving in a clockwise fashion, red-violet is located just after 4:00. Then apply chips on through violet, blue-violet and blue, arriving at 8:00.

STEP 13: Work back up to the top As you compare your chips around the circumference of the wheel, the transitions will

move through blue-green and green to yellow-green.

STEP 14: Attach swatches to your chart Using a compass or dinner plate, draw a large circle onto a piece of white or gray mat board. Place it to the right of center, as a value scale will be added on the left margin later in the book when you explore the value range of hues. Now that you know where your colors should be located, attach the paint swatches to your chart with a dab of glue or double-sided tape. Mark your warm and cool paintbox primaries. It is likely that the color names on my chart are different from yours. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have made a mistake; you just have a different selection of names and labels in your box for many of the same hues.

Mixing Vibrant Secondary and Intermediate Colors Most books that teach color mixing based on the color wheel explain how the temperature bias of colors affects the purity of mixes and that selecting the correct warm or cool primaries is crucial for mixing vibrant secondary color. However, when it comes time to select which hues to combine, simply looking into a tube of color or at the mounds of paint on your palette may not be giving you the immediate answers to your color mixing dilemmas. If your mixes lack vibrancy, you can use your personal paintbox color wheel to chart the exact combinations that will make lively, clean mixes. How to avoid dull mixtures Secondary and intermediate colors are easy to make; the tricky part is keeping the colors from becoming grayed or neutralized. Any yellow mixed with any red will produce some sort of orange. The exact hue depends on the percentage of each primary: red and yellow. The more red used, the redder the orange. The greater the portion of yellow, the more yellow the resulting orange will be. The purity of the orange is another matter—this is where the warm or cool quality of each primary influences the results. By referring to the color wheel you can see that directly opposite from orange is blue; orange and blue are complements. As you read earlier, when complements are mixed, they neutralize each other. If you want to make a clean orange, you will need to keep any blue out of the mix. If the yellow or red in your mix has even a trace of blue, the orange will be neutralized and appear dull. The mechanics work the same for making green with blue and yellow; if there is any red in the primaries, the green will be less than pure. When making violet with blue and red, if there is a small amount of yellow in either primary, the violet will be dull. Time to mix: as easy as reading a clock When you laid out your color swatches for your personal paintbox color wheel, you sorted according to the spectral hues. When it comes to mixing clean hues, follow the clock numbers on your wheel. Warm yellows—those that appeared to have an orange cast—were placed to the right of 12:00. Reds that exhibited an orange cast are warm and are placed above 4:00. Combine any yellow after 12:00 and any red before 4:00 to ensure a pure orange. If either the yellow or red falls outside or beyond this range, it will contain a bit of blue (cool). The mix will be less brilliant.

Select any red that is positioned after 4:00 (it will be a cool red) and any blue that is before 8:00 (it will be a warm blue) for a clean violet. If the red or blue selected is positioned outside this range, it will contain some yellow. Because yellow is the complement of violet, the mix will be less intense. Select any yellow (cool) that is to the left of 12:00 and any blue (cool) that is above the 8:00 position for a pure green. If a yellow or blue is used that does not appear in this time slot, the mix will be grayed. Apply this clock method to your own personal paintbox color wheel to discover the best color-mixing combinations to create vivid greens, oranges and violets and also beautiful neutrals using your own paints. With practice you will soon be able to judge the warm or cool influence of each of your colors without checking your chart.

Personal paintbox color wheel tips Judge the chips only by hue and don’t concern yourself with whether the particular pigment is transparent or opaque, staining or nonstaining. Remember that the hues in your chart must be clean and vibrant. Rearrange any swatches that appear out of place and remove earthy or neutral swatches that you might have missed. Most manufacturers use different names for the same colors, so you could have some duplication. Your wheel might be heavily weighted in some areas while light in others. When it comes to mixing color for painting, you will need to have a complete range of clean spectral colors. A quick glance at your wheel will reveal the hues you have in abundance and what needs to be added to your palette, especially if you are missing any warm or cool primaries. You may wonder where to include earthy colors on your wheel. These colors have been neutralized (grayed) with the addition of complementary hues or a touch of black or gray. Neutrals would therefore be positioned inside the wheel and according to their color “recipe.” For example, to re-create Yellow Ochre, you add a touch of violet and/or gray to a yellow base. So, if you draw a line connecting yellow and violet, Yellow Ochre would be located along it closer to yellow. Update your color chart when you add new colors or when you switch out old

ones.

My personal paintbox color wheel Here is how some of my favorite watercolor paints align with the standard twelve-color wheel. All of my colors happen to be Holbein. If you are using paints produced by other companies, the names and exact placement will be different.

What are those little codes under the paint names? The Color Index, a series of small letters and numbers found on the label of your tube, provides helpful information about pigments contained and where the color fits on the color wheel. For example, a code beginning with PY indicates that it belongs with the yellow pigment color family. Similarly PB indicates blue, PV violet, PW white, and so forth. The numbers that follow refer to the specific pigment; for example, Cobalt Blue PB28 is a blue made from cobalt aluminum. Most of the colors on my wheel are single pigments, while a few contain a combination as indicated by a series of Color Index codes.

Simplifying Color in Your Paintings To simplify your color choices and to keep your paintings harmoniously in tune, develop paintings based on color property. With this method of painting, decisions are guided by the vocabulary for relationships within a single property: hue, value or intensity. Understanding the color properties of each mound of paint in your palette is essential. When you see a color in terms of where it fits in the spectrum, the quantity of light it reflects and its purity, you can begin to apply your knowledge of color relationships to think your way through any color effect.

Near-complements of pure Cobalt Blue and saturated, red-orange Transparent Red Iron Oxide are paired to elicit color excitement. The same colors are repeated but are less intense in areas away from the center of attention. How would this painting change if the pattern of light in the upper right corner were painted with pure white? Would the orange look more or less vibrant if the blue became less important? Bittersweet Tangle Acrylic on panel

12" × 12" (30cm × 30cm)

What Is Painting by Color Property? Each color you include in your painting has a relationship with every other color within that work of art; it may be repetitive, harmonious, intensifying or conflicting. Theories for working with color seem to function in small studies and charts, but when it comes to transferring the ideas to paintings—especially when trying to match realistic color—they may not seem applicable. Every time you go to your palette you need to make decisions, and it’s safe to say that we have all made color choices that in some way look very wrong. It is easy to plan to paint a flower yellow, but exactly which yellow will work best? There are many effective working practices that artists use to aid their color selection. Some instructional books recommend colors as indicated by the name on the paint tube label, such as “Indian Yellow,” and when you first learn to paint, this kind of easyto-follow information provides a measure of success in re-creating a particular effect. However, as you become a more experienced painter, you want to know why a color effect works (or doesn’t!) and how to adapt it for your personal, creative works of art. I have found it helpful to develop paintings based on color property. Every color can be described in terms of its spectral name (hue), level of light (value) and purity (intensity). Each of these characteristics affects whether or not the color will be harmonious with the rest of the colors in the painting. The name on the tube, such as Indian Yellow, is for quick identification and marketing purposes. As a colorist what you really need to know is that Indian Yellow (as produced by Holbein, Winsor & Newton or Schmincke) is a warm yellow (appearing more orange than green), is low-light in value, and highly intense. It is also a transparent stain, but this concerns pigment quality, not color properties. When you see colors in terms of their properties, you can learn how to use, combine and manipulate them for better design and painting results. Painting by hue The vocabulary of terms used for painting by changing hues consists of color names— red, orange, blue, violet and so on. We organize hues by following color theories that combine compatible relationships based on their position on the color wheel. As you select the next color to apply, refer to it by the spectral name. There are many color concepts that explore hue change, including working with a full spectrum palette to a more limited selection such as complementary, triadic or analogous combinations.

Painting by value The vocabulary for painting by value includes terms that describe how light or dark a color is—high light, light, low light, mid-value, high dark, dark and low dark. Black and white can be included in paintings built by value. Choose one color or many for value concepts that play with light. Work with a full or limited range of value. Select a color to begin with and then each new color is ranked as “darker than” or “lighter than” the value of the adjoining passage. Transparent watercolor works best when building from light to dark, whereas opaque mediums can progress up or down the value scale. Painting by intensity The vocabulary for paintings that feature changes in intensity includes clean tints, pure color, muted tints, shades, neutrals and gray. To concentrate specifically on changes in intensity, the value range is limited and all white is eliminated. Transparent watercolor works best when progressing from pure color to muted tints to gray (clean to neutral). Opaque mediums offer the option of finishing with either pure color or neutrals.

How it works Before I begin a painting, I determine the selection of colors based on one color property. According to my plan, I lay out fresh colors on my mixing surface, keeping them separate from my full palette. Once underway, only rarely do I add something new to the lineup for that painting. If I find myself in color trouble, I step back and take some time to analyze what is actually happening with the color relationships. If something is out of sync, I consider how to get it back on track or whether there is something exciting going on that needs to be explored.

Making Property-Related Choices To use each of the properties to your advantage you will need to understand a variety of color concepts and how they work. Armed with this knowledge, making the right color selection becomes a matter of choosing one color property to feature in a painting and then following one distinguishing concept for harmonious, effective results. I’ve interpreted the same design of flying birds three different ways to show the distinctive attributes of each property.

Hue choices When making decisions for painting these birds I looked to my color wheel. For each

piece of this puzzle, I selected a different pure hue such as yellow, orange or blue. For a more subtle effect, paint by hue with less-saturated spectral colors.

Value choices To guide me in my selection for this example, I made judgments based on value (the lightness or darkness of any color). When painting by value, it is possible to include hues from the full spectrum palette, but in this case I limited myself to a single hue. Each piece was painted with a different value of blue: light, mid-value or dark. Black and white can also be incorporated when painting by hue.

Intensity choices Changes in intensity (degree of saturation or purity) of a single hue established the theme for these birds. I began with a pure yellow-orange, then proceeded to gray each subsequent piece with increasing amounts of the complementary hue and a bit of gray. When working with changes in intensity, you may include a variety of pure and neutralized hues; just be sure to keep the values close.

Remember Most people are visually drawn to light more than dark, prefer warm color to cool color, and favor pure color rather than neutral.

Painting by Value Painting by value is the most popular method of designing and building a painting because of its versatility and demanding visual impact. Value paintings can incorporate a full or reduced range of values to produce a variety of light effects and design options. The array of values extends from white to black, with innumerable steps in between. For our purpose as painters, the range is divided into steps and laid down as a value scale. The use of dynamic, extreme contrasts conveys a powerful message; a more reduced value scale is useful to convey a peaceful, quieter message. Reduced value ranges are referred to as high-key (light) or low-key (dark). Low-key value ranges are restricted to mid-value to black. High-key value ranges are restricted to mid-value to white. How to build strictly with value changes The concept of building by value is easy and it can be applied to all colors, not just white, gray and black. It is common to use a full palette of color when painting by value, but the least complicated version focuses strictly on the range of values of a single hue. (This monochromatic color concept is the strategy for developing the next two demonstrations.) Choose one hue, then build with light, middle and dark variations. Different values, shades, tints and intensities of the hue can be included in this color concept. When building by value change, you need to learn to “read” the value of an area. Determine how light or dark an area is and relate all other value decisions as being “darker than” or “lighter than.” Creating an area of interest with contrast in value-based paintings For a strong center of interest in paintings that feature value change, place your darkest darks against your lightest lights or white. Value differences are at their most powerful when opposing extremes are placed side by side. Since each color in a painting has its own range of value, it is also possible to play a light value of one color against the dark of another; but, be aware that hue change could have an effect on the final contrast.

To capture the brilliant light bouncing across the water and waterlilies, I situated a limited pattern of colorful darks through high-light and low-light passages. To accentuate the glowing lilies, cool darks were played against the untouched white of the paper. Morning Light Study—Medora Lake Watercolor 11" × 11" (28cm × 28cm)

From few values to many For most purposes in painting, the five-step value scale works well and is easy to use. However, many artists use scales that have been subdivided into more steps, such as the larger scale shown with nine transitions. The additional steps allow for more gradations when building by value in your paintings.

See the value possibilities To see the full range of possible values of a single color, apply a smudge of undiluted watercolor to watercolor paper and draw down with increasing amounts of water. For acrylic or oil paint, add white to lighten, rather than water. For the greatest number of value steps, select a hue that appears very dark straight from the tube, such as Ultramarine Blue or Phthalo Green.

Tips for painting by value Typically, transparent watercolors are built from light to dark. The paper remains unpainted for whites. This is the most natural progression, as layering naturally deepens the value of the hues. Opaque watercolor, gouache, acrylics and oils can develop in the reverse order, beginning with darks and transitioning through lighter values. Keep in mind that watercolor dries lighter, especially when a lot of water is added, so you will need to compensate by mixing the value slightly darker than you think is necessary. When working with acrylics, the reverse is true, as they dry darker. If this is your medium of choice, you will need to add more white to dark acrylics to mix them slightly lighter. When you need dark watercolor, use freshly squeezed paint. For economy’s sake it is tempting to reconstitute paint that has dried in your palette with water, however it will not provide you with the darkest value possible, as even a small addition of water lightens the value. To lighten the value of a watercolor, add more water (tint). To lighten the value of acrylic, add white (tint) or dilute with a generous quantity of acrylic medium. The addition of black will darken the value (shade).

Paint by Changing Value: Light to Dark It might be hard to imagine making a painting with just one color and a single shape, but it is an excellent way to begin to learn how to simplify your artwork by exploring the dynamic and powerful color property of value. This project may appear so elementary that you don’t actually need to make the effort to put the concept to paint; however, it is the foundation approach for many of the paintings I make and for all of the projects in this book.

Supplies A tube of fresh, dark watercolor 5" × 7" (13cm × 18cm) watercolor paper (1 piece for each variation) Brushes: 1-inch (25mm) flat wash • No. 12 or 14 round that comes to a good point Other: Container of clean water; pencil; hair dryer Before you Begin Objective: Learn the basic strategy for building a multilayered painting in the negative using the full range of value of one hue. If you are an experienced negative painter, use this project to refresh your skill and work with a more complex personal shape. Simplified color concept: Restrict color to one hue and build by changing only the value for a monochromatic scheme.

Shape-making strategy: Work with just one shape, but repeat it with changes in size, placement and direction. I have used triangles, but you may choose to work with circles, rectangles or a personal symbol. If you create your own shape, keep it flat and uncomplicated. Design format: Overlapping forms. Change placement and direction for variety and balance. Contrast for dynamic impact: Contrast value throughout the painting with no main center of interest. Practical suggestions for success:

Work with just one simple, flat shape. Repetitive shapes create unity and a feeling of movement or flow. The shapes that are created first will appear closest and each new layer will move to the back. Work light to dark.

Dry between each layer.

STEP 1: Paint a value test strip Test the range of values of your chosen color on a scrap of paper to keep beside your project as a guide.

STEP 2: Pencil first layer of shapes With a pencil, draw a triangle on dry watercolor paper. Now add a second triangle that is either larger or smaller and that changes in direction. Balance these shapes with a third or more. Keep the shapes separate from each other. Depth will be suggested as successive layers are added.

STEP 3: Lots of water and a little paint Mix your paint in a small dish or directly on a smooth, white, nonporous surface. Add plenty of water to the dark hue and dilute well to make a pale tint. Begin by loading your brush with water and then touch the edge of the mound of fresh paint. Drag a small quantity of paint away and add more water as required. Aim for a very light value for this first glaze.

STEP 4: Glaze around the shapes

Completely surround your shapes with the light-value layer of paint. When working in the negative, you will paint around the shapes rather than filling them in with color. Here, the first shapes will remain the white of the paper. The white triangles become the positive shapes and the space around them is considered negative. Work quickly as you paint to help avoid backruns and streaks. However, if some appear, they can easily be covered in your next layer. Dry your paper before moving on to the next step.

STEP 5: Pencil in a second layer of shapes Pencil in the second set of triangles, which will appear to be tucked under the white set of shapes. Be sure to change size and direction to make your piece more interesting.

STEP 6: Watch the layers grow Increase the value of the hue and paint around all of the shapes. The hue will naturally darken with the layering process, but it is helpful to reduce the amount of water mixed with your color so that the paint becomes heavier. Check the value of the color by testing on a scrap of paper. Let this step dry.

STEP 7: Keep on building A third set of shapes are added by “underlapping.” New shapes can also float freely, but should not be placed on top of existing triangles.

STEP 8: More paint, less water Reduce the quantity of water for glazing as the layers develop; each layer will become

darker. Glaze the outer negative space that extends from the shapes to the edge of the paper. Let this step dry before moving on.

STEP 9: Discover captured negatives At some point you will discover spaces that are trapped between your shapes. Notice that these enclosed spaces have a distinct form, varying in width, height and edges. I call these shapes “captured negatives.”

STEP 10: Paint the captured negatives Fill all captured negative shapes with the same hue and value that has been painted around the shapes.

Check Points Allow the design to grow as you build. Attempting to preplan the layers will only confuse you. Don’t go back and fill in the white of light shapes with color. That’s painting in the positive!

STEP 11: Balance as you build As you build more layers, aim for variety in size, direction and placement of new shapes. Keep an eye on the overall design as it grows. Try balancing a large shape with two or three smaller ones. If the forms tend to cluster to one side or point in the same direction, make adjustments.

STEP 12: Add rich darks To achieve the dark value needed for this layer use only a small amount of water. Your paint will have the consistency of heavy cream as you paint around the forms. Don’t forget to pencil in the captured negatives!

STEP 13: Test your design with cutout shapes If you are having a difficult time visualizing where to place additional shapes, cut triangles from scrap paper and move them around to test the balance. Think small, medium and large, and change direction too. Some forms may extend beyond the edges of the paper.

STEP 14: Mark the final layer Freely sketch new shapes or use templates, but beware the temptation to create positive forms that are drawn over the previous layers and then filled in with color. Instead, continue to tuck the shapes under the upper levels. If your pencil lines are not easily visible, use a watercolor pencil of a lighter value.

STEP 15: Apply the final glaze Use only enough water to allow the paint to spread as you apply the deepest dark in the final layer.

Now try this Repeat the project but use a hue that is lighter in value as it comes from the tube. Is it possible to build as many layers? Try working with a new shape too.

Paint by Changing Value: Dark to Light Building from light to dark values is a natural progression when working with transparent watercolor, but I am often asked by students if it is possible to reverse the transitions to create dark objects surrounded by light, such as when painting dark trees against the daylight sky, or a solid clay pot in front of a light-colored wall. Here are a few options you might consider: Lift some dark negatives with water and a firm brush to reveal the light paper underneath. Overpaint darks with opaque watercolor, gouache or pastel to bring back the lights or add highlights. Another option is to work with acrylic or oil paints to build from dark to light. If you haven’t worked with acrylics before, read the need-to-know basics for working with acrylics section before starting this project.

Supplies Acrylic paints: A dark-value hue such as Phthalo Blue • White acrylic or smooth white gesso 5" × 7" (13cm × 18cm) primed canvas board or panel Brushes: 1⁄2-inch (12mm) or 3⁄4-inch (19mm) bright, suitable for acrylics Other: Palette paper (neutral gray suggested); Glazing medium; Container of clean water Before you Begin Objective: This value-based painting project tackles the problem of reversing the value scale and exploring negative painting while building layers with acrylics. Simplified color concept: Build by value from dark to light with a monochromatic color scheme. Shape-making strategy: Repeat one shape with variety in size, placement and direction. I have demonstrated the project with triangles, but you may use any flat shape you want. Design format: Use overlapping frames in an all-over pattern. Contrast for dynamic impact: There is no main area of interest in this project. Value contrast will be gradual from one layer to the next. Practical suggestions for success: If you are confident in shapemaking and mixing color, then move on through the layering without drying. If you wish to have more control or need to predraw the sets of shapes, take the time to dry between layers.

STEP 1: Make it dark Prepare a dark underpainting by completely covering your canvas board with a thin layer of fresh, dark color. Set the panel aside and allow to dry.

STEP 2: Lay out color and white paint, and blend well When your underpainting is dry, squeeze out a dime-size portion of dark acrylic and a slightly larger quantity of gesso or white paint onto your palette. After rinsing your brush in water, drag a brushload of dark pigment into a small portion of white, and blend well to produce a dark value. If the paint is overly stiff, use glazing medium to thin (reduce the viscosity).

STEP 3: Paint around the shapes Your first set of shapes will remain the low dark value of the underpainting as you paint around your shapes with a solid but thin layer of slightly lighter color.

STEP 4: Build from mid-value to light To lighten the value throughout the series of steps, add a greater percentage of white paint or gesso to the hue for each new layer. As you work you will soon discover just how much paint to prepare to complete each step. Compare the values against each other by painting swatches on palette paper or scrap paper. Remember, acrylics dry darker! The layering continues as you build your negative shapes, working from dark through the lighter adjacent values. Keep your prepared value scale handy for easy reference.

Need-to-know basics for working with acrylics The versatile nature of acrylics makes them ideal for building layers with negative painting. It is possible to rework, texturize, manipulate or remove the paint up until it is thoroughly dry. Drying time depends on the manufacturer, thickness of application, environmental conditions, and the addition of water, glazing or drying additives. You will also find that the absorbency of the surface painted on will also affect the speed of drying. Acrylic paint sets up in two stages and may feel dry to the touch quickly, usually within minutes for thin layers. However, at this point only the top film has developed a “skin.” The full thickness of the paint will take longer to completely dry—typically, thirty minutes or much longer if the paint is very thick (impasto). Curing of the paint may take a few days for thin applications, to many months for paint that is a 1⁄ 4” (6mm) thick or more. Drying acrylics between layers gives you more control, and you have the option of making adjustments or wiping off errors with minimum consequences. Painting over wet acrylics allows for softer edges and blending colors. Be sure to test the drying time of your acrylics by painting and overpainting swatches. Once the paint dries, the particles bind to fuse the layers together. Although acrylics can be thinned with water, care must be taken not to overdilute. It is recommended that you thin acrylic paints with glazing medium or airbrush medium to maintain the intrinsic quality of the paint. Do check with the paint manufacturer for specific information. The major adjustment required when switching from transparent watercolor to acrylics and other painting media is the adding of white and black to the palette. Artists who restrict their palette to transparent watercolor rely on the unpainted paper for areas of white and add water to lighten hues, and black is rarely used

for mixing. When working with acrylics, oils or mixed watermedia paints, white and black pigments are the useful standard for mixing a broad range of values along with reducing intensity. It is important to note that the addition of white or black also reduces the transparency. Both white acrylic and gesso can be mixed with acrylic paint colors to produce light tints or used unaltered for pure white areas. White acrylic paint varies in opacity and can be applied thickly without fear of cracking, and typically dries with a gloss finish. Acrylic gesso is typically used as a primer that penetrates and seals the canvas, providing a connection between the support (canvas) and acrylic paint. Because gesso is slightly gritty, it increases the adhesion of paint to the canvas or underpainted layers. It is highly pigmented and extremely opaque. Although gesso is somewhat flexible, it is best to apply it in thin layers to prevent cracking. The dry surface will be velvety and of a lower gloss. When painted over, gesso absorbs some color, especially when stains are used.

How should you choose when to use white acrylic vs. gesso? Depending on the effects that you wish to achieve, keep in mind:

To completely block out darks or bright hues, use gesso rather than white paint, as it is more opaque. For semiopaque white that allows an underpainting to glow through, thin Titanium White with glazing medium. For opaque white that will cover an underpainting, use Titanium White without thinning. For semitransparent glazes, mix acrylic white paint with a generous quantity of glazing medium, or use Zinc White. Apply in a thin, flowing manner with a soft brush. White acrylic paint reflects light and dries shiny. Gesso absorbs more light and dries to a soft matte finish.

Gesso is much less expensive and a little goes a long way.

STEP 5: Make it white! Surround your lightest, final shapes with white. If you have chosen to use white paint, you may need to apply two or more coats for complete coverage. Gesso, being completely opaque, usually requires just one coat.

Now try this Building with acrylics offers the flexibility of being able to shift up or down the value scale. Try this exercise again but start with mid-value and transition back and forth between light and dark values.

Achieving Visual Shimmer Simultaneous contrast is a term used to describe the way colors affect the appearance of each other when placed side by side, or in close proximity. The strength of this contrast is relative to the degree of their dissimilarity. The properties (hue, value and intensity) of each color influence our interpretation and the overall visual impact. To reap the full benefit of painting by a single color dimension, you will need to restrict any contrasts to just one of the three color properties and eliminate the influence of the other two characteristics of color. Extreme value change—black/white or dark/light—is overwhelmingly the most common application of this phenomena in our paintings. Although bold value contrasts make the most dramatic statement and are easily applied, to set up optical vibrations (what I call “visual shimmer”) that are possible through contrasts of hue or color purity, value change will need to be controlled. It may sound straightforward but it can be tricky!

What we really see According to popular color theory, yellow and violet are complementary hues; opposites on the color wheel, they visually enhance each other. Here, violet is paired

with the same yellow, so you might sense that both exhibit contrast of hue. However, because the violet used on the right is considerably darker than the yellow, you actually perceive contrast of value—dark and light rather than violet and yellow.

Seduced by hue We can be so taken by the beauty of color that we do not concern ourselves with the level of light it reflects.

Eliminate hue to see the value Converting color hues to grayscale reveals that the blue is significantly darker than the yellow-green.

Every hue has a range of value Some hues such as violet and blue can range from light to extremely dark, while yellow and orange are limited to high light, light and low light. Test each of your paintbox colors in the manner shown: apply the darkest value straight from the tube. Lighten watercolors with water or add increasing amounts of white to acrylic paints to see each color’s range. How value affects visual shimmer As you continue on to the next projects, which involve building by changes in hue and changes in intensity, you will need to know why the value of a color can undermine the visual effects that you are trying to achieve. Value is the dominant property of color; even moderate value shifts draw our attention and override the less demanding changes of intensity or hue relationships. Painting students often believe they are bringing about contrasts in hue or intensity, but unless the values of the colors are similar, the overall appearance will be a contrast of value. To effectively achieve the captivating visual shimmer that is possible when painting by changes of hue or levels of color purity, you will need to “read” the value of each color in order to eliminate shifts from light and dark. How does this affect color mixing? As you combine hues, consider the following guidelines to help control the value. When you combine two colors that are similar in value, the resulting value does not change.

When you combine colors that differ in value, the value of the mixture will be somewhere in between. The extent of darkening is determined by the percentage of light and dark components. When layering with watercolor, the reflected light from the white of the paper is reduced by each subsequent layer and the value is reduced.
 Keeping value under control When the goal is to paint by value, you want to play up the shifts between light and dark. However, when you paint by hue or intensity, the game plans are different; you will need to strive to keep value change out of the equations. If you research the Color Field genre of painting, you will find many works that employ a palette that is extremely limited and play small pieces of one hue against large masses of another. These pieces are often created as an exploration of the optics of hue vibration. Limiting the number of hues allows the artist better control over the interference of value changes. When working on your paintings you will most likely want to introduce many colors, making the task of keeping all the values the same more challenging. To create a visual shimmer in works that are based on the hue or intensity of color, aim to limit any powerful value changes. You will need to make a conscious effort to achieve this with every color you add to your painting. Give the starring role (predominance) to one property while subduing the other two characteristics. Hierarchy of contrasts Bearing in mind that extreme contrasts grab our attention more than reduced changes, the dimensions of color can also be ranked according to their power of visual attraction: Value contrasts draw our attention away from hue and/or intensity changes. Hue contrast increases the further apart the hues are situated on the color wheel. Hues that appear closer offer a more subtle shimmer. Similar value and intensity put the focus on hue vibration. The contrasts created through intensity change are the most subtle and are easily overpowered by value shifts. When designing a painting that focuses on a specific color concept, set up an area of interest by playing with extreme color contrast.

Seduced by color When this wheel is reproduced in color, we become captivated by the beautiful hues and miss the correlation of hue and value.

Color wheel meets value scale

When the chart is converted to a grayscale, the relationship between hue and value becomes apparent. Notice that the positioning of the hues approximately aligns with the value scale. The hues in the upper part of the wheel tend to have a more reduced range of value. Hues in the lower part offer the possibility of a greater value range. Visual shimmer in action Laying down the perfect color isn’t only about what’s on your brush. The hue, value and saturation of the other colors in your painting have a powerful influence on how your color is perceived. Through simultaneous contrast you can make your artwork appear dramatic and illuminated, luminous and elegant or bold and daring. My objective in these three small studies is to generate a sense of color shimmer. I used yellow-green but you should experiment with other colors too while exploring contrast of value, intensity and hue. Be sure to view the work from a distance to see beyond details and brushwork. In which direction will you take color?

How can I use a hue’s natural value to my advantage? The addition of water, white, black, gray or a hue’s complement to adjust the value of a hue consequentially also diminishes the intensity. Painters seeking a more powerful way to emphasize light and dark can utilize the inherent value of hues.

For glowing light areas, use hues that are already high in value, found in the upper part of the wheel. Rich darks are created with pure saturated hues that are naturally dark in value, found in the lower part of the wheel.

Twist and Tangle—Ivy Patterns Acrylic on panel 8" × 8" (20cm × 20cm) Value study Quiet, sophisticated color-glow depends on your ability to make “mud”! Pure, saturated hues appear luminous when matched with color that is reduced in intensity, such as gray or brown. Vibrant light tints work better than deeper hues to create visual shimmer. The secret to success when painting by changes in intensity is keeping the values close.

Elegant Sway Watercolor 71⁄2" × 7 1⁄2" (19cm × 19cm) Intensity study In this value study, light yellow-green ivy appears illuminated when surrounded by dark, deep-dark and black. It really doesn’t matter that some of the color is dull; we simply read this as a dramatic pattern of light, mid-value and dark. When painting by value change, finding the perfect hue and retaining purity is secondary to establishing a strong value pattern.

Electric Color Acrylic on panel 8" × 8" (20cm × 20cm) Hue study For optimal hue vibration and high-voltage color impact, use pure hue and eliminate value change. In this study, yellow-green and its near-complement, red, enhance and intensify each other. Because the natural value range of pure hues varies, the challenge becomes maintaining intensity while reducing value. To turn the volume down and still achieve optical shimmer, reduce the intensity of every hue.

Be selective There are numerous options for setting up visually stimulating areas of interest. My advice is to select just one or two options for each painting. For example, in a painting based on color concepts, first identify which of the three color properties you are focusing on, then play maximum contrasts within that property against each other, along with shapes that are strikingly different in the locations you wish to spotlight for a bold effect.

Painting by Hue Color is an elusive entity that changes with the quality of light, emits specific wavelengths of energy, evokes emotions and affects how we perceive other colors. Scientists and artists have devoted years to researching how color works and how to organize their findings. Painting by hue goes beyond following systematic color theory concepts. It is also essential to developing a sensitivity to nuances of hue relationships. Study every color chart you can find to learn what others have discovered. To understand the real potential of color, grab some paint and start experimenting. Firsthand observations of color interactions work best to reveal what you need to know to successfully make the concepts work. Through your explorations you will find the exact green required to cause a particular red to visually vibrate, and you will learn how to play with warms and cools for an opalescent glow. You will also gain an understanding of the roles that value and purity play in affecting the visual experience. Creating an area of interest with contrasts in hue-based paintings Position pure, high-intensity complementary colors side by side for exciting contrasts in paintings that explore hue change. Juxtapose hues that are diametrically opposite on the color wheel for colors that supercharge each other, as the eye bounces from one to the other. Remember to use a lot of one color and just a bit of its complement. For hue-based painting that clearly focuses on color temperature, a touch of warm color contrast in a predominantly cool painting and a bit of cool color in an otherwise warm painting adds drama. Common color concepts and schemes No doubt you have seen many different diagrams of color concepts and schemes in your painting studies. It is beyond the scope of this book to elaborate on every possible option and theory, but here are a few of the most popular used by artists, some of which you will find in the projects that follow. In most cases the use of color schemes works best when one color is allowed to dominate and the others support, contrast or accentuate smaller points of interest.

This painting was built with lateral transitions of analogous hues. The blue suggests a feeling of cool low-light as the pine boughs reach toward the warmer green, yellow and high-light areas. Light Patterns—Pine Boughs Acrylic 24" × 36" (61cm × 91cm)

Now try this Choose any two tubes of paint from your paintbox but don’t look at the names on the labels. Paint a solid swatch of each on dry paper so they touch but do not blend. Compare each to the other and jot down the similarities and differences as you see them. Which one is darker? Which is brighter? Warmer or cooler?

Full spectrum This scheme includes the full range of spectral hues on the wheel and is the most challenging palette to use. Aim to balance intensity—all pure color or all reduced in saturation.

Triadic (limited spectrum) This scheme uses any three colors that are equidistant from each other on the wheel. Let one color dominate and use the other two as accents.

Complementary Hues that are diametrically opposite on the color wheel offer the highest contrast when used at their purest and when they are the same value.

Split complementary This is a variation of a complementary scheme, using a color and the two colors adjacent to its complement.

Analogous Color harmony is easy to achieve when working with this limited spectrum palette that uses neighboring hues on the color wheel.

Split primaries Mixing warm and cool primaries allows us to produce a full-color palette. When paired side by side, the warm and cool variations of primaries create a push-and-pull optical shimmer.

Tips for painting by hue Limit the value and intensity. To effectively utilize paint-by-hue concepts, eliminate the interference of value and intensity changes. Pure hues make the most dynamic visual statement. The color schemes work effectively when all hues are reduced in intensity but with a quieter, less dramatic appearance. Capitalize on the natural value of a hue. For a dynamic color approach, use the natural value of a hue to its full potential. Replace white and tints (made by adding white to acrylics or water to watercolor) with full-strength, naturally light hues such as yellow, yellow-orange and yellow-green. Add color to dark

passages with naturally dark blues, blue-green and violet, rather than mixing complements or adding black.

Painting by Analagous Hues: Changes in Color Temperature Hues appearing next to each other on the color wheel are called analogous colors. Working step by step from one “sister” color to the next guarantees color harmony. You can begin with any color on the wheel and move in either direction. When limiting hue choice to an analogous theme, the value shifts by small increments and there is no neutralizing of color, as complements are not introduced into the mix. When painting by hue as determined by temperature, rate your color as “cooler than” or “warmer than” those already in the painting. When comparing color temperature, it’s all relative!

Make it cooler Analogous transitions through yellow, yellow-green, green and blue-green get progressively cooler.

Make it warmer Beginning with the same yellow but moving in the other direction on the wheel, yellow, yellow-orange, orange, red-orange and red become increasingly warmer.

Analogous warm colors painted in succession are then surrounded by a complement of blue for contrast of hue. Hearts on the Line Watercolor 5 1⁄2" × 5 1⁄2" (14cm × 14cm)

Transparent Phthalo Blue was combined in textured layers with black to develop a rich, dark underpainting. For a subtle glow, light patterns were laid in with transparent Raw Sienna, which was also mixed with Titanium White to paint the small, lightest captured negatives. Night Patterns (detail) Acrylic on canvas 30" × 30" (76cm × 76cm)

Working with your paintbox colors Build a warm or a cool painting by color temperature with simple, flat shapes. Begin each with yellow, then follow your personal paintbox color wheel to guide the layering of analogous hues. Remember that as you move toward red, colors become warmer, while colors become cooler as you transition to blue.

Paint by Changing Hue: Analogous Warm Colors Make it hot! Choose colors that grow progressively warmer with stylized forms to accentuate a dynamic mood. Although the shapes used in this project are more involved than the simple triangles in the Paint by Changing Value: Light to Dark project, the strategy for building layers in the negative is the same.

Supplies Watercolor or acrylic paints in the yellow-to-red range from your personal paintbox color wheel Palette shown: Cadmium Red Deep • Cadmium Yellow Light • Permanent Yellow Orange • Rose Violet (or another cool red) • Vermillion 5" × 7" (13cm × 18cm) coldpress 140-lb. (300gsm) watercolor paper or gesso-coated canvas panel (for acrylic) Brushes: 3⁄4-inch (19mm) flat wash • No. 12 or 14 round Other: Watercolor pencils in the same warm hues, or a regular pencil; Container of clean water Before you Begin Objective: Learn to build layers with progressively warmer, analogous hues. Simplified color concept: Use flat washes of analogous warm to hot hues. Keep your work vibrant by including pure, bright hues. Because red is naturally darker than yellow, the layers will slightly darken.

Shape-making strategy: Use a pencil or watercolor pencil to sketch or freely carve your shapes with a brushload of color. Use a flat brush to carve out shapes that suggest flower forms and stylize with diagonal strokes to accentuate this dynamic, high-powered color concept. Design format: Add underlying forms as new shapes are added from front to back and across the paper. Contrast for dynamic impact: Since warm analogous colors are located close together on the wheel, there is little contrast of hue. The introduction of a cooler red in the final layering offers a minor contrast of temperature to accentuate the warmer reds. Practical suggestions for success: Build yellow to orange, then orange to red. Think warm, warmer, warmest. As you move further along, the hues will begin to cool as the red transitions toward violet.

STEP 1: Choose your colors Select and test your colors on a scrap of paper. Squeeze fresh mounds of paint onto your palette or mixing surface in a row from yellow to orange to red. This is in the order you will apply the hues.

STEP 2: Prepare a wet-into-wet underpainting Sweep bold, diagonal brushloads of fresh color across the damp surface of your paper. The dynamic movement will carry through to the modified daisy shapes you will be making. Grade the hues from yellow to orange from one side of the paper to the other. There is no white in this color scheme, so cover the entire paper or canvas with luscious, vibrant color.

STEP 3: From yellow to orange Working on dry paper, create yellow flowers by painting around them with diluted orange paint. The spaces between individual petals are suggested with well-placed, captured negative shapes.

STEP 4: Building layers Progress across the paper as you establish floral shapes. This color scheme works equally well using positive shapes, but here we will capitalize on building in the negative.

STEP 5: Seeing red Warm red comes next. Glaze around orange forms with red. A transparent red will permit the orange underpainting to glow through; an opaque red will block it out. Here is your chance to discover more about pigment qualities.

STEP 6: Time for a cool down The final set of warm red flowers appears when surrounded with a touch of Rose Violet, which has a cool cast. A small amount of this transparent cool red won’t distract from the overall hot quality of the piece.

STEP 7: Popping buttons Add center buttons to some of the daisies by painting around them. Use a round brush to mark the shape with orange or red that has been diluted with water.

STEP 8: Move quickly Soften the hard line with a round brush and clean water. Work quickly with an attitude of “get in and get out” to avoid disturbing the underlayers of color.

STEP 9: Push and pull shapes

A large, expressive mass of color is an excellent way to suggest a collection of smaller forms, but if you wish to subdivide it, begin by considering possible options for breaking the big shape into smaller descriptive pieces. Pull some forward and push others back. If you have trouble visualizing individual forms, cut paper templates to test shapes or lightly sketch with a pencil. With fresh color, paint around the edge of a new shape that will remain on top.

Check Point Students often ask me if it is acceptable to go back into a shape to enhance color and add details. There are many approaches to painting, but if you are trying to keep strictly with the approach of seeing and working in the negative, the following steps share a few tips for pulling your painting together and refining shapes. As you will see, painting inside a shape can still be working in the negative!

STEP 10: Suggest depth Diminish color with a soft brush and clean water, or suggest the outer edges of additional objects. To further suggest depth, add a touch of cooler color to the damp areas. In my example, what began as one large mass is now three flowers.

STEP 11: Modify shapes Throughout the painting process evaluate the size, placement and shapes, both negative and positive. Is there plenty of variety or an overall uniformity? At any time you can modify, trim down or eliminate elements that are repetitive or awkward. In assessing my project, I found that all of the daisies were painted straight on, so I turned one to a side profile by reducing part of the shape.

Now try this Repaint this exercise with analogous colors that have all been slightly neutralized. The concept is the same but the results will be a little cooler and less aggressive.

Paint by Changing Hue: Full Spectral Color The world around us is filled with countless colors! Getting all of them into a painting without losing their vibrancy can be accomplished by taking it one color step at a time. Choose a full-spectrum series of colors that progress around your personal paintbox color wheel. You may use several tubes of fresh-squeezed color—one for each transition—or mix colors by blending your warm and cool primaries.

Supplies 5 watercolors from your personal paintbox color wheel Palette shown (Holbein): Cherry Red • Rose Violet • Cobalt Blue • Cerulean Blue • Leaf Green 5" × 7" (13cm × 18cm) cold-press 140-lb. (300gsm) watercolor paper Brushes: 1-inch (25mm) or larger flat wash • No. 10 round Other: Plexiglas or non-porous plastic board; Water-filled spray bottle Before you begin Objective: This exercise focuses on value change through the progression of layers from light to dark and includes gradual transitions in hue by working systematically around the color wheel. Simplified color concept: Use a broad spectrum of hues that develops by value steps. If you are working with watercolor, your project will develop from light to dark. If acrylics are your choice, reverse the value changes from dark to light, but continue to work around the color wheel.

Shape-making strategy: Combine diagonal movement with angular, negative leaf and branch shapes. Design format: Use overlapping frames. Contrast for dynamic impact: Limit the contrast and work to develop gradual transitions in value throughout. Practical suggestions for success:

Shifting from one hue to the next will keep the color vibrant as complements do not overlap. By keeping complementary colors well separated, you will avoid distracting contrasts in hue.

STEP 1: Prepare a color strip to test hues Aim for a smooth transition of hues as you draw the color down a strip of watercolor paper. Begin with a small spot of red paint to which enough water has been added to allow for some flow. As you pull the color, introduce a bit of red-violet and continue down the paper through violet, blue, blue-green, green and yellow-green. Because you are using fresh paint, a little pigment goes a long way! Pick up one color at a time with a wet brush. Clean your brush between colors. Set this guide sheet aside to dry.

STEP 2: Make a wet-into-wet underpainting with different hues Saturate the front and back of a piece of watercolor paper and then place it on a piece of Plexiglas or non-porous plastic board. Lay down diagonal bands of delicate transitions of hues in the order of your guide strip. Keep the values light to allow for lots of future layers. Allow the colors to blend and flow down the paper. When the paper is wet and glistens, I refer to the surface as “satin.” It is safe to add more color to this very wet surface.

STEP 3: Add some texture Adjust your position so that you can really see the level of shine on the paper’s surface. When the paper has started to lose its high sheen but is still plump with moisture, I liken it to “velvet.” This is the perfect time to spray it with small droplets of water to make minibackruns. Timing is critical; if the painting is too wet, any texture will disappear, and if the paint is too dry, little or no texture will develop.

STEP 4: Let the paint work for you As the underpainting dries, the water droplets will continue to blossom. While this step is drying, why not prepare another underpainting? Having two or three ready to go is a great way to keep your work fresh.

STEP 5: Let the underpainting guide color development Paint around the uppermost layer of leaves and stems. When you are not sure what color to use in an area, look to your underpainting as a guide. For example, in areas that

are light rose, continue to build with rose and where the underpainting is blue, glaze with more blue.

STEP 6: Work around the clock Work around the painting as though you are moving around a clock as the hues shift. It may be helpful to turn your painting as you go. When you have completed the first layer of shapes, set the piece aside to dry.

STEP 7: Build layers from front to back Continue adding more layers of shapes and hue transitions. Each layer progressively darkens from light to dark within the limits of one hue.

STEP 8: Check your color progress Compare your piece to your test strip from step 1 to see if you have smoothly transitioned from one hue to the next in your painting.

STEP 9: Evaluate the values To judge how successful you have been at painting by value, photocopy your project or manipulate a scan or digital photo by converting it to grayscale. By removing color, you

can readily see the changes in value.

STEP 10: Dry paper, hard edge Compare this stage with the finished piece to see the new shape that will be introduced into the first layer. Draw the shape if you need a guideline. Following the edge, carefully dampen the negative area above the top edge of the new shape. Here, I have wet a large portion of the branch above where a new leaf will appear. A hard defining edge will be formed where the color collects along the edge that defines the new shape.

STEP 11: Damp paper, soft edge

Drop wet color into the moistened area and encourage it to flow and soften by tilting the paper. Because I have rose in this area, I added more rose; use the appropriate color for your painting.

Pushing and pulling shapes Do you have large flat areas that need to be enhanced? Do you feel you want to add to the first layer? You won’t need to add positive shapes or color in your shapes. Steps 10 and 11 illustrate a quick way to clarify new forms and pull them to the front while still working in the negative.

STEP 12: Complete the shapes To define the lower edges of the newest leaves, dampen the negative space around them and add a touch of color. Use clean water to soften and leave a delicate edge. Do you have stems that are much too thick and heavy for the main branches? Trim them down and adjust awkward shapes by glazing in the negative space around them with delicate color.

Now try this Repeat the exercise with curves and more rounded shapes such as leaves, blossoms and berries. The shapes, lines and movement change but the color concept stays the same.

Paint by Changing Hue: Triadic Colors Starting anywhere on a twelve-color wheel, combine every fourth hue to build sets of triadic colors. In combination, the three hues are a balance of the three primary colors; essentially you have the makings of a full-color palette. For this reason, when triads are combined they are reduced in intensity. The challenge in this project is to maintain color vibrancy as you work with a triad of secondary hues.

Supplies Watercolor or acrylic paints in 3 pure colors: orange, green and violet 5" × 7" (13cm × 18cm) cold-press 140-lb. (300gsm) watercolor paper Brushes: 1-inch (25mm) or 1-inch (38mm) flat wash • No. 12 round Other: Plexiglas or non-porous plastic board; Watercolor pencils in the same triad of colors (optional); Container of clean water Before you Begin Objective: Explore triadic hues to create a vibrant glow. Learn how to adjust the movement and balance of the painting as you work. Simplified color concept: Use three colors placed equidistant from each other on the color wheel. In this case you will be playing with highly intense secondary colors (orange, violet and green). Each hue and the overall value will shift from light to dark.

Shape-making strategy: Stylize organic shapes to angular, hard-edged, dynamic forms. Design format: Use overlapping frames, angles, diagonal lines and a zigzag movement. Contrast for dynamic impact: Although there will be hue change, the dominant impact will be value contrast. Practical suggestions for success:

No matter which set of triadic colors you select from around the wheel, you will have a balance of all three primary colors. Mixing triads together produces hues that are low in intensity (grayed). To reduce the neutralizing effect, keep each hue separate as the value becomes darker. When it is necessary to overlap different hues, it is helpful to glaze over dry areas rather than blending colors together.

STEP 1: Prepare a wet-into-wet underpainting Saturate the front and back of a piece of watercolor paper and then lay it on a piece of Plexiglas or non-porous plastic board. Stroke green, orange and violet onto your paper in individual diagonal bands with a wet, flat brush. Keep the values light to allow for lots of future layers. Tilt the paper to one side to encourage the colors to blend and flow diagonally across the paper.

STEP 2: Maintain control with an edgy quality While the underpainting is still wet, gather the three watercolor pencils in one hand and hold them as you would a single pencil. Put your scribbling skills to work as you add a

few lines that follow a diagonal movement. Draw by moving your arm, not your fingers. The resulting calligraphic marks and color notes will have variety and an edgy quality as the pressure shifts and the pencils wiggle and slip slightly out of control.

STEP 3: Break up the surface with texture Before the paper loses its shine, sprinkle it with small droplets of water to make mini backruns or blossoms. Set the underpainting aside to dry.

STEP 4: Build color on color Begin to develop your imagery using the negative painting approach. In each area of the underpainting, echo the existing hue through value steps: green over green, orange over orange and violet over violet. Where color control is required, work in small areas to keep colors pure.

STEP 5: Drop in color changes

For color transitions within an area, drop a different hue into a wet glaze and permit the hues to mingle and flow. Let gravity and water do the work.

STEP 6: Complete the first layer Carry the triad color scheme through the completion of the first layer.

STEP 7: Build light to dark within each hue Continue adding more layers of shapes and hue transitions. Each layer progressively darkens within the limits of one hue. The number of value steps you include is your choice. Draw attention to particular passages with many layers and strong value

contrasts. In other sections, minimal building and reduced contrasts establish quiet areas and a gentle flow.

STEP 8: Check your progress. My example was painted almost as three separate panels, dividing the space vertically into near-equal thirds, as indicated with the pencils. The resulting design is static and overly symmetrical.

STEP 9: A simple cure Shift the balance by extending the boundaries of a hue by glazing over one hue with a dark value of another. Now, the green has migrated through the mid-section orange, and dark violet weaves across the top to meet the green. This simple correction of adding a

few well-placed negative shapes breaks up the equal thirds to dramatically change the design, balance and movement.

STEP 10: Evaluate Have you retained pure color or have the hues become overly neutral? Some graying is to be expected as one hue is applied over another, especially when working with triad colors using watercolor. Overbrushing when applying color may disturb the previously painted hues. Free Jazz Watercolor 5 1⁄2" × 7 1⁄2" (14cm × 19cm)

Now try this Try a different triadic combination such as the primaries of yellow, red and blue, or yellow-orange, red-violet and blue-green. Work with pure color or reduce the intensity of the selected triadic hues for a handsome statement. The possibilities for working with triads are almost endless!

Paint by Changing Hue: Complementary Colors Much of my studio time is spent exploring color concepts. Testing theories to see how and why they might work is a worthy challenge. One such experiment is an attempt to enhance and enliven color through the juxtaposition of its complement, which led to the painting Jazz Color found at the end of this demonstration. I have re-created the concept for you to paint along with me.

Supplies Acrylic paints: 2 sets of complements from your personal paintbox color wheel • Titanium White acrylic or smooth white gesso • Ivory Black Palette: Holbein Compose Blue #1 (turquoise blue) • Cadmium Orange • Cadmium Red Light • Cadmium Green Light • Cadmium Green 8" × 10" (20cm × 25cm) canvas panel or gessoed paper Bright synthetic brushes Before you begin Objective: Discover how to make color pop through hue contrast. Simplified color concept: Pair complementary hues (diametrically opposite on the color wheel) for the greatest contrast. Keep colors close in value and intensity.

Shape-making strategy: Keep it simple! Stylize organic shapes by accentuating their dynamic quality with angles and diagonal movement. Dynamic impact: Position contrasting hues side by side and keep any value change in these areas to a minimum. Practical suggestions for success:

Acrylics work especially well for this exercise. The paint sets up quickly and is not disturbed by layering, so colors retain their brilliance. Use opaques or add gesso to transparent hues to help block in shapes or lighten the value as you build and adjust your design.

STEP 1: Lay in pure color Vigorously brush a large mass of Cadmium Orange transitioning into Cadmium Red Light onto your canvas with diagonal strokes. Clean your brush well and add two smaller blocks of Cadmium Green Light. Unless you need to do some touchups at the end of the painting, you are finished with these colors, so clean up the brushes and change the rinse water while your work is drying.

STEP 2: Block in the black Squeeze a dime-size dollop of black directly onto the canvas and brush over the lower portion as shown. Begin to carve around a few floral shapes; these can be reduced later as your design is developed. Don’t forget to repeat a touch of black near the top for balance.

STEP 3: Power up the hue contrast Locate the complementary hue on your color wheel. I have used an opaque Compose Blue, which is a dynamic contrast to red-orange. Your turquoise blue may have a different name, or you could mix Phthalo Blue (Green Shade) with gesso to make a suitable opaque blue-green. Carve around stylized floral shapes and stems. Leave a few floating color chips to break up the space and add to the playful character of this painting. Compose Blue is now the main hue. Its complement, red-orange, occupies less space but is a powerful contrast.

STEP 4: Keep the color, change the value Build additional layers while keeping to the hue-against-hue contrast. Lighten the value of the Compose Blue with gesso or white acrylic to carry through with the concept while decreasing the impact in areas away from the red-orange.

Why the green in this complementary scheme? The yellow-green in this example is related to turquoise blue. It serves as an entertaining change of hue but does not strongly compete for attention, especially when it is positioned away from the red-orange. Consider it a bit of spice!

STEP 5: Direct the viewer’s attention Continue to add more layers of reduced value beyond the sections of strong contrast. Subtle value shifts will allow the viewer to focus full attention on the orange/blue relationship.

STEP 6: Make any final adjustments Refine shapes, eliminate competing elements and adjust the balance of your painting. Now is the time to touch up any areas that may have been overpainted or sullied.

Complements in step with each other Pump up the volume with contrasting complements of hue. Blue is the dominant player here but orange sings out for attention. Anytime you have successfully partnered complementary hues, prepare to hear “Wow, look at that color!” Jazz Color Acrylic 12" × 12" (30cm × 30cm)

Painting by Intensity Intensity refers to the degree of saturation or chroma of a color. Pure, bright and clean color is highly intense, whereas dull, sullied color is neutralized and of a lower intensity. Of the three basic properties of color, intensity is the most misunderstood and neglected. Because neutrals are frequently considered “muddy,” many painters avoid using them. Unfortunately they miss out on an elegant option for building paintings with transitions in intensity that can be delicate and subtle. When well executed, paintings created with this color property exhibit a luminous glow. Describing shifts in intensity is more difficult than explaining value and hue. Value is referred to in terms such as light, mid-value and dark. Hues are sorted by color name; red, blue, orange, green and so on. But how can we describe in words the intensity of a color so that it can be easily understood and visualized? To envision the progression from pure color to neutral, start by considering a brilliant yellow; when it is slightly neutralized you might label it as tan. Further dulled yellows might be called taupe and yellow-gray. In your paintbox you may already have some neutral yellows such as Raw Sienna and Yellow Ochre. A green that is of reduced intensity might be classed as olive or avocado. It is tricky to assign a specific name to the degree of “dirtiness”; what one person calls dusty rose, someone else might name antique raspberry. To keep it simple, just remember that dulling a hue reduces its intensity. Creating neutralized colors Reducing the intensity (purity or chroma) of color is easy to accomplish: Combine one pure color with increasing amounts of its opposite on the color wheel Add a little black or gray to pure color Add white or water to pure color By combining any of these options or by stirring together everything on the palette, we end up with the dull grays and browns, usually referred to as “mud.” Rather than fighting with neutrals, make them work for you by changing the way you think. What is typically described as mud is, in fact, a hue with reduced intensity which has the potential to make clean and vibrant hues look even brighter! Through simultaneous contrast, the dirtier your neutrals are, the cleaner everything else will appear. This color

property is the mainstay of home decorating, where beige, gray or other neutralized color is often chosen as the overall theme color paired with small accents of intense hues. Creating an area of interest with contrast in intensity-based paintings To set up a shimmering focal area in paintings that are based on intensity change, surround small elements of clean vibrant colors with neutralized color. Remember to use a little bright and clean and a lot of dull and dirty.

To power up the little bits of yellow in this watercolor, I partnered it with plenty of neutral browns, rusts and olive green, along with a small percentage of dull darks. Sway Watercolor 7 1⁄2" × 7 1⁄2" (19cm × 19cm)

Goodbye white!

Eliminating the brilliant white of the paper helps you achieve successful, elegant effects in intensity-based paintings along with restricting the value range. This is not an easy task for many watercolorists who believe that they must, at all costs, preserve the white of the paper. For this color property to truly shimmer, the overpowering white must go.

Intensity reduction These four color chips show the reduction in intensity of a pure orange. Notice that the hue becomes more neutral but not darker. Each swatch is modified by adding increasing amounts of the complement, in this case, blue. A little black or gray would also dull the hue. Additional water was needed to keep the value consistent.

Reduced intensity, consistent value The color strip illustrates changes in intensity of orange when mixed with increasing amounts of its complement, blue, and water. When converted to a grayscale, you can see that there is almost no change in value.

Change intensity, not value The most difficult task when reducing the intensity is controlling the value when mixing. Here, orange becomes more neutral but it also darkens even though I added the same blue as in the previous example. Because blue is naturally darker than the orange, when combined undiluted, it will influence the resulting value. To keep the values consistent when mixing light colors with their darker complements or black, also add water and/or white. To maintain the value of dark colors, add a little black along with any light complement.

Paint by Changing Intensity: Pure to Neutral Give yellow pears a soft glow by surrounding them with neutralized color created by mixing complements—colors directly opposite each other on the color wheel. Juxtaposing pure color and neutrals establishes a quiet, gentle visual shimmer.

Supplies Two complementary colors of fresh watercolor or acrylic paint Palette: Indian Yellow • Cobalt Blue and Cobalt Violet Light (mixed in step 3) 5" × 7" (13cm × 18cm) watercolor paper Brushes: 1-inch (25mm) flat wash • No. 12 or 14 round that comes to a good point Other: Container of clean water; pencil; hair dryer Before you begin Objective: Explore layering with changes in intensity. Develop this project from left to right across the paper. Begin with the object that is closest to you and build from front to back. Simplified color concept: Build in the negative with changes in intensity within a limited value range. Start with a clean color and add increasing amounts of the complementary hue to neutralize. Remember it’s not “mud”; it is neutralized color and it is beautiful!

Shape-making strategy: Simple, flat pear shapes keep the focus on the objective of this project. Dynamic impact: With the greatly restricted value change and no vibrant contrasts of color, this concept offers a sophisticated and delicate glow. It’s not overly dynamic, but the conflict of vibrant color and neutrals draws the viewer to the area of interest in a more subtle way. Practical suggestions for success:

Dry your layers as you work. Keep in mind that you want to reduce the intensity while maintaining a similar value.

STEP 1: Goodbye white Squeeze out a fresh dollop of a bright yellow. This color concept works best if all the white of your paper is eliminated. Cover the entire surface of your paper with a vibrant, clean layer of yellow. Set the work aside to dry.

STEP 2: Select opposite hues for mixing neutrals On your personal paintbox color wheel locate the position of the yellow you have chosen. I have used Indian Yellow, which is considered very warm with its orange cast. Now find the color directly opposite by laying a straight edge or line on your wheel as shown. This is the hue you need to neutralize your yellow. Notice that on my wheel there is no ready-made cool violet, so it is necessary to make one.

STEP 3: Blend to make the complement The complement for the warm yellow is a cool violet. If you do not have a prepared cool violet, it is simple to mix one. Locate where the complement of the warm yellow should be and select the hues on either side of that location, then combine. In this case I have selected Cobalt Violet Light and Cobalt Blue. It would also be possible to use Ultramarine Blue and Violet.

STEP 4: Reduce the intensity of the yellow For the first mix, begin with lots of yellow and just a bit of violet. Blend the color on the palette with a wet brush to slightly neutralize the hue. It should still register as a yellow.

STEP 5: Apply the first neutral glaze On the dry paper, sketch a pear shape with a pencil. Glaze around it with the slightly grayed yellow. Pull the color all the way around the pear and paint out to the edge of the paper. Dry this before the next step.

STEP 6: Add a second pear and prepare a glaze The second pear sits behind and to the right of the previous one. Sketch it and add a stem to the first. Add more violet to further neutralize the yellow for the next glaze.

STEP 7: Paint the negative space around the pears Paint around the second pear and the stem at the top of your first shape. Pull the color out to the edges of the paper.

STEP 8: Gray down the color once again Because the violet is darker in value than the yellow, when they are mixed the resulting

value will be darker than the original value of the yellow. Remember in this exercise you are aiming to minimize value change, so increase the amount of water to keep the value light. Think “dirty” color, not darker. If you are working with acrylics, you can add a bit of white with the violet.

STEP 9: Finish On dry paper, tuck a third pear behind and to the right of the second. Glaze around all three pears and their stems with neutralized color. The goal is to maintain a uniform value overall. However, most likely there will be some increase in value as the layers progress, especially when working with watercolor. If your painting does not become overly dark when compared to the value scale, you can feel quite satisfied!

Color Rescue Alternatives Decisions about color selection are best made before you begin your painting rather than later when you find the work lacking in color direction. However, if the situation arises that your painting suffers a late-stage color crisis, consider how one of the three properties might come to the rescue to establish dominance. Although I am satisfied with my project painting of three pears, I have returned to it here to illustrate three possibilities that you can try in your work. I have dealt only with the background, but you can quickly see the difference this one adjustment can make to the overall effect.

Change the value Block in the negative space with extreme value change. Both hue and intensity changes are overpowered as the dark background contrasts strongly with the light pears. It is very dramatic, making the subtle play of elegant neutrals less apparent. Of the three options, value change is the favorite tool that many artist use to cure their color problems. It is unfortunate that the more understated alternatives are often underused.

Change the hue The negative space around the pears has been painted with violet that is similar in value to the overall tone of the painting. Hue change becomes the dominant player as the relationship between complements sets up an optical vibration. Our eye is drawn to the contrast at the edge of the first yellow pear and the violet background. The two remaining pear shapes and the lower section appear a bit dull and less interesting.

Change the intensity Now paint over the dark value color with an opaque watercolor or acrylic to restrict the value change and eliminate hue contrast. Once again the piece exhibits the delicate characteristics of changes in intensity, as found in the original finish.

Now try this Rework an unsuccessful painting by making similar alterations. Analyze which property may already have a presence and play down the other two. Rework both large and small negative spaces with the goal of presenting a unified dominance of one color property: hue, value or intensity.

Simplifying Complex Shapes In this chapter you will find a series of projects to help you build more complicated subjects. This requires taking the time to actually see how to break your subject into simple shapes and layers before you pick up a brush. Let the art of truly seeing guide you in the art of painting. “To see we must forget the name of the thing we are looking at.” —Claude Monet

It’s our tendency to identify, label and catalog what we see. You may see a rose as just a rose, but look again. To really see a rose with refreshed vision, you must approach it with openness and curiosity. Become aware of the fundamental shapes of its individual parts—notice how they wedge and spiral together, its curves and angles. Study the nuances of its color; inhale its fragrance. You will then have discovered the secret beauty or essence of that rose and realize the difference between looking and seeing. Rose Marie’s Garden

Watercolor 7 1⁄2" × 7 1⁄2" (19cm × 19cm)

Shape First, Edge Second I rarely sketch my subjects on the canvas or paper in preparation for painting. It is a choice I make that challenges me to work boldly and with confidence. I haven’t always worked this way; in fact, the very first time I was instructed to paint without drawing, I felt quite overwhelmed. Sketching had always allowed me the security of knowing that I could adjust inaccuracies and erase mistakes. The finality of attacking the paper directly with paint was intimidating. My first attempts were clumsy and hesitant, but after some practice I discovered the freedom and joy of wielding a brush to boldly carve my subjects. If you rely on drawing your images before you begin to paint, try working in a freer, more direct manner. This requires that you temporarily ignore the usual elements that you probably depend on when painting: color, shading to suggest form, texture, light source, interior details and the sculpting of descriptive edges. Instead, you need to concentrate on seeing objects only as rudimentary shapes. Then you need to pick up a big flat brush full of paint and courageously carve around that shape!

Supplies Any color watercolor or acrylic paint 15" × 15" (38cm × 38cm) or larger piece of watercolor paper or canvas 1-inch (25mm) flat watercolor or bright acrylic brush, as suitable for your medium of choice Before you begin Objective: This exercise has a few objectives. It will help you become a more confident shape-maker and hone masterful brush-handling skills. You will create images quickly and directly by forming the shape first and then defining the edges. You will also be required to work continuously from one shape to the next to completely fill the picture space. Simplified color concept: My sample is built by value from light to dark using one hue; it’s a good choice for your first effort. In the future, use any of the three color properties (hue, value, intensity) to build your project.

Shape-making strategy: Carve big shapes first and then cut in the descriptive edges. For your first attempt, follow along with my shapes. Later, develop a more personal symbol. Design format: Develop an all-over pattern with no area of interest. Weave the design together as you layer forms.

Practical suggestions for success:

Apply the paint in flat layers. Patchy areas in the top layers can be covered with later applications of color. Glazes can also be graded away from the shapes if desired. Work quickly and don’t worry about making a mess! Turn your painting as you go and deal with the entire picture space, rather than getting caught up in one area.

STEP 1: Make the first stroke Squeeze out a generous mound of fresh color. Add enough water to make the paint juicy and load your brush. Without drawing your shape, glide the brush in an arc on the paper to carve one edge of your leaf.

STEP 2: Finish the basic shape The second stroke completes the basic shape of the leaf.

STEP 3: Develop the edge Use the chisel edge of the brush to cut numerous notches into the shape to suggest the serrated margin.

STEP 4: Start a second shape Pull the paint away from your first shape to carve around a second leaf. Work quickly to keep the paint fluid and the design traveling across the paper. Remember “Shape first, edge second” and cut in the notched edges.

STEP 5: Keep the brush moving Allow for a positive white stem while painting the other side of the branch and cut around more leaves. Work on one shape at a time and finish each with a jagged edge before moving on to fill the paper.

STEP 6: Add a hint of texture Rather than applying texture inside the branch, suggest the roughness of bark along the edge by chiseling a few uneven gouges with the flat brush.

To draw or not to draw Doing a lot, a little or no drawing before you begin to paint is a purely personal choice. Applying paint directly without sketching helps me concentrate on simplifying design and shapes and has become part of my evolving method of working.

STEP 7: Try a different shape Add some variety to your forms by painting around berries or a simple flower or by inventing a new kind of leaf. Swing your brush with the confidence of knowing that if your shape is awkward, you can trim it down or paint over it. At this point don’t be distressed

if your sample looks disjointed with isolated patches of scattered leaves. It is all part of the process. Let this step dry before adding the next layer.

STEP 8: Construct lots of layers Following the strategy for building layers with negative shapes illustrated in earlier projects, weave a new branch of leaves under the first layer. Tuck the forms in and out as the pattern grows. This is a good opportunity to cover up any messy areas.

Check Points

If your shape-making attempts look like the picture at the far left, you need to put down the pencil and your little brush. Working with small brushes makes streaks, as the paint dries faster than you can spread it. Always use the largest brush you can maneuver in an area. When fresh, wet paint is applied to cut edges of a shape that has started to dry, small backruns or “blooms” may appear (middle left). Glide your damp brush over the backruns to smooth and blend (near left).

STEP 9: Expand your design As the branches twist and turn, extend some of them beyond the paper’s edges. Fill the paper with layers of shapes. You can expect patchy paint and hard edges to form where glazes meet.

STEP 10: Don’t give up! Continue to fill your paper with a tangle of shapes and lines. Here is your chance to cover unattractive and messy areas with dark negatives as you tuck two or three new clusters of leaves and branches under the first few sets of shapes.

Now try this Use objects around you for your subject matter. Block around the big shape first—for example, a chair may begin with a rectangle. Then cut the more specific silhouette edge. Now you can concentrate on the spaces between the rungs of the chair. Paint these captured negatives last. Our painting motto now expands to “Shape first, edge second, captured negatives last.”

See It, Create It: Multilayered Shapes The projects up to this point have featured the layering of flat objects in which each form occupies a single layer. Creating drawings and paintings of subjects that have many layers within the form can be tackled in much the same manner. A flower that is comprised of many whorled petals and rolled edges needs to be visually dissected to be seen as a collection of pieces. Assembled together in a logical order, these pieces can blossom into a single flower or a full garden.

Supplies Sketchbook Fine-point marker Photographs or a fresh bouquet of multilayered flowers such as irises, roses or begonias Before you begin Objective: Learn how to deconstruct multilayered subjects into manageable pieces to enable you to reassemble them in a drawing or painting. When you see the parts and study how they fit together, you can simplify your work to capture the essential information to depict your subject. Seeing the parts is essential! Take some time to really study the flowers in front of you. While the glorious color may be what first attracted you to the flowers, you will need to focus on the collection of small parts and how they fit together. Practical suggestion for success: Start with the parts that are closest and then work back, from front to middle to distant.

STEP 1: Where to start Observe which petal or flipped edge is closest to you and draw that shape. If other petals or folds are on that plane, include them, too.

STEP 2: Let the form grow Now that you have a start, consider which pieces are directly behind the first layer and mark them in the drawing.

STEP 3: Layer behind layer How many layers of petals and folds are in your flower? Continue to place the shapes one by one as you build from front to back.

STEP 4: Study each flower Each flower that you select is unique. Study it as you slowly progress through the layering to include the final petals and any hints of the calyx that may pop out from behind.

STEP 5: Expand your design As the flowers begin to weave together, so too will the stems and leaves. Take your time adding one under another. As the design becomes more intricate you may omit a few leaves or even whole flowers; it is the overall composition and arrangement that matters. Adjust the position, length and direction to improve the balance as the bouquet emerges.

Now try this

These sketchbook drawings of flowers growing alongside a road in the south of France were completed in a matter of a few minutes by following the tactics illustrated in this section. Now it’s your turn to translate a tangle of floral forms onto paper. Approach the project as though it is a riddle that begs to be solved. Use a marker to force you to be decisive as the parts are pieced together.

Hard Edge, Soft Edge In my paintings I depend on shapes and edges to tell the story. Descriptive, hard edges clarify solid objects, provide information and structure, attract the viewer’s attention and guide the eye around the painting; they confirm the particular. Soft edges and gradual transitions provide mystery and romance; they hint at forms and are more vague. Graduated shifts and lost and found edges create a dreamlike quality in the work, providing opportunities for the viewer to become involved in completing forms and visually meander through beautiful color passages. Whether you work with the positive or negative approach, the size and shape of the subject is established at its edges. When painting in the positive, shapes are generally filled with color or texture, which is confined within the given boundaries. When working in the negative, color is applied around the shape and extends out to fill the negative space around the object. You will need to decide how far to extend the color and whether you wish to define or lose any hard lines that appear. As you follow this project, keep in mind that there are three possible options to consider when pulling color away from a shape: No edge: Pull color to the outside perimeter of the paper. Hard edge: Take color from one shape to another. Soft edge: Gradually transition the hue, value or intensity of the color.

Supplies Watercolors in fresh, clean tints appropriate for your particular flower (avoid earthy neutrals, which will lead to dull flowers) Palette: Cerulean Blue, Quinacridone Gold, Rose Violet, Ultramarine Blue 90-lb. or 140-lb. (190gsm or 300gsm) cold-press watercolor paper No. 12 or 14 round brush Pencil, watercolor pencil or a water-soluble fabric marker
Reference photo, fresh multilayered flowers or your sketch from the See It, Create It: Multilayered Shapes section Before you begin Objective: Practice making hard edges and soft gradations of hue and value while building a multilayered object from the inside out. Often, painting students tend to pull color away from their shapes, which can leave streaks

and distracting accidental hard edges. Instead, soften edges by meeting color head on. Simplified color concept: Create gentle value transitions by grading color away from the shape. Learn how to drop in a second color for changes in hue that suggest volume, form and depth while capitalizing on a beautiful quality of watercolor.

Shape-making strategy: The edge of each petal or leaf is defined with a hard line of color. The color of paint used to delineate the edge establishes the hue of the next layer. Dynamic impact: Hard edges draw the viewer’s eye while soft color shifts add a touch of romance and softness. Practical suggestions for success:

Painting on dry paper provides lots of control and results in many hard edges. Damp paper causes the paint to flow, and lines and edges blur. The more water on the paper or in the paint mix, the more the viscosity is reduced for greater flow. Let your paper dry between layers to maintain control. Keep your color clean by changing the water frequently. You may find it helpful to draw each layer with a pencil or water-soluble fabric marker.

STEP 1: A purposeful underpainting Begin with a wet-into-wet underpainting, created with the colors of your flower in mind. Dampen the paper well with clear water and drop in a few brushloads of fresh color. Encourage the color to mix and diffuse by slightly tilting the paper. Let your painting dry between layers.

STEP 2: Mark in and glaze around the first set of shapes Sketch the first small forms at the center of the flower. Echo the colors and glaze around them. Use a light touch and plenty of water to wash color away from the shapes.

STEP 3: Make a hard edge with color Draw the next set of petals on each flower. Load a brush with watery, fresh color and paint a stroke along the outside edge of a section of the petal and work your way around the shape. I recommend that you paint only about 2" (5cm) at a time.

STEP 4: Dampen the paper around the shape. Immediately rinse your brush well with clear water or use a second brush to rub the water into the paper well beyond the petal. Work the full length of the brush hair back and forth across the paper as you approach the line of color. Move the brush firmly and quickly.

STEP 5: Dig into the color When the brushload of water touches the fresh paint, it will instantly begin to spread. Work the tip of the brush right into the line to reduce the chance of a backrun where water meets color.

STEP 6: Add more color Add some punch by dropping a new color along the edge. This application requires less water and more paint to keep backruns from occurring. Now is a good time to add embellishment to the silhouette edge of the petal.

STEP 7: Moving along

Continue to paint quickly around your shape in small sections. Wash into each new application of paint with clear water to blend. The aim is to define the edges of petals with crisp lines of color that fade or shift in hue as it is washed away.

STEP 8: Move on to another flower While the color around the first flower sets up and dries, paint around another. Boldly charge in with strong, fresh paint and then soften with clear water.

STEP 9: Add more layers Switch back and forth between flowers to give the paper time to dry when adding new layers of petals. To help you maneuver the brush in a smooth, comfortable manner, try rotating the paper.

STEP 10: Pump up the color Be brave! A strong dose of color is just what your painting may need, so go ahead and reach for deeper rich hues.

STEP 11: Now quiet the color down

Color that may have looked too strong is softened with water that floods in from the area around it. Work into the edge with a wet brush rather than dragging color out.

STEP 12: Connecting one shape to another Once the layering of petals is complete, you will need to pull the pieces together. Accomplish this by extending the color from one flower to another.

Check Points If your layers look like equal rings in a bull’s-eye, remember to vary the size and placement of new layers. Practice reducing graded color completely to clear water so that no line is visible. If you are not sure what color to use when painting around your shapes, simply repeat the hues already present in that area. Working with a limited palette will help to ensure color harmony and reduce the chances of getting into color trouble. Color used to paint around a shape will be the foundation for the shape that will appear in the next layer. For example, if you want to add leaves behind the flower, define the final set of petals by glazing around them with green. If blue sky peeps through the tops, delineate the outer edges of the flowers and block in the negative space with blue.

Big Shapes Before Little Shapes Complex subjects such as intertwining branches of trees or multiple layers of delicate lace don’t need to have you tied up in knots. The trick to unraveling intricate networks is to first plot the overall outer shape and match up the patterns before you get caught in the tiny webs of negative shapes. A hunt through samples of lace that you may have tucked away in a drawer or trunk conjures up memories and provides great subject matter for an intimate painting. This project takes a bit of time and patience. Follow along with my selected pieces or choose family linens, fragile lace from a special gown or any heirloom treasure for a more personal statement. A selection of different styles will make for interesting layering. Hot-press paper is smooth and will help keep your brush marks well controlled for the tiny, intricate shapes in this project.

Supplies Watercolors: Aureolin Yellow • Cerulean Blue • Cobalt Blue • Cobalt Turquoise • Cobalt Violet Light 140-lb. or 300-lb. (300gsm or 640gsm) hot-press watercolor paper Brushes: 1 1⁄2-inch (38mm) flat sky wash • no. 8 round and no.10 or larger round Samples of lace (you will need to photocopy or scan) Other: Water-soluble fabric marker; Ruler or T-square; Spray water bottle Before you begin Objective: By taking layers one at a time, you can untangle even complicated subjects. You will be making holes within holes in this exercise. Simplified color concept: Work with delicate tints of clean hues that will darken in value as the layers develop. Shape-making strategy: For curves and circles, begin with the largest shapes and reduce the size as you create the patterns. Count and divide shapes as you go. Design format: Align shapes and lines in concentric formations. Dynamic impact: Remember that intricate details draw the eye and are intensified by strong value contrasts. Practical suggestions for success:

Use a water-soluble fabric marker to sketch in your shapes to give the appearance that you painted the complicated details without drawing. At the

completion of the project, the lines disappear with just a bit of moisture from your brush or a damp cloth. You can find the markers in fabric shops. Before using a water-soluble marker, test it first on a scrap of watercolor paper to be sure the marker lines dissolve when touched with a wet brush. Start with the big shapes first. Clean your brush often with clear water to keep colors fresh. Dry each layer completely between steps.

STEP 1: Put technology to work for you Place each lace sample individually on the scanner bed of your computer or on a photocopier. Gently place a piece of dark paper over the lace before lowering the lid and copying, as this will make the pattern of holes easy to see. It may be tempting to pile and arrange all your fabrics together on the scanner to get a better look at the final layered effect, but work with one sample at a time so you don’t get sidetracked with too many tiny negative spaces right from the start. Your scanned images may be enhanced by increasing the contrast and printing with the grayscale setting or black ink only.

STEP 2: Plot the outer edge and line up the patterns Choose the lace with the largest holes for your uppermost layer to give you more space to build. My example has a simple scallop that is quite regular. Lightly block in the overall shape of the cloth with a pencil or water-soluble fabric marker. (In this photo, the lines have been darkened with heavy pencil so you can see them better.) Did you notice that the cutwork patterns correspond to the outer scalloped edge? Sketch in the simple curves and large motifs. Align the shapes with the outside edges of your original shape. Count the captured negative spaces between threads and plot them on your sketch.

STEP 3: Define by painting around Dampen the area of your paper around your large shape of the cloth with plenty of clean water and a flat brush. As you pull the water close to the outside edge of your lace pattern, use more care; if you touch the marker line with water, it will disappear. Leave a narrow gap between the damp paper and the sketched line. Prepare a glaze of well-diluted Cerulean Blue and Cobalt Violet Light. Work the tip of your color-filled, no. 10 or larger round brush up to the marked line of the scalloped border of fabric. A steady hand and dry paper will provide the hard line that works well to define the edge. Work with care and precision. Notice that the water-soluble marker disappears. As the color is pulled away into the pre-moistened surface, you will have a diffused blush of color in the large negative space around the fabric. Now fill in the negative spaces that represent the cutouts in the fabric with welldiluted Cerulean Blue.

STEP 4: Mark the raised stitching Examine your photocopy or scan of the lace and notice that the raised, finely stitched edges of the cloth and cutwork appear as a light or white line. To suggest these borders, first draw the pattern with your water-soluble marker. Also mark any raised patterns or scrolled embroidery.

STEP 5: Suggest fabric features with warm and cool tints Dampen the area around a small section of lines that define the raised scalloped borders. Apply a glaze of clean, light Cerulean Blue and Cobalt Turquoise around the clusters of negatives and inside the perimeter, allowing a narrow margin of white paper to remain. The guidelines will immediately dissolve, so work quickly in one small area at a time. Dilute the color with clear water as you wash it away. When the rolled edges are dry, it is time to mark in the folds on the fabric. The folds on my sample occur at right angles. Similar to the raised stitchery, they appear as light lines, bordered by a slightly darker value. Indicate the fold lines with your marker and a straightedge or T-square. Dampen the negative area around the stitched patterns and between the lines of one rectangle. Apply delicate Cobalt Violet Light, Cerulean and touches of clear Aureolin close to the lines and encourage the hues to soften with additional water. Drop the colors onto the damp paper, one at a time, then lift and tilt the paper to blend. Refer to your photocopy or scan for help in placement of shifts in value. Give your linens and draped fabric the appearance of soft creases by placing cool color at the edges that grade into warmer hues in the raised or smooth surfaces. An extra touch of cool blue when applied tight to stitched filigree will suggest depth.

STEP 6: Look for patterns Now that your first layer is complete, set it aside to dry while you examine the scanned sample of a beautiful antique lace collar to see the repeating patterns and large shapes. My lace has daisy-like disks while the outer edge is a semi-circle, similar in size to the daisies.

STEP 7: Mark in the bigger shapes Use the water-soluble fabric marker to lightly sketch in the round daisies for the second layer of lace. Count the petal shapes and break each circle into segments. Plot the

outside edge and major lace elements.

STEP 8: Glaze around the shapes with more Cerulean Blue Work on thoroughly dry paper as you fill in the larger negative spaces between the lace forms. When working in a small negative space, leave a thin edge of light paper. This will allow you to work in separated sections to reduce the possibility of backruns and suggest fine interconnecting threads. Dampen the large negative space in the lower portion of the paper and up to the bottom edge of the lace layers. Use a no. 10 round brush filled with blues and violet to delineate the decorative border. Lift and tilt the paper often to grade the color. Charge in bolder color along the edge to further define the boundary.

STEP 9: Build a filigree of captured negative spaces When the larger negatives are dry, begin to paint the shapes of the spaces between the netting of fine threads and tiny inner holes of the lace leaves and daisy motifs with the tip of a no. 8 round brush. Use less water and more paint for a slightly darker combination of Cobalt Blue and Cerulean Blue.

STEP 10: Develop the captured negatives Weave a pattern of small negatives through all the cutwork of the first layer with a clean, mid to high-dark value mixture of Cerulean Blue and Cobalt Blue. These captured

negatives represent the “holes within the holes” or spaces between the threads of the antique lace that appear through the cutwork of the top layer. You may wish to improvise and simply suggest these small decorative marks. Consider the overall size of lace and the rhythm of the patterning that is partially hidden beneath the upper cloth as you add more captured negatives.

Check Point What suits your personality, patience and purpose? If you are particular about reproducing the identical pattern of the lace, you will need to follow your scan and work slowly; study, count and balance the small negatives. Alternatively, you can merely allude to the intricate patterns, as is my choice. Capture the largest forms and improvise the rest.

STEP 11: Remove remaining marker lines Spray a bit of clean water onto a tissue to just dampen, and gently press it on any remaining water-soluble marker to completely remove remaining lines.

Now try this Branches of trees, intertwining plant stems and coils of rope make great subject matter for pattern-building paintings. Look for other possible subjects that offer layers within the captured negative shapes of the top forms.

Paint Multilayered Shapes Learning to break complex forms into a collection of shapes is the key to successfully assembling many of nature’s multilayered subjects. Although the overall shape of a rose may be round, it is the sharp angles that are formed as the petals fold that give this fragrant flower its distinct appearance. You will begin this project by making color choices that will carry you through to the last steps. The most exciting new challenge will be developing several wet-into-wet layers in a subject-specific underpainting.

Supplies Watercolors: Permanent Yellow Orange or Cadmium Orange • Cadmium Red Deep • Quinacridone Red (Holbein Rose Violet) • Holbein Leaf Green (or any yellow-green) • Phthalo Green or Hooker’s Green • Cerulean Blue • Cobalt Blue 140-lb. (300gsm) cold-press watercolor paper, 7 1⁄2" × 7 1⁄2" (19cm × 19cm) Brushes: 1-inch (25mm) flat wash • no. 12 or 14 round Reference photos of roses, including buds and leaves Other: Sketchbook and tracing paper; Pencil and water-soluble fabric marker; Fine-mist spray water bottle; Plexiglas or nonporous plastic board, at least 10" (25cm) square; Wooden board for drying Before you begin Objective: Break down multilayered shapes into slices. Learn how to prepare a subject-specific underpainting. Simplified color concept: Paint by changes in value working with the full spectrum of hues.

Shape-making strategy: Develop a plan that utilizes round shapes and curving strokes for the roses as your starting point. As the painting develops, stylize leaves and petals to feature sharper points and angles. Dynamic impact: Go for the drama of contrast with extreme light and dark values. Practical suggestions for success:

Begin with the parts of the object that are closest and then work back. The many layers of rose petals require several applications of paint that are applied on dry paper. The leaves can be completed in just a step or two. Reconstituted dry paint from the palette is ideal for laying glazes later in the project, but you must use freshly squeezed thick paint to hold edges when building specific shapes in a wet-into-wet underpainting.

STEP 1: See and separate the layers Analyze your photograph of roses and buds to determine which parts of the petals are closest. First, practice drawing the structure of several roses in your sketchbook. Use just a few flat shapes to represent the closest rolled-over edges. These may be found in the center of the rose and on some of the outer petals.

STEP 2: Interlock the shapes. Use a few well-placed lines to complete and interlock the petals.

STEP 3: Complete the flower Finish the layers of petals with just a few more strokes of the pencil.

STEP 4: Add a stem and begin the leaves Position the stem so it visually connects to the center of the rose. Study your photograph to see the formation of the leaves and sketch in the top folds and flat leaves. Suggesting volume is easily accomplished by adding the slivered shapes of the rolled half of the leaves.

STEP 5: Prep your watercolor paper for painting Wet the front and back of the watercolor paper with a very wet flat wash brush. Lay the thoroughly saturated paper on a nonporous surface. Plexiglas or any type of plastic board will not absorb the water from your paper, extending your time to work wet-intowet. How wet should the paper be? The mounted paper will be shiny but if there are pools of water, tilt the board for a moment to drain excess water. Mop up puddles and splashes from the plastic board with a paper towel.

STEP 6: Begin a soft-edge, bold underpainting Load a round brush with dollops of freshly squeezed orange and red paint. Start at the center of the large flower and work outward as you swing the tip of the brush across

the damp paper with a few curving strokes. Touch, press and lift the brush to form spiraling marks. Reload the brush as needed with a generous quantity of paint. Add a few touches of the orange and red in the location of the bud. Because the paper is quite wet, the color will bleed and beautifully separate.

STEP 7: Load a flat brush with two colors Double dip your flat brush: one corner into freshly squeezed Leaf Green, and the other into Cerulean Blue. Press the loaded brush on your mixing surface and make several short strokes to slightly blend the hues. Then make a quick stroke on scrap paper or your palette to see the color gradations in your brush. With practice you can make beautiful transitions of color with just one stroke. I regularly use this method to load two or three colors into flat and round brushes when I paint.

STEP 8: Lay in greens and blue Lay in flat strokes of color to sculpt around the outside edge of the flowers. Use lots of thick paint and allow the brush marks to soften naturally. There is no need to rinse your brush; simply reload with a greater percentage of green paint and brush long diagonal strokes into areas where leaves and stems will be created.

STEP 9: Encourage the flow of color

Gently mist the orange/red paint with water to coax the color to spread. If the paint is sluggish, tip the Plexiglas or nonporous plastic board and let gravity help move the paint. Then carve a few layers of leaves. Remember, when working with watercolor, start light and build to the dark.

STEP 10: Balance the shapes and spaces Consider the balance and proportions of the shapes and spaces (negative and positive) and expand the forms to balance the design. Block in the final leaf shapes. Because the wet paper is mounted on a nonporous surface, it will remain damp much longer than if it had been stretched on a wooden board, but there is still no time to waste when you are working wet-into-wet.

STEP 11: Descriptive edges come next Use the flat brush to cut in decorative edges on some of the leaves. As you build it is important not to add water to your paint. The paint needs to be thick to hold the lines and shapes; depend on the moisture on the paper to blur and soften edges. If you need to clean the brush, rinse it in fresh water and blot with a towel.

STEP 12: Test the placement of the rose Here is a little trick to help you test the positioning of your rose. Copy your drawing onto a piece of onion skin or tracing paper. Slide the translucent paper over the dry underpainting and rotate or shift it until it suits the shapes and colors. It won’t be a perfect match, but it will give some guidance to get you started. If your painting is to include more than one flower, lay out several tracings and readjust until you reach a pleasing composition.

Check Points Keep your colors clean! As the layering continues through this piece, orange and blue will neutralize (gray) each other if mixed. Test your color on a strip of paper before applying it to your painting. If it looks at all dull, rinse the brush in clear water and reload. The hues will appear fresher if they are laid down directly on the paper without overstirring. After step 11, remove the damp underpainting from the Plexiglas and allow it to dry on a clean wooden board. Using a hair dryer will make the paper curl, so allow it to dry naturally. This is a great time to prepare a few more underpaintings so you will have lots of opportunities to explore the project.

It’s time to get specific about your shapes by providing a few well-placed hard edges. For crisp, descriptive lines and edges, work on dry paper. Starting with step 12, you will need to let the paper dry between glazes.

STEP 13: Follow your plan Mark in the first set of rolled edges on the dry paper with a water-soluble fabric marker according to your blueprint sketch.

STEP 14: Punch out petals with color Working in one short section at a time, paint bright red-orange along the edge of a petal with a round brush. Dilute the paint well with clear water as it is washed away from the shape. Control the spread of the orange by confining the flow of water to the area you have set as the boundary of the rose. Continue around all of the closest petals. Let this step dry.

STEP 15: Add a rosebud Petal behind petal is the way to build roses. Define and paint around more layers of the large flower and begin the small bud by painting around the closest petals with Rose Violet.

STEP 16: Blushing color You will discover that some pigments are easy to wash away, while others smudge, bleed and lift. Don’t panic! If a glaze gets messy, dilute it with clear water and lift with a soft brush.

STEP 17: Continue to build the roses Follow your sketches to add more petals, drying between each additional layer. I have included several but you may wish to limit the layers for a looser appearance.

STEP 18: Set boundaries How large will your flowers grow? A bit of blue or green painted around the outermost petals defines the boundary and lays the groundwork for leaves, stems and negative holes.

STEP 19: Complete the roses and uppermost leaves Each rose in a garden has its own personality, so let yours evolve into its own unique shape. A few softly diffused edges will soften the painting and allow your viewer to become involved in completing the forms. Paint around stems with a dark blend of Cobalt Blue and dark green to suggest deep, cool spaces.

STEP 20: Firm up the edges of the foliage Whenever you are in doubt about what color to use when glazing, look to your original color concept. In cases such as this where the painting is built by value, repeat existing hues but take them a step darker and you won’t go wrong.

STEP 21: Weave the stems through to the bottom Don’t leave your flowers hanging in mid-air. Use a brush handle to determine where a stem might pop through between the upper leaves. Angle and pivot the brush to adjust the stem line and improve the design.

Cure for buckled paper Unstretched watercolor paper can buckle and warp as it dries and the fibers swell unevenly. When your painting has dried, you can flatten it with these easy methods. Flatten with weight (for any size painting):

Stroke a wet, flat wash brush evenly across the back of the paper just to moisten. Protect both sides of the painting with clean, untextured paper towels and sandwich the painting between two wooden boards. Place heavy books or weights on the top of the stack and leave for several

hours. Flatten with heat (for small works):

Protect your painting with layers of untextured cotton sheeting. Set an iron to low steam and apply light pressure to the back of the protected artwork. Keep the iron moving from the center of the work outward. Pressing with heat only takes a few moments, so watch carefully and keep the heat low. It’s wise to test this method before you use it on your masterpiece! When flat, immediately tuck the warm painting into the middle of a thick book to cool.

Summer ’s Color Watercolor

7 1⁄2" × 7 1⁄2" (19cm × 19cm)

Design & Color Challenges and How to Resolve Them The projects in this chapter address particular painting problems students frequently ask about. Learn to read your paintings. Take the time to see what is happening on the surface and within the boundaries of the space. Look at what is there and let that lead you to what is needed. React to what you see on the painted surface. Remain flexible to making changes and be open to new ideas.

In a quiet time of contemplation at water’s edge, I became conscious of my need to shift visual focus in order to observe the light patterns, surface reflections, layers of lily pads and into the water. I was left to wonder if it is possible to simultaneously see all layers of the scene. Layered Light Patterns was painted in response to this challenge. Layered Light Patterns Acrylic on canvas 16" × 16" (41cm × 41cm)

Becoming a Puzzle Master Making a painting is much like working on a crossword or Sudoku puzzle. Whether you are selecting and arranging shapes and colors or numbers and letters, you need to think in multiple directions and strategize a number of steps ahead. A puzzle of any kind is entertaining and good exercise for your brain. The many types of puzzles that come in books and newspapers require various skills but, generally, the objective is to solve a question or fill in a blank space with a singularly correct solution. The answers must identically match those set by the puzzle’s creator. You can easily check to see if a response is right or wrong in the answers provided by the paper. However, when it comes to painting there isn’t just one correct answer or solution, and no one else predetermines the final outcome of your painting puzzles. It is entirely up to you to choose what to put where. When making painting choices, there are many considerations to be taken into account: balancing shapes, lines, colors and textures providing variety and repetition within the elements of design making the work unified and harmonious weighing the dynamic impact and contrast getting the message across by featuring a dominant theme or element creating a sense of movement and energy establishing value patterns making beautiful marks Depending on your personal style and preferences, you may be concerned with accurately capturing a realistic likeness of your subject matter or, alternatively, stylizing and abstracting the pictorial elements. There are so many things to contend with that it is little wonder that so many watercolors become soggy wads of paper in the trash or that acrylics painting disasters are covered over with gesso. If the high hopes of past painting projects have turned to frustration or disappointment and have left you feeling less than enthusiastic, don’t give up! Replace the self-inflicted pressure to make a good painting with the joy of discovery found in solving painting puzzles. Instead of approaching a project with the big objective of making a good painting,

start smaller with one specific, finite thing that you would like to explore. Decide what you are interested in learning more about, such as “the color blue” or “how to make flat shapes look round” and become an expert on that topic. Select a few of the color and design options that will serve as tools to help you research and begin with a single mark. From that point on, each new stroke of color, line or shape you add is in reaction to what is already on the paper. Decisions are made by looking for visual clues within the painting and with the intention of seeking ways to realize your original purpose.

Tuesday at Brunch Acrylic on canvas 24" × 30" (61cm × 76cm)

Let the Underpainting Do the Work Begin with a foundation that is filled with exciting color, a bit of texture and plenty of action and you won’t need to go back inside shapes to add detail or color. Given the right conditions and opportunity, watercolors and acrylic paints appear to perform magic! Learning how to suggest amazing surface textures requires lots of experimenting: mixing, pouring, brushing, scraping, spattering, layering and testing new products. This kind of delightful practice provides great incentive to get into the studio. Consider the textural marks and brushstrokes in your underpainting an integral part of the design, rather than just hoping that happy accidents will bring the magic to your work. Here is your chance to put the relationships of shape, line and movement to work for you. Short, curving brushwork establishes round shapes and flowing water rhythms right from the start. Your choice of paints should be guided by color property and pigment level of transparency or opacity.

Supplies Transparent acrylic paints: Cobalt Blue • Transparent Red Iron Oxide (Golden) • Hooker’s Green • Olive Green Semitransparent acrylic paint: Cerulean Blue Opaque acrylic paints: Cadmium Yellow • Titanium White or smooth white gesso Ampersand Claybord or prepared canvas, 8" × 8" (20cm × 20cm) Brushes: 1⁄2-inch (12mm) and 1-inch (25mm) soft wash • 1⁄4-inch (6mm), 1⁄2-inch (12mm and 1-inch (25mm) bright Other: Glazing medium; Spray water bottle (large droplets); Rag or untextured paper towel Before you begin Objective: Explore the options of working up or down the value scale. Build repeating shapes on a textured acrylic underpainting. Simplified color concept: Paint with a full value range using analogous cool colors. Begin with mid-range values, build with increasingly dark values, then bring back the light.

Shape-making strategy: Curves and circles pair up to suggest lily pads and water ripples. Design format: Overlapping shapes using curves and circles. Practical suggestions for success: The paint on your underpainting should be quite thin and transparent. When it comes time to bring back in the light in the final steps, you will need to employ opaque colors. Choose pigments that are naturally opaque or mix gesso or Titanium White with transparent paints.

STEP 1: Prepare a textured underpainting Squeeze out pea-sized mounds of the greens and Transparent Red Iron Oxide. Completely wet the painting surface with fresh water using the wash brush. When the board is no longer puddled with water, but still appears shiny, spatter and brush a thin layer of Olive Green onto the lower third of the square surface with the 1-inch (25mm) bright brush using curving strokes. Now work into the upper two-thirds with Hooker’s Green, repeating the same type of movement with the brush. Slightly blend where the two colors meet with short, vigorous strokes. Wipe the brush in a rag or paper towel or grab a clean brush and pick up a small quantity of Transparent Red Iron Oxide, then brush over some of the darker areas of green to reduce the intensity. For extra texture, spatter with a little blue, green and red. Spatter the lower half with water and brush to add texture (see the Before you begin sidebar).

STEP 2: Change hue to define the top shapes Connect the lily pads together as blocks of shapes using Cobalt Blue for the mid-value and Hooker’s Green for colorful darks. Keep the shapes of the pads simple and rely on the texture of the surface for variety. Adjust and balance the design by painting over and eliminating undesired elements.

Creating surface texture Timing is everything when it comes to producing surface texture to suggest water ripples and reflected light such as those shown in this underpainting. Here’s how to do it:

First, cover Claybord or your canvas with a thin layer of acrylic paint; transparent colors work best for this technique. (When painting on Claybord, you will need to work very quickly due to its absorbent nature; gessoed canvas allows for a little more leeway.)

When the paint begins to lose its wet shine and is tacky to the touch, spatter with large droplets of water. Allow the painting to sit for a few minutes before sweeping a soft, dry, 1-inch (25mm) flat brush across the surface in a curving motion to push the droplets. If your timing is right, you will create a dappled effect. To determine the right moment, test in a small area: too early and the paint will smear; wait too long and the paint will have dried.

STEP 3: Make changes up and down the value scale Continue to paint around shapes. Look for opportunities to mass two or more pads together as a larger single shape. Go lighter in dark areas by adding a bit of gesso or Titanium White to Cobalt Blue and a small quantity of Transparent Red Iron Oxide. Now go darker in the light lower area as you begin to suggest the rings of ripples with Cerulean Blue thinned with glazing medium. A bit of blue spatter adds more texture.

STEP 4: Add the final highlights Push back and diffuse any overly crisp shapes with semitransparent Cerulean Blue mixed with glazing medium. When the glaze is thoroughly dry, add the lightest captured negatives that bring the sparkle of reflected light to the painting. Combine gesso or Titanium White with Cadmium Yellow for the warm highlights or with Cobalt Blue for cooler highlights.

Now try this Acrylics allow us to play up and down the value scale with ease. It is possible to do the same with watercolor, but you will need to lift color to regain the light or make the final layers opaque by adding a little Chinese White, gesso or white acrylic to your color.

Take Shapes From Flat to Round This book explores simplified color relationships and plays visual games with shapes to make designs and patterns. Most of the projects display a limited depth of field and are free from concerns about perspective and the direction and source of light. Many contemporary artists embrace the real space of the flat surface (two-dimensional) without the desire to create the illusion of deep space and volume. However, your personal interests may include the challenge of creating a sense of volume (threedimensional) and deeper space in your paintings. You can further your study of shape and color and also achieve your goal by applying warm and cool transitions and gradations in value within the layers.

Supplies Watercolors: Cerulean Blue • Cobalt Violet Light • Leaf Green (Holbein) or other yellow-green • Olive Green • Phthalo Blue • Raw Sienna • Rose Violet (Holbein) or other cool violet-red • Ultramarine Blue 140-lb. (300gsm) cold-press watercolor paper, 11" × 11" (28cm × 28cm) Brushes: 1 1⁄2”-inch (38mm) and 1-inch (25mm) flat wash • No. 12 or 14 round Reference photos and sketches of calla lilies and hydrangea (or your favorite flowers) and small round berries Other: Water-soluble fabric marker; Plexiglas or nonporous plastic board, at least 14" (36cm) square; Wooden board for drying Before you begin Objective: Learn simple color and shape options that suggest volume and depth of space. Simplified color concept: Lay down an underpainting that is color-specific to the subject. Paint with a full range of values with hues that include selections from the cool side of your color wheel (green, blue and violet). Play with warm and cool variations of the hues to push and pull the layers.

Shape-making strategy: Begin with flat shapes. Then add gradation in value and cool hues to hint at shadows and rolling forms. Overlapping shapes suggest depth. Dynamic impact: Go for the drama by contrasting extreme light and dark values. Practical suggestions for success: When making a wet-into-wet underpainting, you will need to work at a steady pace, but you need not rush. The paper will remain damp on the Plexiglas for quite a while, allowing time to mingle color and build shapes. Be sure to use fresh color and only enough water to keep the paint moist, but not running out of control.

STEP 1: Analyze the structure of the flowers Do your own research for close-up images of hydrangea, calla lilies and any other type of flower you wish to include in your bouquet. Prepare several line drawings or “blueprints,” such as the one shown, for each variety to evaluate their structure and silhouette.

Concepts for creating form, volume and depth The overlapping of shapes suggests distance. Objects that are close appear more defined, with hard edges. Those at a distance are more vague and have soft or lost edges. Objects that are close appear larger than those in the distance. Surfaces that are lit directly are lighter in value and appear warmer in hue. Shadowed surfaces are darker and appear comparatively cooler. Cool hues appear to recede; warm hues appear to advance. Muted tints and tones also push back, while pure color moves forward. As a curved object turns away from the light, there are transitions from light to dark and from warm to cool. Graded washes work well for this. Opaque applications sit on the surface, flatten shapes, block out distant elements and visually move forward.

STEP 2: Begin an underpainting Lay out a dime-sized mound of each color listed onto your mixing surface. Wet both sides of the watercolor paper with a 1 1⁄2-inch (38mm) wash brush and place it on your Plexiglas. Before applying any color, study your drawings and commit to memory the basic shapes of the flowers, leaves and berries. Double-dip yellow-green and Cerulean Blue with a no. 14 round and touch soft color to the areas where you plan to build calla lilies and berries. Allow the paint to blend and flow. Rinse the brush and reload with Ultramarine Blue and a little Rose Violet. Apply color directly to the damp surface with well-spaced, short crossing strokes, with the shapes of the hydrangea flowerettes in mind. As the paint spreads across the white paper it will suggest “out of focus” blossoms. Expect both hard and soft edges. Olive Green and a little Phthalo Blue lay the groundwork for the leaves when painted with short crossing strokes using a 1-inch (25mm) flat brush. As the paper begins to dry, the bleeding of color will slow and harder lines will occur. Use this opportunity to suggest the outer edges of the calla lilies and paint around a few round berries. Peel the

damp underpainting off the Plexiglas and lay it on a wooden board to dry.

STEP 3: Bring the subjects into focus Paint around the flowers and berries with glazes of clean color. Let the existing hues guide you as you build layers with ever-darkening values. Dry between each step to maintain crisp, definitive lines. Take advantage of some of the droplets of pure color that appear in the underpainting for the centers of your flowers. Mark the folds of the calla lily with a water-soluble fabric marker according to your reference sketches.

STEP 4: Let it roll

Use a round brush to dampen the inside of a lily with fresh water. Drop a touch of cool Cerulean Blue on the damp paper, along the flipped edge. Rinse the brush and stroke well-diluted yellow-green into the balance of the shape. Tilt the paper to assist the flow and blending of hues. Work on one lily at a time as you progress around the painting. Keep cool color within the bounds of shadowed areas to push back and roll the color beneath the folded rim. Leave the folds white or very light, clean, warm tints to pop them forward. Graded transitions of warm and cool tints allude to gently cupped forms.

STEP 5: Work around the painting As the inside of the first lily dries, move to other sections of the painting and add more hydrangea blossoms and berries using the negative painting approach. Each glaze darkens and cools to suggest depth. Use increasingly less water as you prepare deep violet by blending Ultramarine Blue with Rose Violet and the dark green mix of Olive Green and Phthalo Blue.

STEP 6: Finish the second lily Moisten the interior of the lily and apply cool-to-warm graded tints with watery Cerluean Blue and Cobalt Violet Light. A touch of Raw Sienna dropped along the lower rim will capture the natural color of the funnel-like form. Because Raw Sienna is a neutral yellow, it is best to encourage the hues to mingle together by slightly changing the angle of the board, rather than overblending (and dulling) with a brush.

STEP 7: Mark the third lily Refer to the sketch of the cylindrical lily in step 1 and draw it with water-soluble fabric

marker in a location of the painting that is very light. Consider how the placement and direction will affect the overall design, and adjust to make any needed improvements.

STEP 8: Carve out the lily Wet the paper in the area around and exactly up to the lily. Expand the motifs of berries and hydrangea flowers up to the defining boundary of the lily. Drop in violets and greens in preparation for building future layers. Let the paper dry.

Remember For hard edges work on dry paper; for soft edges work on wet paper.

STEP 9: Paint around the stems and berries Because the color property featured in this project is value, it is time to add the darkest darks in the negative spaces around the stems and between berries and blossoms. Deep violet can be easily made with Rose Violet and Phthalo or Ultramarine Blue, to which little or no water is added. Touches of pure Ultramarine Blue or Olive Green will make the dark captured negatives colorful.

STEP 10: Make the lily wrap around To suggest its spiraling curve, paint the lily in segments. Dampen the lily above the lowest (closest) section with clear water and immediately add a touch of Cobalt Violet

Light at the bottom of the moist area. Tilt the board forward and back to encourage a hard line of violet to gather at the lower edge and diffuse upward. As this area sets up and dries, paint around a few more berries or fine stems. Check your design and adjust as needed.

STEP 11: Complete the third calla lily Be sure the previous glaze is completely dry. If the water-soluble marker lines have dissolved, redraw the inside roll. Leave a sliver of dry paper along the upper inside edge of the hood of the flower. Finish this layer by repeating the previous step: dampen the paper and drop in Cobalt Violet Light. A little color is all you need. The hues in your underpainting will alter the hue and intensity of the wash of violet.

STEP 12: Add stamens to the two large open lilies Calla lilies have the most interesting stamens. You can quickly suggest the single slender column by painting a swirl of delicate Raw Sienna and Cerulean Blue around it. The round tip of the stamen is left unpainted as the cool funnel-like throat pushes back.

Using photos for reference To commemorate a friend’s wedding I decided to paint the bride’s bouquet as a gift, which resulted in Ann Marie’s Bouquet. I had received a small snapshot and a list of flowers, but since I was unable to attend and take my own close-up photos of the flowers, I had to research the specific blossoms to be included in my interpretation. I was fortunate to sketch some blue hydrangea in a local greenhouse but the lilies required hunting through photos in plant books and online. The Internet gives instant access to nearly any image you may wish to paint, but it is crucial that you respect the photographer’s copyright. Use photos only to gain an understanding of the basic shapes and structure of the flowers and then set them aside. Develop your own line drawings and designs to capture the flowers in a personal way.

STEP 13: Define the centers of a few hydrangea blossoms The button-like center of the blue hydrangea is next. Select just three or four little flowers to embellish and paint around a small circle with clean violet with the tip of a no. 12 round.

STEP 14: Pull color out Immediately rinse the brush and wash the color away from the center to the edges of the small blossom. Soften with more water or leave a few hard edges as you wish.

STEP 15: Evaluate and adjust Critique your painting from across the room and in a mirror to see the big picture rather than from up close where small, unimportant, misplaced strokes are all too apparent. Adjust the balance and proportions of the shapes and spaces (negative and positive) in your painting to improve the design. Anne Marie’s Bouquet Watercolor 11" × 11" (28cm × 28cm)

Now try this Try painting a close-up of your favorite flowers. Begin by researching their shapes and making blueprints of the flowers from different angles and at various stages, from tight buds to full bloom. Work within the limits of a color concept that features a full value range of hues that are located closely on the color wheel.

Apply Color to a Value Structure In the mid to late nineteenth century, before the invention of color photography, it became popular to overpaint black and white photographs with color. The application of dyes, watercolor and other paints was charming and brought a fascinating sense of realism to the images. Artists and photographers continued the experimentation by printing the images on delicately colored papers. The underlying color of the paper (frequently pale blue, pink or mauve) glowed through in the highlights and mid-value areas as tints and tones. A similar strategy is a useful artistic approach that you can incorporate into paintings if you struggle to achieve clear value transitions. Perhaps you are so charmed by color that you find it difficult to read the value. To break the color spell, establish the value structure first, using neutrals. As you complete your painting, add the magic of rich colors by glazing over the light and mid-value passages.

Supplies Acrylic paints: Cerulean Blue • Cobalt Blue • Phthalo Blue • Transparent Red Iron Oxide • Titanium White or smooth white gesso • Zinc White Ampersand Claybord or gessoed canvas, 12" × 12" (30cm × 30cm) Brushes: 1-inch (25mm) soft wash • 1-inch (25mm), 1⁄2-inch (12mm) and 1⁄4inch (6mm) bright • 1-inch (25mm) hog bristle or housepainting • No. 6 round • Soft dry brush or fan Other: Reference photos of oak leaves; Glazing medium; Sketchbook and pencil; Spray water bottle (large droplets); Untextured paper towel; Sponge Before you begin Objective: Begin with a tinted underpainting. Then practice your skill of building the structure in a monochromatic full range of values and finish with transparent glazes to add color. Simplified color concept: Build the value structure with a pattern of dark, mid-value and light. Transparent near-complementary colors applied in the later stages will appear to have a range of values due to the underlying value patterns.

Practical suggestions for success: If you are timid about laying down a broad application of color, apply a barrier layer of gel medium or varnish over your design and let it dry before adding a color glaze. If you change your mind, remove color that is out-of-tune with a quick wipe of a wet sponge and try again.

STEP 1: Tint an underpainting with multicolored markings Wet the top of the painting surface with water. Use short, choppy strokes of a 1-inch (25mm) bristle brush to vigorously cover the surface with small quantities of Cerulean Blue and Transparent Red Iron Oxide. Sprinkle with water and spatter paint as you continue to brush over the board. The water will be rapidly absorbed producing textured marks. When satisfied with the underpainting, set it aside to dry and study the shape of oak leaves or any of nature’s motifs you choose to incorporate into your design.

STEP 2: Begin with the light value Blend near-complements Cerulean Blue and Transparent Red Iron Oxide (a strong red-orange) with glazing medium to produce a light-valued neutral color. Paint around a large oak leaf and a few long tapered leaves and thin twigs. Sketch images first with a pencil or chalk if needed.

STEP 3: Work from the center out Expand the design toward the outer edges of the board as you add the layers of leaves and branches or your choice of nature’s patterns and shapes, using the negative painting technique. Keep the color neutral by mixing varying quantities of blue with Transparent Red Iron Oxide. To make the grayed color combination progressively darker, replace Cerulean with Cobalt Blue.

STEP 4: Focus on the filigree of twigs and branches I recommend using the largest brush you can maneuver in an area, but as the spaces get smaller a 1⁄4-inch (6mm) bright or small round brush will let you get into the tight corners. Work in one section at a time as you paint in the small negative spaces between and around the slender layers of branches. It is the careful placement of the dark holes that fools the eye into believing it sees woven branches. Phthalo Blue combined with Transparent Red Iron Oxide will provide the rich deep darks for the patterning near the center.

STEP 5: Consider the division of space As the interwoven design becomes more complex, keep the big picture in mind. Aim to leave some less-defined, quiet passages. A good guideline is to balance one-third quiet with two-thirds active, or reverse the proportions for a softer, ethereal mood.

STEP 6: Bring back the light Lighten Cobalt Blue with gesso or Titanium White for the next layers to shift to lighter values that suggest frosty ground or backlighting. If you enjoy making the multitude of small captured negatives as much as I do, your painting may become overly busy. This is a minor problem that can be easily cured with an over-glaze of semitransparent color later.

Selecting paints for glazing At this point in the painting, you need to choose paints for glazing that will add color but not obscure the design. First, determine which colors permit light to pass through and which block light. Transparent pigments work particularly well for glazing; the hue, value or intensity of any color underneath will be modified but will remain visible. Here’s a quick test to help you discover which of your paints are transparent, semitransparent or opaque. Paint a long stroke of black acrylic on paper or canvas. When dry, drag a stroke of each of your colors across the line. Note the name and manufacturer of each paint color. Opaque pigments obscure the line and will appear to sit on the surface. However, the black line will remain clearly visible beneath a transparent paint. My example indicates a transparent and an opaque option for four different colors. Notice that some paints range between completely transparent and opaque. Assess and mark your paints as transparent, semi transparent, semiopaque or opaque.

STEP 7: Overpaint with transparent warm color Add a touch of warmth to your painting by stroking Transparent Red Iron Oxide directly over the tips of the oak leaf. Thin heavy-body paint with glazing medium and a bit of water, or use fluid acrylics which are less viscous. A quick rub with your fingertip will smooth and diffuse the bright hue. Keep a wet cloth handy and clean your hands immediately or wear protective gloves for this step.

STEP 8: Add some visual texture Before the paint has a chance to dry, break up the color with spatters of clear water. Use a spray bottle that emits large droplets rather than a fine mist, or flick water with a small round brush.

STEP 9: Lift the texture Let the droplets of water sit for a few moments, then blot the area with a dry paper towel or rag to reveal the textured color. Add minor warm color notes to other areas of the painting by applying hints of Transparent Red Iron Oxide over small clusters of leaf forms or along their tips. The location of the brilliant hues will affect the design, so position them with care.

Using opaques

Opaques are marvelous for making big changes, flattening space and covering other colors and lines. To strengthen the blocking power of any color, increase the opacity by adding black, white, gesso or any paint that is more opaque. White pigments will make color more opaque, but which white should you choose? The answer depends on the effects that you want to achieve. The small dots to the left of each color show in impasto applications that these three whites are all solid, but when spread thinly, vary in degrees of opacity. Use Zinc White for less coverage (a gossamer film), Titanium White for moderate coverage, or for complete opacity add gesso to your color.

STEP 10: Calm overly busy sections with a veil of color Choose a semitransparent color such as Cerulean Blue or Cobalt Blue, or add Zinc White to a transparent cool color. Brush the paint over areas you wish to subdue. It’s not as risky as it might seem! The underlayers will only be partially obscured, but keep a wet sponge handy to remove any undesirable color and to soften edges.

STEP 11: Make soft transitions with texture When painting with acrylics, layering and texturizing creates the most interesting surfaces. Apply a thin wash of Zinc White over a previously painted dry area and

immediately mist with water. Within a few moments the white paint and water will separate, giving a dappled effect.

STEP 12: Brush to soften Blur any unwanted hard lines with a dry brush. Tease edges and spotty texture marks to blend and soften. A fan brush works well for this task. Frequently wipe the brush on a paper towel to remove excess paint and moisture. The process of making textural markings is rather unpredictable, so experiment to see what effects can be made by pushing the paint around on the slippery surface of the painted board.

STEP 13: Carry the blue through the design Drag more semitransparent blue over other areas to improve the design. To reduce the strength of color, blend in a bit of glazing medium and water.

STEP 14: Make it glow A light buffing with a soft cloth will lift back highlights and establish a lustrous patina. Continue to add and remove paint to build a rich and mysterious surface. First Frost Acrylic on Claybord 12" × 12" (30cm × 30cm)

Harmonize Shape, Color and Movement What can you paint that has never been painted before? If you search to find new and exciting subjects to paint, remember that it’s not the subjects alone in our paintings that make the work unique; it is, rather, our interpretation and how we bring personal creativity to them. Golden koi are symbolic of love, good fortune and strength. In this project you will learn how to put a different spin on this favorite subject. Harmonizing shape, color and movement will reinforce the feeling of a quiet moment found while peering into the shallows of a fish pond. Break forms into multiple planes to give the appearance of volume and dimension. Practice first on a piece of sketch paper so when it comes time to paint, you will layer with confidence.

Supplies Watercolors: Cadmium Orange • Cadmium Red Deep • Cobalt Turquoise • Permanent Yellow Orange 140-lb. (300gsm) cold-press or hot-press watercolor paper, 5 1⁄2" × 7 1⁄2" (14cm × 19cm) Brushes: no. 12 or 14 round Sketchbook or sketch paper Pencil Before you begin Objective: Create harmony in color, shape, line and movement. Practice glazing techniques for subtle transitions in intensity using small touches of clean tints and neutrals in this elegant, graceful subject. Simplified color concept: Paint by changes in intensity, working with complementary colors. Keep the values close.

Shape-making strategy: Think round. Curves, curls, circles and ovals work together to unify shape and movement. Dynamic impact: Clean tints appear luminous when paired with neutrals. Practical suggestions for success: Dry each layer before progressing with the next step.

STEP 1: Draw a plan for the layers of the fish Draw the parts of the fish that are closest to you first. The dorsal fin and head are a good place to start. Next, add bodies and tails. Give life and rhythm to your fish by curving the parts. Then, finish the bodies, tails and side pectoral fins. Give each fish its own character by varying the contour and size.

STEP 2: Draw and glaze the top layer Re-create the first layer of your sketch on watercolor paper with a pencil. Incorporate all three fish from your sketch or select just one or two. Glaze around the head and top fin with pure red-orange (Permanent Yellow Orange and Cadmium Red Deep). Dilute the color to soften, leaving a hard edge to define the shapes. Let this dry.

STEP 3: Reduce the intensity of the red-orange Combine just a touch of Cobalt Turquoise with the red-orange mix to slightly reduce the intensity. Test your mix on a strip of paper for comparison. As the layering continues through this piece, the orange will become progressively more neutral (grayed).

STEP 4: Make a hard edge Follow your plan to sketch the bodies of your fish. Working in one short section at a time, paint the slightly neutral red-orange along the edge of one fish.

STEP 5: Pull the color away from the body Wash the color away from the fish by dampening the paper as illustrated in the Hard Edge, Soft Edge demonstration. Let the color flow!

STEP 6: Dilute the color outward Continue to paint around the forms, diluting the paint as it is pulled toward the edge of the paper. Set the work aside to dry or use a hair dryer.

STEP 7: Continue building Follow your fish blueprint to add the fins and lower levels of layering. Depending on the number of sections you have broken your fish into, this may require several steps of sketching and glazing.

The power of opposites The complementary hues used in this project are the same pairing as in the exercise in the Paint by Changing Hue: Complementary Colors section but lead to very different results! In the earlier project, the complements were placed side by side to empower each other. In this project, opposite hues are blended together to produce a quiet effect.

STEP 8: Neutralize the color as you add layers For each new layer you add, the red-orange should become more grayed. Accomplish this by increasing the percentage of turquoise in the mix. Test the paint as you work. You will need to add more water to keep the value from becoming too dark.

STEP 9: Add some pebbles Tuck the first set of pebbles under the fish. Accentuate their round form and a circular

pattern to carry the theme through. Paint around the stones with grayed color. Little hits of pure turquoise or orange create a jolt of color zing.

STEP 10: Scatter stones Follow the basic strategy for building in the negative to add more pebbles. Remember, you are not painting the pebbles, you are painting around them. Work slowly and let the paper dry between steps.

STEP 11: Keep the motif going How many layers can you build? My illustration now has five levels of pebbles. Work from the upper to the lower levels as you build and the piles of pebbles get deeper.

STEP 12: Develop the inside details Eyes and the bony spines of the fins can be added, but rather than painting them in, paint around them. Remember, you are working in the negative!

The dance goes on I believe that painting problems challenge us to search for answers. Through experimentation, research and determination we have opportunities to increase our knowledge. The more you paint, the more you will learn and the better you will become. As you venture on your own personal painting explorations, I encourage you to continue to struggle, learn and grow. I also hope that my intense fascination and love of spreading paint around will have rubbed off a little. There can be such joy found in the simple act of painting! The Love Dance—Golden Koi Watercolor 5 1⁄2" × 7 1⁄2" (14cm × 19cm)

About the Author

Linda Kemp is internationally recognized for her unique contemporary watercolors and acrylics which incorporate her innovative use of negative painting. She is the author of Watercolor Painting Outside the Lines and a presenter in numerous instructional art videos and online forums. She is also a contributing writer and demonstrator in six other books. Her paintings and articles have been featured in publications such as Artist’s Magazine, American Artist, Watercolor Magic, International Artist, Watermedia Focus, Palette Magazine and The Watercolour Gazette. Linda is an elected member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour (lifetime member), the Ontario Society of Artists and the Society of Canadian Artists. She is profiled in Canadian Who’s Who, Who’s Who of Canadian Women, The Dictionary of International Biography and 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century and is featured in the 20th anniversary edition of the Trivial Pursuit board game. Her award-winning paintings hang in private, government and corporate collections around the world, including The Royal Collection at Windsor Castle and the private collection of the Prince of Wales. A full-time artist, Linda frequently instructs and lectures at national symposiums and workshops throughout Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and France. She was the recipient of the YWCA 2005 Woman of Distinction Award for Arts and Culture and in 2008 received the A.J. Casson Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Water Colour, the top award for The Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour National Juried Exhibition.

Connect with Linda on Facebook or visit her website, www.lindakemp.com.

Dedication To Jamie, Dorothy and Elizabeth

Acknowledgments I am grateful to all the students and readers whose paths I have crossed. Each one has enriched me with extraordinary experiences, contributed ideas and tackled painting assignments with enthusiasm, imagination and determination. They have challenged and inspired me and have been the driving force for this book. To my Facebook and blog followers, my sincere thanks for your interest and helpful comments. The monumental undertaking of writing this book could not have been done without the patient support of many talented and skilled colleagues and technicians. I wish to express special appreciation to the staff at North Light Books: Jamie Markle for making it possible, Pam Wissman and the technical department for contributing their expertise in essential ways. In particular my most sincere applause to Stefanie Laufersweiler, who was saddled with the enormous task of editing many reams of pages of overly wordy text and images into the final selection. My deepest appreciation goes to Dorothy McKim and Elizabeth Downie, who kindly devoted hundreds of hours to proofreading the original manuscript and for keeping their virtual red pencils sharp! I want to thank the Ampersand Art Supply, Mike Grecian of Mike Grecian Sales, and Joe Miller of Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff for their kind donations of painting materials and supplies. Most especially I wish to acknowledge H.K. Holbein Artist Materials for generously providing me with their superior products and for their continued enthusiasm. In particular, I extend my thanks to Douglas Hopper and Tim Hopper, Barbara McKay, Dave Morency, Jon Young, Matt Hopper and the entire Vermont clan. My art pals Christopher Schink, Marilyn Harding, Anthony Batten, Caroline Jasper, and Robert and Kate Burridge, along with many others, can always be counted on to provide me with good counsel and keep me connected to the real world. I am grateful to Sandy Winsby as well for sharing creative ideas and adventures and for encouraging me to begin this project. I thank my dear friend Dr. Larry Barton for his years of unwavering support. At the age of one hundred, he continues to inspire me through his continued devotion to the quest for knowledge and a love of science. It is with great pride that I send out much love and thanks to my dear daughter, Dr. Jamie Kemp, for her daily support and thoughtful insight into historical and contemporary art issues and everyday life.

There are so many more friends, collectors and family members that I cannot possibly list them all but to whom I send my heartfelt thanks.

Simplifying Design & Color for Artists. Copyright © 2013 by F+W Media, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this eBook may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Published by North Light Books, an imprint of F+W Media, Inc., 10151 Carver Road Suite 200, Blue Ash, OH 45242. (800) 289-0963. First Edition. Other fine North Light products are available from your local bookstore, art supply store or online. Also visit our website at fwmedia.com. eISBN: 978-1-4403-2534-2 This e-book edition: December 2013 (v.1.0)