Watercolour Demonstrations

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Watercolour

Demonstrations Milind Mulick

JYOTSNA PRAKASHAN

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Watercolour Demonstration: JP 353 Published by: Milind L. Paranjape Jyotsna Prakashan, ‘Dhavalgiri’, 430-31 Shaniwar Peth, Pune 411 030 Mumbai Office:Mohan Building, 162 J. Shankarsheth Marg Girgaum, Mumbai 400 004 [email protected] © Milind Mulick, 2014 English translation: Dr. Ajey Hardeekar First Edition: January 2014 eEdition: 2020

Introduction The first step in watercolour painting is to learn the basic techniques of application of wash, brushwork etc. Besides the technique one needs to know about the right approach towards a subject. When a scene is to be painted, how to go about it? Where to start from? Generally, we paint from light to dark. But there can be different approaches to start off. There is no written rule for this... after all, the result and the impact matters! We move from large areas to small ones and finally impose details. At times we glaze carefully and then do the brushwork with finer details. There can also be a direct approach with bold colour application and tonal statements. I have tried to share the different approaches I commonly use and have also tried to express through different subjects. When I paint, the end result of the painting is ready in my mind. I proceed accordingly. To make you familiarize with this process, at the beginning of all demonstrations, I have provided thumbnails of the final painting and colour pallete.

Wet-in-Wet technique The examples here are a quick revision of the basic techniques. Wash and Wet-in-Wet

Video: wet-in-wet 1

1. On a plain blue wash, I added some definitions of the distant trees and marshy grassland with two patches left unpainted to indicate water. The transparency of watercolour gives a kind of ethereal quality and creates a natural depth in the painting.

Video: wet-in-wet 2

2. I applied a graded wash starting from a dark blue and moving to white by diluting with water and again adding up blue as it descended down. When it was dry, I applied plain water in the centre portion, moving the dark colour strokes vertically from the dry to wet the patch. Notice how easily we can create the effect of trees on the bank in the dry portion while there are reflections in the wet portion. For the lighter line of the bank, I scratched out the pigment with the nail of my thumb.

video: wet-in-wet 3

Wet-in-Wet is a technique that offers one of the biggest advantages of watercolour – wherein paint spreads on the wet surface, creating a uniform blend of colour and tone. There are many factors that decide the result. One of them is: density of the paint – thin paint will spread and cover the area whereas thick paint retains the shape within which it is applied, though with blurred edges. Secondly, the absorption capacity of the paper and its wetness also determine the result. The humidity and the ambient temperature also play a role in deciding how fast the paint dries, thereby affecting the movement of colour. Of course, all of this can be mastered only with a consistent effort.

video: wet-in-wet 4

The painting above is an example of wet-in-wet with some area left dry for the two white columns. I used a strong contrast of colours with varying densities, from ‘milk’ to ‘butter’. (‘milk’ means thin paint, gradually becoming thicker as we go to ‘butter’.) I wanted blurred edges while ensuring that the major shades retained their colour and shape. The superimposed brushwork gave a definition to the whole painting. Notice how small areas – just lines and a few patches – have defined the previously painted wet-in-wet area. In a nutshell, most of the area of trees ‘painted itself’.

Demo 1: Stream This was an interesting and natural looking view from a wonderfully built garden. Usually I don't paint a ‘man made’ garden or rather a picture perfect view… but this one offered a unique tranquil yet dynamic feeling. If you are a landscape painter, I believe rather than just what you see, the experience you have with all your five senses plays an important part in the approach as well as the process of painting. So lets take it to the easel…

In most traditional landscapes, I start with washes and block the major areas. Here I chose to begin with the area of main interest – the tropical tree with its translucent leaves, highlights, and some shadow areas. I carefully rendered the leaves – each leaf separately, keeping the highlights unpainted. The white areas separated the leaves and defined the geometry of the tree.

The little water cascade is a thin wash with brush accents done wet-inwet to show the direction of flowing water. I started the background with a thin mix of Prussian blue and viridian green – a cool combination, adding some violet in the same wash. Some areas of bright yellow-green give an impression of distant trees. I had to be very careful to maintain the outer shape of the tropical tree while keeping the homogeneity of the wash above it intact. Notice the colour and tone becoming darker as the wash descends downwards.

I then rendered the rocks in grey – a mixture of crimson red and viridian green. Watch for the white shapes which are carefully left unpainted, on the water behind and between the rocks, and the area behind it. These white areas actually define the objects separately and I would say, play the most important role here.

Further coming down to the grass, I had to paint it in one go to avoid getting any sharp edges. Starting with yellow, and green in various proportions for the grass on the left side, I added a violet-brown at the bottom. The water below it starts with the brush strokes in the top portion and blends into a graded wash and into white as it descends downwards.

Demo 2: Red Wall Photo reference I was sent by a friend. We were doing an experiment… two artists across the globe paint using the same reference and compare the similarities and differences in the process. It was fun! Now this is not my photo or experience, but then imagination and fantasies are handy tools for an artist, I convinced myself. I hunted down my memory tapes of my travel around the Mediterranean, Cinque Terre, Mallorca… So lets put on some music, flamenco or bossa nova, and get in the groove, take it to the easel…

Only after I had made a small colour sketch did I realise that this was an interesting subject to paint. There is not the usual play of light and shadow, or patterns that create depth. It is a kind of ‘flat’ subject. So I decided that the texture and details would create interest.

The wash for the wooden door and window is mostly burnt sienna, with a touch of red in the door, and yellow ochre in the window. I then added a darker brown mix for the door. To create more texture, I kept playing with some watery brush strokes, vertically in the window panel, creating a ‘cauliflower’. This is exactly what I wanted for this subject.

I started the red wall with a variegated wash of vermilion with some crimson touches. I kept on deliberately moving a thin liquid puddle on the paper to create random textural patterns. The close up shows how I also lifted colour with a tissue paper, at some places.

I merged the corner of the wash below the window where I stopped the red wash. A further wash on the red wall and the right side of the window is relatively plain. I just spattered some water to create dots.

The colour at the bottom has been darkened with cobalt blue and a little burnt sienna to create shadows of the pots, and to depict a sharp edge between the wall and the ground. Finally, I have carefully rendered some details to create sharp accents.

Demo 3 Forest House And yet another typical scene from Konkan anyone would say, but it never fails to amuse me... any day, anytime, forever… Is it the harmony of the laterite stone house that merges with the surroundings, or is it the texture of the trees in autumn or the shapes and tones that are familiar? the site always lets me forget the heat and humidity and I can easily get not just comfortable but start feeling euphoric and I can’t but start painting… Am I sounding overly dramatic or overly poetic? But believe me, not a word of exaggeration here if you stand beside me…

There are many trees in the background and around the house. Obviously, there is going to be a cluster of many shapes, colours, and tones. To make it all work, I have created a single shape with changing colours and tones, with a ‘complicated’ outline (contour). I guess this has created a fair amount of variety while retaining the unity.

This stage is mainly about painting the large single mass of the house. The colour of the house is important for me as it is one of the major design elements in this composition. I mixed orange with vermilion red, neutralizing it a bit with sap green in the lower portion. Now about the terracotta red – unless the darks of the roof and shadow are painted, we will not understand the tonal effect of the red-orange painted just now. Through practice, we can fairly realise the grey-scale equivalent of most colours. But if you are an amateur artist wanting to speed up your understanding, the use of a tonal greyscale strip is handy.

Video:_Forest_House

This stage is mainly about superimposing of darks. For sharp, thin lines I have mostly used a rigger. The very subtle transition from very dark to a more brownish, reddish-yellowish colour in the shadow of the roof and on right side of house is very important. This is the effect of reflected light. A flat, absolutely dark stroke in the wall created the illusion of a window. The rigger helped me achieve the lyrical, dancing brushwork of the trees.

Demo 4: University Building Grand structures from the British rule, proudly seen today as a temple of education. Stone buildings have always fascinated artists around the world (I think) to paint. The reason besides its architectural design and beauty, is the variation of colors in stone and its texture. The building is nicely surrounded by a variety of flora and stands as a feather in the cap. On sunny Sunday mornings when the formal education is on holiday, this place becomes a social park, a place for picnic. Kids to joggers and happy senior citizens are seen and to top it all, there are grand gatherings of watercolour landscape enthusiasts!

In a landscape like this where the architecture is a major element, getting your perspective accurate is very important. I have marked major lines that define the geometry of the building. Once we get the outer block correctly, details such as windows easily fall into place. I started the first wash with ultramarine blue, and carried it down with little touches of warm ochre. Further in the wet area below, I added some

strokes of lemon yellow with a touch of sap green added to it, and some vermilion accents at places.

A diluted wash for the entire building was applied in one go. I started with ultramarine adding some vermilion red and yellow ochre at the same time, allowing it to mix on the paper itself. Blue + red + yellow = grey The building looked grey at first glance. I thought I should add some reddish, yellowish tints to give the impression of the varied stone blocks.

A little shadow on the side of the two trees connects with the wash of the building. I then blended some sap green and vermilion red. Next is defining shapes and adding dark accents. The bottom shadows are a wash of blue, red, yellow, allowed to mix on the paper to create variations of grey. A little care was needed to keep the highlights in the bushes and on the central vertical tree.

I tried to keep the building details to a suggestive minimum, so they did not overpower the general feel of the landscape.

Final details and darks finished in one stretch were applied with a small, pointed brush. At this stage, maintaining the homogeneity of the small accents is important. The trick was not to change the brush and not get stuck in one particular area. For example, when I painted the dark part of the tall palm tree leaves, I quickly moved to the trees in the middle, and bushes; then added some details in building, thus moving all over the painting in quick succession.

Demo 5: Watermill An old watermill somewhere in the Dutch land and the season is autumn… This reference is again a part of a photo experiment, and I am not present at the scene. But the whole memory of autumn seen in Netherlands years back came flooding. The trees having green color turn yellow and orange, then red and almost a rusty brown within two weeks. Common sight for people staying there, but feels like a wonder of the nature for newbie. A crystal clear reflection in the clean waters and a slight distortion and shimmer caused by the breeze…not an easy one to paint… Take a deep breath and let’s take it to the easel!t.

I started with a variegated wash of vermilion red and orange; moving in some green and yellow at some places. For the most part, European fall colours move from green to yellow to red, covering a large portion of the colour wheel.

I started with light washes for the house – a mixture of cobalt blue and crimson red creating a cooler, more neutral look. I continued the wash in water with more blue and graded it to white. Then I started with details, doing the trees in the background. Such picture-perfect subjects look very interesting but can be rather boring to paint. I was concerned about creating sharp details at places and keeping blurred edges on the other side i.e. creating interest by keeping a balance of ‘lost and found’ edges.

The clear reflection in the water was quite a challenge here. I wanted only a few sharp edges among the mostly blurred ones. I started with yellow-orange, adding water in the edge below. As the paper was damp, I created the dark reflection of the trunks, blending with greens of the previous wash, and keeping the sharp highlights untouched.

Here are further details on the watermill, with darks. In any painting it is the dark patches or lines that draw one’s attention. So the placement or division of the darks should be balanced, such that the viewer’s eye remains within the painting. This needs to be kept in mind before completing any painting. I always like to do such details, but one has to be careful and not disturb the large tonal masses.

Demo 6: Colaba Road It is usually buzzing with heavy traffic, screeching horns, street hawkers and busy crowds of working class. On any other day, nobody even glances at this old building still standing preserving the heritage. But on a lazy Sunday morning, it suddenly shines on and gets its due attention. A strong sunlight creating lovely light and shadow patterns to excite any watercolor painter, and bakery and coffee aromas from the old Iranian café behind me, pulling me in two different directions… a common dilemma, right? Coffee can wait… sunlight won’t… so better take it to the easel…

First I applied thin washes and some accents of bright and light colour as a base. This would represent the sunlit area later. Then I started doing the shadow areas very carefully, defining the architecture of the building. Notice the warm colour of the shadow which indicates the brightness of the sunlit area which is left unpainted. At such a stage in any painting, I usually take care to ensure that ‘being accurate’ does not mean applying laboured brush strokes; rather, the strokes should be suggestive only.

Now begins painting of the shadows (or rather, the areas of reflected light). I used a warm red along with a cooler ultramarine blending into each other. The most important thing here for me was to keep the homogeneity of the wash in the shadow area intact, without getting any unnecessary sharp edges. Also the tone of this area was important – it had to be neither too light, nor too dark! This step is a very important one during painting. It is here that the painting is ‘held together’. While painting the highlight on the car as well as the red of the hoarding I ensured that the uniformity of the wash was maintained. The painting also gets defined at this stage – the various forms and elements of the painting start making their distinct appearance, yet the entire picture remains bound together.

Now come the dark accents and smaller details. There were a few things I was concerned about – making a balanced placement of the dark accents such that they didn’t tamper with the large tonal mass of the shadows. Then I painted the final wash for the shadow on the road. Notice the transition from warm to cool; I have obviously pushed the colour here. Otherwise it would have created a dead mass.

Demo 7: Empress Garden Again the tiny water stream and the small white bridge made this scene interesting. This is a scene from a huge park, surrounded by huge high rise buildings from the ‘concrete jungle’ of the city. But fortunately once we are inside the park, the huge wall of trees around the periphery hides any glimpse of the city around and we are transported to another world. Small man made efforts like a tiny bridge with cross railings and a stone retaining wall can add such a spice to a wild grown forest like this, creating numerous painting possibilities...

I made the whole sheet wet, leaving only the highlights on the bridge and reflections in the water unpainted. The first layer for the distant trees is mostly blue-violet without much of green. The ground is largely burnt sienna with a touch of red and turning cooler and bluish towards the shadow, with fresh yellow-green for the grass and foliage.

The second stage is developing the shadow masses. Here I worked mostly in the darker area rather than the lighter one, yet keeping it sufficiently light so that the effect of reflected light was not lost. I kept on changing the colour from a cool blue-violet to a more warmer yellow-orange; blending them together as I carefully rendered the shapes of the shadows.

In the background I kept the shadow tones lighter, trying to remain within the interconnected shapes, though there is a lot of brushwork apparent here. The grass on both sides of the bridge has been carefully indicated by the contour line from the background tone.

Similarly the bridge has also been defined by painting the negative shapes. In such cases, most highlight areas are created by ‘subtraction’ of shapes (i.e. painting negative shapes and leaving the positive shapes unpainted).

Finally I did the detailing with sharp and dark brushwork. If you notice, most of the brushwork is with a thin rigger brush and it looks almost like a superimposed layer in this stage. I would like to call this stage ‘dancing brushwork’. Being free yet accurate is a matter of confidence; something which can be achieved only through lot of practice.

Demo 8: J.M. Road – Rain After the first showers of rain, I always remember the phrase ‘come rain or shine’! contradictory to the meaning, I get my shine on the road when the rain comes. The scene immediately changes in two aspects… a whole new world of reflecting blurry shapes is formed on the road and the disturbance in the orderly road activity becomes very apparent… people on the road suddenly scattering, some running for shelters while some enjoying the showers and soon as the heavy shower recedes and a glimpse of sunshine appears, everything gets settled in a happy shiny mood… that is the moment to capture!

A picture like this needs very careful planning. Since there are so many complicated shapes in the picture, cars, figures, highlights and reflections, I decided to do a rather detailed study version. Using a black pen and masking the darkest dark served the purpose here. In most normal cases I only do a thumbnail sketch to understand the space division and tonal distribution and keep the mystery of the process open. This time let’s see if the mystery gets solved or it gets even more mysterious!

After marking every detail in pencil, I remember having taken a deep breath.... Two things are important here – one is retaining the white of the paper for highlights, and the other is not any sharp edge to form; except where required. Using masking fluid could have been my best option here. But somehow I am never very comfortable with the resulting sharp highlights in later stages, so I decided to take my chances and went ahead. The initial wash is raw umber at places and mainly Payne’s grey with a touch of cobalt blue, and lemon yellow and sap green at places. The central shining light on the road and the major white areas have been left unpainted.

Almost immediately after my first wash, I took some dark, raw umber with some blue added to create the effect of branches, leaves, and the tree. I started with the central dry portion depicting sharp details, and moving into the wet area on the right, applying very fuzzy strokes.

Then I started rendering the details carefully. The colour is mostly raw umber, blending into Payne’s grey. The sharp silhouette of the figures is very important, while the inner area is just a blended wash with some dark accents. Leaving white highlights at key places is also very important. The last stage is tying up of all the elements in the painting. We always need to ensure that our middle tone mass, the darkest darks and the lightest lights create a good balance with each other. As a thumb rule, a large middle tone mass is the backbone of any painting. The darks should be connected with each other, and create a unifying pattern. Highlights can get scattered interestingly, making the eyes dance! But if the darks and middle tones get too scattered, there will be chaos!

Demo 9: Snowscape Is it most difficult or easiest to paint snow, can be a debate between leisure painters and professional artists. The fun is, in watercolor you don’t paint snow, meaning the painting can be entirely done in a subtraction manner. This was in -10 degrees in a Stockholm suburb. Fortunately there was clear sunshine and I was frozen with the beauty of simple shapes and patterns. Everything looked like a painting done on a white paper… It was obviously impossible to paint with layers of hand gloves but I could press my camera button to take a snap and come back indoors to paint in a warmer outfit…

Simplicity of shapes is the key factor here. Most of the times snowscapes are easy to do because the scene is naturally simplified in terms of shapes. Also, a limited palette is adequate.

I used Prussian blue with some gradation for the patch of sky. For the house, I started with cobalt blue, moving to ultramarine for the ground, with touches of crimson imparting a violet shade in some places. The idea is to show the change in the ‘temperature’ of blue and see if it helps in creating depth.

I covered the house with a darker tone and added a bit of crimson with burnt sienna for the visible portion of the roof. Further, before painting the background trees, I applied some plain water at places. The colours are burnt sienna and raw umber with touches of crimson and Prussian as well, all creating a single patch – with transition of subtle colour and tonal changes. There are some blurred edges and some sharp ones, as the paper is wet in some places and dry elsewhere. At the bottom of this patch I used a rigger, moving horizontally and creating dry-brush strokes.

Similar work with the rigger is continued for the vertical strokes of the trees. Finally, just a few straight lines indicating linear perspective, and small patches supporting the same, and the painting is over. Too many sharp tree branches against the sky would have led the eye away from the basic path, which is along the road and leading to the sunlit patch on the ground.

Demo 10: Bullock This is a common site in many Indian cities. What I love is the kind of incongruous yet artistically complementing look. I seldom paint wild life or animals but I love to paint domestic animals, because I can relate to them more perhaps as I bump into them pretty often on roadside. A huge, heavily built bullock can crush you if it decides to go against you but somehow we are never afraid of them. When wondering about it, I think it is the humble expression in their eyes that we instantly connect to, and that must be the reason I like to paint it.

This one is an experimental painting in mixed media. My idea was to paint the bullock in a textured urban environment. While drawing figures – humans or animals – proportions play a very important role along with perspective. A close up of the drawing is shown here.

For this painting, I spent a good deal of time to be accurate while rendering the bullock with colour. Besides, I tried to use the brush strokes to create an interesting accent and define the anatomy of the bullock. In other words, I used bold brush strokes that tell the story by themselves. This next step was a courageous one to take. I was quite happy with the rendering of the bullock so far. While the background is white, anything I do around the bullock could either reduce its importance, or enhance it.

A lone bullock on a white sheet looks good and if I do the background carefully, it might look contrived or clichéd. I tried to do something unusual. For such an urban setting, I thought some mixed media might be handy to create the textured and painted wall. So I used some acrylic white (which has an adhesive property) and applied it thinly. Then I just stuck some randomly-torn pieces of newspaper in the right and left corners in the background. After drying I peeled off some of the newspaper pieces, leaving some torn shapes firmly stuck to the painting.

Here I worked mostly with black paint and a few colour accents while ‘designing’ the background. My main concern was to not let it overpower the bullock while bringing it up, as well as merging it into the total frame.

Demo 11: Staircase This was a sad yet one of the most interesting moments I witnessed. The demolition of heritage structure is always a sad thing to see but one has to accept the change and I am sure it is beneficial to many. As a watercolor painter the loss is of a subject to paint. So finally all I can do is try and record these structures in sketches or with a camera, if I cannot not paint instantly, and then paint the memories… This I think is my tribute to the diminishing architectural glory of the past…

The composition is rather experimental. The idea was to use an architectural element in detail, along with a textured pattern. This idea actually came from a real-life incident. I had sketched this staircase detail when the old building was being demolished. At one point the staircase looked as if it was starting from nowhere and going up towards the sky.

I made the drawing, trying to keep the perspective as accurate as possible. Texture was on my mind so I decided to go for some mixed-media effects. I have used wax crayons here. They are semi-resistant to watercolour, and also create some texture.

I added a plain wash for the sky, leaving the white roof to let it blend with red-yellow ochre, and moving further to blues and some browns. At some places, I put randomly-blending darker accents.

Lastly, I carefully rendered the details and darks, trying to create a lostand-found pattern. The entire painting is about lost-and-found edges, which aptly suits the incident I mentioned earlier.

Demo 12: Warkari (Pilgrim) Watercolor may not be the suitable medium to do portraits but whenever I see old weathered men in turbans I find them interesting. The lines of wisdom, the play of shadow and light, and the weathered skin texture are interesting elements to paint. Warkaris are pilgrims who devotedly walk several miles during a certain period as part of their ritual. It is very interesting to see hundreds of people passing on the road and watching them closely in their complete trance and devotional mood.

Unlike when painting landscapes, we have to be precise with our drawing when painting portraits. The proportions and placement have to be in the right places. It is a good idea to spend some time here. I think the key in making a portrait is to start by thinking of the face as a sculpture in stone, without sharply defined features. If we are bogged down by individual features like eyes, lips, nose, or the expression – chances are we will lose track of the basic proportions and the ‘moulding’.

Here I have just covered the middle tone, leaving light areas and got in a little tonal transition that basically defines the moulding. The turban is a patch of chrome yellow and dark strokes of folds added rapidly to create blurred edges. The colour is mostly burnt sienna with some addition of crimson red near the cheeks, nose, lips, etc.

As I started painting the eyes, nose, and lips I was still thinking that I was carving a sculpture out of stone – just placing the darks and shadows; the features falling in place by themselves. Notice the little edge left alone on top of the upper lip, separating the upper lip from the skin between nose and lip.

Finally, the minute details. At this stage I proceeded cautiously, spending a lot of time between each mark I made on the paper. I had to draw my hand away many times! Many of you might wonder how I managed those tiny stubbles of the beard. Here’s the trick – a white gel pen works perfectly.

Demo 13: Paris Drizzle This spot is very close to Notre Dame, towards the Latin quarter. A chilly wind blowing in the nose and a sudden drizzle and you run for shelter in the nearest coffee shop, only to find it packed and you notice the shower has passed and the sun is shining bright again… what a sight! Of course the wind will not let you rest at one place but you can quickly take a few snaps before getting in another café. I am neither a giant monolith structure fan nor a history enthusiast, so walking along the streets, sitting in cafés, listening to street music and observing life satisfies the painter in me. So lets take it to the easel!

It is vitally important to do a small, value key sketch before you start painting. It could be very small, but the moment you finish it, the ‘plan of action’ is ready in your mind.

When I make a pencil drawing on a watercolour paper, I ensure that there is a correct division of space. I mark the objects and masses. However I also draw some lines that do not indicate any specific object but serve as reference for later work. These lines come from the plan that is floating in my mind. For example, the horizontal lines on the road might indicate a guide for the direction of my brush strokes. Or I could be thinking of a direction guide for change of colour, etc.

Although I prefer to have some details marked in pencil, I am a bit lazy at times. Here I have not marked much, except for the strong highlights. Not marking too many details offers an advantage – you stick to the bold tonal plan, and do not go on unnecessarily defining every tiny object. I don’t usually use masking fluid. It is definitely handy, but then it leaves edges that are too stark and sharp, which I might not like later. Of course, there are exceptions... Architectural subjects do have sharp edges, and clever use of some masking fluid does come in handy. Certain windows as you see here have been masked and some highlights have been left unpainted in the wash itself. The figure shows two stages. The first wash of ultramarine blue blends into the red-yellow of the building and then becomes the light blue of the foreground. The second-stage wash shows the sharp edges of the building at the back, but it blends and diffuses as it moves downwards.

We cannot see the colours of objects against bright sunlight; rather we have a drama of direct light, as well as refracted and reflected light creating an effect of blending colours. The yellow-orange glow with blue-violet serves the purpose very well here. As we move further towards defining the objects, the next big task is to see that all sharp edges lead the eye in the direction we want, taking care not to create too many unnecessary sharp, or lost-and-found edges.

The shadow on the side of the building on the left has been kept blurred to guide the eye, and create an interest in the painting. The sharp vertical edge of the building and curved edge of the footpath define the structure, and lead the eye into the painting.

Video: Bullock cart

I hope you have enjoyed the book and found it useful. Following these examples and the learning techniques will help you along your journey as an artist. I do wish you start exploring your own compositions and painting your unique, ‘personal’ visual experiences. I shall share many more ideas and concepts with you in my next book....