Watercolor Painting: A Comprehensive Approach to Mastering the Medium by Tom Hoffmann
Authors: Tom Hoffmann
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second wash. Do the same for the third. Were the results what you expected?
Leaving some room for the fluidity of the paint to assert itself is how the characteristic look of spontaneity enters a watercolor. Too much control is just as likely to ruin a painting as too little.
The antidote for mostwetness control issues is staying aware of how wet your brush is compared to the paper. Most watercolor painters dip their brush into the water bucket far more often than necessary. This is a sure way to lose track of the relative wetness of brush and paper.
When you are putting color into a wet surface, the initial wash can be thought of as your entire water supply. Any strokes added while it’s still wet don’t need more water from the bucket. Instead, just get some more paint on your brush, which is still a little bit wet, and add it to the wash. When you are applying color to a wet surface, the paint can be much thicker than what you would use on dry paper.
Sometimes all the care, practice, and conscious thought you can muster is still not enough to dispel uncertainty about whether the brush or the paper is wetter. When painting a large, complicated sky, for example, it is not always easy to be sure how wet every part of your paper is. A hard edge in the wrong place could be fatal. Pay attention to that sense of doubt. Think of it as a red flag, so that you will remember not to make that next uncertain stroke in the most conspicuous spot. Look for a place where you can make a tiny mark that won’t be obvious later, and watch how the paint behaves. If you still can’t be sure what will happen when the brush touches the paper, pay attention! Let your eye follow the stroke closely, so that you can stop as soon as you see something wrong. The idea is to catch it before you make a whole bunch of hard-edged strokes. If the conditions are not right, you should be able to notice it a quarter of an inch into the first stroke. Hopefully, this is a small enough sin that you won’t feel the need to correct it. With watercolor, the cure is usually more harmful than the ailment.
TOM HOFFMANN, HIGH SUMMER, 2008
WATERCOLOR ON ARCHES COLD PRESS PAPER
22 × 15 (56 × 38 CM)
----
As the sky approaches the horizon, the blue changes from ultramarine to cobalt, and from cobalt to cerulean. About halfway down it became clear that the paper was getting too dry. I had to wait for it to dry completely, so I could rewet it and continue. To keep from jumping the gun, I turned around and kept busy painting another view.
FRANK LALUMIA, WHITE SANDS, 1998
WATERCOLOR ON PAPER
21½ × 14½ (55 × 37 CM)
----
The yucca plant stands out against the sky even though it has no hard edges. The paint stays put, softening just a bit. The artist could have made these strokes by controlling either the wetness of the paper or the dryness of the brush, or both.
LESLIE FRONTZ, LAND’S END FARM, 2005
WATERCOLOR ON PAPER
8½ × 11½ INCHES (22 × 29 CM)
----
Most of the big shapes in this scene have hardedges that separate them from each other. The road, for example, is separate from the grass on either side, and the hill beside the house is crisply profiled against the sky. Within the hill shape, however, all the forms are soft. Why did the artist choose to make that subject matter vague? Touching a relatively dry brush to paper made wet by an overall wash, suggests the rocks and bushes without overstating them.
P ROVIDING E NOUGH T IME FOR E ACH T ASK
How wet you make the paper determines how long it will stay wet. When you lay down a wash you are “setting the timer” for wet-on-wet opportunities, so ask yourself: How much time do I need to complete this task? If you plan to make a complex series of soft-edged forms within a wash, such as the rise beside the house in Land’s End Farm, shown above, it will be smart to give yourself more than enough time to mix all the colors, select all the brushes, and apply all the paint while the initial wash is still
Leaving some room for the fluidity of the paint to assert itself is how the characteristic look of spontaneity enters a watercolor. Too much control is just as likely to ruin a painting as too little.
The antidote for mostwetness control issues is staying aware of how wet your brush is compared to the paper. Most watercolor painters dip their brush into the water bucket far more often than necessary. This is a sure way to lose track of the relative wetness of brush and paper.
When you are putting color into a wet surface, the initial wash can be thought of as your entire water supply. Any strokes added while it’s still wet don’t need more water from the bucket. Instead, just get some more paint on your brush, which is still a little bit wet, and add it to the wash. When you are applying color to a wet surface, the paint can be much thicker than what you would use on dry paper.
Sometimes all the care, practice, and conscious thought you can muster is still not enough to dispel uncertainty about whether the brush or the paper is wetter. When painting a large, complicated sky, for example, it is not always easy to be sure how wet every part of your paper is. A hard edge in the wrong place could be fatal. Pay attention to that sense of doubt. Think of it as a red flag, so that you will remember not to make that next uncertain stroke in the most conspicuous spot. Look for a place where you can make a tiny mark that won’t be obvious later, and watch how the paint behaves. If you still can’t be sure what will happen when the brush touches the paper, pay attention! Let your eye follow the stroke closely, so that you can stop as soon as you see something wrong. The idea is to catch it before you make a whole bunch of hard-edged strokes. If the conditions are not right, you should be able to notice it a quarter of an inch into the first stroke. Hopefully, this is a small enough sin that you won’t feel the need to correct it. With watercolor, the cure is usually more harmful than the ailment.
TOM HOFFMANN, HIGH SUMMER, 2008
WATERCOLOR ON ARCHES COLD PRESS PAPER
22 × 15 (56 × 38 CM)
----
As the sky approaches the horizon, the blue changes from ultramarine to cobalt, and from cobalt to cerulean. About halfway down it became clear that the paper was getting too dry. I had to wait for it to dry completely, so I could rewet it and continue. To keep from jumping the gun, I turned around and kept busy painting another view.
FRANK LALUMIA, WHITE SANDS, 1998
WATERCOLOR ON PAPER
21½ × 14½ (55 × 37 CM)
----
The yucca plant stands out against the sky even though it has no hard edges. The paint stays put, softening just a bit. The artist could have made these strokes by controlling either the wetness of the paper or the dryness of the brush, or both.
LESLIE FRONTZ, LAND’S END FARM, 2005
WATERCOLOR ON PAPER
8½ × 11½ INCHES (22 × 29 CM)
----
Most of the big shapes in this scene have hardedges that separate them from each other. The road, for example, is separate from the grass on either side, and the hill beside the house is crisply profiled against the sky. Within the hill shape, however, all the forms are soft. Why did the artist choose to make that subject matter vague? Touching a relatively dry brush to paper made wet by an overall wash, suggests the rocks and bushes without overstating them.
P ROVIDING E NOUGH T IME FOR E ACH T ASK
How wet you make the paper determines how long it will stay wet. When you lay down a wash you are “setting the timer” for wet-on-wet opportunities, so ask yourself: How much time do I need to complete this task? If you plan to make a complex series of soft-edged forms within a wash, such as the rise beside the house in Land’s End Farm, shown above, it will be smart to give yourself more than enough time to mix all the colors, select all the brushes, and apply all the paint while the initial wash is still
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