Winter Scenes
03/10/07 Update:
It started out innocent enough! All I asked for was two small pieces with
a variety her colors on them. Why, you ask? Well, we were wanting to do
some experimenting with a different mounting technique. Which I might add,
we still want to do. But that is another story!!
To continue, I came home that night to discover Rita in high gear just
painting away (now remember, I just wanted some sample pieces)!! And
what exactly was she painting? Click on the images below and it will take
you to a larger image in her gallery.
While the color schemes are similar, the emphasis on technique for each
piece was entirely different. And you guessed it, we'll be discussing some
of those differences in these fun little winter scenes!
03/18/07 Update:
Now remember that these were suppose to be a couple of quick samples of her
colors! Below you can see the sketches with the mask applied. (I left the
pics under-exposed so that you can see the mask/pencil lines easier, but it
leaves the paper gray in color.) Winter Details:
Winter Light:
In Winter Detail, you can see a band of yellow mask. The portion of paper
below the band was covered by a piece of paper. That was easier than
covering the whole piece with mask. In our next update, we'll be focusing
on the area above the mask.
And in Winter Light, the mask was applied to a small set of trees on the
left side of the piece. As well as small drops of mask that will become
snowflakes when we're done. In a future update, we'll be focusing on the
entire unmasked area, well, almost the entire area!
3/24/07 Update:
How did she apply the mask dots for snowflakes, you ask? Great question!
And this took some experimentation, but she found a brush that would let
her flick the dots onto the paper. This is very similar to her toothbrush
technique for applying texture, except she's using her wrist to flick as
opposed to running her fingers over the bristles and flicking that way.
Hopefully this makes sense. The brush is the key and you'll just have to
experiment until you find one that works for you.
For both pieces, Rita used the same pigments:
- New Gamboge (yellow)
- Winsor Blue
- Paynes Gray
- Brown Madder
- Burnt Umber
- Quinacridone Burnt Orange
Today, we're going to be describing a wet-on-wet technique that Rita used
for Winter Details background:
Prior to getting the paper wet, Rita pre-mixed her colors for the back-
ground. Once she had those ready, then she got the paper wet, really wet.
She let it soak for 3-5 minutes. And when the water glaze started to
disappear, she began applying the pigments. As she was describing this to
me, it was obvious that a lot of things happen in a VERY short time! I'll
do my best to describe them.
First, Rita wanted interesting shapes and she wanted lighter areas accented
by some darker areas. So, while she was watching the paper soak up the water,
she was planning her approach, err attack! (smirk)
Next she applied her lighter colors, the yellow and reds. And then very very
quickly she applied the darker colors. She then played ever so briefly mixing
them together to help get the shapes she wanted. And then she was done! Isn't
that so simple! (For a none artist like me, yeah right!)
If you've played with watercolors at all, you know that if you play with the
colors too long, that everything will turn muddy. And you end up with a real
ugly practice sheet of paper! How did Rita figure all of this out? By
practicing. As you work with the medium, you begin to learn through trial and
error what works and what doesn't. Hence, why we always encourage you to
practice, practice, practice!
3/31/07 Update:
Ok, so what technique did Rita use to paint the background for Winter Light?
Another great question! The short answer is..... (have I built up some
anticipation? Rita's father has said on one or more occasions that
anticipation is 2/3's the joy!) ...it's exactly the same technique with a
small twist! But if you compare the image below to the last image (above) it
looks completely different in style. We plan to to discuss the change in
style issue in a future update.
Winter Light
Prior to getting the paper wet, Rita pre-mixed her colors for the back-
ground. Once she had those ready, then she got the paper wet, really wet.
She let it soak for 3-5 minutes. And when the water glaze started to
disappear, she began applying the pigments. As she was describing this to
me, it was obvious that a lot of things happen in a VERY short time! I'll
do my best to describe them (again!).
Because of the speed at which all of this occured, Rita did not have time
to take pics of each step. So we're going to use our imagination some. The
path coming from the trees in the middle of the image is our starting point.
Rita applied a layer of the New Gamboge (yellow). I can see this on the far
left and in between the masked trees and it disappears into the base of the
trees on the right side. So her layer had an interesting shape, we just
can't see it clearly.
Next she applied a layer of Quinacridone Burnt Orange. We can see a little of
it between the masked trees. But mostly in the trees on the right side. Just
to the right side of the path, you can see the two colors mixing together and
creating a nice blend. This was accomplished by having the paper so wet. She
mixed it, but ever so briefly.
And then she applied Windsor Blue that had been toned down with Payne's Gray.
This became her sky. When that was completed, Rita had the three primary colors,
yellow, red and blue layered into the background! Cool!
4/7/07 Update:
And while the paper was still wet, she began building out the trees on either
side of the path. As the paper continued to dry, she painted the trees on the
far right. And finally, with the paper even drier, she painted the far left
trees. This was the small twist. As the paper dried, this gave Rita the ability
to add more detail to the trees. Cool! errr brrrr!!
One other tidbit; For the background Rita used a large round brush. And for the
trees, she used a 6 or 8 size brush. And for the detail work on the trees, she
used a rigger brush. And last, for the trees, she custom mixed her green by
combining Payne's Gray with New Gamboge and Windsor Blue.
At this point Rita pulled out the hair dryer and finished the drying process.
And she then rubbed off the mask and took the pic. (Thank you Rita!)
Here's the finished piece:
4/14/07 Update:
Up to this point, Rita has painted both pieces wet on wet. In order to finish
both Winter Light and Winter Details, Rita transitioned to a wet on dry (paper)
technique. Let's begin with Winter Light!
To paint the three foreground trees, Rita applied water to the branches/trunks.
But she did not let it soak! She immediately applied a light wash of Burnt Umber,
New Gamboge and Brown Madder. Of course, where she wanted snow, she
did not wet the paper. So the light wash is applied. As the paper dries, she
begins to apply more paint allowing it to get darker and darker (more pigments).
Of course she is only painting certain areas as it gets drier to enhance the
shadow detail or the bark area. The hardest part is painting around the snow
(white paper). Now isn't that cool! (pun intended!)
For the snow shadows, Rita used a combination of Windsor Blue and Payne's Gray.
And the technique is identical to the trees. Apply the water to the paper where
you want the shadows. Immediately apply the paint. Allowing it to get a little
darker as the paper begins to dry. Since the colors are not as intense as the
trees, the paper is still damp when she's done.
There is a special technique Rita uses to soften the snowflakes. Rather than make
an attempt to share that here, I'd encourage you to ask Rita in person. So at the
next art show in your area, be sure to stop by and pose the question! (This one
is easier to explain when the piece is right there in front of you!)
Rita signed the piece in the lower right hand corner and Winter Light is done!
Winter Details
4/21/07 Update:
When a significant portion of the painting has been masked out, when Rita removes
the mask it tends to lift the pencil lines off the paper. So the first step is to
re-draw the pencil lines back into the piece.
Again, the majority of this piece was painted wet on dry, similar to the
technique used to finish the foreground described in the last update. The tree
trunk and the snow was painted exactly the same, so we'll not spend time retyping
that information.
However, the snow covered tree branches and the grass poking through the snow
both combine positive and negative painting. Yes, some new terms!! Let's see if
I can explain this (with Rita's help)! Let's start with the tree branch that
covers a portion of the lower tree trunk. Rita is positively painting the shape
of the pine needles as they overlap the snow and tree trunk, i.e. she's applying
paint only where she wants the pine needles to appear. On the flip side, she's
negatively painting the snow on the branch by deciding where to stop painting
the pine needles. If you were sitting here, I'd ask, "Does that make sense?"
And hopefully it does make sense.
Let's try another example just to reinforce the idea. For the grass poking out of
the snow to the left of the tree trunk, Rita first painted the entire hole yellow.
Next she painted in the grass stems (positively) that would rise above the hole
in the snow above the hole. Then she painted in the shadows, negatively leaving
the yellow for the grass where she wanted them.
Now why is this done? If the object you're painting is lighter than it's
surroundings, you negatively paint that object by painting in the darker areas
around that object. Another great example of this is Orchid Trio. It's currently
residing in the 5th page of the online gallery. The three orchids were negatively
painted by positively painting the surrounding background. In that example,
once the 'white' of the orchids were negatively painted, the purples, reds and
yellows on the flowers were positively painted back in.
4/28/07 Update:
For our last update, please take a fresh look at the two pieces. What is the focal
point for each piece?
Winter Light
Winter Details
The background for both pieces was painted wet-on-wet. And both foregrounds were
painted wet-on-dry. Yet the focal point is different for each piece.
For Winter Light, my eye starts with the foreground trio of trees, but moves to the
trail and the unique winter light (wet-on-wet). Yet for the Winter Details piece,
my eye starts with the foreground tree, then moves to the grasses and then back to
foreground tree (wet-on-dry). Given that the foregrounds and backgrounds were
painted with the same techniques, why is there different focal points? And yes, the
same palette was used for both images!
Before I answer that question, I want to point out that it is the artist's
responsibility to manage the viewer's eye, i.e. how it moves through an image. And
that can be done regardless of technique or palette!
For Winter Details, the background is very abstract. While the shapes are interesting,
there isn't a recognizable shape/image in the background. And yes, the background
complements the foreground in tone and colors. As a composition, the background works
to bring the viewer's eye back into the foreground, where the shapes are well defined.
That is why your eye will move through the foreground easily and then goes back to the
dominant shape in the foreground. Very cool!!
Conversely, in Winter Light, the background is significantly larger and has many
recognizable shapes. The reduced size of the foreground is a factor. But the foreground
is where my eye starts, but does not spends much time with. It immediately jumps into
background where the combination of color and recognizable shapes attract my eye. My
eye did jump back to the foreground to make sure it didn't miss anything. But, then
went right back into the background, particularly the area around the path!
Well, that concludes this how-to! Thank you for reading! And yes, if you have any
specific questions, please send Rita an email!