WATERCOLOR ON PLATE BRISTOL 2: methods
Felipe Echevarria "Saint Sebastian" (after a Versace photo)
watercolor on plate bristol 9x7.5"
This is #2 in a series of blogs demonstrating how to do watercolor on plate bristol. I recommend starting with #1 to get full benefit of this instruction.
This is the technique made popular by Burt Silverman in his out-of-print book Breaking The Rules Of Watercolor. I've attempted to show some of the finer aspects regarding methods and materials that you don't get from Burt's videos or books, and to show how someone else approaches the technique...
METHODS:
Note: If it's not painted sequential art (comics) you're doing, then don't do the "gutters" (the dividing areas between panels) as mentioned below, but do everything else I'm mentioning.
To start, I get the right size chip board or Masonite, cut the plate bristol paper, mark off borders and gutters with pencil,and then tape down edges of paper and mask off gutters with invisible tape. Then I cover the paper edges with strapping tape because this paper can curl. Sometimes I don't use the invisible tape to mask off gutters, I'll just paint one panel right next to the other, or scratch out a border with a blade, or use painted lines to make gutters. I sometimes use liquid frisket to make spontaneous and interesting gutters.
To see some gutter examples for sequential art (comics) go to the link below, then click to painted and my graphic novel in progress categories for the border/gutter examples.
http://www.felipe.tv/sequential.html
A cut sheet (above) of the bristol and the board I will mount it to--in this
case it's a piece of chip board from the back of a drawing pad. This works
when you're working on a table top. For working on an easel you may want
a stiffer board, such as a sheet of Masonite.
The two tapes I use...a package strapping tape and an "invisible" tape. You can get
the cheaper store brands of each kind if you wish, they seem to work just as well.
The invisible tape is not required, it's only for masking off borders. But you will need
some kind of tough tape to secure the bristol down because it can curl up.
Applying the invisible tape--it's easy to peel off later without damaging the paper
(just go slow) and it keeps water from running underneath. It won't hold the paper
to the board, though, so use a tough strapping tape on top of the invisible tape to
secure the whole assembly to the board.
(below) I'm now applying the strapping tape on top of the invisible tape. Traditional
gummed watercolor tape also works well. But I use these tapes because I can get
nice finished borders with no tape or tape residue left on the board, which makes
a cleaner presentation for a client if it's purchased unframed.
Sometimes I overlap and wrap the strapping tape around the backside of the
chipboard to further secure the whole thing so it doesn't peel up.
I then mix a little Yellow Ochre and water with the white gouache in a jar, then paint this mix over the paper and let it dry. This is for sizing the paper (sizing is a buffer used between the substrate and the medium to protect the substrate and make it more suitable for applying paint). Although not necessary, I add the Yellow Ochre...
- so I can more easily see where I missed any areas, as the yellow is darker than the white paper
- to get a base color down instead of starting on a stark-white surface
- it's also a non-staining sedimentary color, like the white gouache, making it easier to lift subsequent paint layers off
Above, the sizing mixture is to protect the paper from subsequent layers
of watercolor grabbing into the paper fibers too easily. In this case it's just
a little Winsor & Newton Zinc White gouache, a little Yellow Ochre watercolor,
and water, in maybe a 20/10/70 percent amount (respectively). Experience
will tell you the best ratio, but easy does it--keep it subtle.
Below, I'm applying it. Because there's a little Yellow Ochre in the mix, I can
see where I've missed any spots because the paper is shiny and white in
comparison to the yellow of the Yellow Ochre. If you want to have a "cooler"
painting, you could use a touch of Cerulean Blue or a gray mixture (like Raw
Umber and white).
After the sizing dries, I do a simple gesture drawing of what I want to paint in a water-soluble pencil or charcoal or regular pencil, and start painting! This initial gesture drawing is based on a photo reference, or from life, or a previous study, or just out of my head. Often I will not do an initial gesture drawing, I will lay in some basic color washes, let it dry, then do a gesture drawing. Typically any color you lay down at this point will obliterate your drawing anyway, unless you use a non-water soluble pencil (a standard pencil), or unless you work very carefully, laying in color in a more exact fashion, which I personally don't do. I like to have enough paint on the paper to push around.
This particular painting is a commission for someone who found my work online. He wants to have some images to accompany some poems that he has posted on his website. He approved some sketches and now I'm moving on the final image.
Below, the sketches from photos I'm working from. I enjoy working from photos
because I've found a way not to be a slave to them, I usually use them as a
guide only towards finishing the final piece, and I add some artistic license to
try and downplay the copied photo look. It's easier for this kind of work, because
this is more of an interpretation instead of a striving to get a realistic likeness or
working direct from life. To me, this is what illustration is all about.
Above, I sketched in a light pencil drawing on top of the sizing wash. I did this only
because I needed to get an idea of placement and solve some drawing problems
before I added in broad washes of color. Often I will do initial washes of color, and
then do a drawing on top of the washes. Either way works, but here my pencil drawing
is about to be obliterated. However, enough pencil will show after the washes are in
so that I can at least get my bearings.
Note: the pencil drawing above was done with a Derwent Sketching HB Light Wash
pencil. This pencil is made to do washes with and will come off with water. However,
if your watercolor wash over the pencil is not scrubbed too much much of the pencil
will stay and allow you to have some guidelines to keep working with. You can also
use a charcoal pencil.
Below, I've added a soupy greenish wash of Ultramarine Blue and Quinacridone
Gold for the background, and a Cadmium Red Light and Ultramarine Blue for the
figures. Each mix has a little of the white gouache added to it so that the color
will not dig into the paper fibers. It will haze color out just a little, but not enough
to create a tint. Later I can add stronger glazes of color without the gouache.
Because this is not traditional watercolor, I can be as careless as I want here!
If some color goes outside the lines it's not a problem as you will soon see!
This will be a very warm painting, with reds, oranges, and browns. The Ultramarine
Blue is a cool color, maybe I shouldn't have used it, but I know that if I add a
red-orange wash on top of the green it will make a dull brown, which is good enough
for now. Here I'm using a hairdryer to speed drying.
Below, I'm mixing Cadmium Red Light and probably Cadmium Yellow Medium
to get my orange. **NOTICE the little piles of white gouache everywhere. This
is the gouache I add to each mix to protect the paper from staining. It's dry, so
it doesn't allow me to add too much. Gouache straight from the tube has a
tendency to stick to the brush and then lets too much slide onto the paper.
My base color is in. Due to the nature of this almost monochromatic painting, I've
saturated the entire paper with the same color. I typically do not start this way, I'll
just keep on putting in different color where needed instead of hitting everything
with one color.
I redraw my image in charcoal pencil...
Now I'm bringing up the painting, most noticeably the values are starting to
differentiate. I changed my mind about the colors I want to use. I decided
against the green and instead went with Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna,
leaning towards the warmth of the Burnt Sienna. All the while I'm still adding
a little gouache to the mixture.
You can wipe out with a soft paper towel around your finger...
...or do it with the brush.
It's important to remember to paint the picture and not get hung-up on the wiping out. Get as much color and definition as you can and wipe out sparingly. In the pictures above I wanted to get a sense of the lighting before I pursued more painting, so I went ahead and did a little wiping out.
Her head and face pose and structure were not drawn as well as they
could be, and not sitting properly on her shoulders. Here is the power of
this technique--you can make changes! Below I saturated my brush with
Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Red Light, and the white
gouache and scrubbed out her features with that. I let it dry.
I redraw in charcoal pencil (below). I'm going to attempt to make her head a little
tilted, with the chin going away from me, and her left forehead tilting toward me,
hence the curved lines of the charcoal showing the tilt.
I get some more base shadow color over her face and decide on the lighting...
...and it looks better, at least for now, her head may be too big. One problem
with working from photos that have people in poses that are different than
what you're doing in the painting (and piecing it all together) is the anatomy
problems. I have a feeling I'm going to have to deal with her arms and hands
at a later stage. At this stage nothing is done, the painting is 40% complete.
The technique then becomes a push-pull, add in color, take out color until the image is complete. It's not easy to get good results at first, you'll feel like you're going in circles, but eventually you'll learn to stop circling and pull it together.
Learning tip: Use the white gouache (Winsor & Newton Zinc White, notPermanent White) in a watered down mix for initially sizing the paperto allow further layers of watercolor to "float" on the surface. Alsouse the white gouache for adding sparingly to further layers of watercolor during the actual painting tocreate grayed-out hazes of luminous planes for modeling forms.Wow! Brilliant!
Don't use the white gouache for covering up mistakes,then it's no longer a "watercolor" --it's just bad technique. Now,unless you're doing watercolor, gouache, and charcoal, pencil, etc, asin mixed media, then by all means go bonkers.
This style and technique of painting (for me anyway) is usually controlled chaos, and a hopeless mess until 2/3 of the way through when it starts to look more like what I had in mind. I like spontaneity and don't like to labor over serious full-tonal studies before I paint. You can, if you wish, control it more like a tighter, traditional watercolor, where you draw out your image, and carefully layer in controlled glazes from light to dark, and saving the white areas. Then here you can just do some scrubbing out to further the light areas or make a few changes.
I have done some troublesome paintings where I've scrubbed so often that the paper starts to abrade and the paint becomes so lodged that I was stuck with what I had. Yet, you can run into this and still be alright, just by adding a slight bit more white gouache to colors to create just a little more covering power, and still call it a "watercolor."
It's maybe 75% there. At this stage I'm adding in glazes of color and making final
changes to the drawing, going back and forth between wiping out and adding color.
Notice the slightly hazed out color, where I've produced a very subtle tint by adding
small amounts of the white gouache. This can lend a nice atmospheric quality to
the work, and extends the range of modeling that you can do to forms.
75% done...
Much work still needs to be done to make this a successful image. I'm still not quite convinced by the young lady's gesture and facial features, and still, nothing on this painting is considered complete. I'll still touch every inch of it in some way. I think my vision for the piece is going to be realized. I do like the interplay of light and shadow, and the energy of the piece seems to flow. But I am distracted by the equal handling between the figures. Likely I will have to subdue or bring out one or the other. I like the fact that she's wearing pants, it pulls the picture into a different realm, and makes the color composition complementary (blue and orange). It's also more in line with the author's poem content and feel.
See the finished piece in WATERCOLOR ON PLATE BRISTOL 3
click here: THE COMPLETED PAINTING
***
TO SEE MY FINE ART ONLY site please visit:
http://www.FelipeEchevarria.com
TO SEE MY EVERYTHING ART site:
http://www.felipe.tv
I am mesmerized as I watch this painting grow, Felipe. I realize that sequences shown are to illustrate technique, but there is also a flowing visionary quality that emerges as it moves from stage to stage. Almost like the archetypal story of Michelangelo "releasing" the powerful images of human form from stone blocks, so it seems the vitality in your painted forms is released more and more through the layers and colors that are capturing both human shape and emotion. Amazing, to see those energies crafted at your hand.
Thanks, Malcolm. Your eloquent words are deeply appreciated.
-Felipe
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Felipe, This looks like fun, can't wait to try it out.
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