Watercolor Painting: A Comprehensive Approach to Mastering the Medium (28 page)

Adjust your sketch.
Shifting the alignment of shapes a little clears up the ambiguity. Making the overlap of shapes obvious ensures that the mind and the eye get the same message.

When we look at a painting we receive information by means of both what we
see
and what we
know.
Whether consciously or not, every viewer is seeing both form and content. If the artist has intended to create a convincing sense of space in the picture, it is important for the viewer’s eye and mind to get the same message. It is the painter’s job to make sure that the parallel aspects of form and content are working together.

In the top sketch opposite, the major shapes have been arranged in a relationship that seems to make sense, according to what we know. In terms of what we see, however, the message is not clear. Our brains know that the cabin is in front of the mountains, and that the cloud is beyond the peak, but our eyes are being given a different message. Form and content are at odds, making the experience of looking at the image uncertain.

There is no harm in making it easy for the viewer to read the space in your painting. If you are not sure whether the illusion is complete, try looking at the painting in a mirror. The objectivity you gain by reversing the composition should make the answer obvious.

CARL SCHMALZ,
BACKYARD LAUNDRY,
2007
WATERCOLOR ON PAPER
15 × 21½ INCHES (38 × 55 CM)

A little overlap goes a long way. In a composition with so many rectangular shapes (roofs, walls, fence posts, chair, and laundry) there was the risk of making a two-dimensional collage. With subtle overlapping of shapes, Carl Schmalz made sure we could easily see where each shape is in space.

The diagonal edges of the dominant foreground shape (the dark rooftop) are almost exactly parallel to diagonals in the middle distance (the hill on the left and the roofline on the right). This coincidental relationship is so insistent it seems deliberate, making it hard to ignore and flattening the space.

As shapes, the high wall (left) and the tree just beyond are almost perfect mirror images, which encourages us to see them as linked rather than separated in space. In addition, both line up with the ridgeline in the distance. A more obvious overlap would enhance the feeling of distance.

Since so much of the illusion of space in a painting comes from the placement of the major shapes, it is important to question how they appear in the scene. How they relate to each other in terms of scale and alignment is up to you. They can, and often should, be moved. What you see, as always, is just a starting point. When you are evaluating your subject, make sure to ask:
When should I depart from accuracy?
This is especially important when working from photographs. Most of us are amateur photographers, at best, and we tend to compose our pictures by putting the main subject right in the middle of the frame. Even those who think of the scene as a potential painting often forget to see how the shapes line up. As a result, the illusion of space is compromised.

When you look at the two
photographs at left, try either squinting or closing one eye. This will help reveal how the shapes relate to the picture plane. For instance, in the first image, does the overhang appear to be closer or farther away than the garden?

With the second image, squinting reveals that the patch of roofs in the middle ground has so much in common visually and is so precisely aligned with the low wall in the foreground that the former appears to be stacked on the latter. The shapes align so neatly and are so similar in color and value that they appear to be on the same plane. How might these two elements be shifted to enhance the feeling of space?

There are almost always enough subtle clues in an actual scene, and usually in a photo, to tell us where the various components are in relation to each other. By the time that information has been transferred into washes and strokes on a page, however, at least some of the subtlety is gone. Seeing in advance what must be changed or emphasized in a scene takes time and practice. It is always easier to see what you should have done after you’ve gone astray. This is yet another reason to start work on a new image with a simple study, such as the one opposite, rather than a full-blown painting.

TOM HOFFMANN,
BLACK/WHITE ALLEY,
2008
WATERCOLOR ON ARCHES COLD PRESS PAPER
12 × 9 INCHES (30 × 23 CM)

A quick monochrome
value study reveals changes that will help make the space and light more convincing. The location in space of the buildings at the far end of the alley is muddled, and something is not right about the phone pole on the left. The shadow in the lower left corner does not lie down flat on the ground. What would you do to solve these problems?

Overlapping shapes is an effective way to tell the viewer that two forms are separated in space, but it is not always sufficient. Checking to see if the feeling of depth you want has been adequately established is an ongoing process—one that may need to continue well beyond the
composition stage of the painting. This is when you need to ask yourself:
Which variables will work best to separate the shapes?

Each of the main variables we have discussed can be manipulated to add to the
illusion of space. Adjusting value, wetness, and color—alone, or in combination—will enhance the feeling established by a strong composition. How many variables, and which ones the task requires, depends on the individual situation.

The list of variables is short. Once a problem is identified, it does not take long to consider which ones are not doing all they can. Potential solutions can be tried out quickly, in a
thumbnail sketch. You may even see a solution just by posing the question mentally. Recognizing which variables to put to work takes some practice, though. To begin, consider the choices other artists have made.

Most of the examples that follow show how variables can be used to
separate
shapes. It is worth noting, however, that shapes can also be
combined
by manipulating variables. For instance, take a careful look at
Falmouth Dry Dock,
on
this page
. Where the hull is in shadow, Chamberlain chose to allow the ship to merge with the space inside the dry dock by minimizing the differences in color, edge quality, and value.

JOYCE HICKS,
PENNSYLVANIA IDYLL,
2011
WATERCOLOR ON PAPER
18 × 24 (46 × 61 CM)

Working with a limited palette, Joyce Hicks still makes the most of color as a compositional tool. At every major transition, from foreground all the way back to the sky, there is a noticeable change in hue. This, combined with the overlap of shapes, makes the feeling of space unmistakable.

TORGEIR SCHJØLBERG,
KULTURLANDSKAP,
2004
WATERCOLOR ON PAPER
19¾ × 27⅝ INCHES (50 × 70 CM)

This bold image, with only seven shapes, is more like a still life than a landscape. Look at the places where the shapes meet. Which variables are working to separate them? While drawing alone would go a long way toward making the spatial relationship of the shapes obvious, color and value enhance the illusion.