Read Watercolor Painting: A Comprehensive Approach to Mastering the Medium Online
Authors: Tom Hoffmann
Watercolor Painting: A Comprehensive Approach to Mastering the Medium (33 page)
TOM HOFFMANN,
WATER STUDY,
2009
WATERCOLOR ON ARCHES COLD PRESS PAPER
10 × 18 INCHES (25 × 46 CM)
Here we are again. This is the same headland from
this page
and
this page
. The water changes so much from day to day the paintings seem quite different to me.
SKING THE
Q
UESTIONS
Each chapter of this book lists a number of questions that help focus your awareness. I don’t expect you to memorize them or write them all down on a checklist to carry with you. More than a long list of specific questions, I hope you will take with you a habit of making deliberate choices when you paint. Meanwhile, it may be useful to highlight a handful of the most important questions, trusting that they will call forth the others. For example, when I ask
What is the lightest part of the picture?
it automatically makes me also wonder about the darks. What follows are seven essential questions drawn from the first seven chapters of the book.
Identify what must remain clear wherever your individual style takes you.
If the painting does not work on the level of the major shapes, no amount of detail or drama can save it.
Understanding the subject as a series of layers is half the job of translating it into watercolor.
Everything follows from this choice. The value of each element of the painting is assigned relative to the lightest light.
Staying aware of this relationship is the key to creating the edges you want and staying out of wetness trouble.
With your eye on what attracted you to the image, check to see if it is supported by the colors you choose.
When form and content are working together, communication is ensured.
ARTING
T
HOUGHTS
By now you know that you are involved with a medium that is equally rewarding and demanding. Throughout the book I have compared working in watercolor to a high-wire act, a maze, and a juggling routine. It’s easy to get lost in the complex interplay of variables, forgetting to pay attention to one essential factor while another distracts you.
The inquiry-based approach that is outlined here offers a way to put the variables in sequence so that, as much as possible, you can focus on one at a time. There will always be an element of chance when you work with paint that wants to flow, and that is as it should be. Without risk and surprise, the finished paintings would be lifeless. What we seek, therefore, is a balance between thoughtfulness and spontaneity.
Take the time to discover where and when you need to be careful, so that you have room to be carefree. It is up to you. Take charge, and take chances. And have fun.
TOM HOFFMANN,
APPROACH,
2010
WATERCOLOR ON ARCHES COLD PRESS PAPER
11 × 15 INCHES (28 × 38 CM)
6.1
; alternate strategies,
8.1
; choosing consciously,
6.2
; departing from “accuracy,”
6.3
; dominant, identifying,
6.4
; enlivening darks,
6.5
; expanding palette,
6.6
,
6.7
; identifying what worked well,
8.2
; identifying your habits,
6.8
; limiting palette,
6.9
,
6.10
,
6.11
,
6.12
; mixing,
6.13
; neutral,
6.14
; palette, evaluating,
6.15
; temperature, effects of,
6.16
7.1
; abstraction, illusion and,
7.2
; activating corners,
7.3
; alternate strategies,
8.1
; balance in,
7.4
; center of interest and,
7.5
; covering page in sections,
7.6
; departing from “accuracy,”
7.7
; flipping images and,
7.8
; identifying/eliminating confusion,
7.9
; identifying major shapes,
2.1
,
2.2
; identifying what worked well,
8.2
; illusion of space,
7.10
; informing other decisions,
7.11
; rules and,
7.12
; sketching subject,
7.13
; translating form into content,
7.14
3.1
; about, seeing in,
3.2
; evaluating,
3.3
; fundamental economy of means and,
3.4
; individual, identifying,
3.5
; learning restraint,
3.6
; questions to ask before painting,
3.7
; reserving, for white and non-white elements,
4.1
; resolving images with,
3.8
; three-layer thumbnail sketch,
2.1
; two-layer geometric sketch,
2.2
1.1
; general-to-specific,
itr.1
,
1.2
,
1.3
,
2.1
; of layers,
2.2
,
3.1
; light-to-dark,
1.4
,
1.5
,
2.3
,
3.2
,
5.1
See also
Layers: knowing when to stop
,
1.1
; maintaining intentionality,
1.2
; recognizing what works,
1.3
1.1
,
1.2
; composition of.
See
Composition
; finding,
1.3
; identifying tricky parts,
1.4
; knowing what not to paint,
2.1
; mindfulness of,
1.5
; translation of,
1.6
; where to begin,
1.7
.
See also
Progressions
8.1
; asking questions,
8.2
; expanding your range,
8.3
; identifying alternate strategies,
8.4
; identifying what worked well,
8.5
; objectivity and,
8.6
,
8.7
; painting for its own sake and,
8.8
; qualities of good teachers,
8.9
; taking charge of painting,
8.10
4.1
; alternate strategies,
8.1
; bracketing,
4.2
; critiquing darks,
4.3
; departing from “accuracy,”
4.4
; identifying darkest part of picture,
4.5
; identifying lightest part of picture,
4.6
; identifying what worked well,
8.2
; knowing range of darks,
4.7
; non-white elements,
4.8
; reserving layers,
4.9
; role of,
4.10
; whites,
4.11
5.1
; alternate strategies,
8.1
; balancing,
5.2
; brush wetness and,
5.3
; departing from “accuracy,”
5.4
; edge softness/hardness and,
5.5
,
5.6
; gauging paint needed,
5.7
; identifying what worked well,
8.2
; planning wetness of paper,
5.8
; practicing,
5.9
; responsibility and awareness,
5.10
,
5.11
,
5.12
; rewetting areas,
5.13
; time management and,
5.14
; visualizing results and,
5.15
