Watercolor Painting Technique: Planning Your White Spaces

In watercolor painting, the unpainted shapes are very important. These are the places the artist has planned ahead of time to represent the white areas of the painting. The eye naturally goes to "whites" first, especially if these are areas of high contrast. It is necessary to plan these areas in advance, and not to let them become just an afterthought; the whites need to be part of your overall design. A single white area is not enough in your composition. You will want to have a pattern of whites (in three or more areas of your watercolor) to keep your work balanced. I often find it helpful to look at my initial value sketches upside down, to determine where I might need more white space in my composition.

Once you have decided how much white paper to leave, and where it works best in your composition, you can fill in the values of the remaining shapes. Make sure to vary the sizes and shapes of all the elements of your painting. Your whites can now be adjusted slightly to bring either a warm or cool variation to your scene. For instance, part of a white "shape" (this could be a house for example) in the distance, may be given a cool Cobalt Blue glaze, which will push it further back in your composition, as part of your background. It will still seem like a white house to your viewers, but with a subtle coolness. A very thin wash is all that will be needed here.

The same thing applies to whites in the foreground of your composition. These can be given a soft warm glaze made by mixing Aereolin Yellow and Rose Madder Genuine together. Apply a single layer of this color to a portion of a white element in your foreground. I prefer to wait until much of my painting is complete to add these subtle touches to my whites. This way I am careful not to overdo when altering the whites. These glazes should be very delicate.

Another way to give the whites in your painting a warm or cool cast, is by purposely placing a complementary color adjacent to it. For example, to make a patch of a white dog's fur seem warm, place a cool blue-gray next to this area. This will create a warm glow. In other parts of the animal's fur, use the ideas described above, varying your cool and warm sections. Your watercolor dog will have many different "whites" making him much more interesting to look at!

When altering your watercolor whites, remember less is definitely more!

Sue Doucette
http://www.capecodwatercolor.com/
I have been painting with watercolor for twenty-five years, and I'd like to share with you what I have learned. Many artists wish to keep their "tricks of the trade" secret, fearing you will become the better painter. My hope is that you will come to love painting with watercolor as much as I do!

Pleas visit my website http://capecodwatercolor.com/ and read my monthly Hints For Artists. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

http://EzineArticles.com/6496433

Watercolor Painting Styles: What's Yours?

Watercolor painting styles are unique and personal. There are as many styles as there are artists. Some paint very loosely, others "tightly" with a photographic quality to their artwork. Often artists will emulate other, more well-known painters. The paintings of Winslow Homer for example, tend to be very realistic with much detail. Many would-be artists of his time learned to paint by copying his work. In the 1800s "copyists" practiced duplicating Homer's paintings at the Louvre Gallery in Paris.

One of Winslow Homer's best known watercolors is "Breezing Up" (first titled, "A Fair Wind") It was said in 1876, when this picture was exhibited, that it was in a class of its own. As one review put it, "Its sincerity and cleanliness of idea served as an exemplary antidote to the venality and corruption of post-Civil War American political life." So not only was his actual painting style important but also the feelings it evoked following a difficult wartime.

A more modern artist Charles Reid, renders very loosely painted watercolors yet his compositions are well planned. He makes contour drawings of his subjects which emphasizes a linear quality. In these drawings he often attaches the subject to background shapes. This is done without explaining all of the subject's boundaries. It gives his work an interesting quality. His relationships between one form and another in his works are thought out in advance and the spirit of his subject is often captured through rhythm or gesture. These elements give Reid's watercolors a distinct look which is loosely painted. It may appear that he quickly and spontaneously completes a painting, when actually much preparation has gone into it.

A third modern artist Timothy J. Clark, has a style which I consider to be somewhere between that of Winslow Homer and Charles Reid. His watercolors have the same well planned compositions as the previously mentioned artists. His skill and knowledge of his medium are evident in his work which is neither photographic in nature, nor painted very loosely. His paintings have a painterly quality which one is able to recognize as his own style.

A good painting is not only well executed, but draws the viewer in to experience the emotion the artist is conveying. This can be accomplished with any style or technique, if the work is coming from the heart. My advice is to practice emulating any artists' work you like, but in the end just be you. You will find if you stay true to yourself, your own style will emerge; one which is uniquely yours.

Sue Doucette, Author/Artist

http://www.CapeCodWatercolor.com/

I have been painting with watercolor for twenty-five years, and would like to share with you what I have learned. Many artists wish to keep their "tricks of the trade" secret, fearing you will become the better painter. My personal hope is that you will come to love painting with watercolor as much as I do!

Please visit my website http://www.capecodwatercolor.com/ and read my monthly Hints For Artists. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

http://EzineArticles.com/6500941