Rapid watercolour of chicken……Something playful for the weekend.

Something PLAYFUL for the weekend…..

The word ‘mud’ comes up quite a lot when talking about watercolour painting.    This rapid watercolour sketch of a chicken is all about avoiding mud…..

For those who are nervous of using good paper…allow yourself to play on newspaper, inexpensive wall paper lining, or anything else that might be at hand and I always suggest working on at least two pieces at once….four is better:)

Just begin – You will note that all the whites in this image are  dry white paper.     

If you are using a photograph – remember it is simply your ‘jumping off point’  

View the colours and shapes of your subject – as if it were a jigsaw puzzle and remember there are no lines around Mother Nature…    Everything is fluid…which is why watercolour is the perfect medium.

One very important technique I have used in this little demo is to take a clean wet brush – using it to tease paint out which is already on the paper.      This gives an element of control and helps to keep the dry white paper areas.

Remember there are no mistakes in this fluid painting….allow the watercolour to perform its magic – and most importantly allow yourself to Play. 

 

 

A Bientôt.

 

 

 

Love After Love – by Derek Walcott.

 

 

watercolourDerek Walcott’s words remind me that we can search for all of our lives, but ultimately as surely as spring follows winter,  we always come back to ourselves.

watercolour/gouache – some hummingbird magic.

Derek Walcott – Nobel Prize in Literature 1992 – T.S. Eliot Prize 2011   – (1930 -2017) 

A Bientôt

 

 

 

 

 

Spontaneous watercolour/gouache painting plus assorted palettes.

“The creative process is all about experimenting, letting go of the logical information that our brains have processed during our lifetimes, and embracing the concept of seeing our world in a much broader sense”    Janet Weight Reed – The Apple Exercise

This image is about being spontaneous – not being governed by an imagined outcome.  a case of going with the flow.…...watercolour/gouache

I began with a mix of burnt sienna and prussian blue to make the darks, along with glorious Winsor & Newton Green Gold – a wonderfully transparent pigment.

Working very fast and using an old image as a  ‘jumping off point’ I begin to build up the whole composition.

All white areas are dry white paper…..

Continuing to work rapidly, I start to build up the image..using a mix of transparent watercolour and opaque designer gouache.      I use a knife to scrape out areas…to give a sense of energy.

I am not concerned about the end result…rather am enjoying the process of letting go and applying juicy paint to the paper…

As is the case with all of life...it’s all about the journey and not the destination……..

Building layers of paint, I have allowed some of the transparent watercolours to show through.   At the same time I add gouache to add opaque areas to the image.    All whites are dry white paper. 

I was going to add a hummingbird – maybe later…..

I have been asked what palettes I use for my watercolours…..this image shows a selection.

I am a creature of habit…and have had some of these palettes for over thirty years..namely the round palette and the tiny sketching palette.

The smaller palette in bottom left corner with fold over lid is perfect for travelling – and the large palette on right with lid is also goof for long haul trips.      When I run out of colour in my tiny palette, I simply refill it with tube paint.

I don’t clean off all the paint between painting sessions.     I run the palette under the tap using a brush to remove the messy areas.      This leaves blobs of pure colour which are still perfectly usable!     If it dries completely, you simply re-activate with water.

A magical hummingbird for the week ahead….

If you visit http://www.zazzle.com/janet+weight+reed+gifts  you will see that the magical hummingbirds have been very busy:)

 

A bientôt

Rapid watercolour of chicken……Something playful for the weekend.

Something PLAYFUL for the weekend…..

The word ‘mud’ comes up quite a lot when talking about watercolour painting.    This rapid watercolour sketch of a chicken is all about avoiding mud…..

For those who are nervous of using good paper…allow yourself to play on newspaper, inexpensive wall paper lining, or anything else that might be at hand and I always suggest working on at least two pieces at once….four is better:)

Just begin – You will note that all the whites in this image are  dry white paper.     

If you are using a photograph – remember it is simply your ‘jumping off point’  

View the colours and shapes of your subject – as if it were a jigsaw puzzle and remember there are no lines around Mother Nature…    Everything is fluid…which is why watercolour is the perfect medium.

One very important technique I have used in this little demo is to take a clean wet brush – using it to tease paint out which is already on the paper.      This gives an element of control and helps to keep the dry white paper areas.

Remember there are no mistakes in this fluid painting….allow the watercolour to perform its magic – and most importantly allow yourself to Play. 

 

 

A Bientôt.

 

 

 

It is our mind, and that alone, that chains us or sets us free.

It is our mind, and that alone, that chains us or sets us free.   Buddhist Offerings. 

Rapid watercolour demonstration – cala lillies

A Bientôt

A splash of colour for Wednesday….

Given that it’s August, a month when so many people are on holiday…and life is generally more laid back….this tutorial fits right in.

I am using watercolour on white paper with a touch of designer gouache.    The difference between watercolour and gouache is that Watercolour is a transparent medium, whereas gouache is an opaque medium.        I love the way the transparent and opaque work together.

This image is all about spontaneity and colour, inspired by the beauty of my friend’s garden in Wiltshire.

I first began mixing watercolour and gouache about 16 years ago.   I was in my studio in Wales…facing a bit of block…and so decided to put out several large sheets of paper and PLAY. It was during the PLAYING  process that I discovered how much I enjoyed mixing these two elements.

This image is all about spontaneity and allowing the brush to dance across the paper.

Using white paper, I began by mixing burnt sienna and prussian blue, and then while the paint was still wet I scraped out some of the paint with my knife.

I then added some Winsor & Newton Green Gold – quite an expensive pigment, but a superb addition to anyone’s watercolour palette.   A little goes a long way.

In this frame I have added some Cobalt Turquoise Light gouache to the top of the image….allowing the middle part to stay as dry white paper.    Note I have brought some of the Cobalt Turquoise into the bottom of the painting to bring a sense of harmony and balance to the image.

I now add Opera Rose Gouache, allowing the colour to bleed into the wet blue area.  Again note that I have brought some of the Opera Rose into the bottom of the painting.   The middle of the image is still dry white paper.

Allowing watercolour to bleed and do its own thing is all about letting go…

I add some Dioxazine Violet to the middle of image, and a mix of alizarin crimson and violet to the Opera Rose mix….all the whites you see, are dry white paper.

I continue to scrape out paint with my knife, which gives a sense of energy.

To finish, I mix permanent white gouache with gold green to suggest stems and leaves.   I have also added some Schmincke Lasurorange – a wonderful pigment.

The overall effect is an impression of flowers in an English country garden.

There are no wrongs or rights in this exercise…it’s all about spontaneity and playing. 

I could imagine this image on a huge canvas….it would make quite a splash.

Note:   click on each image to see a larger version.

Today’s Magical Hummingbirds.

http://www.janetweightreed.co.uk

HummingbirdHQ.com

A Bientôt

Colourful landscape exercise

This colourful landscape is inspired from when I lived in the beautiful Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales where the light is so dramatic.

The following landscape exercise is excellent for warming up and uses the same techniques.

Working on white paper, I add lots of water to the top half of the paper and then add juicy red and orange watercolour paint into the wet area….allowing it to bleed.      Feel free to use any colour combination you like.

Note that the bottom part of the paper is still dry.

In this frame, I use a clean wet brush to  gently pull down some of the paint from the horizon line, making sure to leave some dry white areas between the foreground and the horizon.

I now add some of the same intense dark shown on the horizon line to the bottom of the image to give the image a sense of balance.   I have also indicated the boundaries of fields…leaving dry white areas.

Given that the sky reflects directly onto the land, I brought the same colours from the sky into the foreground.   Note that there are still dry white areas showing…..

Also I have allowed the paint to settle and do its own thing which is one of the exciting elements of watercolour painting.    

Using a knife I scraped out some paint in the foreground.

http://www.janetweightreed.co.uk

Floating free of time like the Magical Hummingbird

HummingbirdHQ.com

 

 

A Bientôt

Happy Hummingbird weekend

Wishing everyone a happy hummingbird weekend…

A Bientôt

Art in the Algarve – watercolours and sketches

As I mentioned earlier, the purpose of this course was to work on watercolour technique and at the same time observational skills.   The watercolours shown in this post are a small sampling and they are in no particular order.

I would begin each session with demonstrations….in this case using flowers from the Market, I made rapid watercolour sketches on white paper and paper with a colour ground.

The course is for all levels, including total beginners, which brings me to the first image which was painted by someone who had never been to a watercolour class before.

One of the key elements of the course is to show people how to avoid the age old problem of muddiness in their watercolours.     One of our group who had worked in watercolour for quite some time had become very frustrated with this issue, and so I was delighted to see the work she produced…..with absolutely no mud!

Although the emphasis of my workshops is to use watercolour in a spontaneous manner, sometimes it’s very helpful to make more detailed observational studies.

This watercolour of beans from the market, is just that – an observational exercise.

Much emphasis throughout the week was all about the use of sketch books.    Here you can see the sketch made when visiting the Island of Culatra, and the beginnings of a watercolour painting from the sketch.

A series of lily watercolours – exploring the use of negative space in an image.

Taken from a small sketch.

One of the group had a particular interest in trees and made many interesting studies.

Sketch on a colour ground in sketch book.

Using strong colour in the negative space to achieve a sense of drama.

There was so much more work, but these images will give an idea of what was achieved.

One of the lasting memories I will have is painting in the courtyard later in the day when local pigeons would be let out.    The flapping of they wings would cause a beautiful dream like echo…..quite lovely.

The pigeons seen from the roof of the school….flying free.

I will now look forward to my course at the school next April….

http://www.artinthealgarve.com

http://www.janetweightreed.co.uk

A Bientôt

   

 

 

Vienna 1 – text

Good morning,

Until I get my wireless keyboard/iMac Apple desk top sorted, I will be posting images and text in separate posts.   Hope to have it fixed by the weekend.

When I tutor workshops a key element is helping participants to loosen up and be more spontaneous.    Regardless of where someone wants to take their art, even for those who are striving for super realism, loose, spontaneous sketches help people to see what it is the are painting and to become more confident.

The first frame shows a photograph of the Neptune sculpture…..taken in Vienna.

Frame 2 –    shows a rapid sketch using a felt tip pen.    I then add colour into the negative space surrounding the image, and at the same time indicate some dark shadow areas.     Always working the whole image.   When I add colour to one area, I immediately ask myself where else can I put the same colour.      All life is interconnected.

Frame 3 –    In frame 3 I add more strong colour into the negative space and at the same time add turquoise…..which again is moved around the image.

Frame 4 –    In this final frame, note that the colour surrounding the form, reveals the sculpture.    I have worked rapidly to achieve a sense of movement and energy.

When tutoring on the Algarve, Portugal in April, we will be doing a lot of these spontaneous sketches.

There are still spaces available for the ‘Art in the Algarve Workshop.    For further details go to http://www.artinthealgarve.com

A bientot.