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After this segment where i discuss Merging/Mingling and Glazing, i will step back and introduce exercises related to color mixing: darks, colored grays, green grays that are all essential to successful painting efforts.

Merging and Mingling Pigments Directly on the Paper

I am an admirer of the late Charles Reid and Mel Stabin for their merging approach to painting for this reason: the initial washes are full of life, complexity, variation, and color variety. Example: when i mix a red and yellow and get an orange variation, uniform, in the palette similar to your color wheel exercise, i wind up with a uniform, monochromatic wash and that is not the way light treats objects it falls on!

EXERCISE 5, i think: Merging and Mingling on the Paper

So, taking off from the above comments, if i apply a red charged pigment to the paper, then quickly add (at and along into the edge, not up into the previous red app) a yellow charge, pushing it into but NOT OVER the previous red, the two washes merge along their edges and create what i refer to as "the parents, red and yellow, and variations of orange, the overall intent), providing an "orange" that is varied in color characteristics (red, yellow, orange variations) on my first wash, alive and complex rather than uniform and flat.

In "crab louie", the same approach was used with wet on dry approach and dropping in one color then another just into its edge (not adjacent, but into about a quarter inch or so and not overpainted). as you can see the complexity in the washes are full of energy in my opinion. in "Prague National Theater", i used the merging technique in the sky shape, upper, and in the stature shape, lower; one ligher, one darker.

Okay, PRACTICE. if you do not go far enough into the first pigment charge, you will get a border like appearance, as the two washes are not touching; if you go too far into the first charge, you will overpaint and get blossoms and less energized outcomes. and remember, water without a pigment is WHITE as it lets the white paper come through as in the shellfish stew on the shells and on the bike riders clothes and on teh ravens head and beak! We will visit that more in later blogs.

LASTLY A WORD ON GLAZING

I will come back to glazing but it is a technique used in portrait painting, floral painting etc. and essentially is layering or glazing one light application over another DRY application to build up delicate layers of pigment. you can use any of the strategies and approaches we have discussed including merging to accomplish this. take a close look at watercolor portraits and you will see  the layering. in many instances, glazers will actually add a permanent green very lightly where shadow shapes are, and then glaze over with other reds, yellows, ochres etc. again more later.

have fun painting, ron

Ron Kasprisin is a Professor Emeritus

College of Built Environments, UW, and

a Signature Member of the Northwest Watercolor Society

He lives on Whidbey Island in the Salish Sea

Okay I think I need to give more start up suggestions for the real beginners to ease your anxiety.
EQUIPMENT SET UP

place your paper in front of you, elevated brushes selected wash water container between paper and palette; this is for washing brushes during the painting process and needs to be refreshed often to avoid dirty gray water contaminating your painting; about the size of margarine container or soup bowl your palette, slightly tilted water regulator near paper (damp sponge, TP, towels, floor)

BASIC WATER/PIGMENT/PAPER PROCESS

this will vary with experience: wet brush, regulate water in brush so damp not soaking; dip in pigment gel and take gel to mixing area of palette, deposit, add water to damp brush and mix with gel in mixing area but avoid a 'swimming pool' as too diluted, try for a clinging wash mixture; go to paper and begin wash; return to wash water, cleanse brush, discharge excess water by touching to sponge or slatting (I slat: shake brush on floor or dogs if under me; or wipe on my pants (sorry mom))go to gel, then water, mix and go to paper
this is a basic way to start; after practice you may go to gel with a damp not soaked brush and go right to paper, there are many variations. start with basic. avoid filling your pigment wells with excess water as it will dilute the gel, sop up any extra water with paper towel

WASH TECHNIQUE

the idea of the wash is to work the wet, hopefully beaded, edge of the wash downward while not going up too far into the previous wash-working the edge; this takes practice, practice and practice so make a fun project out of it, be playful. you want to work fast leaving the wash to replenish your brush so the saturation levels of the previous wash and your new charge are pretty close together: thus the bead created by gravity (elevated paper)

I am providing some example exercises for your consideration. again, they will help you become familiar with the brush, learn more about the pigments and get into some basic wash techniques. Let us see if my old brain can get this app working correctly.

EXERCISE 3: COLOR WHEELS

Intent: learn about each of the color wheel families; play with making medium to dark color washes; understand how you can make numerous variations of secondary colors (green, orange, purple) and colored grays by how you mix the quantities of pigments; FOR EXAMPLE, i can mix red and yellow, two primaries, and get a red-orange, an orange, a yellow-orange, etc., try it so you can experience.

for the color wheels, i mixed three secondary versions in between each two primaries and i tried to get darker values in the pigments, the smaller inset shows a lighter version of the same colors. all examples are from my previous books on painting, out of print but maybe in used bookstores: Watercolor in Architectural Design (Reinhold NY) and Design Media (Wiley NY). i suggest circles or splotches about at least two inches in diameter. have fun.

EXERCISE 4: LAYERED OR OVERLAPPING WASHES

In example one, i did four washes overlain one another: BUT, not until each layer was completely dry. WHY? if there is dampness in the previous wash, the drier damp area of paper will grab and pull the wetter new wash application into it and create a blossom or blemish. HAH, we all do our share so dont worry it is part of the learning process and is SPEAKING TO YOU.

Okay the second example is essentially the same approach with a first graded blue wash; and at the end of the wash i simply grabbed some yellow instead of blue and charged the wash edge with it for some yellow and green ground affects. After this wash dried i then added additional layers for some detail into the tower. try this with simple shapes, on 8 x 10 or 9 x 12 paper. again, have fun with it. always keep your practices because you will look back on them and after more experience, learn more from them.

That is it for today: next newsletter i am going to introduce you to merging and mingling of pigments both on the palette and right on the paper,  technique i use for the most part. adds complexity to all washes.

have fun, ron

Okay, let us have some fun. These exercises have a number of benefits (I won't call them objectives because it is not a contest or "must-do".

Benefit 1: getting familiar with the tools (brush, water, pigment, palette, paper, etc.); YOU ARE USING YOUR SENSES TO MAKE SOMETHING, not a disconnected keyboard or program

Benefit 2: understanding how much or how little water to mix with the pigments and in what sequence (more later)

Benefit 3: learning about the pigments in each family of colors and how to make lights, medium and dark washes

that is a good starting point, AND:

I will add in two different painting approaches to the exercise.

SAFETY: do not put brushes in your mouth; even though many of the toxins have been removed from the pigments they are still chemical combinations, synthetics, and not good for your organs!

EXERCISE ONE: ARRANGING YOUR PALETTE, BRUSH CARE, PAPER ANGLE. PAPER

on your palette, hopefully with at least 12 pigment wells, arrange your colors from warmest to coolest, from yellow to dark blues (I like to separate my staining colors from the rest of the palette, either on a separate palette or in a different part of the same palette.

DO NOT stand your brushes up on their brush ends as it can bend the brush heads, place them handle down or flat on your work surface, do not leave sitting in your water brush tip down. They are not cheap.

Always paint on a surface (paper) that is elevated at least 30 degrees. WHY? to take advantage of gravity, as the gravity will pull the water in the wash downward through the paper (the steeper the angle the more the wash charge moves down the paper, wet or dry. I often paint on an easel with the paper at a steep angle and surprisingly you still have a lot of control over the wash. I suggest you begin at the 30 degree angle, by placing a large book or something at the top end of your watercolor pad or block.

EXERCISE TWO: EXPLORING YOUR COLOR FAMILIES WITH WET ON WET AND WET ON DRY APPROACHES

For each primary color (ex. aurolean yellow, cobalt blue, red madder), draw three shapes (circle, blob, tree mass, whatever) about two inches in diameter in a horizontal row twice for each color.

In the first row, paint wet on wet in each shape with the first shape a light value (more water than pigment), the second shape a medium value and the third shape a dark value. NOW HEAR ME, it is better to overdue the values then be cautious and be safe. WHY? because you wont learn how to push the pigment/water mixture enough to get real values. For example, when mixing a dark with rose madder, it is better to have almost all pigment and a little water so that you can see what too much is, rather than being save and winding up with in reality is a medium wash that you think is a dark wash.

each color in each family will behave differently, so try to do them all

REPEAT that same exercise with wet on dry, taking a charged brush (water and pigment) to dry paper and bringing your wash down inside the shape.

do this for all three families of colors over time. Be aware of how you are using the tools. some helpful guides close this exercise session out as follows:

BASIC WASH TECHNIQUE: you can smoosh your brush around anyway you want. I suggest that for these exercises you try to have only the tip plus one quarter of the brush part on the paper, dont push down hard as you can get a double wash stroke (tip and mid section touching paper)

start at the top  of shape and work back and forth or slightly at an angle and keep moving the wash down the paper until it almost dries out, then go to palette, recharge your brush and pigment and keep moving down. DO NOT GO BACK INTO A WET WASH! tWHY? the previous wash area is already drier than the new charge you are bringing back to the paper, thus charging quickly is advised, and the drier area will soak up and pull the new charged wash into it and you may get a blemish called a blossom. trust me, you will get some blemishes, ha aha ha aha. try to minimize the time between brush charges so that the previous wash and the new addition are as close as possible in water content. this take practice do dont panic.

the ending of the wash should have a bead, or water/pigment small puddle at the end so that it gives you time to recharge. if you get to the end of the wash shape, and do not absorb the remaining bead (with a drier brush or paper towel), the wash area above it, now drying, will pull the bead back up into the previous wash and you will get a blossom. good to let happen as an example.

PALETTE WORK: the mixing wells in the palette are your bank, $$$$$$$, do not let them get swamped with a lot of water as it will dilute the pigment. with your damp wet brush (experiment with how much wetness), go to the pigment well and pig up gel and take it to the mixing area and add water as needed (lots of practice here as you can have 'swimming pool' of too much water or a dry lake bed with too little, experiment and there is no failure.

i like to tilt my palette with the warmer colors up on top in order to have the mixing areas drain to the lower portion of the mixing area. also, sop up or absorb the excess mixing washes as needed in order to avoid dirty colors.

THAT IS ENOUGH, HAVE FUN. RON

I suggest you begin painting on an inexpensive watercolor pad or block (140lb.); and a block is simply glued on all edges except for one inch inorder to have the paper kept stretched tightly as water is absorved)

Ron Kasprisin is Professor Emertius UW

and a Signature Member of the Northwest Watercolor Society

He lives on Whidbey Island, NW of Seattle

Play

Yes, play. "Play" is a free activity without failure with no winner or loser, competition, where the rules or starting points change as play evolves. Play is where skills and confidence are born and nurtured, without the fear of achievement or comparison.

If you approach the act of painting as a playful activity, you can make great strides in your painting experiences. So let us start there, no comparisons to anyone else's work, we are all different; and no competition!

Two Places to Start: 1) a sketch/scribble book; and 2) beginning approaches to painting

The Sketch/Scribble Book:  I add the word "scribble" for those of you who are hesitant about sketching, so let us just call them "thoughtful scribbles"; Why? because you dont have to be an accomplished artist or designer to visually think through how you will approach a painting. A lesson learned: years ago when taking a workshop with Eric Weigardt, he watched me do a prep sketch of a subject and chuckled: (paraphrasing), Ron as an architect your sketches are great and they are too much! Wow, I thought, Why? Eric explained that with so much detail my tendency when painting was to focus on the many individual shapes instead of painting the larger picture, clusters of shapes, less detail and more overall composition. In another long-time-ago workshop with James Godwin Scott of St. Louis, I watched James, in the field, simply draw a few lines that indicated the overall movement and direction of his emerging composition. Wow again. SoOOOOOOO. your sketch/scribble can be detailed and exquisite or simple, strong with direction.

For those wanting to improve their sketching skills, an important aspect of painting, i suggest reading Betty Edwards "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" available in used editions in many bookstores, just read the sections on pure and modified contour drawing as no "perspective" analytics are involved.  You only draw what you see!

Below are some examples of sketches from both my travels and my visual thought processes in preparation for painting:

The Port Gamble Sketch is more of a field documentation sketch. If i can make this work i will also download sketches that are visual thinking sketches.

What Does the Sketch Accomplish? Composition and Value

You can always just start a painting without any significant preparation or forethought, we all do it and it can be fun. Establishing a starting point and direction with composition and value is also a way to prepare you for the playfulness of painting once you start.

Composition: Composition is the bringing together of shapes into a harmonious whole that essentially has as story, whether simply representing something as it is or delving deeper into how the artist shapes a composition to relay a message.

there are basic principles of composition that i will go into detail next blog that help us arrange and structure or assemble the composition. Examples include "diagonal movement and direction", "repetition with variety", "cross structure", "radial burst" and so on.

We will get there, not to worry.

Value: Value is the relationship of light patterns, dark to light, etc.; and, value brings mood and drama to the composition. For example, the eye will go to the point of the highest value contrast, dark against light; the mood softens and the drama lessens when i place a middle value next to a light value or middle next to a dark as the contrast is less, AHA! remember that team!

So the incorporation of composition and value, without color, begin to emerge the essence of the painting with compositional harmony and direction (around a center of interest), and with added mood and drama through value patterns. again, dont fret we will get there.

Some composition/value sketches of selected topics:

Beginning on the left, same image of the old Olympia Brewery in Olympia WA with an upward compositional movement with two very different value patterns applied to the same image; the middle sketches are of an old building in Coupeville WA with six different value patterns experimented into the same composition; and finally, oysters and apples with the strong darks and lights exhibited in the apple sketch.

AND, if the value pattern is not working, CHANGE THE COMPOSITION; if the composition is not working, CHANGE THE VALUE PATTERN. more on this in a dedicated blog.

Let Us Play at Painting Watercolor!

Three Basic Approaches:

there are many ways to approach a watercolor painting and the more experience you develop, the more points of departure you will find. Starting out let us begin with three basic approaches and their variations:

Dry on Dry: all this means is that you are taking a fairly dry brush with pigment to dry paper and this is used in representational art (realism), detailing, etc. and if you really like this approach i suggest switching to acrylics.

Wet on Dry: this is called the "direct method" and is my preferred way of painting. It consists of taking a wet (charged) brush and pigment to dry paper. there is a lot of control and yet the ability to be flexible and fluid with your washes.

Wet on Wet: this actually was developed in the southwestern US by artists painting in the hot absorptive sun where washes disappeared as soon as they hit the paper. sooooo, the paper is prewet and as the water seeps into and is absorbed by the paper, the a charged brush with pigment is applied to the drying wash. with experience, the artist learns what happens when pigment charges are put into varying degrees of dampness in the paper.

A key point: this is all about WATERcolor. Here is why:

in every painting activity, the medium--what actually carries the pigment is the key to understanding how to work WITH the medium. Okay?

Oil painting: oil is viscous and slow moving if at all, highly controllable

Pastel: clay, an opaque chalk like substance that does not move, not fluid, and can be manipulated with cloth, fingers, tools etc. to smear and smooth it on surfaces

crayons: wax based, again, not fluid and semi transparent, easily manipulated with pressure, easy to blend via pressure with color buildups

acrylics: water based using opaque pigments, fluid but less transparent, and lights can cover darks due to opacity

watercolor: water is fluid, moves with gravity, evaporates into air depending on humidity, absorbs into paper and there it is!!!!!! WATER

Okay i will send out some exercises to get you going tomorrow or monday before we leave on our trip. get ready, absorb the material and get ready to play. ron k

Ron Kasprisin is a Professor Emeritus, College of Built Environments, University of Washington and a Signature Member of the Northwest Watercolor Society. He lives on Whidbey Island northwest of Seattle.

This blog discusses how to set up your painting space; how to overcome those initial trepidations and fears, all natural to the process; and, get you a basic setup for painting.

When I began watercolor painting, i was intimidated by the process, engaging something very different then my pen and ink drawing identity. I bought books, supplies, brushes, etc. and essentially "circled the wagon" many times, afraid or hesitant, choose one, to engage the act of painting. A basic fear, accept it and move through it. Sooooooooooo........\

Step One: Set up a permanent space for your painting activity, no matter how small.

I spent time setting up my painting supplies, arranging my space, wasting time, then got distracted and went to another activity, "circling the wagons".  when you have a small and relatively personal space that is your space, it is so much easier to quickly set up and start playing, quickly dispersing initial trepidations.

Step Two: play, do not try to make a 'painting'

Stay loose, avoid being serious about making something special, perfect, precious, etc. and the way you accomplish that is by playing (a free activity devoid of failure, no competition or comparison). the intent is to become familiar with the tools, equipment and paints in a free and playful manner to build skills and an understanding of the fundamental principles involved in the painting process.

Step Three: do not compare yourself to anyone else and their work

Every painter is at a different level then the next; and each person's efforts produce a unique expression, regardless of experience. you can admire the work of a more experienced painter, learn from the work and do not compare yourself with that work or person or you will box yourself in to another version of fear or trepidation. you are unique and what you express on paper is unique and an extension of your own engagement.

Step Four: take the time to read and practice some basic fundamentals that can help you avoid unnecessary obstacles.

there are a number of ways of exposing yourself to principles and basic techniques: read books on watercolor painting that discuss these basic principles not merely display work; and, if at all possible, attend local workshops as they are valuable in terms of gaining knowledge and practice under the eye of a more experienced painter.

Authors that I recommend: Jean Dobie (colored grays and color mixing), Skip Lawrence (value painting), Charles Reid (merging on the paper)

BASIC SETUP FOR PAINTING

Okay, you can spend a lot of money on watercolor supplies and you dont really need to go there. the following describes the basics to get started and the more you advance the more you can add to your tool chest.

What Not To Buy!

Brushes: do not buy any brush that has no resilience; that is, when it is wet and you bend the tip over and it does not come back, it has not resilience, dont buy. Nice brushes like squirrel, horse hair etc. hold water but are not resilient. Bristle brushes are stiff and used for acrylics and oils so do not buy as they dont hold water adequately. Most manufacturers make quality synthetic watercolor brushes, student grade, that are just fine and less expensive. more later.

Palettes: do not buy any small palette such as travel palettes as they do not hold enough pigment and do not have large enough mixing areas; unless of course you are travelling! more later.

Pigments: There are quality student grade watercolor pigments available, so buy the gel in tubes (no cakes at this time); AND ALWAYS BUY A PIGMENT WITH A COMMON NAME SUCH AS "CERULEAN BLUE", "YELLOW OCHRE" etc.; any pigment tube that is labelled as green, red etc. is not a watercolor or suitable for watercolor.

Papers: watercolor papers come in many varieties, you want to start with student grade pads or blocks that are 140lb paper, not less. avoid expensive papers at this time as you want to use as much cheaper paper, even both sides, as possible as you learn and grow.

OKAY LET'S GO SHOPPING!

(i hate to take business away from local stores but mail order is much cheaper)

Brushes: lots of student grade quality brushes on the market, watercolor brushes not bristle, and resilient; i recommend the following brushes to start with:

a number 12 round (when cut in section it is round)

a number 16 round

a one inch flat (when cut in section it is a flat rectangle)

these will  hold enough water (charge) so you can paint!

larger brushes are available and when you advance to large paper sizes etc. they will become important but for now we are going to focus on small to medium size painting efforts.

Palettes: plastic palettes that have larger mixing areas and at least 8, preferrably 12 pigment wells is recommended. Circular ones have one large mixing area in middle and rectangular ones have usually two square mixing areas about 4 inches square. do not use smaller palettes. you can also use a dinner plate just fine if things are really tight.

Paper: student grade watercolor papers, 140lb., come in pads, blocks, sheets etc. and are useable on both sides in most cases. they have a coating on the paper, sizing, that takes the water. you will see the difference when you advance to quality paper but when starting out the importance is to paint as much as you can, not worry about using expensive paper. more quality paper later, try for 8 x 10 or 9 x 12 pads.

Pigments: Okay, to simplify things let us put the pigments in "families of color": delicate or transparent, staining, and opaque.

Delicate or Transparent Family: Rose madder, cobalt blue, aurolean or azo yellow; why are they delicate? they are rich colors that actually can be lifted off the paper when dry to a great degree, therefore delicate; they are highly transparent, letting light through to hit the paper and are the mainstays of watercolor painting.

Staining or the relatives: these are the staining colors that will not come out of the paper and are more intense in key, used on mixing rich colors and darks (but they are staining!) that is why i call them the cousins, nice to visit but dont say too long. they are usually labelled, permanent, intense, pthalo to indicate their staining nature.

Opaque family: Opaque watercolors disolve less then the other two families and are a bit chalkier; classic pigments are Cerulean Blue, Yellow Ochre, and Cadmium Red.

These are good starting points, more will be added later.

Additional Tools and Equipment

paper towels

synthetic sponge

water bowl for washing out brushes during the process

water jug (if not near water source)

art erasure

sketching pencils (no charcoal) and the lightere the better, hb is nice

sketch book (call it a scribble book if you are new to or have trepidation about sketching) more later

Okay, we paint the next blog! go have fun finding these materials but do not come back with cousin irenes bristle brushes or cousin joes tiny weeeny brushes that hold no water.