Splash 14 - The Best of Watercolor _ Light & Color ( PDFDrive )

into-wet glazes in the background, building light, hopefully adding a sense
of wonder to the scene.

Play with your design and leave some things to the viewer’s imagination.
—Catherine Hillis

Bridge Nymph | David Wicks

18” × 24” (46cm × 61cm)

Transparent watercolor and acrylic on 300-lb. (640gsm) cold-pressed paper

Liquid Acrylics Yield Bright Gold

I encountered this must-paint subject on a trip to Paris. The two things that
inspired me most were the serene face and the way the gold accents
provide such strong counterpoint to the grays. The challenge was in trying
to achieve a strong sense of light and drama with a limited palette of colors.
The grays were painted in thin washes of Ultramarine Light and Brown
Madder, with Raw Sienna, Rose and other colors dropped into wet washes. I
found through experimentation that liquid acrylics provided the brightest
gold, which was essential in conveying the counterpoint to the grays.

Exodus | Antonio Masi
30” × 40” (76cm × 102cm)
Watercolor on 300-lb. (640gsm) rough paper

Light Creates Mood

The image was by from a ride across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge one
Friday afternoon. I was trying to capture the mass exodus that occurs at the
start of a long weekend. I painted this from memory, photographs and quick
thumbnail sketches. My approach was direct and quick. I put down large
brushstrokes followed by glazing. I constantly strive to keep the first
impression that inspired me. In this painting I was struck by the play of light
late in the day and the golden light.

Strive to keep that first emotional mood that inspired you.
—Antonio Masi

Paris | Chizuru Morii Kaplan

41” × 29” (104cm × 74cm)

Transparent watercolor with white gouache on 500-lb. (1060gsm) rough
Arches

Watercolor Light Imitates Life

A gorgeous clear day in Paris was quickly covered with thick stormy clouds
and got very dark. Then suddenly, like a spotlight beamed at an actor on a
black stage, the strong sunlight hit this Parisian architecture causing it to
stand out from the darkness. I began by boldly painting the darkest forms of

the building with a hard bristle brush. Then with a big hake brush, I painted
the large shadows and deconstructed the building details. When the dark
color for the sky was applied, suddenly and dramatically the paper white I
left for the sunlit part of the structure appeared as a dazzling light. Just like
that day in Paris!

Lions on the Avenue | Paul Mason

15” × 22” (38cm × 56cm)

Transparent watercolor on 300-lb. (640gsm) rough Fabriano Artistico

Layers of Warm and Cool Colors
Define Form

For me, the act of painting is a process of discovering how my experience of
the subject becomes a painting. Though I am a representational painter,
artistic color is more important than “naturalistic” color. I first use
transparent colors to define an underlying geometric structure of the
composition and color key. Upon that are applied overlapping layers of both
warm and cool colors to define form in light and space. This creates a
greater sense of space than relying on the basic warm foreground/cool
background approach.

The Castle Green | Brenda Swenson

30” × 22” (76cm × 56cm)

Watercolor-stained paper collage on 300-lb. (640gsm) watercolor paper

Collage Start Simplifies Shapes

The presence of strong light and shadows is what draws me to any subject.
Working from life has taught me to be an ardent observer. In my studio I
prefer to work from location sketches for my larger paintings. I will also use
photographs for architectural details. I start by staining Japanese papers (4”
× 9” [10cm × 23cm]) with watercolor. I stain enough papers to give me a
wide range of color choices. Next I block in the subject with these colorful

papers. The entire surface of watercolor paper is covered with collage. At
this stage I begin painting. This technique helps me to simplify shapes,
abstract foreground and push color.

But Is It Art | Susan M. Stuller

21” × 29” (53cm × 74cm)

Transparent watercolor on 300-lb. (640gsm) cold-pressed paper

Large Values Must Be Correct Before
Detail

On a recent trip to London, my husband and I were out exploring when we
stumbled upon this skateboard park by the Thames. The light was so poor—
all gray and muted—but the scene begged to be painted, and I took several
quick photos. I worked up several sketches upon my return, eliminating the
skateboarders and adding the three figures, thus creating the “gallery”
mood. Value and color were built up gradually as all of the large areas
needed to have their values correct before the graffiti detail was painted.
The light beam and foreground was a moment of divine inspiration that
pulled the painting together in the end.

For a painting to be successful you must put a part of your soul into it.
—Susan M. Stuller

Burrard St. Vancouver, BC | Ron Stocke
21” × 14” (53cm × 36cm)
Watercolor on 140-lb. (300gsm) cold-pressed paper

Shadows Pull You Into the Painting

This painting was done on a trip to Vancouver, Canada. Vancouver is all
about the light here, and it was one of those great warm days in late fall.
With a limited palette of Cobalt Blue and a yellow-orange, I kept the distant
building simple and cool in temperature so it wouldn’t compete with the

light breaking through the trees on the right. These I handled with a
combination of wet and dry brushstrokes making this area of the painting
more dimensional. The shadows bring the viewer’s eye into the composition
and add mystery and lost areas to the painting.

3
The Still Life

Ripening Pumpkins | Steven Kozar
10” × 14” (25cm × 36cm)
Watercolor on 156-lb. (335gsm) hot-pressed Arches
I set up and photographed this still life at a local farm. The morning sun
added vibrant light and dark drama. I was challenged to faithfully depict the
greenish “veins” on the surface of the unripe pumpkins, and was very
deliberate in my use of warm and cool colors to represent sunlight and
shadow, even the tiniest shadows in the rocks.

My Special Place | Keiko Yasuoka

16” × 22” (41cm × 56cm)

Transparent watercolor on 300-lb. (640gsm) cold-pressed paper

Soft Edges Express Relaxation

I created an image in my mind of a special place that I could retreat to
when I want to relax. I then converted the image into a motif to paint: a
bedroom with the late afternoon sun flowing through the window and
bathing the bed, pillows and my favorite books with soft, warm light. I
gravitate toward natural light and colors, so I used what I consider
earthtones: Raw Sienna, Brown Madder and Indigo. Limiting my palette to
these three colors created harmony. Using glazes, stippling and scrubbing
techniques resulted in subtle value changes coupled with soft and vanishing
edges. I left just enough hard edges to create interest.

Clementines | Karin Isenburg

17¾” × 24½” (45cm × 62cm)

Transparent watercolor on 300-lb. (640gsm) cold-pressed Arches

Glaze Shadow Colors One by One

The way the clementine orange color reflected on the blue and white polka-
dot material particularly inspired me. As a child our family went on many car
trips. My dad would often look up at the sky and say it was salmon blue
pink. Never just blue. As an artist I have learned to see color in objects and
their shadows and to express what I see by layering the colors. In
Clementines the shadows were a myriad of beautiful colors. I applied each
color in thin glazes, letting each one dry in between. The result was seeing
each color reflecting thru the others in a way mixing colors never gave me.
Salmon blue pink … thanks, Dad.

Sole Mates | Anne Chaddock

20” × 29” (51cm × 74cm)

Transparent watercolor on 300-lb. (640gsm) cold-pressed paper

Chaos With Continuity

A basket on a boat to remind you to remove your shoes when you board! As
a landlubber this was news to me, and I found it a fascinating subject to
paint. I loved the chaos-with-continuity. I hope viewers can feel the warmth
of the day by the strong sun and cast shadows. I believe violets are
everywhere and this painting is certainly born of violet. Ultramarine or
Cobalt Blue with Permanent Rose gives beautiful purples. For a slightly
quieter violet I use Alizarin Crimson in place of the Permanent Rose. To
neutralize the violet, substitute Raw Sienna. The darkest hues are made up
of Ultramarine Blue Deep with Transparent Red Oxide. On the white shoes I
layered thin glazes of one transparent color over another to represent the
strong sunlight bouncing off the surface.

If in doubt … paint it purple.
—Anne Chaddock

Real Cherries | Penny Thomas Simpson

14” × 18” (36cm × 46cm)

Transparent watercolor on 300-lb. (640gsm) cold-pressed paper

Backlighting Against Dark
Background Glows

When I paint, lighting is everything. I have to take a lot of photographs in
order to get the lighting just right since my skill does not lie in photography.
I most often use backlighting because I want my subjects to actually glow. I
have no interest in painting backgrounds, so I usually just paint them black,
and this certainly allows whatever I paint, either still life or flowers, to come
to life. Real Cherries is part of a series. Each painting had fewer and fewer
cherries in it until the last cherry was gone. Delicious!

Clear Glassware | Laurin McCracken

12” × 28” (30cm × 71cm)

Transparent watercolor

Reflections and Refractions: Glass

Clear Glassware is the first of a series of paintings that I refer to as “the
glassware you grew up with.” These incorporate the glasses, jars and
bottles that used to be found in almost any American home, at least in your
grandmother’s pantry. Painting glass is all about the light that is reflected
and refracted from and through the pieces. In order to make the highlights
as white as they need to be, the rest of the painting must be a shade of
gray. This watercolor was appointed from a photograph. I set up the still life
using a single light source. It is painted in the traditional English transparent
watercolor style; the whites are the white of the paper.

Year of the Rabbit | Patricia Schmidt

21” × 14” (53cm × 36cm)

Transparent watercolor on 300-lb. (640gsm) cold-pressed Arches

Cheesecloth Helps Develop Texture

The warm glow of light is my favorite subject. I especially love to create a
trompe l’oeil effect by using a value underpainting in the shadows. In Year
of the Rabbit, I put cheesecloth on the painted fabric shadows and painted
a dark layer of Burnt Umber on top. When the cheesecloth was removed, a
dark pattern of lines remained, suggesting the fabric weave. Additional

Burnt Umber washes sculpted the value underpainting. More glazes of
Alizarin Crimson, Permanent Rose and green mixtures completed the fabric
patterns. Hard and soft edges on the pear and rabbit shadows contribute to
the illusion of brilliant sunlight.

Painted With a Roller | F. Charles Sharpe

22” × 30” (56cm × 76cm)

Transparent watercolor on 140-lb. (300gsm) rough paper

Old Buckets Inspire a Loose
Approach

While searching for a different subject matter to paint, I discovered these
well-used paint buckets on a table in an old boat shed. Knowing that the
light would last only a few minutes, I quickly made several photographs and
used them to create the final composition in my studio. The strong sunlight
streaming through the door created some different and varied white shapes,
which I chose to leave as unpainted paper. I then painted the shadows and
buckets away from the light with as much color as possible. These old
buckets have inspired me to experiment with more color and a looser
approach to my paintings.

Anticipation | Carrie Waller

23½” × 32” (60cm × 81cm)

Watercolor on 260-lb. (360gsm) cold-pressed Arches

Morning Light Produces Stained-
Glass Effect

Childhood memories of my great-grandmother’s canning pantry were the
inspiration for this painting. The way the sunlight filtered through the
window onto her Ball jars created a stained-glass effect that I wanted to
recapture. In setting up my still life, I used dramatic morning lighting and
then photographed the jars. At first glance Anticipation may seem devoid
of color, but upon closer inspection bursts of gold, turquoise and Ultramarine
Blue are everywhere. I methodically paint from right to left, completing a
section before moving to the next. This ensures that I’m happy with the
outcome of the painting.

Cootchie Coo | Suzi Vitulli

10” × 13” (25cm × 33cm)

Transparent watercolor on 140-lb. (300gsm) cold-pressed paper with
metallic accents

Cozy Up to Your Happy Accidents

Cootchie Coo was painted in the studio while studying a handful of
beautiful peacock feathers. The colors of the feathers seemed to move in
the light giving them a wonderful translucent, even opalescent appearance.
To try to capture this, I let the paint blend and overlap as I lay colors next
to each other on slightly damp paper. I painted the fringe/barb with a
loaded rigger, reloading between every stroke. When I brought this piece in
for framing, I accidentally signed it upside down. My heart sank. But when I
looked at it in this new direction, I noticed the bigger feather cozying up to
the smaller one. That’s when it came to me to name it Cootchie Coo. I

love those happy mistakes.

Waiting in the Wings | Chris Beck

12” × 12” (30cm × 30cm)

Transparent watercolor on 140-lb. (300gsm) cold-pressed paper

Computers Give New Artistic Tools

Unlike the majority of my still lifes, this one is a composite of two elements
—a photo I took of my silly vintage saltshakers and a vintage circus poster
that I scaled down for the background. I merged the two images in my
working sketch and then adjusted the colors and values as I painted. Taking
photos of the work in progress and manipulating them in Photoshop, I tried

out variations before painting them. As a result, I deepened the value of the
circus poster images with colorful washes until the saltshakers really popped
out visually and appeared bathed in light.

Another Round of Primaries | Robin Lee Makowski

14½” × 17” (37cm × 43cm)

Transparent watercolor on hot-pressed Canson rag board

Many Layers of Dry-Brush Glazing

Another Round of Primaries is from my Happy Hour series. All of my
still lifes are set up in natural light, and the composition is developed from
my photos. Backlighting is important in many of my paintings. With this
image, the glow of the sun through the ice and the condensation on the
glass were challenging. I accomplished this on the smooth substrate with
many layers of glazing with a very dry brush and painting around the
whites. While primary colors star, many colors play throughout the
composition. The title’s double entendre: in today’s political atmosphere a
good, stiff drink helps!

Papaya | Karen Fletcher Braverman

22” × 30” (56cm × 76cm)

Transparent watercolor on 300-lb. (640gsm) cold-pressed Arches

Let Your Subject Guide You

Sometimes inspiration can be hard to come by, and sometimes it magically
appears in your camera lens. My initial idea was to paint a series of still lifes
featuring different pieces of the blue and white china I have collected over
the years. As I began to photograph the china in various setups, I
incorporated different objects that would enhance the china. Originally the
papaya in the setup was simply to show off the bowl with a complementary
color scheme. However, as I photographed the setup, the papaya quickly
upstaged the bowl and became the star of the show. This colorful fruit will
have to have a series of its own.

Fresh Squeezed | Frank Spino

17” × 15” (43cm × 38cm)

Transparent watercolor on Arches watercolor board

Paint First, Breakfast Can Wait

There is nothing like fresh squeezed orange juice to start the day. I watched
as my wonderful wife twisted and crushed the oranges over the ribbed
dome of the juicer when one of those longed-for lightning bolts of
inspiration struck. Our meal was postponed. What once was breakfast was
transformed into still life. With camera in hand we dragged everything

outside into the brilliant morning sun. Thus bathed in light, the juicer turned
magical. Three of my best watercolors came from this shoot. Light, color,
design—kismet. A fortunate morning!

Makin’ OJ | Frank Spino

24” × 18” (61cm × 46cm)

Transparent watercolor on 140-lb. (300gsm) cold-pressed Arches

Sunshine Oranges

This is a dynamic, high-keyed watercolor. Light cascades overtop the orange
spheres and seems to set them rolling across the page. I was excited by the
way the crisp morning sunlight fell, from left to right, boldly on the first
orange, obliquely on the next, with the last cast in shadow and lit from
within by light transmitted through the fruit itself. I was intrigued by and

challenged to capture the luminous cellular quality of the juicy cut oranges
and then their mottled rinds. Light traveled 90 million miles from our sun to
my cluster of oranges to create that moment in time.

4
Water and Boats

Holy Morning at Nasik Ghat | Prafull B. Sawant
18½” × 30” (47cm × 76cm)
Watercolor on 90-lb. (190gsm) cold-pressed Arches
Since my college days I have been attracted to the Ganga Ghat in Nashik,
India, an area of temples, water, birds, tourists and always many people.
This special place has remained my inspiration. In my paintings, connecting
shapes is most important, followed by tonal value, then finally color.

Lytham Cocklers | Graham Berry

19” × 27” (48cm × 69cm)

Transparent watercolor on 140-lb. (300gsm) rough Arches

Leave Bits of White for Sparkle

A sunny Sunday afternoon in early November, the last day of “cockling”
before the cockle beds would be closed until the spring. There’s a special
quality of light at the seaside, bouncing everywhere off the wet sand and
reflecting from the small pools of water. The near-blinding sunlight
streaming from behind the boat and tractor, contre-jour, created very strong
shadows. I began with a very weak overall wash of Raw Sienna being
careful to leave the white of the paper for the highlight on the sand. While
this wash was still damp, I floated in Cerulean Blue and Alizarin in the sky
area. When dry, I painted the boat, tractor and shadows with a continuous
wash leaving some white of the paper for all the little highlights that add
sparkle to the painting. I finished off the painting with some dry-brush work

in the foreground taking full advantage of the paper’s texture.

After the Rain | Kathy Collins

22” × 30” (56cm × 76cm)

Transparent watercolor on 140-lb. (300gsm) cold-pressed Fabriano Artistico

Sketch a Sensation

Our boat glided west out of Skyline Marina bound for Decatur Island off the
Washington coast, the air still shimmery after an early afternoon rain
shower. Gulls’ cries pierced the thick atmosphere. Looking ahead I was
struck by the dark land forms silhouetted against the fading light and quickly
penned a sketch. Later in the studio, splashing watercolor onto paper, I
recalled the sensations and tried to re-create that moody, luminous scene.

4 Canoes at Kanuga | James Scott Morrison

20” × 29” (51cm × 74cm)

Transparent watercolor on 140-lb. (300gsm) cold-pressed Arches

Color Adds Liveliness

I took a number of photos of this scene near noon, not generally a good
time to take pictures for a painting. But it proved to be beneficial because it
highlighted details that were important to the painting, such as oarlocks,
cables fastening the canoes to the dock and the seating detail. The original
colors were dull—mostly a rusted gray. Back in my studio, I wanted to add
some life to the painting, so for the inside of the boats I used the three
primaries plus green.

Floaters | Kris Parins

21” × 29” (53cm × 74cm)

Transparent watercolor on 140-lb. (300gsm) cold-pressed Arches

Poured Washes Can Simulate
Translucency

The strong design possibilities first attracted me to the cluster of canoes.
They provided the perfect way to tell the story of the radiantly sunlit day,
with the complementary colors contributing interest and vibrancy. I was
struck by the way the sunlight pierced the water and made the boats
appear translucent. In order to achieve large glowing washes with subtle
gradations, I liquefied pure pigments (Quinacridone Gold, Antwerp Blue,
Brown Madder and French Ultramarine Blue) and poured them separately
onto wet paper. Whites were saved with masking fluid. Subsequent masking
and pouring built up a depth of color and granulated texture. The Z pattern

of the composition causes the eye to glide back and forth, imitating the
shifting of the canoes in the water.

Redwood Creek | Stuart Givot

22” × 15” (56cm × 38cm)

Transparent watercolor on 140-lb. (300gsm) cold-pressed Twinrocker

Keep Your Head When Accidents
Happen

My reference was a 1901 photograph of Redwood City, California. Today if
you were to stand on the spot from where the photograph was taken, the
creek would be covered and you would be looking at a three-story parking
structure from the middle of a six-lane thoroughfare. I drew (freehand) from
the photograph onto my watercolor paper. I masked out the lights and
whites … and then disaster. I spilled about a half bottle of masking fluid
over the foreground boat and water. But I kept my head, let it dry and
removed it. After redrawing some areas that the masking fluid removed, I

applied the background wash over the whole sheet. I painted the sky and
water at the same time, with a unifying wash before adding the details.

Hint: Masking fluid will not come out of khaki pants.
—Stuart Givot

Dordogne River Valley View | Frank Eber
14” × 20” (36cm × 51cm)
Transparent watercolor on 140-lb. (300gsm) rough Arches

Robust Southern French Light

This is a value-based painting; my aim was to capture the hazy sunlight in
the Dordogne. I used two transparent watercolor washes. Southern French
light can be robust and lively, and this painting depended on the white of
the paper shining through underneath.

Mirror of Sky | Prafull B. Sawant

18½” × 30” (47cm × 76cm)

Transparent watercolor on 90-lb. (190gsm) cold-pressed Arches

Gray Sky for Mystical Feel

Nashik. Ganga Ghat. It was early morning and I was sitting on the bank of
the river Godavari that flows through Nashik, a pilgrimage city and my
birthplace. I looked at the values and assessed: Where is the white? Where
is the light? I put down initial washes of Yellow Ochre and Cobalt Blue,
keeping a gray tint in the sky to express the early morning and to give the
painting a mystical feel. Tone is king and color a mere assistant. Connecting
shapes is most important. With a flat brush I painted the foreground waves
using river water to give the painting local life. In the overall gray color
scheme I added the orange flag and some other touches of orange to add a
hint of a Hindu theme to the composition.

Ancient Waterway | Peng Cao

22” × 30” (56cm × 76cm)

Transparent watercolor

Misty Waters in the Oriental Venice

This work was inspired by my hometown, Suzhou, known as the “Paradise”
in ancient China. It is also regarded as the “Oriental Venice” where boats
bob along waterways interwoven with small yet handsome bridges that run
parallel to the streets, and traditional houses built along them. I combined
both wet-in-wet and dry-brush techniques to capture the mist floating on
the water and the waves caused by the boats in the early morning. I
completed the painting quickly, knowing that the mist would soon
disappear, as evidenced by the reflection of the sunlight on the walls of the
houses along the banks. The muted colors are reminiscent of the thousands
of years of history behind this scene.

Dardanelles Lake | Richard Eaves Woods

15” × 22” (38cm × 56cm)

Transparent watercolor on 140-lb. (300gsm) cold-pressed paper

Keep Reflections a Bit Damp for
Softness

Early morning sunlight just grazes the face of the big granite cliff that looms
over Dardanelles Lake in Tahoe Basin, California. The reflection was almost
mirror perfect, so this was an effort where timing was everything. Success
was all about those transparent washes. The reflections had to be kept just
the slightest bit more damp to let the edges soften. The cliff is dead flat;
the only depth comes from the illusion of the reflected counterimage. I used
a wet-mount technique to hold the paper down for the first pass, soaking
the paper so that it would suck down flat to a waterproof support, then used
a mister to keep the reflection area damp.

Rookie mistake #1: I soaked the first sheet of paper too long and washed out the sizing. It was
like painting on a sponge.

—Richard Eaves Woods

Beaufort Marsh | Nancy Walnes

11½” × 15¾” (29cm × 40cm)

Transparent watercolor on 300-lb. (640gsm) cold-pressed Arches

Backflow can Work in Your Favor

While visiting Beaufort, South Carolina, I came upon this tranquil, timeless
scene with soft, rich-colored grasses, and glassy, lit water that wound
around to an unknown destination. Back in my home studio, I used a limited
palette of Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna, Quinacridone Gold and
Permanent Alizarin Crimson with a wet-into-wet technique. Painting quickly
and loosely, I laid in a pale blue wash before letting the colors of the trees
and marshes mingle together. I then dragged some of the paint down to
indicate reflections, went back in with darks where land and water meet,
and splattered for texture. When the paper was almost dry, I scraped out
some of the tall grasses with a sculpting tool. In areas still wet, there was a
backflow of paint that worked in my favor.

The flow of the medium and blending of color on the paper allows a freedom of hand and
simplicity of expression.

—Nancy Walnes

Kayaks | Hugh F. Baker

67” × 56” (170cm × 142cm)

Watercolor on handmade watercolor paper

Rocks Become Boats

I am always taking photos for research. I ran across a few shots of the
Grand Canyon and decided to use the rock shapes for my composition. An
afterthought was to add the title Kayaks to give the rocks a sense of
dimension (and a bit of humor). I started with several comprehensive
sketches to decide on a composition, then set up a large, handmade, very