Watercolor

Carty Visual Art I 2013

Terms

• Transparent: can be seen through- allows the penetration of light

• Opaque: cannot be seen through- prohibits the penetration of light

Terms continued

• Charged Brush: brush is holding full capacity of paint- strokes look juicy

• Dry Brush: brush has been wiped repeatedly leaving only small amount of paint- strokes look streaked and dry

Techniques

• Wet-on-wet: wet paper, charged brush• Wet-on-dry: dry paper, charged brush• Dry-on-wet: wet paper, dry brush• Dry-on-dry: dry paper, dry brush

Resists

• Resists are used to preserve the white of the paper- they are substances which resist the paint and cause it to not adhere to the painting surface

Types of Resists

• Wax paper• Parafin• White wax crayon or candle• Masking tape• Rubber cement• Maskoid or other commercial resist product

Parts of a brush

Types and Shapes of Brushes

• Flat: bristle, hair, or nylon– Flat end (chisel point)– Long belly– Flay ferrule

Types and Shapes of Brushes

• Bright– Flat end– Short belly– Flat ferrule

Types and Shapes of Brushes

• Filberts: bristle– Oval point– Flat ferrule

Types and Shapes of Brushes

• Oval wash (mop): hair– Oval point– Flattened ferrule

Types and Shapes of Brushes

• Rounds: bristle, hair, nylon– Pointed tip– Round ferrule

Types and Shapes of Brushes

• Fan blenders: bristle (and hair)– Fan shaped– Rounded, flattened heel

on ferrule

Types and Shapes of Brushes

• Hake: Japanese wash brush, soft hair– Slightly fanned– Stitching to hold hair– No ferrule

Types and Shapes of Brushes

• Lettering brush– Flat point– Very long hair

Types and Shapes of Brushes

• Dagger: (bristle), hair– Dagger or sword type

point– Very long hair– Round ferrule

Types and Shapes of Brushes

• Hardware utility brush: bristle or nylon (large washes)– Flat– Short handle

Composition of Brushes

• Bristle: stiff, hog’s hair, “boar”• Nylon: plastic, synthetic• Hair– Red sable: the best, actually made from hair of the

Kolinsky or Tartar Martin from Siberia– Sabeline: dyed ox hair– Camel: squirrel hair

Sizes of Brushes

• Round Brushes- “0000” smallest, 12 is usually largest available

• Flats and Brights- ¼ smallest, 1 usually largest (occasionally up to 2)

Paper

• Basic Composition– Rag: ph balanced, long lasting, highest quality,

often hand made– Sulfite: wood pulp, non ph balance leading to

decomposition, yellowing, brittleness, much less expensive, machine made

Parts of Paper

Weight of Paper

• Determined by “ream weight” or weight of 500 sheets of that paper in standard size– Ex. 350 lb. paper means that 500 sheets of that paper

weigh 350 lbs– Standard weighs run 80 to 400 pounds– In watercolor, it is considered best to stretch all but

heaviest papers of the aquarium papers– Paper is sized with glue which is usually removed by

moistening when watercolor painting. Blotters are made from unsized paper

Special Effects

• Salt- sprinkled into wet paint causing granulated, textured, starburst effect

Special Effects

• Sponges (natural are preferable)- can be used to lift or add color, create textured effects

Special Effects

• Tissue paper- used to lift color

Special Effects

• Razors, knife blades- used to pick out of lift small areas of color, or scratch out white lines

Special Effects

• Sticks, pallete knives etc.- used to apply paint of texture

Special Effects

• Splatter effects- using stiff tooth brush or atomizer

Watercolor Paints

• Types– Pan colors: pigments are often inferior, less

intense (just dyes)– Tube colors: preferable, more versatile, more

intense, more permanent

Watercolor Paints

• Composition: pigment + gum arabic + (glycerin) + water– Gum arabic is the binder– Pigment is the colorant

Watercolor Paints

• Pigment Sources– Inorganic• Synthetic mineral- chemical• Natural mineral- “earth colors”

– Organic• Animal• Vegetable• Synthetic organic colors

Watercolor Paints

• Pigment Types– Opaque– Transparent– Staining (light)– Non-staining (heavy)

Granulation Theory of Watercolor

• Stain: fine particles, sink slowly because they are light enough to stay suspended or float- they spread or diffuse- they will penetrate into pores of paper- create permanent stain– Ex. Thalo Colors

Granulation Theory of Watercolor

• Semi-Staining: go down less slowly- particles are less fine so they do not penetrate as rapidly into pores of paper

Granulation Theory of Watercolor

• Non-Staining: particles are heavy and sink faster because they are larger they do not penetrate pores of paper

Granulation Theory of Watercolor

• Granulation is created by a combination of thick (heavy) with a thin (light) Pigment– Light pigment will diffuse on the damp paper

creating a “halo” stain around the heavier pigment– Pigments separate on the paper and to not stay

well-blended• Ex. Thalo Blue and Burnt Sienna, or Thalo

Green and Vermillion

Transparent Pigments• Stains Light Pigments

– Sap green– Brown madder– Rose madder– Alizarin crimson– New gamboge yellow– Sepia

• Semi-Stains Heavy Pigments– Hooker’s green(light and dark values)– Anthwerp blue– Payne’s Gray– Aureolin yellow– Lemon yellow– Yellow ochre– Burnt Sienna

Opaque Pigments• Semi-Staining Light Pigments

– Cadmium red– Cadmium orange– Cadmium yellow– Raw sienna– Naples yellow– Indian red– Windsor emerald– Cadmium scarlet

• Non-staining Heavy Pigments– Vermillion– Manganese blue– Ultramarine blue– Cobalt blue– Cerulin blue– Chromium oxide green– Chinese white– Ivory black

What not to do…

• Muddy colors- created by mixing or over-layering heavy opaque colors

• Balloons- hard edges created by uneven drying (use a hairdryer!)

• Overworking

Additional Information

• Glazing- applying a wash over dry paint• Different meanings of “pallette”– Surface used for mixing paint– The selection of colors used in a painting– The selection of colors generally used by an artist

in his or her work• Paint the essential, paint broadly, paint details

last

Sequences of Painting

• Three approaches to establishing a composition– Paint center of interest first, progress to least

important last (difficult to do in watercolor)– Dark to Light: lay in darks first to achieve unity

quickly, dangerous but effective– Light to Dark: lay in light values first, progress to

darkest last, a safe conventional approach