"An Experience"

(unavailable.....4" x 6".....watercolor on Rives BFK....mounted on masonite)

"Tasting is an experience of seeing with eyes of the heart." This quote was inspired by a segment from Psalm 34: 8...."O taste and see that the Lord is good!". Obviously "tasting" in this context means something different from the tasting of food. Tasting in this passage is an experience.

The image you see today is a 4" x 6" piece cropped from a larger piece. It was created with watercolors on Rives BFK...beginning with very wet paper and dropping in some very dilute neutral tint. After the glisten was off of the paper, I created some back runs by dropping in more color. This creates the erratic gray shapes and edges in the piece.

After the paper was thoroughly dry, I added some black gestural lettering and erratic lines with FW ink and a pointed pen. The next step was to brush on some bands of color going edge to edge in two directions with very dilute watercolor.

Last came the final quote with Moon Palace Ink and pointed pen. I left the paper unprepared for lettering, so any mistakes would have ruined the piece. It has now been sprayed with Spray Acrylic Coating (3x). It will now be mounted on masonite and spray varnished. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Open Hands"

(unavailable....4" x 6"....Fabriano 140 lb. CP....mounted on masonite)

"Open hands lead to joy." The idea of open hands implies generosity to others. This is one of those life principles that may feel like an oxymoron, but actually leads to joy. The tendency so often in all of us is to think that holding on to something with a tight fist is the way to keep it. It's actually the opposite.

If you like contemporary watercolor and don't know how to begin...try wetting the paper thoroughly on both sides and then wiping off the excess water with a sponge. You can then choose one of two techniques I particularly like. Sometimes I like to place watercolor randomly on a glass table or piece of glass and then lay the wet paper into the paint to create a soft mono print. The other way is to mix up a color such as "neutral tint" and use a mop brush to lay in some color randomly on the wet color without covering the entire sheet. Lay the color down and be done. (Not more than (2) passes of the brush in any other.)

Let this layer dry somewhat and then use a more concentrated amount of color, make some gestural strokes or words with a small pointed brush as well as some erratic lines. Also create the same marks with a bamboo pen into the wet paint. Go away and let these layers dry completely or at least until the water and pigment have stopped moving. At that time, you can finish drying with a hair dryer.

Some criss cross bands of other colors can then be laid in...one at a time...and drying in between. Last, but not least create some marks with a stick or pen dipped into FW Ink as well as some erratic lines going from edge to edge.

You can then finish the piece with some lettering or leave as is. It's just one way to create a contemporary look with shapes, lines, and color. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Mark Making" (1)

Today's posting is a "take off" on a workshop I recently taught. So many times, it is hard to remember or to come up with ways of texturizing and layering in a piece of artwork. This is one way of organizing your "mark making" techniques as a ready reference while working on your work.

What you are viewing today is (4) samples of mark making on different papers with a hole punched in the upper left hand corner. These notes can then be added to a very large binder ring (available at office supplies) to create a compact and easy reference. They can be stored on a decorative hook in your studio or laid in a basket or bowl. They actually add an artistic flavor to your space.

The data on each of the cards needs to have some key information. The most important info. is the name and description of the paper since different mediums and tools can react differently. The next bit of information is the steps used in making the mark(s) and other descriptive details like....wet or dry paper....diluted or undiluted medium...whether the tool was dipped into the medium...."sloshed" on...etc.

Since all visual arts have a vocabulary, it is good to have notations about your own personal marks so that you can build on your vocabulary. There is a point when three word sentences don't adequately describe what you want to say. This is a good way to increase your sentence structure visually and eventually expand your note taking to describe moods and textures represented. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Gratitude" (draft 3)

(draft 3)

Almost there. The lettering with the quote and final will be posted tomorrow. Layering takes time and it is good to have time to "mull" things over before continuing to the next step.

You may notice that some of the colors are brighter today. That is because I glazed over them one more time after cropping the piece. However, you can still see the luminosity and the sparkle created by masking out some of the erratic lines and lettering before applying any washes. (One...not more than twice over with the glazing.)

The feather took a great deal of time in order to achieve the opacity and different shadings within the feather itself. The spine of the feather is also the same as painting any bone or antler image. It may look white, but it is not. Neutral Tint, Quinacridone Gold (Sennelier) and Bleedproof White Gouache were the colors used to create this feather. It also helped to have a liner brush which helps to lay in the numerous layers required to achieve opacity and depth. So I went back and forth between these colors to create subtlety.

Today, I will study the feather and see if there is anything else that needs to be done. This is the part of the process where the tough questions need to be asked. Is the image convincing? Or does it look contrived? It takes time and space to ascertain these things. I am not yet convinced of the feather, so it will probably receive some additional work after I have been away from it for a few hours. This would be a good time to begin another piece and allow the preliminary washes to dry.

What I am satisfied with is the layered glass look which was my inspiration in the first place. The whites and softly diffused lines from the very first layers are still giving that glass look that I am also working with for another piece.

Even in very representational work, the imagery that is in the distance is not as well defined as the imagery that is in the foreground. So the "take away" from today is to stop working at intervals and take a break when the final details are being decided. The very free "stuff" can be done very intuitively and quickly, but then there is a time to go slow in order to decide the final steps and not to go beyond the finish line.

Going too far is just as bad as not going far enough. And frankly, I've done my fair share of going too far. It's time to slow down. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Gratitude" (draft 2)

(draft 2)

This second draft has three more layers. Two of them are watercolor glazes and one is lettering with a pointed pen and FW Ink.

Before adding the glazes, I laid in some more erratic lines and a few words with masking fluid. You can now see how these additional layers push the first layers way back into the background to create depth.

Even though this is a contemporary watercolor piece, there are still identifiable shapes and a lot of expressive writing and erratic line work. The next step will be the introduction of a focal point by painting in the identifiable shape of a feather followed by the quote.

This type of work requires transparency and the inclusion of many different lines and edges plus the writing. These three elements give the illusion of glass and depth. And even if you're not a lettering artist, creative stamping into wet washes followed by a more identifiable stamping in the following layers will achieve a great deal of imagery.

If using a commercial stamp, try sloshing on some FW Ink and stamping that image several times. You will see only portions of the stamp which will give it a more ethereal and mysterious look. For fine art, it is best not to use a commercial stamp and stamp the entire image. It will look contrived. And if you use Speedball Printing Ink in the final stamping, you can blot portions of the image completely away with a damp paper towel.

There are really so many options with layering. Even though there are numerous techniques, it is best to use a limited palette of techniques and then leave the others for some other piece. It is incredibly easy to get into the "weeds".   And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Experimental Watercolor"

Today's posting is simply an experimental piece that may get finished....or not. This was created as a demo piece in a mark making class I taught yesterday. Lots of marks were made and the atmosphere was "electric"!

We worked on several types of papers because papers receive the medium differently from each other. The paper used for today's piece was Rives BFK. It is a print making paper and a bit softer than other papers used for watercolor.

Because of its ability to receive impressions, it is a natural choice for inscribing into the paper and paint while it is wet. And you can clearly see those marks in the background. They can often look like pencil marks, but the inscribed erratic lines that are a bit diffused were written with a bamboo pen into wet watercolor. That first color is a neutral tint.

After leaving this first layer completely alone until it was dry (no hair dryer)...I added some darker erratic lines and gestural marks with a pointed pen and FW Ink. This particular ink is a good choice for this application because it is acrylic and will not bleed when a watercolor wash is brushed over. These lines can be dried with a hair dryer and then shapes of color can be applied with a broad watercolor brush on dry paper.

It is good to leave some of the paper white and not to make more than two passes with the water color in the same area. (Over brushing is the death of this technique.) If you choose to use two colors...dry the first layer of color before applying the second color. It might be fun to see how these very same techniques work on Arches 140 lb. HP or Fabriano 140 lb. CP. These papers are thin enough to ripple when wet, so if working too large...you may want to consider taping your paper to a masonite board with watercolor tape.

This whole process reminds me of layered glass, so I am deeply interested. It's definitely worth a try. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.