Advancing with Watercolor

Transcription

1 Advancing with Watercolor Working on Location: Firenze Introducing Figures into your work WORKING WITH WATERCOLOR FIGURES 1

2 Working with Figures Putting some figures into our painting invokes a special type of anxiety - but this can be mastered with practice and the result will allow you to communicate with more feeling depth and humor. The difficulty arises because we are humans and we have a keen eye when it comes to understanding the human body in motion. To drive home the point if you make a mistake in painting your tree you will know but chances are nobody else will know, they will still see it as a tree. Maybe and arborist will know that the canopy you painted on your elm tree is more like a cottonwood but everyone else will see it as a tree. The same scenario is different when painting figures - if you make a mistake when painting a person everyone sees it right away. Is that person a contortionist or what? No it is just a person bending over to lift something. So let's not waste another moment lets practice making figure. I find it helpful to start with the large masses first. Torso, just a block. Legs 2, arms one swinging one close to the body, head not to big...on you scrap paper start to play with figures with practice you will find that you learn to reduce the figures to a few calligraphic marks. When thinking of figures for you paintings ask yourself what kind of poses would be common in this setting, WORKING WITH WATERCOLOR FIGURES 2

3 then do some research. For example in today's painting the figures pedestrians walking, a family and a person on a vespa. People Near and Far When using figures such as in urban scenes where figures are abundant, or in painting social scenes, interiors, public places, we include many figures it is a good strategy to include figures near, mid ground, and in the distance. This helps to create a feeling of depth in the painting How much detail? I think that the amount of detail is roughly based on size of figure. Most of the time my paintings will include one or two major figures which are slightly larger or more prominent and accompanying figures which usually are nothing more than silhouettes. In the major figures I give a stronger reference to clothing or even facial features. Anything beyond this and the figure starts to become a portrait. Animating the Figure One of the big challenges in working with figures is getting them to move or feel like they are moving. Lets look at John Wayne - he had a swagger that illustrates some of the basic mechanics of a person walking. a series of counter balances left leg forward, right arm forward. It is how we balance ourselves as we WORKING WITH WATERCOLOR FIGURES 3

4 walk forward and this swinging motion keeps the figure relaxed and in balance. Try some stick figures If we want the person to feel in motion don t try too hard to place the feet or shoes - most of the time I avoid these all together and no one misses seeing the feet. plus this creates a feeling of motion. Some key lines to look for and practice with figures. When sketching Figures in the field or in life drawing class for that matter there are a few major lines to look for and establish to create just about any pose. The lines are the spine, the shoulders, and the hips. Of course there are other important lines but for the purpose of hierarchy the major ones are spine, shoulders and hips Grouping figures Try this little exercise of placing a few blobs next to each other then add some heads, last add some legs. suddenly you have a group of people in colorful sweaters WORKING WITH WATERCOLOR FIGURES 4

5 I start the painting of The Florentines with a yellow ochre and a smaller brush. My goal here is to create the passage of light that the figures are traveling through( see finished painting) and to place blobs - yes blobs with heads moving through the scene. From this fist statement my eye picks up on the blobs as figures and they will serve as place markers as I build the larger washes above. Now I am creating the large shapes of the dark buildings above the figures. I am using b sienna and ult blue and some neutral tint to create these washes with a wet into wet approach. The desired goal is to get a good graded wash that changes from a light to a dark -or - visa versa. The big washes come right to our figures which are dry now and help to define them. WORKING WITH WATERCOLOR FIGURES 5

6 Once I have these large washes in place I need to let them dry for the next stage. At this point I move down to the area below the figures where a shadow is being cast. I start with a strong gray on the bottom of the painting with a slight angle. While this shadow area is still wet I introduce the near figures which are darker. So we are starting to get layers of figures - key in getting it to feel like a crowd. In doing this section the upper wash has had time enough to dry and I can proceed with the adding of windows, doors, canopies, rooftops and the distant tower. Now these big washes start to make sense. This working in stages is difficult to get used to but eventually becomes natural. WORKING WITH WATERCOLOR FIGURES 6

7 Our painting of The Florentines is beginning to have a finished feel and details will be added for emphasis in the figures which remain my center of interest. Brighter richer colors in the clothing, richer darks in the shadows, highlights to the shoulders and heads of our figures to emphasize the sunlight The finished painting of The Florentines To me it captures the ancient qualities of the city contrasted against the modern pace of contemporary life. The washes have dried well and the figures look to be a part of the painting, moving through the afternoon light. An everyday subject that takes me back to that autumn afternoon in Firenze. WORKING WITH WATERCOLOR FIGURES 7