Getting Acquainted with Watercolors



For the last two years, Strathmore Paper has sponsored free online classes beginning in January. This year, the first class doesn’t start until March and I found myself revved-up with wanting to learn something new. But, I surprised myself by turning to a medium I’ve never quite explored fully—watercolors. Oh, before I learned about acrylics I played with little student kits with the big tins of cake watercolors, watercolor pencils, and thick watercolor crayons.

Maybe I was also influenced by my current reads, Journal Spilling by Diana Trout and Journal It! by Jenny Doh where artists praised watercolor use in art journals, since it’s not as sticky as acrylics.

Before my 2006 tour of Ireland, I ordered a small and nifty fold up case holding 12 Windsor & Newton ½ pans, a flat water bottle, a tiny sponge, and folding travel brush. It was very cute. But trying it out the first time, I hated the results and decided not to take it with me.

Last week I dug out the kit, took an unused commercial watercolor journal down from the shelf, selected a large round no. 14 synthetic brush, and played. Perhaps it was the tiny brush holding me back. I like large swatches of paint on the page, not dainty filling in of sketches. Opening up the kit, I removed all the tiny ½ pans so the big paintbrush could get in and around the paint. With no expectations I would like watercolors any more than I did the first time, I was just going to experiment and treat them, as Diana Trout says in her book, “as a coloring agent”.

I was very pleased with my results and continued to play with them all week. I definitely found a new challenge! I tried things I’ve done with acrylics, just to see if they could be done or would fail. Some things worked, some things didn’t. I’m not greatly impressed with using Art Alternatives “Pen & Ink” watercolor books. With 122 lb. paper, it warps a LOT, the perforations on every page allows paint to sink in to previous page spreads, and I don’t always want to work in landscape format. I honestly don’t know why every competitor wants to imitate Moleskine’s elastic band and back pocket, either. I’ll be making some of my own journals soon to try all kinds of watercolor paper I have on hand—hot press, cold, press, and rough press. It will be interesting to experiment and see if I like hot press for watercolors as much as I love it for acrylics.

But, I am enjoying my friendly acquaintance with this other water medium. I’m so curious, I ordered watercolors in tubes to discover the difference from pan colors and see which ones I like best. It is such fun to experiment. I’ll try using some mixed-media over the watercolors, also. I’m definitely going to use it in new art journals. But, that is another blog post!

Fire Dancer

Fire Dancer

9" x 12"

acrylic on paper

Back to painting this week, I was trying a technique in Mary Todd Beam’s new book The Creative Edge: Exercises to Celebrate Your Creative Self using pieces of plastic to make rock-like texture. When I tilted this first try, I immediately saw a figure, perhaps a tribal dancer wearing an elaborate animal costume, holding a flaming torch.

Right now, I am of two minds—add some more defining facial features (but I'm not confident or comfortable drawing people!) or leave it as an abstract figure.

What do you think?

Framing a Lesson

I spent most the afternoon cutting a mat and backing board, mounting and framing an acrylic painting on a full sheet of watercolor paper (22” x 30”). When I heard tales about how much fellow artists were paying for framing their works, I thought I could learn to do it. A few months ago I bought an excellent book (“Basic Picture Framing”) and taught myself to cut mats and frame works on watercolor paper. But, boy, is it hard work! I don’t have a fancy system, just a handheld mat cutter, large self-healing cutting board, rulers, a pencil, and a good utility knife.

Then, when I was about to hang and appraise my work, the metal frame fell apart. Metal springs and corner holders went flying and the air turned blue with my curses! Luckily, there was a clear styrene sheet--not glass--in the frame or I would have had a big mess. I had noticed the mat and backing board overlapped the plexiglass and thought my small overage pushed the frame apart. So I dissembled everything, cut down the edges, sandwiched everything back into the metal sectional frames, double checked the corner screws, and was finally in business.

Is there a lesson? I think I won’t do another work on a full sheet of watercolor paper! It’s physically tough to cut and frame a painting that size—will stick to a stretched canvas instead. Cutting mats has to be my least favorite thing associated with painting. How do picture framers do it all day? My hands really hurt after just one cutting session.

Getting some framing supplies yesterday, I talked to a local framer who recommended I spend the least amount of money to frame. He didn’t recommend the 100% cotton rag mat nor the acid free backing boards, just plain acid free mats and regular foam board. Neither did he encourage buying fancy frames for works on canvas, as the customer could change the color to match their décor. That gave me a whole different perspective. I have been buying all the acid-free and high quality boards all along.

What do you do? Do you do the least in preservation? Since I am just beginning to exhibit, haven’t sold anything yet, and do my own framing, I bought the good stuff. But if it’s true that a buyer can and will swap out my mats for their own taste, why am I spending extra dollars for materials that might later be discarded so it will match their sofa?

Acrylics on paper is so difficult to ready for presentation, but it is such fun and fast to work with. This week, I grabbed a tangled bit of string to play with and had good results in smaller works.

From my sketchbook:

Two Panels

7 3/4" x 7"

Landscape of String

7 3/4" x 7"

From a watercolor block:

Purple String
9" x 12"

Orange String

9" x 12"

Sunday Evening Summation

More Not More
By Bruce Cockburn

I don't mean to cling to you my friends

It's just I hate the day to have to end

Never enough time to spend

I haven't done enough for this to be the end

As the sun sinks behind Madame Oak, another Sunday evening approaches with Monday’s workweek around the corner. I often think of this song quoted above and wish I worked for two days and had five days to play!

Today, I did something I had been afraid to do—put a finishing varnish on a canvas. It was a test for the one I want to exhibit. There’s a juried exhibit in two weeks with my local watercolor group and I’m feeling a little panic. Today I discovered some framing items I’ve ordered will now be delayed. I’ve also made a last-minute decision to include a work that will need matting and framing (which I’ve taught myself). So, I’ve scurried around the house seeing what I have on hand and making a list for the only art supply store that carries quality supplies. Since I like planning ahead, I feel like I was floundering this afternoon.

Speaking of long range plans, I’ve been pondering future painting efforts and wondering:

• What substrate do I want to work on that is easy to finish, frame, hang, sell, and ship—canvas? paper?, board?
• What sizes should I get to buy in bulk?
• How will those decisions affect the way I work?
  

If I can build up a supply of good work that is easy to prepare, I will offer my works on Etsy. At this point, I’m thinking smaller works will be easier to ship. And perhaps create larger works for local exhibits. For you more experienced and full-time artists, how did you decide such things?

On a different and happy note, I had a wonderful visit Saturday from fellow artist Mary, who now lives in the Land of Enchantment. My forever friend first introduced me to art many years ago and encourages me to this day. Presently, her camera is her creative canvas of expression; she takes wonderful vistas of mesas and mountains, fauna and flora.

So now I realize it was a fulfilling weekend, after all.

Some experiments last week with light modeling paste:

Diffusion
8" x 7"

Impact
9" x 12"

Art Workshops in Person or Art Workshops on DVD?

Last fall I attended my first art workshop. To make a long story short, I was greatly disappointed. In fact, I was more inspired by the setting of the workshop rather than anything the teacher imparted.

What was wrong with me? Why wasn’t I enjoying the class I’d paid quite a lot for and taken almost a week’s vacation for? After some thought, I realized I had learned more about myself than any painting technique.

Lesson One: perhaps you don’t need a teacher right now. “When the student is ready, the teacher appears,” goes the ancient saying. Maybe I wasn’t ready. Or maybe I already had learned enough techniques to develop my own style. Of course, I love to learn and plan to be a student for life. But for me, painting is a joy and a creative release and this class was making me depressed. I felt like the only participant who wasn’t understanding or enjoying the exercises.

Lesson Two: take a class only in your media. This was advertised as mixed media class, but it greatly favored those using watercolors. I’d decided not to buy tube watercolors and then have to learn how to handle them in only four days. A member of the Yahoo Experimental Acrylic Group kindly recommended fluid acrylics, but they didn’t lend themselves to the brushes or techniques the artist was teaching and I became frustrated with the differences.

Lesson Three: maybe I don’t have the best personality to take workshops. Watercolor Artist magazine ran a humorous, yet accurate, quiz listing different attendee types. (Read the whole article here: Click here ).

Although I’m not giving up ever attending a workshop, I’m being very selective. In the meantime, members of Experimental Acrylics recommended art DVDs at Creative Catalyst and I ordered two about abstract acrylic painting techniques and another about water media collage. I love the two I’ve watched so far since these very different artists each share intuitive painting techniques I gravitate toward.

So, what kind of workshop attendee are you? Tell me about your experiences.

On the Threshold of a Dream (with nods to The Moody Blues)

After a long time of wanting to create a blog, I am finally able to do it. This comes after weeks and months of upgrading computer equipment by researching, learning, trying, failing, learning some more, being curious, and attempting it again. When I was finally successful, I heard the old Helen Reddy song in my head: "If I have to, I can do anything. I am woman!"

Long fascinated with words and reading, I thought my path was to be a writer. As testimony, I have many short stories and novels, some even finished. But a few years ago, art began calling my name.

Protesting, I had many reasons to resist. But the soft voice was insistent, beckoning in various ways. First, when editing a work newsletter, I began putting graphics alongside the articles. Then Mary, from my writing group, invited me on “sketch” outings and I bought some colored pencils. Soon, little drawings and leaf rubbings appeared in my journals. Then, I read “Living Color: A Writer Paints Her World” by Natalie Goldberg and marveled how free she felt painting--unencumbered with her inner writing critic, playfully pushing paint around. Soon, I purchased a cheap tin of watercolors and experimented with my friend. Finally, I signed up for a continuing education class in beginning acrylic painting.

That was it. I finally succumbed to the voice, more happy painting a canvas than writing a chapter. I liked really liked this art stuff. Results blossomed to life with a swirling paint brush. It was still a creative expression, just in a different form.

So now I begin this blog to chart my growth as an artist, to peer out of my shy soul and share my works, to express my thoughts, to interact with fellow artists, to explore new creative avenues, and to release my art into the world.

Thank you for joining me.