Category Archives: watercolor realism

Watercolor completed and the Elements of drawing 101.

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When I first started to paint this watercolor I really thought and considered not finishing it! At first it was overwhelming in size and felt intimating to paint. I rather paint closer up realism vs. in a large busy composition. It is a good thing really; signs of growing as an artist! I am working outside my comfort zone and the only way to grow as an artist is to work and challenge yourself in scale or subject matter. At the same time though you need to be able to admit the challenge may be too much out of your reach at this point. Now I need to figure out what I need to do in order to enter this in a juried show? Need to cut a matt and framing. Do read the rules prior to entering, which I did…but now need to actually take a moment to understand and carry them out. Wish me luck! Where’s my old drawing prof now!  *******Notice the edges! Neat and clean. That is what artist tape does for ya! I could matt about a quarter inch bigger to show the edges off if I wanted too.******The neatest part taking off the tape!

The Elements of drawing:

1. Line: gestural line, contour line, construction line, cross contour line and lines of shading. Line, shape, shade, form, color, value, space and texture.

In order to understand value range in scale and shape, form and line you need to have a strong foundation in understanding these elements and drawing. I suggest starting in graphite, a black and white medium. You need at least three to five solid compositions under your experience in order to start to understand value of shades along with solid composition. If the composition doesn’t work then the entire drawing will not work neither. There are several drawing exercises you should practice as well. These I can teach you. As soon as I get an extra moment I will post pictures of these exercises that you can follow. If you think you do not need them….then your wrong. You need a strong foundation of principles. Once you master these principles on all the elements your work will come more easily to you. Plus, a Life drawing class is the strongest foundation you can start with. You will learn to see all the elements with out too much pressure when working on a composition. When you are working on a drawing or any artwork you want the artistic magic to flow and it will with a strong foundation. Trust me on this. I am sure you have seen still life set-ups with circular shapes, sphere, cylinder, and cone shapes? These still life  are to teach you basic shapes that can relate to all things found in the natural. This teaches you the elements and how to draw them, but how to see the changing light on one object and how they affect each other in light. The following pictures may help you understand what I am saying when I say elements. One picture is from a drawing book [ Drawing the creative process by Seymour Simmons III and Winer] the sphere is one of  mine from college. These are great drawing exercises to practice.

“His first car”

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Almost finished. Next day: now that this has had a good night to dry [in natural air not ac.] I will go back and detail and fine tune the realism. I could leave it at this point, but I want to showcase my skill and knowledge about painting realism. {plus it bothers me if I don’t!}. It has to be REAl to me. ONly certain art can be left unfinished or not realism.  See what today brings?

If painting or drawing realism is your goal then you must follow a simple rule; take lessons with me or follow the law of layering color or graphite. You can not just simply put down the last vivid hue of color first,,,,,must be a layering building process to form the shapes. Go through all the prior post on this picture and notice the building of color.

So far……

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This has been a crazy watercolor painting so far. I still need to fine tune the realism and finish the bumper sticker in the background. Not sure if I will enter the wc juried show with this one yet? IDK…. I need to take down the value of color of the reflection in the car. It needs to be toned down in the car color when it dries well. I don’t want it to smear and blur. Plus the shirt needs attention….

Anyway, this is it so far.

Do I keep going?

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Happy Foruth of July….. “One nation under God”.

I worked on the driveway and details on the skin color. Mega detail here,,,,the size is bit overwhelming and  think it is throwing me off some. That’s all I am going to work on it today. IDK if it is show worthy?

Awe……..this [ fill in the blank! ]  I am Not happy with the results so far. I should of went smaller…..The realism is only level one and I will take it to level four, but I want to work the entire composition first.

Entering a juried show.

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Entering a juried show can be a ball of tension. Now, I know and remember why I don’t care for entering them! I am trying not to focus on the due date vs. “Just painting”. Plus the fact I think it depends on who the judges are and the style of artwork they prefer.  Lately I have been looking at the artwork that was chosen to win in various shows and I am not sure why some artwork was even chosen to win? Is it political? I am sure the judges see something I don’t or at least I hope so. I am not going to concentrate on the nerves of the show [ follow the show’s rules], but I am going to start this watercolor today with the intension of entering. If I don’t finish, then I don’t enter this show; there will be other shows. I like to joke and say “I am almost half way to 100 yrs!” Ouch. Yeah, say that outloud…..so at this point in my life I have learned Not to lean on my own understanding, but God is the director of my life. If I keep doing the same old things I do [that don’t line up with Him] then I keep going around the same mountain until I do learn my lesson. I heard something pretty cool this morning and it is: Every opportunity has difficulty and every difficulty has opportunity and in adversity God created Beauty. Very interesting when heard like that.

I will begin this watercolor today in a bit and post pictures and tips as I go along. Here is the sketch that I think I am satisfied with. Before you start a painting and if you sketch it out first sit it down and look at it a few days before adding paint. Once the wc goes down it is harder to change or fix a mistake once started. Ask others to look at the sketch and tell  you what they see wrong. You may be just too close the problem and don’t see it. Trust me on this. Be careful when using the H graphite pencils……the hard pencil will score the paper and the indent will not come out and be seen through watercolor. Use a 4H or 2H to sketch but lightly! The watercolor will dislove the graphite and whatever is still there can be erased once the painting is completely dry {the next day} with a kneaded eraser.

 I drew the one hand about three times before I got the size right. When I first worked on this it was coming out 18 inches square, compositions do not work square unless it is pattern or Folk art styling. I needed to extend it and it is something close to 16 x 20, a standard size which will allow me to have an easier time framing. When I start a wc I need at least three hours straight to put down the first layer which will set the pathway for realism. If the first layer is not right then the painting will not work. So, my house is quiet……aman…I have a few things to do first and then I will start painting and posting. Thanks for looking!

This is how far I have gotten today, about four hours. This is only the foundation of hues and shadows I need to bring up detailed realism. I like it so far……:}

Deja Vu

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Have you ever been somewhere and you know the place, but you have never been there before? The surroundings are familiar and you know what lies beyond the corner. This is Deja Vu I believe. Is it a spiritual thing, a past life prehaps? It is very profound especially if you are praying and talking to God about the same experience or subject matter. Then is it a vision of something good in your future?  It is the same thing as Seed, time and harvest I believe. You plant a seed of Faith about something you hope for or work for in your life. Then time…..good old time…the test of virtue and patience. When you are going through   [fill in the blank] it takes forever and you feel it will never be over. Then when the time has passed and you reflect on the waiting you just went through and passing of the time seems like a week ago, but in reality it was a year or so ago. In retrospect we need to Trust God and His way even when it doesn’t seem like the situation will work out in our favor; the Time.  Then the Gift…….the Harvest and Blessings. My father always told me you get out of life what you put in into it……..seed, time and harvest. Very interesting. When God opens a door…..No man can shut. Take a moment to reflect on your blessings and notice how and where God is in the mix. Saying no where is NOT an option.

Just thought I’d share. I think it makes me the artist I am. Do not ever be afraid to be who you are or someone you were create to be. Don’t be afraid to dream Big dreams for yourself…..God will fulfill the desires of our hearts to those whom Love Him.

Loud House.

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Here I sit in front of the computer and a watercolor waiting behind me waiting for my attention. Awe. Loud house! All the family is home, the friends are coming and going and just too many distractions to paint. I need to find a mellow zone so I can concentrate for a certain bit of time. Now, someone wants a haircut…..I just want to paint and create my art. I am patiently waiting for that season to show itself. Count my blessings right? I think at a certain point in a super Mom’s life we need our needs met.

On a happy note, life drawing is awesome. I love Thursday nights at Lafayette College. A special Thank you to Lafayette College for hosting and Crayola for sponsoring. Life drawing is the foundation for all art. You need to know how to draw realism before you can manipulate it, plain and simple. I will post a few new sketches as follows. I love drawing Elizabeth when she models for us; she is so elegant and her persona as a greek goddess would look. My drawings are not picking up on that like I’d like to portray. I am really beat and much need of a rest in every aspect and I see my artwork here is reflecting it. By Thursday evening I was exhausted, but didn’t want to miss the class time. The perspective is off………But, with every drawing comes a store-house of solid foundation for the next drawing. Keep pressing through. I enjoy this next sketch, but I ran out of room at the bottom of the paper. I like challenging myself with foreshortening views.

Another day.

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Tonight is the last night for life drawing at Lafayette College for the next two months. I am a bit sad because once in life drawing studio again I realize how much the class has reinforced what I have already studied. That life drawing in the foundation for all art, either if you are a painter or whatever medium you work in. It is hard to manipulate realism if you do not have a basis or understnding for it first. Like I stated before sometimes I am not in the mood to draw by 7 pm at night! For the simple reason it has been a long day, I have back pain and really don’t do not feel like putting forth effort….many other reasons, but I need to prove to myself this is the only way I will improve as an artist on all levels. I need to have a strong foundation in order to stand tall so to speak. So, today I will attend in hopes to draw a professional model that doesn’t move so much. If I get tired of sketching gesture poses I will and need to concentrate on drawing hands and foreshortening views.  I have this watercolor I am starting in hopes to enter this juried show in NY by the end of July. I have it drawn out and I like it so far; I am having some trouble with the foreshortening of the one hand. I will try to work on that in a bit.

I have included a picture of my sketch that was drawn out in a “H” graphite pencil. If you use the H pencils be careful not to press hard on the paper/board because it will impress your paper with a mark or indent that will not come out. Do not press hard!  Also when starting to prepare your watercolors make enough of the base color, for example: This wc has blue as the base color of the car which means I need a lot of blue pigment. I use a porcelain egg tray for my palette, I find it works better than a porcelain plate because of the wells. I will make at least three pots “wells” of the same color blue in sure that I have enough of the same color blue to pull from. If one dries up it doesn’t matter just add water once again. Covering up a watercolor palette until next time just makes the paint have a funny texture for the next time…..just re-water to activate again.

This composition is starting to come into a 18 inch square and this I don’t care for. If it was Folk art then it would work, but I need to extend it somehow. Maybe by continuing the car a bit longer on the left side? That will give me the opportunity to show off some reflection work. I will see once I work a little longer on this.

 I ended up changing the arm angle and drawing in the hand larger in the picture below. Took the composition to 16×20, this way it wont be so expensive to frame because 16×20 is a standard size. I need about three hours straight to start painting and right now it’s late…home from life drawing which eas excellent as always. Now, for two months I can have Thursday night free.

Follow the Form.

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It is very important to follow the form in drawing when trying to create realism. Shade in the form in the direction of the object you are trying to render. In the next two pictures notice how the cat’s backside is flat in the first picture below. Notice how the backside looks after the highlights were added in the shape of the form. Use the light and dark contrast to your advantage. We worked on composition and putting in darker values.

I know how intimating drawing can be and it gets very frustrating when you are not sure what to do next, but keep trying and don’t be afraid to use rich “B’s” pencils. Squint at the picture and see how your drawing looks….is there a value range in graphite? Joan still needs to fine tune the drawing; the darks need to be added and don’t be afraid of the eraser. This drawing of Belle Looks Fabulous! Way to go Joan! A+. Great job!

Artist tip: The “H” pencils are hard and warm tone and the “B” pencils are cool tone and softer graphite. The coolness in value shades will sink into the background while warm tones will come forward in space.

Art shows

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http://www.artistsnetwork.com/competitions. Great site for juried show listings.

Remember before you get completely wrapped up in a protenial show read all the fine print! The shows have requirements such as size, material, medium, framing, title of show/entry, theme of the show and dead lines etc. Know that you may need to take your artwork to a certain place on a certain date, so make sure you can get the artwork to the place they tell you at the time they state.

Also read who the judges are and look up what style of artwork they create. It is helpful to view their work on line so you know what to expect. The show may also be for members only and closed to the public. Just make sure you read all the fine print.

Art Competitions as follows:

www.watermediashowcase@fwmedia.com

deadline is July 16th.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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All Media Art Competition

This competition is now accepting entries.  The top winner will appear in our July/August 2013 issue.

Click here for guidelines and to enter.

 
 

Pastel Journal Pastel 100 Competition

The 14th Annual Pastel 100 is now accepting entries. Winners will be featured in the April 2013 issue and will be awarded more than $15,000 in cash and prizes.

Click here to learn more and enter
   
 

Over 60 Art Competition

The Over 60 Competition presented by The Artist’s Magazine is now accepting entries. Winners will appear in the March 2013 issue.

Click here to learn more about this competition

 

Southwest Art Artistic Excellence Competition

Southwest Art’s newest competition is now accepting entries. Winners appear in the December 2012 issue. Deadline to enter is July 15, 2012

Click here for details and to enter

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