UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #85

“Togetherness”

(Watercolour)  

20x20cm 

ABOUT THIS PAINTING:

This watercolour was the first I attempted.  I took the subject (Bridie and Connie – my granddaughters) from a photograph which my daughter Bernice took.  I thought that the composition was intriguing.  Not having any training in watercolours I was waded into deep water myself and can confirme that watercolour painting is very difficult to master.  It took me quite a time to figure it out and even now I am not completely competent.  A couple of books which are invaluable to the beginner to watercolour painting are ”Making Colors Sing” by Dobie and “Colour Choices – Making Colour Sense out of Colour Theory” by Quiller.  I think that the former is out of print now but you may be lucky to pick up a second hand copy.

Artistic techniques used in the painting:

With watercolour painting I am more methodical than I am with acrylic.  I work out the composition and what palette I will use in advance.  Firstly I painted the image in a gradation on a separate sheet of paper to get the highlights.  Then I re-sketched the image onto 300g watercolour paper.  The colours for my palette were then thought out.  I wanted to achieve a cool light as the subject is in natural light, so I kept the background cool and the figures warm.  I keep notes on my painting process when I paint in watercolours.  The palette is below:-

Watercolour Palette:

Aureo. Yellow

Rose Madder

French Ultra Blue

Cad. Red

Windsor Blue (or Phthalo Blue)

Indian Red

Aliz. Crimson

Veridian

Cobalt Blue

Light Red

Windsor Green (or Phthalo G.)

I kept the colours naturalistic with expressionistic overtones.  The palette is analogistic which means that the colours are adjoining on the colour wheel.  There are vibrant notes as seen with the use of yellow.  The painting is in mid tones.  Form is natural with a one point perspective but I have purposely kept the painting flat and stylized as this is generally my approach.

Although this is a genre painting which means it is a painting of everyday life, it is also of my two granddaughters so it is a double portrait also.

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UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #80

“Bridie - Portrait”

(Watercolour) 

Size: 30x22 cm

THE IDEA BEHIND THE PAINTING:

This is one of the portraits that I did of my family.  Watercolour paint is the medium decided for my granddaughter Bridie because I felt that it best suited her personality.   I painted it from this photograph (below) in a very representational way.  I did this because although many of my paintings are abstract, with family portraiture I am capturing a record of a person in time.

Art Techniques used to achieve this:

I drew the painting first having gridded up the photo. The drawing is seen below:-

Because the photo was taken outdoors, I used what is known as a “Cool Light Sequence”  -  this keeps the background cool and the face and figure warm.  (I have discussed the difference between warm and cool colours before).

The palette used for this painting is as follows:-

Watercolour Palette:

Aureo. Yellow

Rose Madder

French Ultra Blue

Cad. Red

Windsor Blue (or Phthalo Blue)

Indian Red

Aliz. Crimson

Veridian

Cobalt Blue

Light Red

Windsor Green (or Phthalo G.)

I did the background first.  I used 300g watercolour paper.  I saturated the paper with water to paint the background – leaving the paper under the face and hair dry.  I then applied the glazes and allowed the paper to dry between each glaze.  That way I was able to increase the intensity of the colour where needed – ie close to the face.

Painting using watercolour paints requires more experience than acrylics.  It is a very exacting medium.                           

I have written about using watercolour paint for portraits in posts #10 and 64.  I also discussed portrait painting in post #54 where I reviewed other family portraits.  Feel free to back track on this blog to read the referenced posts.

http://www.buderimartstudio.com 

UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #74

“Beau”

 (Watercolour on paper) 

Size: 44x55cm (approx)

ABOUT THIS PAINTING

 I have four daughters and two are married with children.  I have painted portraits of all my grandchildren.  The surrogate child of one of my other daughters was a pet Pomeranian dog called “Beau”.

It is well known that for some people grief can be as strong for the loss of a pet as it is for a lifelong human companion.  So when Beau died at the age of 14 years, I did a portrait of him for my daughter who does not have children. 

We all know that animals have personalities and this becomes very evident when one paints the likeness of a pet.  Below is a photo of Beau.  You must agree that I have captured the personality quite well.  

Although this blog is about Understanding Abstract Art, I include this painting so as to show that even though I prefer painting in an abstract way, I do have the ability to paint in a representational way particularly if the subject calls for this style.

Artistic techniques used in the painting:

This painting of “Beau” falls into the genre of portraiture. Note the difference in approach between my abstract portraits reviewed in posts #70 and #71 and this one.  All the paintings of my grandchildren (including Beau) are done in a representational style because I feel that it provides a token of remembrance.

I chose watercolour for this portrait because of Beau’s personality.   He was a fun and loving companion.  Also his very appealing looks which went with his nature.  I chose the medium of watercolour paint because I felt it best captures these endearing attributes.  Of course this is purely a subjective decision.

A painter has many choices when starting a portrait (even a portrait of a dog).  The artist can choose to depict the whole body, or alternatively, just paint the face.  What is included in the portrait should always be intentional and indicate something about the subject and their personality.  Because Beau was small and white I chose to focus on his face.  This was the most defining aspect of him and captured his loving personality.

I painted this portrait in a medium/large size because Beau was a small dog with a big presence.

The tone is high to med-tone showing high contract between his features and his white fur.  I have also used a limited pallet to enhance this tonal affect.

The form is quite flat.  This is indicative of my general style even when the subject matter is representational. 

The composition is static and balanced.  The medallion design strategy is used.  This gives a feeling of importance to the subject otherwise one would see just a little ball of white fluff.

Isn’t he endearing?  Don’t you love him?

http://www.buderimartstudio.com