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23 Free Watercolor
Lessons for
Portrait Painting:
Learn Watercolor
Painting Techniques
from Artist Daily
watercolor painting techniques:

23 step by step lessons

23 Free Watercolor Lessons


for Portrait Painting:
Learn Watercolor Painting Techniques from Artist Daily.

by M . S t ep h e n D o h e r t y

F
lorida artist Janet Rogers makes the
process of painting figures in water-
color seem almost effortless in that she
captures the likeness and personality of her
subjects without laboring over all the details. She
incorporates gestured strokes of transparent color,
natural blends of warm and cool pigments, and
just enough detail to capture a person’s individual
appearance. Her floral paintings seem just as ap-
proachable with their combinations of wet-in-wet
blends of bright colors, well-focused accents of
white paper, and judicious use of hard edges.
Although Rogers’ techniques are not so easy
to master, her demonstrations make it clear
she can teach almost anyone to improve their
skills in watercolor paintings. She emphasizes
the need to practice, to start over when things
fail, and to develop strong drawing skills. She
connects with students by confessing that she
shares the same need to constantly remind
herself about the important
steps that must be taken Lady in
when painting. Moreover, she White—Profile
2004, watercolor,
debates the various options 27 x 22. Collection
available to her and acknowl- Gregory Valentine.

This premium has been published by Interweave Press, 201 E. Fourth St., Loveland,
CO 80537-5655; (970) 669-7672. Copyright © 2009 by Interweave Press, a divi-
sion of Aspire Media, all rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be
reproduced either in whole or in part without consent of the copyright owner.

Artist daily Step-By-Step: watercolor techniques www.artistdaily.com 2


watercolor painting techniques:

23 step by step lessons

Left

The Red Dress


2007, watercolor,
30 x 22. Collection
Amy McKay.

Below

Model in South
Dakota
2008, watercolor,
30 x 22. Private
collection.

studio paintings: drawing, sketching


in watercolor from life or photographs,
and using three warm–up painting
exercises. Here’s a detailed description
of those recommended steps.

Getting Ready:
1. Try theses warm-up exercises:
edges when she may have made the drawings and progress toward to the • Paint with only one color. Develop a
wrong choice. Students watching her application of transparent watercolor. sketch with only one tube color and
live or filmed demonstrations recognize The artist uses large golden taklon water. It will help you develop an
that although Rogers has developed ad- synthetic hair brushes on sheets instinctive sense of how much water
vanced skills, she still understands what of Arches watercolor paper or on is needed to achieve various degrees
the rest of us are trying to learn and Daler-Rowney’s new Langton Prestige of transparency and opacity. This
how much we need encouragement. paper. She recommends that students exercise should be done without draw-
Most of Rogers’ paintings start out undertake several separate kinds of ex- ing first. Another goal is to connect
with the creation of loose graphite ercises before actually beginning their shadow shapes.

Artist daily Step-By-Step: watercolor techniques www.artistdaily.com 3


watercolor painting techniques:

23 step by step lessons

Cassandra With
an Attitude
2005, watercolor,
30 x 22. Collection
the artist.

Artist daily Step-By-Step: watercolor techniques www.artistdaily.com 4


watercolor painting techniques:

23 step by step lessons

Left

Young Girl Below


in White
2008, watercolor, Model From Buffalo
30 x 22. Collection 2007, watercolor, 30 x
the artist. 22. Collection the artist.

and completely disjointed, but you’ll


recognize that you learned a lot by
keeping your attention on the move-
ment of lines across the body of the
person you are drawing.
Gesture drawings are made quickly
and are intended to capture the sense
of weight distribution, movement,
and overall proportions. They may
wind up looking like a bunch of
overlapping scribbles to someone
else, but you’ll find they will help you
become more responsive to the action
of the figure.
One of the best books on this subject
is The Natural Way to Draw by Kimon
• Paint color shapes without drawing 2. Make blind-contour and quick- Nicolaides (Houghton Mifflin Company,
them first. Although drawing is gesture drawings to loosen up. To Boston), which explains how to make
important to watercolor painting, make a blind contour drawing, keep both types of drawings. The classic draw-
you don’t want painting to become a your eyes focused on the subject, not ing book also explains how the recom-
process of filling in carefully-drawn on the drawing. Never lift the pencil mended exercises can help you loosen
shapes. On the contrary, you want from the paper, and don’t look at the up and become more sensitive to subtle
the painted shapes to have their own drawing until it is complete. The re- shifts in lines, directional movements,
beauty and harmony. sulting drawing may look very bizarre weight distribution, and expression.

Artist daily Step-By-Step: watercolor techniques www.artistdaily.com 5


watercolor painting techniques:

23 step by step lessons

Below
on the palette that of short strokes on the paper.
Victoria are similar to those 3. Don’t hold the paint brush as you
2008, watercolor,
21 x 15. Collection
an oil painter would would a pencil. Grip it so that you have
the artist. mix. Make sure those to move your entire arm in order to
“pigment puddles,” control the flow of paint.
as I call them, don’t flow together and 4. Control values with the amount of
create dull, dirty combinations. Just water you mix with the paint. One of
keep families of colors together and you the exercises (making color swatches)
won’t have to worry about what pigment is designed to help you develop an
combinations wind up on your brush. instinctive sense of how much water
2. Starting with dry paper, load a large to mix with the pigment. If you don’t
round or flat brush with pigment and yet have that subconscious knowl-
water, and react to your subject. Always edge, test out your mixtures on the
use the biggest brush you can handle same kind of paper on which you are
to avoid tightening up and making lots developing the painting. With this

eate a Treasur e
Cr
to Last Forever
3. Make quick watercolor sketches
from life or photographs, and let
them guide the development of your
final painting. Watch your paper, and
don’t rely on copying your photo or
subject. This process will help you
avoid becoming too tight and con-
cerned about small details.
Do a minimum amount of drawing,
and get right to the painting process. An-
other way of using drawing as a means,
not an end in itself, is to do a minimal
John Hulsey

amount of drawing to place the subject s


s, Watercolor ha
within the rectangular space of the paper For over 20 year lor
ation to waterco
provided inspir
and guide your brush through the initial
your
e world. Perfect
stages of painting. Try a few exercises
in which you make the briefest graphite artists around th rtraits,
lines possible and then jump right into in ti ngs w he th er you prefer po
pa e
the painting process. scapes. Subscrib
still life or land SUE!
FREE TRIAL IS
The Painting Process: today and get a
1. Arrange color mixtures in separate
palettes with the cool combinations
m/wc0pdf
separated from the warm ones. You’ll artistdaily.co
want to have thick puddles of pigment

Artist daily Step-By-Step: watercolor techniques www.artistdaily.com 6


watercolor painting techniques:

23 step by step lessons

Right

Study for Cassandra


With Hat
2007, watercolor 20 x 14.
Collection the artist.

exercise you will also discover how not


to overwhelm one color and how to
discover others.
5. Clean your brushes before reloading
them with completely different color
combinations. You want to develop the
habit of washing out your brush and
drying it with a paper towel after you
finish painting an area. That habit will
help you avoid making the mistake
of picking up an unwanted color or a
mixture that is much too intense.
6. Try to get the values close to your
final version right away instead of
building up layers. You can always
return to darken your shapes further
after they dry.
7. Keep the painting simple. Don’t try to
say too much. You don’t have to explain
everything about the subject to viewers.
Let them use their imagination.
8. Close one eye when you look at
the painting so that you only see
the general shapes, not the details,
and don’t forget to squint to see the
values more easily.
9. Test background colors on the
painting and not on separate sheets.
Colors and values have a relative influ-
ence on a painting, and the only way
to gauge whether or not you have the
right mixture is to put it down on the
painting. You can always adjust while
the paper is wet by lifting paint off or
adding different pigments.
10. Look for the personal connec- way. That is, use wet-in-wet, dry brush, color, and then immediately load other
tions you have with the image— thrown, or tight applications of paint colors on your brush or drop them into
something that grabs you—such as where they are most indicative of the the wet areas of the paper. The variety
the glance in a person’s eyes; the way you feel about the subject. will help create a sense of dimension,
movement of hair, arms, or legs; or 12. Let the color flow onto the paper, changing light, and richness that will
the pattern of colors in clothing. changing the pigment combinations enhance the painting.
11. Let the medium of watercolor con- until you recognize the effect you 13. Don’t be afraid to throw the
nect with the subject in an expressive want. That is, start with one dominant paint onto the paper to make other

Artist daily Step-By-Step: watercolor techniques www.artistdaily.com 7


watercolor painting techniques:

23 step by step lessons

Left

Brittany
2007, watercolor,
30 x 22. Collection
the artist.

About the Artist


Janet Rogers studied at Clemson
University, in South Carolina, and
in workshops with Robert E. Wood,
Henry Casselli, Albert Handell, Alex
Powers, and other nationally known
artists. She is a signature member
of the American Watercolor Society
and the Florida Watercolor Society,
and she has exhibited and won
many awards in national shows and
festivals. Rogers enjoys demon-
strating and teaching workshops
throughout the United States and
Europe. Her watercolors are in
private, corporate, and museum
collections, and she is the subject of
three instructional DVDs produced
by Artist Palette Productions (www.
artistpaletteproductions.com). For
more information, visit her website
at www.watercolorsbyrogers.com.

18. Resolve problems immediately by


looking for natural paths, but don’t
lose your sense of the entire paint-
ing. This is a tough balancing act for
every painter. You want to resolve
problems, but you don’t want to
overwork an area.
random, quick gestures. the photograph or the live model. The 19. Finish your paintings by marking
14. Avoid painting into wet areas be- shapes you paint should be beautiful, the darkest darks—the corners of the
cause that might turn the color muddy. integrated, and varied. mouth, the nostrils, the eye lids, the
15. Work intuitively and respond to 17. As you work, make sure to connect shadow under the chin, etc.
what is happening rather than just the painted shapes to one another as 20. Make painting an exciting, sponta-
executing a preplanned process. well as to the white shapes of unpaint- neous, fun adventure, and you’ll never
16. Look for special shapes and un- ed paper. This is one of those “rules” of be disappointed with the results. n
usual colors that appear. Remember, a good composition because it is a way
painting has a life of its own and isn’t of directing the viewer’s attention from M. Stephen Doherty is the editor-in-chief of
just a rendering of what appears in one part of a painting to another. American Artist.

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Create a Tre asu re
to Last Fo re ver
John Hulsey

e a rs , W a te rc o lo r has provided
For over 20 y r a rt is ts around the
w a te rc o lo
inspiration to ti n g s w hether you
y o u r p a in
world. Perfect or landscapes.
rt ra it s , s ti ll li fe
prefer p o
a n d g e t a F R E E TRIAL ISSUE!
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onstrations
Step-by-step Dem lor
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r t istd a il y.co m /wc0pdf


a

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