Inspiration * Ideas * Instructions

for you©

RED AND YELLOW DON’T MAKE

ORANGE

BLUE and YELLOW DON’T MAKE

GREEN

RED and BLUE DON’T MAKE

VIOLET

The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express permission of the copyright holder.

Jim Black , creator and owner of

Watercolor For Me And

Jim’s Watercolor Gallery

Copyright 2014

TIMED DEMO OF TULIP

This is a rough drawing, showing basic layout of a Tulip. Clock was placed on painting to show you the time frame.

Here I turned the painting upside down wanting darker color at the base of the petal. Permanent Alizarin Crimson.

Second darker coat over the wet one. Painting only about 50% of the first color. Let it run down.

Third coat, paint only above 50% of the second coat (still all wet).

Now introduce Cobalt Blue. Don't fuss it, let it just run down on its own.

Start second petal, repeat previous steps.

Repeating steps. Time looks about 7 minutes.

First color yellowish on leaf .

All leaves had a weak coat of Yellow, then Cobalt, Antwerp mixed with Aureolin, mixing on the paper not palette. Everything is wet.

Introducing more paint to areas.

15 minutes has passed.

Darken up some of the shadows on leaves Also add Cobalt Blue into Permanent Alizarin Crimson on the petals. Was hoping to finish this in 30 minutes (not going

to happen).

Adding finishing touches.

Wet the background, drop in the Red, Blue and mixture of Blue and Yellow. Drip Red dots on lower right, drop in salt with help of wind blowing it all over

the place.

Finished Painting. By all means do not race against the clock, like I did.

Palette after the demonstration was finished. Sometimes I like to get away from the "regular palette with little wells around the edge. This is a flat Butcher Tray. This type is very hard to find. Yes there are some available but tend to have arched bottom, paint floats to the edge, I don't like that.

This was drawn around 1651, drawn with very rapid line's do you sense the artist's response to a very cold winter day?

Here are some ideas to think about, you can quite easily see;

Different size of objects. Dark and light relationships. Position of objects in space (what is close, what is far). The ability to see relationships of angles to one another.

It does not is focus on your attention on searching and using these four tools. Let's call them your "mental relationships abilities" (M.R.A.) So if we turn these everyday abilities into painting and drawing abilities--BINGO!!!

Remember I am not teaching you new abilities, only going to drag them out of the "closet". Is it becoming obvious you're already in possession of all the painting and drawing tools you need to become a way better artist then you are now. Isn't that what you want?

“Mental Relationships Abilities" (M.R.A.)

M.R.A. SIZE OF OBJECTS Judging parking spaces for your car to fit in? You see very few people in parking lots, measuring. You just know. Loading the refrigerator with grocery supplies, you just know if that "jar" will fit in that empty space. No special "talent" needed.

M.R.A. DARK AND LIGHT RELATIONSHIPS Very quickly, without thinking, you know, if a shadow ends sharply there a sudden change in plane (i.e. shadow on the side of building changes sharply, you know there is a different plane(front of the building) Likewise if the shadow changes slowly the subject may be round. No special "talent" needed.

M.R.A POSITION OF OBJECT IN SPACE A street map is two dimensional, represents where various streets are located to each other. So drawing is just a map showing the location of key points in relation to each other. Looking at your street map you easily see this road is located over there, from where you are. In the drawing it might well be this, the fence is located from the building over here. No special "talent" needed.

M.R.A ANGLES

This is a no-brainer, you do this all the time. Adjust a picture frame on a wall. No special "talent" needed. This may have been long winded indeed ,but it was necessary to make sure you realize you have all the tools to paint and draw well.

LITTLE HELPERS FOR WATERCOLORISTS

Too wet , too dry, too flat, too outlined, dried to quick, help with blending, etc...,etc. Understand this lesson will solve most of your problems, (in watercolor that is). Sometimes the qualities you love about watercolor (it's spontaneous excitement) can be the very things driving you crazy as you paint. This is how to save and hold on to your sanity for a bit longer. Performance - altering mediums and additives are the way to go.

LIFTING PREPARATION

How is it used? Lifting Preparation must be applied to the paper first and allowed to dry. Apply to the whole surface and allow to fully dry. Once dry, continue painting washes as normal over the lifting preparation and allow these to dry. Areas or details can then be removed by taking a soft brush dipped in tap water, gently moistening the area to be removed and blotting off the dissolved color. For larger areas a sponge can be used in place of the brush. This process can then be repeated until the required degree of removal is achieved. The removed areas can then be left white or over-painted with further washes . Washes will be most successfully lifted within five or six hours after the initial application, but will remain more removable than if paper alone had been used. Lifting Preparation does not make the water color more soluble so there is no worry about multiple washes becoming muddy.

TEXTURE MEDIUM How is it used? Texture Medium can be applied directly onto the paper or mixed with water colors first. More layers of color can be applied over the top. Texture Medium is resoluble but like all water color washes, some color will remain on the paper.

GUM ARABIC

Adding Gum Arabic to a water color wash will have the following effects:

it will slow the drying time of your paint, giving you slightly longer to work on creating your image or working wet into wet

it increases transparency and gloss to give greater brilliance of color, giving you luminous colors

it reduces the staining of pigments, making washes easier to lift How is it used? Gum Arabic is usually mixed into the water color wash but can be added to the jar of water if you prefer to use it throughout the painting. Gum Arabic should not be used directly from the bottle because thick films will be brittle

BLENDING MEDIUM

How is it used? Blending medium can be used in a number of different ways. For maximum blending time, mix the medium directly with the water color. Alternatively you can apply the medium directly to the paper in preparation for the water color. Dilution with water will provide a variety of blending/ drying times. Drying rates will vary and depend on the temperature and air flow. Any initial beading of colors will disperse as blending continues. Once dry, further washes can be applied over any washes which include blending medium.

GRANULATION MEDIUM

How is it used? Blending medium can be used in a number of different ways. For maximum blending time, mix the medium directly with the water color. Alternatively you can apply the medium directly to the paper in preparation for the water color. Dilution with water will provide a variety of blending/ drying times. Drying rates will vary and depend on the temperature and air flow. Any initial beading of colors will disperse as blending continues. Once dry, further washes can be applied over any washes which include blending medium.

PERMANENT MASKING MEDIUM

How is it used? Permanent Masking Medium can be applied directly to white paper, to dried washes on the paper or mixed with water colors first. All water color washes mixed with Permanent Masking Medium remain open and workable whilst the wash is still wet. Once dry, the area becomes isolated and cannot be fully penetrated by further washes. A hair dryer can be used to speed the drying. Brushes should be washed in warm water and soap before using other colors.

How does Permanent Masking Medium differ from Art Masking Fluid?

Permanent Masking Medium is not removable Permanent Masking Medium can be added to color Brushes are easier to clean Art Masking Fluid is recommended for crisp whites, larger areas of masking and is faster drying whilst Permanent

Masking Medium is recommended for fine detail and expressive effects within the painting.

WATERCOLOR MEDIUM

How is it used? Water Color Medium is usually mixed into the watercolor but can be added to the jar of water if you prefer to use it throughout the painting. The medium should not be used directly from the bottle because thick films will be brittle. Caution: Water color Medium should not be used with acid sensitive colors namely those containing Ultramarine .

OX GALL

How is it used? A few drops of Ox Gall are added to a jar of water and this is used to dilute the water color. Ox Gall is also used on very hard sized papers to reduce surface tension. If a paper is resisting a water color wash, leave it to dry before covering the paper with the diluted Ox Gall. Once this is dry the painting can be continued as normal.

SPECIAL EFFECTS

Water color is well suited to numerous special effects. Impressive results can be achieved very quickly with these simple tricks of the trade.

• Salt for added texture If salt is sprinkled onto a water color wash, it will absorb the wet color. Once dry, it is brushed away, leaving a pitted texture. Try fine and coarse salt for different effects. • Splatters and Splashes

Extra tone, texture and solidity is provided by splattering colors over an under-painting. Make a stencil to protect the areas you want un-splattered. Mix a darker wash and use a hog brush to flick the color on in different concentrations. You can also splatter with masking fluid at the beginning of the work if you want white splatters instead. Remember not to leave the fluid on for longer than you have to.

• Sandpaper Sanding a finished wash can be a useful rescue technique. If you finish a painting and find it lacking highlights, sanding is an option. Using a coarse sandpaper, lightly remove some of the paper, leaving a mottled wash with highlights. Be careful or you'll rub too much off and make the picture worse! Washes will not go on evenly over sanded paper.

• Cling film (protective food film) Intricate washes of various tones are quickly made by the use of cling film! Apply a wash to your chosen area, crumple up some cling film and press it onto the wash, making sure not to smudge or move the wet color. Leave this to dry whilst you have a break. When you peel the film away the texture is ready made. Try this with blended washes of more than one color for even more varied texture.

This transparent gel medium helps you create impasto effects by thickening and reducing the flow of watercolors and gouaches.

This liquid is applied to make areas resistant to watercolor. Has a slight yellow tint. Not recommended for use on damp or soft sized papers, or if yellow staining of paper is a risk (Instead use Colorless Art Masking Fluid). Made from latex. Do not dilute.

AQUAPASTO

ART MASKING FLUID

Throw out the incorrect Victorian theory about color mixing, and understand the correct scientific modern approach by reading this revolutionary article ,that will that will show you the way to mix precisely the colors you want ---- every time without the expensive waste of paint.

There are no pure colors. Colors are formed by LIGHT WAVES. The three primary colors are RED BLUE and YELLOW. Why primary, you cannot make any of those three colors from and other colors. Likewise these three colors cannot make any other colors. In studies of light physics it has been shown that RED BLUE and YELLOW-------- CANNOT PRODUCE NEW COLORS.

RED AND YELLOW DON”T MAKE

ORANGE

BLUE and YELLOW don’t make

GREEN

Oh!!! I hear you shouting, the teachers the books all claim they can . VICTORIAN THINKING. Sad to say they are all mislead. The White Spectrum that you see daily cannot be changed , that Blue color which is a blue light wave sitting in your pallet , my friend you cannot change it . This is how you can be a master of color mixing--------understanding once and for all ,there are no PURE PAINTING COLORS. All colors in your palette contain other light waves in addition to the color you see before you. Colors contain ,lets call them impurities.

Of all hue pigments available to the painter none can be described as absolutely pure in hue. There is simply no such thing as a pure Red, Yellow or Blue paint. Paints may appear as a single hue and are often described as pure, but this is inaccurate. Lets look at Cadmium Red a very popular color. The Red light is reflected together with an amount of Orange light. Some yellow is absorbed and a small amount of green, blue and violet. Every spectrum color is represented in the final color that we perceive. The two major components reflected are Red and Orange, while the rest of the colors are absorbed.

Lets choose six basic colors in the following mixing exercises. Cadmium Red ---reflects Red, Orange and a small amount of Violet. Alizarin Crimson---reflects Red, plus Violets and a touch of Orange. Ultra Marine Blue reflects Blue some Violet and a little trace of Green. Antwerp Blue reflects Blue, Green and Violet. Lemon Yellow reflects, Yellow some Green and a little Orange. Cadmium Yellow reflects, Yellow, some Orange and a little Green.

RED and BLUE DON’T MAKE

VIOLET

Don’t Believe What You Learned in Kindergarten!

Now suppose you do not want a bright violet. Mix Alizarin Crimson with a Blue/ Green .Alizarin Crimson reflects Red and Violet well , but Antwerp Blue reflects Blue and Green. Hence a dull Green.

Now suppose you do not want a bright violet. Mix Alizarin Crimson with a Blue/ Green .Alizarin Crimson reflects Red and Violet well , but Antwerp Blue reflects Blue and Green. Hence a dull Green.

Real dull violet mix Cad Red with Antwerp Blue, Not much Violet in either of these two pigments

Dull Orange Alizarin Crimson mixed with Indian Yellow which reflects Orange well but Alizarin not so

Real dull Orange mix Alizarin Crimson with Lemon Yellow Very little impurities of Orange in this mix

Lets mix Antwerp Blue with Lemon Yellow. both of these colors carry Green as an impurity they join forces and it becomes the predominate color. These two colors produce a nice bright clean Green

I is simple to say that Green is the only color to survive the subtractive process of the light waves. The Green is present because neither the Yellow or the Blue were Pure primaries. Which you now know there are no pure colors in your palette. Now lets look at a Red,( Alizarin Crimson) and a Blue, (Ultra Marine Blue) both contain Violet so when mixed produce a nice clean Violet.

Again the Red and Blue light waves did not change ,both colors just carried Violet. The same for Red (Cadmium Red) and Yellow(Cadmium Yellow) both contain Orange as an impurity, hence a nice clean Orange.

This is how you now can control your color mixing. Lets suppose you do not want a bright spring like Green. Using a Lemon Yellow which contains a fair amount of Green mix it with a Blue that contains very little Green, in this case Ultra marine Blue is such a Blue. Bingo a dullish Green.

Want it duller Green still, mix Cadmium Yellow very little Green with Ultra marine Blue, very little green in this Blue Remember the end results depend a lot on what manufacturer of paint you used. Not a nice Green is it?

You should now be thinking “how do I know what impurities do my colors contain.? This approach to color mixing is based firmly on identifying and using colors according to type. Is the Blue a Red- Blue or a Green-Blue. It is very simple to decide on color type with Blues. Mix a Blue with a known Green-Yellow ,if the end results in a dull Green then the Blue can be identified as a Violet Blue, in this case the Violet- Blue will be Ultra Marine Blue .If the mix results in a bright Green ,you just found a Green- Blue. Ultra Marine Blue happens to be the ONLY Blue that contains Violet. All the other Blues lean towards Green but I have no idea whose paints you have. Do the same test of your Yellows, mix a Yellow with a Blue / Green if the Yellow happens to be a Yellow / Green the result will be a bright Green. If on the other hand, if the result is a dull ,slightly grey then the Yellow is clearly identified as - Yellow – Orange. Yellow- Orange and a Blue-Green make a mild Green

If a surface appears Red, a Red rose for example, it follows that the other “color waves, ,Blue Orange ,Violet Yellow etc…. have been absorbed into the surface and the Red waves reflect back to the eye. When you describe an objects “color” what you are really describing is that part of the light left after the rest has been subtracted. The molecular make up of it’s surface is such that it absorbs every light wave except the color you are seeing. Objects them selves do not possess color . The Color is generated ONLY by the light falling on it. Put a cover over the object it will be dark , no light waves are striking it

Adding Blue to Orange , The Blues that we use reflect other colors ,most importantly Green and Violet Much of the Green and Violet light will be absorbed by the Blue but enough will escape for us to be able to use this hue as a base color when mixing either Green or Violet. Sufficient Blue ,Green and Violet is reflected by any Blue paint to make them important factors to consider when mixing. But remember the other colors that are involved the Red Orange and Yellow Small amounts of these colors are reflected while the rest is absorbed. Try this add a RED to a GREEN it will go dark , quick, The RED set about destroying the GREEN light before it could escape. For the same reason GREEN added to the RED destroys the RED light. Green and .RED are mutually destructive. They appear on the Color Wheel opposite each other. Such Pairs are known as COMPLEMENTARIES. The other two pairs are Blue and Orange, and Yellow and Violet. These three pairs will destroy each other and PRODUCE A VERY DARK COLORS INDEED HERE is an easy tip to remember the Complementaries. Three primaries Red, Blue and Yellow. MIX any two together, the one primary NOT used is the Complement to the resulting mix. Example Blue and Yellow mixed together will produce a GREENISH color, Red that was not used is the complement to the Greenish look. Here are the leanings of a few other colors you might have Lemon Yellow ,Winsor Yellow Aureolin, they lean Green----Antwerp Blue, Cerulean Blue lean Green----Ultra Marine Blue, French Blue lean Red---Alizarin Crimson, Perm Rose lean Blue,--- Cadmium Red Scarlet Red lean Yellow---New Gamboge , Indian Yellow Cadmium Yellow lean Red

Here are the leanings of a few other colors you might have Winsor Yellow Aureolin, they lean Green----Cerulean Blue leans Green---- French Blue leans Red---Perm Rose leans Blue,--- Scarlet Red leans Yellow---New Gamboge , Cadmium Yellow leans Red.

This is a further explanation that will help to understand this mixing idea. This is the basic palette. Two Blues….Ultramarine Blue, Antwerp Blue

Two Reds….Alizarin Crimson, Cad Red

Two Yellows… Lemon Yellow, Indian Yellow.

You should be able to mix a great amount of colors and variations of, with these 12.

Now you may be thinking why go to all that trouble, why should I not just follow the “HERD” of Artists that believe Yellow and Blue make Green. Could I not just buy different tubes of color, yes you could winding up with maybe 20 plus different colors. Most are “convenience colors made by the paint manufacturer. Most educated artist’s want to know what is in the tube of color, just like you want to know what is in the can of food you are eating. Here is two popular convenience colors.

SAP GREEN. It contains three pigments P.Y 139, P.G 7 P.O43. Pigment Yellow 139.Is not a well know Yellow. Pigment Green 7 is a heavy staining color, very hard to remove off the paper. Pigment Orange 43 is a Red Orange pigment . It is going to hard the control and adjust this Sap Green color because of all the various pigments it contains. Just image if you mix another color that contains three pigments with Sap green …MUD.

Lets look at another “convenience color” ORANGE contains two pigments Lemon Yellow, and Cad Red, you already have both in the suggested palette.

Always try to buy “SINGLE” pigment colors, then you know what you are dealing with. Never buy a tube of paint using the name given by the manufacturer .they can make up any name they please Example P.B15 is a staining blue ,very strong color. There are at least 12 manufacturers of this color, each one has a different name for P.B 15. The worst case I saw in the classroom was a student with three tubes of P.B15.seen lots of students with two. Never, ever, buy a tube of paint if you can not see the code index number on the tube .P.Y =Yellow P.B =Blue P.R =Red ,then a number. NO code number = JUNK.

How can we always tell an amateurish painting from a masterful painting? This is what happened to me as I started to learn the art. I think the reason for this stems from the fact that I, like most people that go on and want to learn how to do representational painting, will generally go through pretty similar steps as they learn to paint. When everyone is going through the same process, they create similar looking paintings in terms of style and how they resolved the painting. That’s what makes them look amateurish. As I got better and better and progressed further and further towards my goal at mastering representational painting, I started to refine the way I painted. Paying attention to, The Values, The Edges and The Colors . Then, my art started to pull away from the pack and stand out as a more professional and masterful painting, no longer amateurish.

So, this is how we can identify and illustrate that they are amateurish paintings. For these same reasons we see many of these paintings because this is how everyone starts. I’ve got a closet full of amateurish paintings from my early years. I started having to teach myself in museums.

What makes a painting look Amateurish?

What makes a cartoon look cartoonish? What it really boils down to is that when a cartoonist creates a cartoon, what they generally do is draw an outline in black and then they fill it in with colors all of the same value. (No dark or light colors, a flat look. The resulting cartoon has a very flat look to it, meaning it doesn’t look dimensional. It looks flat, 2 dimensional or like a cut out. So, if a painting looks cartoonish and there’s no 3 dimensional feel or look to it, the normal causes of this are not enough Value range and the Edges are all the same and usually very sharp. These are the two leading factors that make a painting look cartoonish.

Step One: Create a 3 Dimensional Feel or Look.

Step Two: Increase the range of values

There’s a lot of different ways that you can solve this. The easiest way is to make sure you have full value range in the elements of your paintings. When you’re looking at your subject matter, whether from life or a photograph, try to see all the value range on a particular object as well as in the full scene. When first laying in a new painting, artists will place the darkest dark in the painting and the lightest light and then they have something to compare to. Then, within each element, they may place the lightest light and the darkest dark of that particular element. That way you have a reference range for that object and can compare values. Then, they make sure that they use that full value range when they paint it and that’s what makes the painting look dimensional and professional.

Value is the relative lightness of darkness of a color. Here is a value scale 1-7. The value range could be 1-10 or low as 1-5. The 1-5 appears to be ideal for beginners.

Every color is capable of a range from light to dark

Here are colors on a value scale 1 to7

Color can have a small range such as

Yellow or a large range such as Blue/Violet Colors can, and are different from each other (for instance Red and Green) can have the same value.

So you have a Cartoonish looking painting?

Solve it this way:

The final part to address is Edges. If the painting looks cut out and cartoonish it’s because there isn’t an appropriate relationship of edges. We need sharp edges but we also need soft edges. It’s really the soft edges that make the sharp edges look good and the sharp edges that make the soft edges look good. So keep in mind that you want a full range in Values AND Edges .

Step Three: You need some hard edges, also soft ones.

All hard edges on dry paper Soft on wet paper.

Hard and soft edges on dry paper.

Step Four: COLOR, COLOR EVERYWHERE – TOO MUCH COLOR

One really common problem that makes paintings look amateurish is using too much color. When I say too much color, what I mean is intensity of color or “chroma”. For example, yellow ochre is yellow but it’s a dull yellow. Is has a low chroma. Where as, cad yellow medium has a lot of yellow. It’s an intense yellow, a higher chroma. Often times, new artists over use intense all the colors in the rainbow Reds in particularly .Green in landscape paintings. Sure, there are times that you may want to experiment and add a little more color but a typical error occurs that makes paintings look amateurish when they have too much color.

Another very common problem with developing your art to become more masterful is actually a twofold problem. Number 1 is that artists often quit their paintings too early before they have really gotten the painting resolved to a finished painting that looks professional. This occurs for a couple of reasons. The more common of these is that they are just kind of “sick of it” and they have an idea for a new painting and want to move on to the new painting because it sounds fun. Make Yourself Finish Every Painting You Start.

Step Five: IT TAKES TWO PEOPLE TO PAINT – ONE TO PAINT AND ONE TO MAKE YOU FINISH Or SOMETIMES TELL YOU WHEN TO STOP.

Secondly, the painting often times becomes difficult to get through because of a lack of experience and a lack of knowing what to do. What ends up happening is that the piece looks like a painting that had a good start but was never really finished. This is truly a discipline that you develop over time. Finishing a painting is kind of difficult but once you understand the foundations and principles of painting, taking it to a nice finished product is really easy and quite enjoyable. It also takes you out of amateur status and brings you up to museum or profession gallery artist status.

Step Six: Avoiding Black

One common problem that makes paintings look amateurish is that artists use black for their shadows. It isn’t black that is the problem, it is that the color is too cool a color for most shadows. When you go outside and the shadows are cool ,because of the blue sky versus the bright sun, cool shadows are completely appropriate. But when most people paint still life, figures, portraits or other indoor paintings they tend to use either black or blue for shadows. It is appropriate because it is not the right color temperature and so the painting ends up looking dirty and amateurish.

The solution is to keep painting and to take some classes and get the “know how” of what you need. Getting through the problem on your own is a slower process. When I was learning it, information was not readily available - very few books, no such thing as video, and personal instruction was very expensive.

This is what I did (at that time) it was permitted and very popular: I would sit in front of a great masterpiece with my paints, paper, and easel in London's museums and paint away. The trick was to learn ,not to compare your work with the worlds best painters. But what an education I got! No, do not rush out a buy a ticket to London, they stopped that practice long ago.

Jim Black was born in London, England where he studied commercial art and engineering at the Northern Polytechnic School in London. Working as a design engineer, Jim traveled widely and diversified his work. He and his family moved to the United States where he sought out Masters of Watercolor Medium - notability, Michael Atkinson, Darryl Trott, Tom Lynch and Nita Engle, studying with them in workshops.

For several years, Jim lived in Southern Mexico where he taught at the Art Institute in San Miguel de Allende. Then, five years later, Jim had an opportunity to teach in the U.S.A. where he held on-going classes and workshops year round until he retired in 2010. Jim started a website, www.jims-watercolor-gallery.com in 2007, which he and his family put together. Jim has become a great success, both as a professional watercolorist and watercolor instructor, but it's helping others improve their watercolor painting skills that he finds most rewarding. Jim has earned a reputation as a First Class Artist and Instructor. Many of his students have gone on to become world famous watercolorist in their own right - including Beatrice Uribe, who was one of Jim's students from 2002 to 2004 and now has many of her paintings hanging in Galleries all over the world. She is known as one of the best watercolor artists specializing in painting people in watercolor and credits Jim with much of her success.

Jim's Watercolor Gallery

The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express permission of the copyright holder.

Jim Black , creator and owner of Watercolor For Me

And Jim’s Watercolor Gallery

Copyright 2014