Watercolor First Day Summer 2016

Glenn Hirsch, Instructor

watercolor is about COLOR

color that is LAYERED in TRANSPARENT glazes

Emile Nolde 1923

Emile Nolde

Emile Nolde

German Expressionist artists favored watercolor to convey strong emotion

watercolor is about WATER

flowing, spontaneous and freeJohn Singer Sargent, c. 1912

John Singer Sargent, c. 1920

Watercolor in about DRAWING

John Singer Sargent, c. 1919

Watercolor is about PORTABILITYallows painting outside, capturing the moment

Joseph Turner, Venice Sunrise, 1840, 8 x10 in

watercolor is about the BRUSH

Brush technique can be smooth and seamless, or wild and free or ... something in between

Oskar Kokoschka, c. 1922

A really flowing brush- a wild party !Andre Derain, c. 1910

Georgia O'Keefe, c. 1920

When brush marks are minimized, then watercolor can also achieve amazing photo realism!

Mary Snowden, c. 1985

“Photorealist“ watercolor like this demands perfect drawing which is then patiently 'colored-in'

Richard McLean, 1975

Robert Bechtel, 1985

Student work, John Heisch

watercolor in HISTORY

ARTISTS FAMOUS FOR THEIR WATERCOLORS

Franklin BoothFranz MarcFred MartinFrederick Childe HassamGeorgia O'KeefeGerard Richter Gustave DoreHelen FrankenthalerHonore DaumierJohn ConstableJohn James AudubonJohn MarinJohn Singer SargentJoseph William TurnerJoseph Raffael

Lisbeth SpengerLouise StanleyMary CassatMary SnowdenMaurice PrendergastPaul Cezanne Paul KleePhilip PearlsteinRaoul DufyRobert BechtleSam FrancisThomas EakinsThomas GainsboroughThomas MoranWassily KandinskyWilliam BlakeWinslow Homer

Albrecht DürerAnders ZornAndrew WyethArthur DoveArthur RackhamArthur SzykCharles BurchfieldCharles DemuthEdmund DulacEdward HopperEgon SchieleEmil NoldeEric FischlErnst Ludwig KirchnerEugene DelacroixFrancesco Clemente

watercolor was traditionally used to plan large, complex oil paintingsEugene Delacroix, c. 1835

Watercolor was traditionally used to capture natureClaude Lorraine, 1630

Before photography, watercolor was used by explorers to document their travels

Karl Bodmer (1809-1893), Portrait of Kiäsax

Watercolor was popular among the French Impressionists

Berthe Morisot, 1885

Watercolor has always been favored by artists who use their imagination.

Gustav Moreau (1826-1898)Sappho

Watercolor has always been favored by artists who use their imagination.

Study for sculpture by Claus Oldenberg, 1964

Today many contemporary artists continue to use watercolor as their primary medium Elizabeth Peyton

Elizabeth Peyton

what is watercolor made of?

watercolor is powdered pigment suspended in gum arabic, with a little glycerin and honey added.

pigments are derived from minerals, plants or metals

gum arabic is exuded by acacia trees, used in the food industry, in glue, as the binder for watercolor paints, and in incense.

glycerin is a colorless, sweet, viscous liquid formed as a byproduct in soap manufacture. It is used as an emollient and laxative, and for making

explosives and antifreeze.

honey added so it's more gooey!

what is watercolor technique?

control the value of the color by DILUTING IT WITH WATER– start with very light tones and only use dark at the end

In a landscape, light tones recede and dark tones advance

paint the background first and let it DRY

white paint is not usedinstead the white is 'reserved'

allowing the paper to show through

Andrew Wyeth

Andrew Wyeth

“Reserving the white” = preserving the white paper where you want “white”

Hirsch

Work from light to dark

Allow each step to dry before proceeding to the next

Step by Step

Work from light to dark

Allow each step to dry before proceeding to the next

Student work in progress – on a large 30x40 paper taped to a table

the brown and pink is painted underneath, and then the dark blue sky is painted on top, after the bottom layer is dry !

Watercolor can also be combined with opaque white gouache or acrylic in a ‘mixed media’ technique.

you can see white strokes painted on the hull of the boat, and then glazed over with a transparent blue.

John Singer Sargent, (detail), c. 1920

Color ‘Theory’

we use warm and cool versions of each color to enhance the feeling of “light”

the chromatic scale

• Light to dark• Bright to dull• Warm to cool

The chromatic scale enhances the illusion of “light”

• Lighter value in the light• Brighter intensity in the light• Warmer (orangey) red in the light

(vs bluer purplish red) in the shadow

Charles Demuth, 1930

What’s ahead:syllabus week by

week

Week 2

still life (apples) + more color ‘theory’

next week bring an apple to class

Then the homework is to paint a still life

Joseph Raffael

week 3: paint a master study

and then an original response to it

Student study of Winslow Homer and response (working from a photo)

study of Oskar Kokoschka and student response (working from a National Geographic photo)

Top: student study of John Singer Sargent Bottom: response: painting of a figure

student study of Winslow Homer and then a painting of student’s front yard in his style

Weeks 3-4: trees and landscape space

John Singer Sargent, 1900

Hirsch

Hirsch

Student workSusan Shipley

Student work Leslie Flemming

Student work Kevin Dame

Student workEllen Fox

student work

week 6-7portraits

John Singer Sargent, 1910

Emile Nolde 1930

Louise Stanley 1996

weeks 8-9-10course project:

a series of 3+ paintings

what we’ll do today

ABSTRACTION

exploring the brush

How many ways are there to use a brush?

Wet-in-WetWet-over-dry

Stamping, Rolling, ScratchingDry BrushImpasto

Transparent glazes

Helen Frankenthaler

Mark Rothko

Fred Martin

Fred Martin