Studying Transparency (in Watercolor)

Passing through New Orleans International Airport this weekend, I spent some time at the departure gate sketching fellow passengers. It’s surprisingly hard to do, but they say practice makes perfect.

Illustration: Watercolor and pen-and-ink by Black Elephant Blog author

A useful book has meanwhile fallen into my hands called Transparent Watercolor Wheel:  A Logical and Easy-to-Use System for Taking the Guesswork Out of Mixing Colors.  This unfortunately out-of-print (and therefore often expensive) book is by Jim Kosvanec, whose many watercolor paintings he includes in the book are of native peoples in the region of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico (discussed elsewhere here on this blog), where he lived and worked at the time of this book’s publication in 1994 and apparently where he still lives and works.

Illustration: Photo by Black Elephant Blog author of cover of book, Transparent Watercolor Wheel by Jim Kosvanec

The book is perfect for those who are curious about the differences between transparent, semi-transparent, semi-opaque, and opaque watercolors, and also gives one an excellent sense of which watercolors to use (based on top brands prevailing in 1994 at least) and how to mix them.   There are instructions, for instance, on how to produce light, medium, and dark-value grays, as below.

As in anything else one undertakes, the further you get into this subject the more you realize there is to learn…which makes it all the more challenging and fun.

Illustration: Swatches of gray mixtures by Black Elephant Blog author

There are no hard and fast rules, of course; we are talk about art after all, not science, but the book’s a great opportunity to get up-to-speed on some of the different effects people seek to achieve with watercolor.  To achieve transparency in watercolor (and perhaps in anything) requires experience, expertise, and experimentation…and practice!  I’ve got a way to go on this.

Sketching-on-the-go

Sketching is about solving problems, sometimes very quickly and–interestingly, in most successful art, according to professional artists–over-riding what your analytic brain is telling you.  It involves careful observation, composition, shading, meaning, and even purpose (including story-telling and “narratives”) usually within some constraints related to time or weather or materials or ability. This week just having a pencil in my bag has made a brief ride on the subway more interesting.

Illustration: Pencil sketch on notepaper using Staedtler 0.7mm mechanical pencil by Black Elephant Blog author

But sketching people “live” is fraught with complications.  At a minimum, when people know they are being sketched, they typically no longer act naturally.  Some people are intrigued, or even flattered, while others–especially women, it seems to me–are mildly alarmed or annoyed.

Illustration: Pencil sketch in Stillman & Birn Alpha series sketchbook by Black Elephant Blog author

Experienced teacher-sketchers advise inviting the subject to see (or even accept as a gift) the sketch if you, the sketcher, are detected sketching; that will sometimes ease tensions.

Illustration: Pencil sketch by Black Elephant Blog author

In some countries, the idea of sketching people without their approval seems to cross a line of propriety.

In any case, a sketch is generally not a finished painting-like piece, but a way to practice and even expose your weaknesses in drawing. The sketch below, done in a brief spurt this week while waiting in a cafe for someone to arrive, shows my botched effort to depict a drawing of a planter painted on the wall to the rear.

Illustration: Sepia graphite (Artgraf Tailor made in Portugal) water-soluble wash in  Stillman &Birn Beta series sketchbook by Black Elephant Blog author

In the end, it really doesn’t matter because it’s sketching, which falls into the category of rehearsals, practice, and education. Even focusing on an umbrella, or a toe, can be a useful sketching practice.  I was using ArtGraf sepia graphite in water-soluble form for the first time, and that was really fun.