Spring greens in a rainy season

There’s been so much rain lately, followed by intermittent mugginess and flood watches, that some plein air-type painting has had to be done inside.  With plenty of models done in the open air to go by, I recently recreated some familiar scenes and, in the process, tried out watercolors on the Langton Prestige watercolor paper made in the UK by Daler Rowney.

Illustration: “Paddleboarders” in watercolor on Daler Rowney cold press 7″ x 10″ watercolor paper by Black Elephant Blog author (2018)

My impression of this paper is that the watercolors do stay moist longer and naturally exhibit a more transparent sheen than is typical on Arches paper.  I had underestimated this paper originally when I bought it nearly 10 months ago.  For different effects, trying various papers is fun.

Illustration: “Spring Greens”, watercolor and pen-and-ink on Daler Rowney cold press 7″ x 10″ watercolor paper by Black Elephant Blog author (2018)

Darks and Lights in Watercolor

Last weekend with below-freezing temperatures outside, intrepid watercolor painters and other artists in this  area met in a nearby community center as the initial gathering to a new watercolor group.

Ilustration: “Audubon Oasis”, (9.4″ x 12.6″) in watercolor and gouache on Hahnemuehle cold pressed paper

Though 103 (!) individuals had signed up to attend since the announcement came out in mid-December, due to the room size attendance at this initial meeting was kept to about 16 (and, probably due to the icy weather, only about 10 actually attended–men and women of various ages and backgrounds).  Ironically (as happens) the original convener was someone who had literally just moved to the area. Perhaps for many part of the attraction was simply an excuse to get out of the house after enduring days of extraordinary Arctic cold.  But, as always happens, perfect strangers also end up as new contacts, taking note (sometimes literally) of each other’s painting techniques and favorite materials.

My painting subject during this get-together was a colorful view through some trees at New Orleans’ Audubon Zoo last November around Thanksgiving.  The day was incredibly clear with pleasant temperatures and it made walking through the zoo (though many sections are undergoing renovation) an unforgettable visual treat.  I’m not a fan of painting from photos as so much of the really interesting light effects are lost (at least in my photos)–but using a photo for this project was the next best thing to being there. I have a lot of photos from the brilliant afternoon spent visiting this gorgeous zoo-park and, as the wintry weather here continues, I’ll be sure to be using some of them as a reference for more painting experiments.

Pelicans in Bay St. Louis

Illustration: “Bay St. Louis,” in watercolor and pen-and-ink by Black Elephant Blog author (2017)

Fall Colors in Acrylic on Paper

I’m back home from overseas again in time to catch the last of the fall colors–coppers, golds, ochres, and dark rose–still glinting in the bright sunshine as I make my way past a nearby lake.  This is the sort of scene I typically try to capture in watercolor.

Illustration: “Last Days of Fall,” Acrylic on Bockingford watercolor paper, roughly 9″ x 12″ by Black Elephant Blog author

This time, though, I’m determined to paint with acrylics in something of a “watercolor” style on watercolor paper, as I can see examples of such work by an artist whose work is exhibited in a gallery near this lake. (Hers is more abstract with other media included, such as alcohol inks,as well.)  So back at home, it’s time for this experiment.  As with watercolor, finding the right amount of water to achieve the best look is a challenge but it’s surprisingly easy to use acrylic paints on paper.  I’ll have to keep trying this out.

A Brown Pink Bottle in a Window

While taking a break from work this week (as well as from the always overwhelming news especially with the tragic reports this week from the already unimaginably devastated Syria), I came across four colored bottles perched side-by-side at the back of a shelf in a store.  As they were priced to sell, I bought them with the thought that they’d be great for watercolor projects. Painting glass objects is something I see watercolor artists do all the time–at least online– and many of them exhibit a great deal of talent in their work.  This seemed like a good exercise for me at this point. So I propped them up on my angled drafting table, where they picked up the daylight, and considered what would be involved.

Illustration: Photo of colored bottles in a window

Today I decided that I’d use the new-on-the-market L’Aquarelle Canson Heritage 140 lb. hot press paper.  I’d noticed in the past month that it takes watercolor very well without being too absorbent so I hoped to achieve a more transparent look with the bottle project.  As with any paper, it takes some testing to figure out how much paint to apply for different results.

First, though, I did a draft on a smaller piece of Canson cold press watercolor paper in a sketchbook I’ve come to like for carrying around outdoors; the paper quality is great and the spiral notebook opens flat and is light.   As I did this, I considered how to match the colors of the actual bottles.

The amber-yellow glass bottle in my small collection suddenly reminded me of the largish tube I have of the so-called “brown pink” watercolor paint by Sennelier.  I know that this paint, despite its storied history as a favorite of the likes of John Singer Sargent, is controversial due to its suspected or proven problems with lightfastness. I have not tested it but I did want to use it for this watercolor as I suspected that the “brown pink” shade would come close to matching the yellow-green tint of the glass bottle, and I was right.

As you can see, I do have a lot of the brown pink paint (which says right on the tube “N.R.”, meaning “not rated” (for lightfastness) and, fortunately, I discovered that I like its effects on paper very much.

Brown pink watercolor paint

Today’s experts on watercolor paints would probably advise against using it at all, but certainly for art you are not selling–and art you are doing in the privacy of your own home!–it must be ok.  (The reason experts advise against using such “fugitive” paints is that they have a reputation for not holding their color under prolonged exposure to light.   Introducing paintings into the art market using fugitive paints tends to compromise the ability of other watercolor artists, who don’t use fugitive paints, to get the best prices for their art work, according to these arguments.)

Following some sketching to get a bit more confident drawing the bottles, I turned to the larger sheet of watercolor paper, taped to a strong board.  I used a bit of masking fluid to hold some small spaces white on the bottles, and also used some drafting tape to cover up the surface of the drafting table depicted in the drawing.

Toward the end of the day, my painting looked like this (photo below).  The project held my attention as I am not accustomed to trying to achieve the transparency of glass in watercolor.  The bottles also have some decorative effects which I tried partially to capture.  I will keep the bottles handy to practice more transparent watercolor painting–perhaps even fugitively, with my one or two of my favorite fugitive watercolors.

Illustration: Watercolor, gouache, and pen and ink, “Brown Pink Bottle Et.Al.”,  by Black Elephant Blog author on 9.1″x12.2″ L’Aquarelle Canson Heritage hot press paper (April 2017)

A Tiny Sketchbook To-Go (To Meetings With…)

At last, while rummaging around in an art supply coop in Montreal last week, I found a tiny sketchbook that is proving to match, or beat, the Stillman &Birn sketchbook series for on-location watercolor sketching.  This is the Pentalic  3.5 by 5.375-Inch watercolor journal, which opens up, as you might figure, to about 10.5 inches.  (It has a tiny loop at the top for a tiny paintbrush too.) As someone who has experimented with many papers (including Arches, Bockingford, Saunders, Fabriano, Moleskin, Stillman &Birn, etc.), and continues to do so, this one has been a pleasant surprise relative to all other sketchbooks I’ve tried, including Moleskin and Stillman & Birn. It has 140 lb. cotton rag cold press paper with a nice light texture; really comparable to the big names in the field, so far.  It also has a nice quality hard binding, opens flat, and has an elastic band to secure it when closed.

There are huge advantages to going small when sketching, moreover, and–if you’re using water-based media– all kinds of good reasons to choose the best paper (as any serious sketcher will confirm).  This is a sketchbook that can literally fit in your pocket or a pocket of briefcase.  (You could even take it to a meeting without drawing (oops!) much attention, and sketch the participants as a way to pass the time.)

Illustration: Watercolor and ink sketch, “Market day,” by Black Elephant Blog author

Drawing small sketches can compel you to try to get those shadows on the faces or in the pulled-back hair of a figure with merely a dot of paint.  Drawing small leaves you with more energy for the larger pieces done later inside when it’s raining. So far I have three little watercolor sketches in my tiny Pentalic watercolor journal using M. Graham, Daniel Smith, and Yarka paints, as well as ink.  (It’s been very  hot and humid in this area lately so that people (and animals) are moving slower and generally are easier to sketch.)

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

The paper handles washes and heavier watercolor applications perfectly, so I thought I’d jot this down here while thinking about it. The sketchbook is only a bit bigger than my small travel palette, which measures 4.75″ x 3.75″.  So between the two of them and a paint brush, a bit of paper towel and some water, there’s a complete studio-to-go, unbelievably small and light-weight but with no compromise in quality.

Anyway, a small sketch kit is sure to make those meetings at work more interesting!  And hopefully the day is not far away when sketching in meetings will be regarded as a sign that you’re paying appropriate attention to the proceedings.  Sketching is a form of seeing, and clearly can enhance our powers of observation and sensitivity which anyone could tell you these days we all could use more of…