Best of Watercolor Painting Color

BEST OF WATERCOLOR

BOSTON PUBUC UBRARY

Copley Square

BEST OF WATERCOLOR

The Orange Belt- Gloria Paterson

Copyright £ 1997 by Rockport Publishers.

All rights reserved. All

images

is

in this

No

part of this

book may be reproduced

in

Inc.

any form without written permission of the copyright owners.

book have been reproduced with the knowledge and

prior consent of the artists concerned

and no responsibility

accepted by producer, publisher, or printer for any infringement of copyright or otherwise, arising from the contents of this publication.

Every

effort

has been made

to

ensure that credits accurately comply with information supplied.

First published in the United States of America by:

Quarry Books, an imprint of Rockport Publishers,

Inc.

33 Commercial Street Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930-5089 Tel: (508) 282-9590

Fax: (508) 283-2742

Distributed to the

book trade and

art trade in the

North Light Books, an imprint

F&

United States by:

of

W Publications

1507 Dana Avenue Cincinnati,

Ohio 45207

Telephone: (800) 28&0963

Other Distribution by: Rockport Publishers,

Inc.

Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930-5089

ISBN

10

1-56496-349-7

987654321

Designer Kristen Webster-Blue Sky limited Cover Image:

Back Cover Images:

A

Festival.

(left to

Margaret M. Martin

right) Apple Harvest. Oliver Balf

Union Square. Sally Cataldo Bellavista Sight.

Manufactured

in

Hong Kong.

Michael Schlicting

BEST OF WATERCOLOR

selected by betty lou schlemm/edited by sara m. doherty

Jumping Pintos- Sandra

Quarry Books Gloucester, Massachusetts

Distributed by North Light Books Cincinatti,

Ohio

Saitto

best of watercolor-PAiNTiNG color

the design elements, perhaps color has the greatest

f all

introduction

emotional impact. music,

we

When we

are dealing with color, as with

are dealing with sensations.

way an

that thrill us but that sensitive, imaginative

puts

them together and makes

the world of

move

far

art.

back

into the painting

The

fall

can

It

pictorial

space

is

created with

and the yellows

our fingertips.

There are harmonious which

it.

and then move forward, bringing

color: the reds advancing, the blues receding,

at

colors, called

analogous colors,

close to each other on the color wheel, and there are

contrasting colors, called complementary colors, which site

fall

oppo-

each other on the color wheel. The harmonies give us rest

while the complementing colors add

us

artist

his personal statement in

Color plays upon form and defines

into play the picture plane.

perhaps right

not the objects

It is

life

to the painting

and give

little jolt.

Value and intensity of color depend on the ings

—color changes as emotions change, and not

but their

many variations and combinations

intensities.

There are the

dull,

the

murky

together with those of sheer brilliance, the other

becomes a

together.

The gray

soft

subtle

still

colors that,

humming holding the washes become

wet and together, they work

to

make

just the color

in value, hue,

make one

strokes of brilliant color are dropped into

artist's feel-

rich

and

when

put

color sing and

painting

when

a few

them when they

are

a beautiful piece of art

best of watercolor-PAiNTiNG color

Color composition

is built

with one stroke or shape

against another until the entire painting

Experience late

will tell

The warm

oranges, are exciting, but too

taken

in

if

used

in

completely balanced.

you what color can do. Color should stimu-

the imagination.

of fatigue

is

colors, yellows, reds,

much

and

of these can leave a feeling

overabundance. But red, especially when

moderation, can add

life

and

lift

to the painting. Blues,

greens, violets, and soft grays are emotionally restful to us.

Perhaps that

is

why walking through

a park or a

wooded area

can bring such peace to our soul. Merely venturing out under the blue sky with beautiful sunlight

Color helps express

edge of color and art.

its

all

good

for

man and

of our emotions,

power helps us

artist's

and the knowl-

styles,

and many

quest in expressing their

personality in their creations with the use of color.

Betty Lou Schlemm, A.W.S., D.F.

beast.

in the pursuit of creating

May this book of many paintings, many

schools of thought reveal each

own

is

best of watercolor-PAiNTiNG color

PENNY STEWART

Using the language of color,

Morning Glory

serenity of this sunlit valley in the protective

22"

x

30" (56

Arches 300

cm

lb.

x

76 cm)

of dark, silent woods.

I first

I

captured the beautiful

embrace

painted each foliage shape

hot press in its local color,

damp

and then added a second hue

paint, enriching its color while

volume and

texture.

I

beauty by contrasting

was

able to enhance the

light,

create variety and interest,

shapes into bands of green.

autumn

transparent yellows and

oranges with darker, more opaque greens and

To

in the

suggesting both

I

violets.

broke the larger

field

best of watercolor-PAiNTiNG color

IRWIN

GREENBERG

Street Musician 11" x

7" (28

cm

x 18

cm)

Bristol 5-ply

board

The model,

a congo drummer, posed

in

my studio under a spotlight.

His

skin tone and outfit suggested the

dominant warm color of the painting.

The surrounding props were taken from sketches and painted the

warm

to

tones of the figure.

enhance

The

background was painted with cool tones,

which contrasted with the

warmth

of the

model and added

vibrancy to the painting.

best of watercolor-PAiNTiNG color

i

NANCY FELDKAMP

When

Harvest Ready

as a dominant

22"

x

30" (56

Arches 140

lb.

cm

x

76 cm)

planning a painting,

theme and

I

to

choose a ensure

triad of colors to

unity.

use

With autumn's

changing palette bringing greater color awareness,

I

used

cold press

raw sienna, ultramarine

blue,

and

alizarin

crimson

in

Harvest Ready to suggest the season's sun-filled harvest weather. Other colors added accents and gave subtie variety to the

shadows and negative areas of the

The paper remained unpainted fields of near-white,

>B^ ~»fc

>

Mg

i

in places to

ripened corn.

painting.

suggest the

fa tf

i

best of watercolor-PAiNTiNG color

BRIAN DONN Loquat Cascade 18" x 15" (46

cm

x

38 cm)

Canson-Montval 140

The range fruit

cold press

lb.

of colors of ripening

and the

shadowy

cool,

between them caught

interiors

my eye

and

offered up the subject for Loquat

Cascade.

I

wanted

to capture the

slightly fuzzy texture of the fruits

and contrast

it

with the thick,

leathery leaves.

I

was

able to

achieve this by painting each fruit wet-in-wet, lifting

and then dropping

in

out lights,

darker tones.

Leaves were painted on dry paper, saving the lights and washing away

edges

and

to

render the corrugations

veins.

The

interplay of colors

was enriched by the range of

reflection.

light's

wide

Cool shadows

were glazed on and exaggerated to play

up every nuance

of color

essential in capturing the sense of fruit

ripening in the California sun.

best of watercolor-PAiNTiNG color

FREDERICK KUBITZ

Bold value changes and subtle colors were used to bring

Sailboat in Fog-Damariscove

out the

Island,

22"

x

numerous

effects of the subject,

which include

ME

30" (56

Arches 300

cm

lb.

lighting x

produced by

fog-filtered sunlight,

top-

and shadows

76 cm)

cold press

created by a

random

shaft of direct sunlight.

The

darkest

values were achieved by layering a series of four washes of

French ultramarine mixed with raw umber

(to

modulate

the tone) After a wet-in-wet mixture of veridan and perma.

nent rose, cobalt blue was applied to produce a cool, gray,

foggy background. The boats,

sails,

and buildings were

masked. Predominandy cool colors were enhanced by light

washes on the

inside the boats.

gF ^C^atfOTW^MMi

sail

and roofs and dark,

warm

tones

best of watercolor-PAiNTiNG color

PATRICIA REYNOLDS

An underlyimg wash

Champlain Valley Patchwork

painting and conveys the cold colors of the winter.

31"

x41" (79

Arches 260

cm lb.

x

104 cm)

began

of cobalt blue

permeates the I

wet-in-wet, preserving the whites for contrast

and

cold press

drama. valley,

I

represented Lake Champlain, the foreground

and the Vermont mountains across the lake abstracdy

to give the

dry,

I

look of a winter evening. After letting the work

applied thin glazes with a 4-inch

wash brush

to

create the abstract pattern and dimension in shadow-like

forms. Glazed patches of color created the feeling of

and

warm

ice,

tones in the foreground allowed the cooler

areas to recede and establish the proper perspective.

I.

best of watercolor-PAiNTiNG color

JIM PITTMAN Wall

Marks

30"

22" (76

x

cm

x

56 cm)

Strathmore Aquarius Watercolor with

acrylic, pencil,

and crayon

Focusing on shapes and color

movement, both

warm

to cool,

I

light to

first laid

washes of primary color light-tones,

dark and

broad in

mid- to

and then began layering

mixed watermedia

in a put-and-take

approach. Searching for marks that indicated the passage of time and

man,

I

used several techniques

until

a depth of surface produced lyrical, poetic passages.

Some marks

are

suggestive of ancient times, while others suggested the

present day.

•^ -ier^

graffiti of

the

best of watercolor-PAiNTiNG color

JANET LAIRD-LAGASSEE Pumpkins No. 22 15" x16" (38

Arches 140

cm

lb.

x

40 cm)

cold press

Using color as the essential

tool

for defining the illusion of form,

substance,

vitality,

and environment.

Pumpkins No. 22 is an exploration of the color

and

tonality that

compositional relationships. ingly limited palette to

forms

A seem-

was broadened

produce numerous variations that

were further enhanced by and refracted

color.

reflected

Color was altered

and extended through closely graded glazes to create the impression of

the pumpkins' solid presence.

best of watercolor-PAiNTiNG color

LOLA JURIS Legacy

Lily 22.5"

x

18" (57

Arches 140

lb.

cm

x

48 cm)

cold press

Watercolor with ink

Lily Legacy deals with the

of a scene that

is

dichotomy

simultaneously

exciting and tranquil.

The

challenge

was met by counterpointing the long, slow, quiet

shadows

of the

lower portion with the sharp, dark,

upper background. Further, the cool-blue upper area changes to a

warm this

yellow-orange below, and

use of a complementary color

scheme augments the drama image.

Some

into the

cool color

warm shadows,

is

of the

charged

color-

connecting the two portions of the painting.

best of watercolor-PAiNTiNG color

LOLA JURIS Languid

Lilies

27" x 20" (69

cm

Arches 140

cold press

lb.

x 51

cm)

Watercolor with colored pencil

I

paint the calla

lilies

that

my patio

small pool on

grow

in a

once a year

as an ongoing series. In the late

afternoon, long

shadows play

into

the scene and create abstract patterns that counter the realism of the subject.

white

The

lilies,

stately serenity of the

surrounded by a busy

tangle of yellow-green leaves,

is

further dramatized by the stark

background. Touches of colored pencil

were

selectively

augment various rhythmically

added

to

features and

move

the viewer's

eye through the painting.

best of watercolor-PAiNTiNG color

JAN UPP Aix Marks the Spot 20"

x

20"

(51

Arches 140

The deep

lb.

cm

x 51

cm)

cold press

contrast of light and

shadow and the low angle perspective attracted subject.

I

me

of

to this

began by gradually

transferring a full-size sketch to

watercolor paper, starting with the areas of the paper

remain unpainted.

I

wanted

to

A yellow wash

was applied everywhere

else,

followed by layers of yellow, red,

and blue

to gradually build

up the

desired values, leaving the small details until the end.

&

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