textures - watercolour + hessian

© JANE MINTER
"hessian and watercolour" 

texture swatch 

another texture swatch ,which a friend suggested to try ,  this time with hessian using an old potatoe sack... you can still see the fibres on the painting .

....here I wet the paper in some areas leaving it dry in other areas to see the diferences when I laid down the painted hessian ... as the hessian absorbs so much water and pigment  I decided to pour the remaining  pigment on top of the hessian on the lhs when the paper was flat  ..the result is a bit of a mess but it's interesting how it dried .

.... although  the weave is much larger and coarser than gauze  the resulting patterns / imprint  are  similiar to the gauze above
...thanks again Jean for your suggestion.

colour theory - transparency + opacity - lifting + staining characteristics of watercolours

"red + purples"

testing for transparency + opacity  -  testing for lifting + staining properties 
watercolour pigments 

"yellows + blues"

testing for transparency + opacity  -  testing for lifting + staining properties
"watercolour pigments" 

testing for transparency + opacity  -  testing for lifting + staining properties
"watercolour pigments" 

....following Maggie Latham's 5th post on Exploring Colour  I'm posting one of the exercises suggested this month by Maggie   looking at properties and characteristics of watercolour pigments ... a simple exercise to see if colours are transparent (semi transparent) or opaque (semi opaque) to read more see Maggie's excercise 3 .....it seemed a good opportunity to also test lifting and staining properties at the same time on the same sheet  ....inspired by some basic exercises  in  Linda Kemp's  Watercolour Painting Outside the Lines .... at the end I spent some time cross referencing with W&N colour charts and making additional notes of the characteristics of the pigments on the colour swatches ... ... the exercises will make valuable personal references  ..
The excercises are time consuming  but it's interesting to see  which transparent pigments are staining  or non-staining  and which pigments are opaque , semi opaque and or sedimentary .... alot of knowledge is already gained from painting and your own experience but actually making the time to make the tests and charts is invaluable.

...adding a note to my post as I've just finished reading Zoltan Szabo's chapter on Qualities of Transparent Watercolour pigments  "Watercolour Tips and Tricks " ... he explains the properties with great clarity and there are some excellent excercises to follow.

red + yellow tulips

© JANE MINTER

"red + yellow tulips"

watercolour study

tulip sketch

© JANE MINTER

"tulip sketch"

watercolour 

32 x 41 cm 

painted from life 

THE CA' D' ORO - Crenellations

© JANE MINTER

"THE CA' D' ORO" 

CRENELLATIONS - façade 

Gothic  Venetian Architecture  C15th 

Venice , Italy 

watercolour 56 x 38 cm  

Canson Fontenay 300 g/m2 

textures - watercolour + string # 2

© JANE MINTER 

"watercolour on string rolled on wet paper and then placed on wet wash again "

© JANE MINTER 

" watercolour on string rolled  uniformly on dry paper"

© JANE MINTER 

"watercolour string dragged vertically on wet paper" 

© JANE MINTER 

"painted string dragged vertically on wet in wet wash"

...posting  a few more watercolour washes with string used for creating texture this time rolling and dragging the string  on wet and dry paper...the patterns are all quite geometric with circular and horizotal /vertical motions ..will post a few more washes later that are more organic.

textures - string + watercolour

© JANE MINTER 

"wet on wet + painted string/twine" 

© JANE MINTER 

"initial wash painted string wet on dry + second wash  wet on wet painted string"

© JANE MINTER 

"wet on wet wash + painted string"

© JANE MINTER 

"wet on dry wash + wet string "

© JANE MINTER 

"painted string + circles "

....above are a few initial swatches showing textures created with string / twine + watercolour using circular motions...I was asked if  I'd ever tried using string when I posted "aluminium foil + watercolour washes"  ..thankyou Jean for your suggestion.

mono-printing with aluminium foil .

© JANE MINTER
"aluminium foil  + wet on dry  watercolour wash  + drawing"

texture - aluminium swatch ii
20x50cm vangrow torchon

FUM + magenta 
foil lifted whilst wash was still wet .

"section of aluminium foil  + pencil  drawing" 

.....in the watercolour wash above the aluminium foil was laid lightly  onto the  wet watercolour wash without pressing it down firmly  and I then drew quickly with a pencil on top of the foil  to see the effects. This time I took the the foil off whilst the wash was still wet to see what happened before the paper dried ... I like the random patterns which formed.

..... the textures change depending on the type of paper, how the foil is applied, length of time the foil is left and pressure applied on the foil.

....since my last post I've found a very good reference for mono - printing with aluminium   " 75 New + Classic Painting secrets of watercolour " book by Cathy Johnson ...it shows clearly  it's application in background textures and incoporating textures into subjects such as rocks and buildings by imprinting....I've tried a few of the exercises...painting on crumpled foil and printing + folding foil + drawing on the foil ..below is an exercise inspired by Cathy's excercises

"watercolour wash + folded aluminium foil + drawing"

texture - aluminium swatch iii

....the small brown wash (blob) shows the pattern of aluminium foil folded into squares  applied lightly on a flat wash with  squares drawn  with a pencil on top of the foil .

imprint made  with residue of paint left on the reverse side of foil  of the wash above + light wash 

textures - watercolour + aluminium foil

© JANE MINTER

 "watercolour wash  + aluminium foil"

watercolour texture swatch

canson fontenay 32 x 41cm 

I'm familiar with using wet in wet technique with cling film to create textures  but I haven't used foil before .. I was curious to see the textures and the similiarities between cling film and foil.

....as a start I divided the sheet in 4 vertical  areas to see  how textures changed with foil and it's application on a wet watercolour wash. ..the foil was left on the watercolour paper until the wash dried .

-lhs ( left hand side ) I applied crumpled foil pressed lightly on raw sienna  which resulted in an even texture
- middle section  purple section of  the wash
-I applied foil folded in 3 vertical strips next to the purple wash on rhs - you can see some of the folds but it's uneven
-rhs ( right hand side) a  larger area where the foil was laid down flat and pressed down firmly with my hand ..you can see the texture of the paper clearly and the random folds of the foil (which remain clear as with cling film ) at the edge the foil lifted  slightly.

...lots more swatches and experimenting with foil to do ..would be interesting to know if any of you have used foil .

green door

© JANE MINTER

"green door"

watercolour sketch

no preliminary pencil sketch 

.....a watercolour sketch painted  a few years ago.... with special thanks to my friend Marina for the ref photo .. you can see  Mariana Teding van Berkhout's  beautiful watercolours on her site http://www.finewatercolours.com/

Basilica Palladiana - section of façade

© JANE MINTER 

"Basilica Palladiana" 

section of  façade

watercolour study 

32 x 41cm 

experimenting with façades and watercolour washes .... I made a quick free hand sketch in blue biro on an existing  blue and purple "wet in wet" watercolour  wash and then added another wash loosely to suggest the  façade. .

viola - violet

© JANE MINTER 

"viola"

"violet"

watercolour study

canson montval 

textures - watercolour + alcohol

© JANE MINTER 

"watercolour wash + alcohol "

Fabrinano 30.5 x 45.5cm

© JANE MINTER 

"watercolour wash + alcohol "
section

I have been experimenting with watercolour washes and alcohol this week the textures are interesting  ....this was a  wet in wet watercolour wash with 90% alcohol  added afterwards whilst the wash was still wet ...it's fascinating to watch how the alcohol repels the water and how the pigments disperse  ...I liked the white circles which are formed by the drops of alcohol.. (.in other washes I squirted the alcohol )...I washed off one corner to see what would happen ... I  re-wet  sections then added alcohol again to see  what effect that would have and I also added pigment by splattering  . ..when you add the alcohol first it resists the water + pigment  as does wax . 

yellow + violet

© JANE MINTER 

"purple crocuses"

watercolour wash  section

yellow + violet 

© JANE MINTER 

"purple crocuses"

 watercolour wash # 1

canson montval 

© JANE MINTER 

"purple crocuses"

watercolour wash # 2

canson montval 

© JANE MINTER 

yellow crocuses" 

A4 watercolour sketch 

plein-air - no pencil 

© JANE MINTER 

"purple crocuses" 

A4 watercolour sketch 

plein-air - no pencil 

.....posting  a couple of quick sketches  i did last week with a couple of small initial watercolour washes playing with complementary  palette  inspired by yellow and purple crocuses. 

colour theory - colour journals /sketchbooks

© JANE MINTER 
" orange + blue" 
complementary colours
watercolour - watercolour tubes - still life 

"cad orange + cerl blue"

complementary colours 

colour swatches "wet in wet"

A4 moleskine sketchbook 

"cad orange  + FUM "

complementary colours

colour swatches "wet in wet"

A4 moleskine 

....in Maggie Latham's  Exploring colour in watercolour part 4 .... Maggie talks about the importance of keeping a colour journal sketchbook ..I'm posting a couple examples of complementary colour swatches  "orange + blue"  which I've made in the past from pages of one of my moleskine sketchbooks...  I enjoy working intuitively with colour  hopefully knowledge of colour theory will enrich this ....working on 100 wash challenge definately has.

cherry blossom

© JANE MINTER
"cherry blossom"

watercolour sketch 

A4 format watercolour moleskine

 painted from life - no pencil 

....a quick sketch of a single branch of one of our cherry trees  painted outside today.

calicantus

© JANE MINTER 

"calicantus"

chimonanthus

watercolour study 

painted from life 

...the delicate scent of the small winter flowers from  our calicantus tree has disappeared now as the yellow flowers are fading fast  .....i painted this initial study a few weeks ago outside when it was in full bloom.

reds + violet + yellows

© JANE MINTER 

"reds+ violet + yellows"

watercolour wash

50 mm flat brush 

initial wash yellow + red 

second wash yellow + red + violet

© JANE MINTER 

red + yellow + violet

© JANE MINTER 

"red + yellow + violet"

watercolour wash 

..... sections of a lager watercolour wash showing close-up of  textures of water and pigments ...I'm experimenting with some new watercolours which are hand -made from natural pigments. 

red + violet

© JANE MINTER

"red + violet"

watercolour wash 

grey + blues

© JANE MINTER 
"greys + blues" 

watercolour washes 

colour theory - value charts and studies

value scale charts 

neutral tint (W&N)

canson montval

© JANE MINTER

thumbnail value sketch #1  

Castello Giuletta

plein air 

canson montval

....following on from colour charts  I'm posting an initial value sketch (castle view  again) with value scale  charts below inspired by
Maggie Latham's next tuorial on values  "Exploring colour in watercolour"

http://maggielathamfineart.blogspot.com/2012/03/exploring-colour-in-watercolour-3.html

...in the next week I hope to paint lots more plein air studies /thumbnails ..it will help me get to grips with challenging  hillside views here .

old plough

© JANE MINTER

"old plough" 

plein air watercolour sketch 
with no prelimanary pencil sketch 
32 x 41cm 


I've wanted to paint this wonderful old plough which is in our garden for a long time ...this is an initial watercolour sketch I  painted out side today .