Capturing the colour of the wayside
Roadside verges burst into life at this time of year, and their natural beauty can be easily captured in riotous paintings
THERE IS MUCH in the landscape to inspire would-be or keen painters to pick up paper and brush, and not just July’s glorious panoramas. At the height of summer, even verges and borders are full of colour and life, giving the opportunity to paint nature close-up or to focus on a cropped view.
In this step-by-step project, the portrait format emphasises structural, vertical plants, such as the lavatera and umbellifer seedheads. When painting, too much time need not be spent in drawing initial outlines. Marks can be developed into shapes; for example, a touch with the side of the brush might suggest a leaf, which can be developed and refined using the tip or by extending a stem from a flower.
Patterns and tone can be spotted in the hedgerow, and the former should lead the eye around the painting. The red flowers become the focal point.
It is a good idea to do a preliminary sketch before starting to paint, in order to work out the colours needed, and to loosen up with some washes and mark making.
MATERIALS
Paints: aureolin yellow, tropical phthalo blue, permanent rose, quinacridone magenta Acrylic ink: burnt sienna Brush: size 12 round Surface: 13¾in by 19¾in (35 x 50cm) watercolour paper 300gsm (140lb)
Other materials: 2B pencil and eraser, gummed tape, sponge, toothbrush, ruling pen, masking fluid, palette knife, colour shaper, water sprayer, cocktail stick
SKETCHING AND MASKING
Step 1: The paper is firstly stretched, as described in the panel on the right, and the board set up at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. A 2B pencil is used to make the initial sketch.
Using the palette knife, masking fluid is applied to the surface by making long, near-vertical strokes with the edge of the knife at the top of the painting. While it remains wet, the lines are sprayed with water.
More gestural lines of masking fluid can then be added around the middle and bottom of the painting. Any drops spilled on the surface can be rubbed away once dry.
The colour shaper is used to mask the lavatera flowers. For more controlled fine lines, such as on the umbellifer stems and seedheads, the ruling pen is used.
Using the toothbrush, the surface is lightly spattered with masking fluid and heavier spatters then added with the painting knife.
Step 2: While the masking fluid dries, wells of the following colours can be prepared: a mauve mix of quinacridone magenta and tropical phthalo blue; a yellow-green mix of aureolin yellow and tropical phthalo blue; and a blue-green of the same colours, but with more tropical phthalo blue.
STRETCHING PAPER
When working with wet washes, watercolour paper needs to be prepared first by stretching it and sticking the edges down on the board, using paper tape, in order to prevent cockling, or wrinkling.
Using a sponge, the paper is first soaked in water for 5-10 mins to allow it to expand, then placed on the board. A border, approximately ½in (1cm) wide, around the edges is dried off, using kitchen paper.
Strips of gummed tape are torn off, measuring slightly longer than the paper edges, and the glue side of the first strip is then laid in place to cover a dried-off edge. The tape is smoothed down firmly to prevent air bubbles. The remaining three strips are attached in the same way.
The paper is allowed to dry naturally, causing it to shrink and flatten. The tape can be left on the finished painting, as it will not show once it is mounted and framed.
ADDING BASE COLOUR
Step 3: The top part of the painting is lightly sprayed. The mauve mix is then picked up with the painting knife and drawn downwards a few times to add loose, out-of- focus lavatera.
Step 4: The top central area is wetted using the side of the brush and some of the mauve mix added. The surface can begin to be painted with open gestural marks, using the mauve mix very diluted down. Lots of gaps should be left in this underpainting, and a little visual imbalance created by using slightly less diluted paint on the right-hand side. The water spray is then used to push the wet paint into interesting shapes and allowed to dry.
Step 5: The board is turned upside down and the brush loaded with the blue-green mix. Using a flicking motion while holding the brush at arm’s length, some long, directional spattering marks are added. These are opened up and softened a little with the water spray, avoiding the poppies. The board is turned round again, and some stem and foliage shapes are built up across the top left-hand side of the painting by applying clean water with the tip, side and body of the brush, plus the spray. The yellow-green mix is worked into the wet areas, touching the paint into the water with the brush. The umbellifers should be covered, but care taken to avoid the poppies. A variety of strokes are used to make different marks, and paint can be spattered on too.
STEMS AND LEAVES
Step 6: The painting is allowed to dry: a hairdryer can be used to speed this up. It is important that each area is completely dry before moving on.
Some stems are added using the edge of the palette knife and the blue-green mix. The suggestion of leaves, stems and buds are built up using this mix and a similar variety of mark-making brush strokes, as for the yellow-green. A clean cocktail stick is used to suggest veining on the leaves by gently creating indentations for the paint to run into.
The tone of the blue-green mix can be varied by adding more tropical phthalo blue as the painting progresses, to prevent the area becoming monotone and flat. Using the spray bottle will open up the wet paint in some larger leaves.
CREATING DEPTH
Step 7: A well of the blue is prepared and a few drops of burnt sienna ink added to make a dark mix. Some warm areas are added using the ink. This is applied with the edge of the palette knife for long stems, and with the clean, wet brush for larger areas. To vary the textures, the spray and flick technique is followed, using the spray bottle and palette knife.
Alternating between the blue-green and dark mixes, the impression of dense foliage and texture is built up. The ‘washing out’ technique can be used: a large leaf is painted, then allowed to dry a little before being sprayed with water and dabbed with kitchen paper. Some of the outline will remain while most of the inner part is lifted out, creating a subtle appearance.
A strong purple mix of the magenta with a little of the blue is made up to build up the dark textures on the lower right-hand side.
POPPY PETALS
Step 8: A well of the rose is prepared, then the main poppy shapes are painted as simply as possible with the side of the brush, rather than painting petals individually. Using the dry-in-wet technique, folds are then drawn into the petals using the brush tip and a strong, creamy mix of rose.
Next, a deep purple mix of rose and the blue is made up, which is touched in at the visible centres of the poppies. In order to tie this colour into the rest of the painting, and avoid the poppies standing out too much, some additional rose needs to be added elsewhere. Spattering and the spray and flick techniques are used to add a few little hints.
Step 9: Some of the burnt sienna ink is mixed into the rose. This rusty mix is then used to warm and enrich the lower central part of the painting, using the tip of the brush. The painting is allowed to dry completely. A ball of dried masking fluid can be used to remove the rest of the masking.
FINAL TOUCHES
Step 10: More of the mauve mix comprising the magenta and blue is made, plus a stronger version for the stigma. Starting from the top of the painting, the lavatera flowers can be painted. Leaving small highlights of clean paper, the tip of the brush is used to paint two or three petals at a time, wet in wet.
The mauve mix is touched in at the tip and centre of each petal, so that a highlight is left in the centre. A dry cocktail stick is drawn through to indicate veins.
The remaining petals are painted in the same way, then the stronger mix used to add the central stigmas, applying the paint with the tip of a cocktail stick.
Other lavatera flowers are painted in the same way. Variety can be added by painting the veins with the strong stigma mix and the cocktail stick instead of simply using the tip to press into the paper.
Step 11: Stems are added using a deep-green mix of the blue with a little yellow and rose. The area is lightly misted with the spray and the point of the brush used to pull out the shapes of the buds and the small leaves.
The stems can be developed using the spray and flick technique and the brush; plus the spattering technique with the palette knife.
Step 12: The sienna ink is added to the yellow paint to make a brown mix. The ruling pen is adjusted to a fine width, then loaded with the paint and used to draw in very fine lines and paint the umbellifer.
Some of the mauve and brown mixes are combined and used with the brush to paint the seedheads.
Step 13: The poppy stems are added using the tip of the brush and the deep-green mix, aiming to achieve a wavering shape and a fairly even width to the line. Occasional small leaves are added if there is space. To finish, the darker mixes are used to add some touches around the painting to balance it.