Painting project
Part 2 Stephen Coates demonstrates how to adapt and paint from a photograph using a variety of watercolour techniques
Part 2 Use a limited palette of just three colours to paint a park scene in watercolour, with Stephen Coates
Work with a limited palette to create a harmonious painting
Practise techniques, including negative painting
How to use the Foliater brush to paint foliage
In last month’s issue I discussed aspects of this painting that needed study and forward planning. These included compositional considerations along with determining the colour scheme and practising techniques. Furthermore, the initial drawing needed some attention to perspective. If you want to follow this tutorial, you are advised to have last month’s issue handy.
The palette
I have only used three colours for painting this: lemon yellow, ultramarine and burnt umber. Lemon yellow and ultramarine combine to create the green shades, while ultramarine and burnt umber mix to make the darker shades in the foliage and the grey shades in the tree trunks, paving slabs on the path and shadows.
I squeezed out two generous amounts of lemon yellow, three areas of ultramarine and one of burnt umber. The first job was to create two separate wells of green. I added some water to one area of lemon yellow and stirred it around to loosen it. I then added a tiny amount of ultramarine and mixed this to create a light lemon green. I did the same with the other section of lemon yellow, but this time added far more ultramarine to create a deep strong green. I then added a little water to the second amount of ultramarine, stirred it around then mixed in burnt umber until I had a dark blue-grey colour. The remaining ultramarine was used for the sky wash.
A word of advice
There are aspects of this painting that you may struggle with, in particular the application of green foliage, the painting of large areas of shadow and ensuring the dark tones are dark enough. Being completely honest, there were things in this project that I had never tackled before. I spent many hours testing and rehearsing techniques before committing to my final painting.
Study and practice are proven to work and are an essential part of the process. I hope you will enjoy having a go at all the preparation as well as the final piece.
Demonstration
Beauchief Gardens
Step 1
1 The entire initial stage was completed whilst the background wash was still wet. I used a large hake to wet the upper area of the background to the horizon line. I then picked up a little ultramarine in the hake and swished in a hint of background sky.
2 I filled the large Foliater with light green and gently stippled in the shape of the distant hedgerows behind the main tree trunks. I then dipped the Foliater into the dark green and added a little of this.
I used the Round No. 6 and quickly dabbed in dark grey at the base of the shrubs and formed a line along the edge of the path.
3 At this stage, water was starting to pool along the bottom edge of the wash, threatening to spoil it. I had a piece of kitchen towel ready, which I used to squeeze the No. 6 brush hard then used the brush to absorb the excess water and remove it. As the background developed over the following minutes, the water continued to pool so I repeated this procedure.
4 I washed the Foliater and filled it with light green. I quickly stippled in areas of the upper canopy of leaves, trying to cover parts of the tree trunks and leaving plenty of spaces. This foliage is catching the sunlight and I wanted it to blur slightly on the damp wash.
5 The paper was nearly dry at this stage so I stippled in the same colour along the hedgerow behind the seat. This was showing the upper sunlit part of the hedge only so there was no need to fill the hedge down to the ground.
6 I finished by filling the Round No. 6 brush with the darker green and painted a little grass area just to the right of the hedgerow at the end of the path.
6 The seat wasn’t present on the initial drawing. I drew this after the wash had dried.
Step 2
1 Once all was dry, I used the Foliater to pick up the dark green then gently stippled over the area of the canopy, making sure I left plenty of the light green showing through.
2 I did the same on the areas immediately above the wall and the hedge and, whilst it was wet, I picked up the dark grey mix and cut it down into the top of the hedge with the Foliater then onto the top of the wall using the Round No. 6 brush.
Step 3
1 The Foliater is designed as a stippling brush to represent extensive areas of distant foliage. The overhanging branches towards the top left-hand corner of the scene are much nearer to us and individual leaves can be seen clearly. I opted for the Round No. 6 brush in the lower area and the Round No. 8 in the top left-hand corner where the leaves are even closer and therefore larger. In both cases, I filled the brush with dark green and gently placed it to create a mass of individual leaf shapes.
2 When this was dry, I went over again with dark grey and dropped in more leaf shapes; not quite as many this time, but enough to create the contrast. These dark shapes are important; they give the canopy depth and help bring the light in from the back of the scene. Do not fear the dark!
Step 4
1 The left-hand tree is dark, but you can just make out ivy growing up the trunk. I filled the large Foliater with dark green, turned it through 90 degrees and quickly stippled all the way up both sides of the tree trunk to leave an uneven edge.
2 Whilst this was wet, I filled the Round No. 8 with dark grey and whipped it swiftly up the centre of the trunk. I used the Foliater again up both sides, punching down to blend the colours.
3 I added the upper part of the trunk with dark grey using the Round No. 6 brush and continued the line of the tree trunk, but carefully painted around the leaves that had been dabbed on previously. I did the same with the side branch. This negative-painting method ensures that the leaves pass across the tree trunk.
4 I used the Foliater again to stipple dark green into the hedge, leaving the top light. Whilst this was wet, I dabbed in the dark grey mix with the Round No. 6, increasing the intensity of this as it approached the ground and carefully painted around the profile of the seat.
Step 5
The area of grass to the right was painted first with a generous application of the light green using the Round No. 8 then a small amount of the dark green feathered in here and there to variegate the colour.