Try the ‘what-if’ approach

In the second of a series of three articles Brian Smith advises on how to achieve effects such as atmosphere, distance and focus by adjusting your pigment levels

The working processes used by artists are adapted and tweaked by successive generations of creative people. For many years watercolour has been used predominantly with the same level of pigment-to-water in the process of creating art. As time has progressed, artists have sought to stretch the parameters, some using a combination of materials in collage, others by mixing media such as combinations of acrylic, gouache, pastel and watercolour to suit their approach.

I have long admired the wonderful work of John Blockley, who pushed the boundaries of the medium. In more recent times Joseph Zbukvic and Alvaro Castagnet have also pushed the edges of the envelope. The work of Marc Folly and Dean Mitchell inspire and hold the attention to study their process – all very different but wonderful.

Experiment

Hours spent playing with pigments on paper of various types have developed my approach of ‘what if’. By this I mean the success or failure of an idea is not really important, but the process of learning from experimentation has taken my working process, and developed techniques, in a personal direction. You should never aspire to paint like a specific artist. Instead dissect their work, try things yourself, disregard what does not suit you and then adapt the things you like to your specific requirements.

Experiment by creating a weak mix, ie maximum water to minimum pigment on a dry, damp or wet surface. Create distance by using a weak mix on damp paper; this will create soft, blended edges, which imply distance. Remember that in recession values move towards the blue/grey area. Stronger mixes in the foreground create depth. Areas of shadow with implied interest offer balance to the focus, to