Distilling the Scene Painting Watercolour by Ron Ranson

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DISTILLING
THE SCENE
a
RON RANSON
B= artist knows how easy it is to

include too much detail in a
painting, spoiling what might otherwise be
a successful piece of art. In this refresh-
ingly original and practical book, Ron
Ranson explains how to avoid these pitfalls
and paint instead works full of light and
movement — distilling each scene down to
its essentials.
Using photographic examples of scenes he
has painted, Ron describes what can
usefully be eliminated, what needs to be
changed, and what techniques should be
employed to ensure a successful result.
Every point is illustrated with numerous
finished paintings and colour sketches.
Separate chapters on buildings, trees and
skies highlight the problems posed by those
subjects, and suggest easy techniques to
overcome them. The artist also discusses
materials most suitable to this approach.
Ron’s straightforward and effective advice
can be applied by every artist to any scene.
Simple techniques for avoiding clutter will
reveal a completely new side to your skills,
allowing you to capture with style and
grace the true essence of nature’s beauty.
More than simply a ‘how to’ book,
Distilling the Scene will take you one step
nearer the goal of successful watercolours.
DAVID & CHARLES

ISBN 0 7153 0067 9
NET IN UK
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2023 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/distillingscenepOOOOrans
Paint Watercolour
DISTILLING
THE SCENE
keer heen
a
(Watercolour
A DAVID & CHARLES BOOK
Copyright © Ron Ranson 1994
First published 1994
Ron Ranson has asserted his right to be identified as author of this

work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,

stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, by photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British

Library.
ISBN 0 7153 0067 9
Typeset by Ace Filmsetting Ltd, Frome

and printed in Singapore by C.S. Graphics Pte Ltd
for David & Charles
Brunel House Newton Abbot Devon
would like to thank the following for work: Lawrence Goldsmith, John Palmer, John
allowing me to reproduce some of the Yardley, Frank Webb; Mrs Claude Croney and
pictures in this book: Norfolk Museums Mrs Wesson for allowing me to use the paint-
Service, Norwich Castle Museum, for Greta ings by their late husbands; and Carol Hagerman
Bridge (1810) by John Sell Cotman; Rowland who gave me a lot of help and encouragement
Hilder’s estate for Sea Reach from Kentish Side; with the drawing and design sections. Finally,
Richard Green for Edward Seago’s Foothills of my thanks go to Ann Mills who helped me
the Atlas; Susan Mulhauser for many of her enormously with the writing and Jenny Hickey
transparencies. I would also like to thank the who did all the typing.
following artists for allowing me to use their
CONTENTS
Introduction
1
Masters of Distillation 10
2
Materials 18
&
Training the Mind and Eye 22
4
Creating your own Style 28
5
Design in Watercolour 36
6
Tonal Sketches 48
Af
Counterchange 50
8
Skies 54
9
Trees and Vegetation 63
10
Buildings 70
i
Water 78
12
Colour 86
13
Distilling the Scene Worldwide 90
14
What of the Future? 120
Index 128
INTRODUCTION
n the past, I seem to have gained something

of areputation for specialising in encourag-
ing people to make a start in watercolour.
My courses and my books have rather concen-
trated on this, and my aim has been to infect
would-be painters with my own enthusiasm,
and to remove some of the fear and false mys-
tique which have so often surrounded watercol-
our. Now I feel that it is time to move forward
a little and in response to requests from my
students, I am beginning to run more advanced
courses. It seemed logical, therefore, to produce
a book that looks beyond the elementary tech-
niques and towards the processes of simplifica-
tion, directness and design, in other words
‘Distilling the Scene’.
When we look at paintings by the masters of
watercolour, the simplicity of treatment ap-
pears to be very logical and easily obtainable.
However, this is enormously deceptive. These
results are only achieved after first mastering
the materials and training the brain to analyse
what is essential to the picture and what is
irrelevant. For students, mastering the materi-
als is just a question of time and practice — in
other words, learn your craft. Thinking about it
in tennis terms, you first learn all your strokes,
practising until you can produce them instinc-
tively without having to think about them. To
progress further, however, you must learn court
craft and tactics, which require a different level
of intellectual effort.
In painting, at first you sit down in front of a
subject and simply attempt to record it as accu-
rately as possible. The next stage, however, is
to be able to design your painting, using the
elements in front of you but arranging and
modifying the material to produce an infinitely
more satisfying picture.
This painting was done very rapidly on one of my trips to Italy. |

thought I'd try to paint it without any pre-pencil drawing at all.
It’s an exciting exercise which certainly sharpens the
concentration and produces a more impressionistic result.
6
INTRODUCTION
DISTILLING THE SCENE
| painted this scene during a workshop which | ran in Oregon, USA.

It's of the famous Rogue River, reputedly the finest salmon river in
the country. It's an ‘S’ shaped composition with the river taking the
eye to the counterchanged distant bend.
INTRODUCTION
It is important to understand the meaning of The aim is to synthesise, hopefully using fewer
design as it applies to watercolour, because and fewer strokes, much in the way that a good
until you do you're simply not going to produce piece of poetry will convey its meaning vividly,
worthwhile and meaningful work. A painting is without superfluous words.
not just a collection of unrelated objects but In this book, therefore, I have assumed that
should be an interlocking and arresting whole. you already know how to use your materials
and are ready to come with me to the next stage
in the most fascinating and elusive of mediums
— watercolour.
Although I’ve been immersed in watercolour
painting for about eighteen years now, paint-
ing, teaching, writing and making videos on the
subject, it still thrills and excites me as much as
ever. The deeper I’ve delved into watercolour
painting, the more I realise just how much there
is to learn, and this learning is far more than just
putting paint on paper efficiently, which is
really only the beginning. I sometimes liken
watercolour to golf, telling artists that the fewer
strokes they use the more professional the re-
sults will appear. Taking the analogy a stage
further, you never master the game completely
and always feel a tingle of anticipation at each
hole, always wondering whether you're going
to get into trouble or manage a hole in one. As
in golf, at any stage in your watercolour career
you can have periods where you seem to lose all
confidence and start to think that you're never
going to produce a decent painting again. |
know this as I’ve been through a few traumatic
times myself, and I’ve learned that the only
thing to do is to keep painting doggedly until
suddenly the spirit returns — and it will. When
I have time, I’m going to take up golf, too!
You won't find any chapters in this book on
how to put on graduated washes. I have pre-
sumed that you have already learned that —
hopefully from my previous books! This book
tries to take you deeper into the subject, looking
at the thinking and planning which goes on
before you even lift your brush — with a little
homespun philosophy thrown in. You'll also
find a chapter devoted to creating your own
style. This personal style will inevitably evolve
slowly, so don’t panic. Hopefully, though, the
ideas in the rest of the book will hasten the
process, stimulating and encouraging you to
more mental involvement, thus allowing your
personality to show through in your painting.
1
MASTERS OF
DISTILLATION
ot to make any bones about it, the five

artists featured in the following pages
have taught me more about distillation
in watercolour than anyone else. The list could
be extended, as there are many other artists
whose work I admire and revere, such as John
Singer Sargent who was a superb loose water-
colourist. However, for the purpose of this
book, the work of these five artists fits the bill
admirably. The keynote which links them all is
simplicity, which can only be achieved by deep
knowledge. There is no short-cut to this, al-
though it appears deceptively straightforward.
To those of us who attempt to follow in the
footsteps of these five masters, however, the
difficulties become all too evident, and we real-
ise quickly that the process of simplification
and distillation requires keen observation,
analysis and evaluation, before we even lay our
brush on paper.
John Sell Cotman

(1782-1842)
Here was a man who was centuries ahead of
his time, his style being completely different
from the work of any other artist at that time.
His results were attained in a unique way by
reducing his subject matter to interlocking slabs
of colour which created harmony and pattern
in his landscapes. Using rough paper he was
able to convey texture and detail with incred-
ible brevity of stroke and he was particularly
masterful in his simplification of buildings. His
churches, castles and other buildings, although
so briefly indicated, were instantly recognis-
able and the weight and texture of the stone
were always apparent. Unlike his friend Turner,
Cotman’s genius was not recognised during his
lifetime. He was obliged to sell his pictures at
very low prices and died a pauper.
10
MASTERS OF DISTILLATION
GRETA BRIDGE (1810) by John Sell Cotman

This magnificent painting of the Greta Bridge in Rokeby Park,
Yorkshire, was one of Cotman’s most famous paintings. The
interlocking areas of colour produced a surface pattern of sheer
brilliance. He has used his favourite colours of yellow ochre, sepia
and burnt umber to great effect creating a unified and harmonious
whole. The sky is well thought out and the cool greys and blues
complement perfectly the richer colours of the landscape.
SEA REACH FROM KENTISH SIDE by Rowland

H ilder
This superb painting is full of space and at mosphere. Beautifully
balanced _ the two main trees are echoed by the cloud shapes.
.
Hilder uses one of his favourite techniques of put ing a strong
shadow along the base 0 f the picture{ure tto take the v lewer into the
scene. This dark ISaIso used t0 balance the trees. The handling o f
the sky is masterly.
Rowland Hilder (1905-93)

Rowland Hilder has probably done more than
any other artist in the last fifty years to reveal
the English landscape to his fellow country-
men, in terms which they understand and re-
spond to. His distinctive treatment of the
English countryside has made his paintings the
most easily recognised of our leading land-
scape artists. | have always admired his work
and learned from it, too. As well as having all
his books, I also have a hoard of his pictures
gleaned from various publications over the
years.
One of the techniques I learned from Hilder
was the way in which he ‘stage lit’ his land-
scapes to produce dramatic effects. This was
obviously a result of his early work as a black-
and-white illustrator and brought a special qual-
ity to his work which is almost unique. Northern
Kent has become known as ‘Rowland Hilder
country’ because its hop fields and oast-houses
have been portrayed for posterity in countless
paintings of his over the years.
Looking at the distinctly English quality of
Hilder’s paintings it is difficult to believe that
he was actually born in the USA. However,
since his student days at Goldsmith College, he
has been constantly in the forefront of land-
scape painting in England and was President
of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water-
colour for ten years.
The range of his work has been tremendous,
from illustrating classical books such as Moby
Dick, Treasure Island and Prectous Bane, to the
outstanding Shell advertising campaign of the
1930s, and the publications of Royles, with
whom he worked for thirty years and which
made him a household name.
It was as I was writing this short piece about
Rowland Hilder that I heard of his death. As
well as the sad personal loss to all those who
knew him, his death will also be a tremendous
loss to English art.
Edward Seago (1910-74)

Edward Seago has been the greatest single
influence on my life and work. It was Seago’s
painting that inspired me to take up water-
colour at a time of personal crisis. Incidentally,
I have since written two books about him.
Dogged throughout his life by a strange heart
13
complaint, Seago had very little formal educa-

tion. He spent most of his childhood painting,
even during periods when he was confined to
bed. His interest in art was discouraged by his
parents and throughout his life he was forced
to seek encouragement from others. His an-
nual exhibitions in Bond Street galleries were
unprecedented. Queues formed long before the
doors opened and every exhibition was sold
out within an hour. Seago was primarily an oil
painter and took up watercolour later in life.
His watercolours contained a directness and
simplicity which was almost unequalled. His
washes were left untouched and were an
honest statement of his craftsmanship.
An artist’s artist, Seago’s work has had enor-
mous influence on other painters throughout
the world. Wherever I go, his work is spoken
of with enormous respect and admiration
Edward Wesson (1910-83)

Edward Wesson was one of the best-loved
painter/teachers of the twentieth century. This
dynamic teacher of watercolour influenced
many thousands and his gruff humour is legen-
dary. He died almost ten years ago, working
right up to the end. Wherever painters gather,
their discussions still include ‘dear old Ted’. In
fact, as I write this, my own book about him,
which contains over 120 of his paintings, is just
arriving in the bookshops.
Wesson had strong opinions about his work
and first and foremost was his dedication to
‘purity’ in watercolour. Asked which medium
he preferred, his answer was always the same:
‘When it comes off, there’s nothing like a good
watercolour.’ A traditionalist, and proud of it,
Wesson felt that watercolour had a unique
quality, the key being the paper itself. He firmly
believed that the process of painting should
disturb the surface of the paper as little as
possible; he felt that pushing the paint around
and manipulating it destroys the magic.
Feeling as he did about the paper, inevitably
Wesson always insisted that artists should make
the best possible use of it by laying all the
washes on it once only. This creates a wonder-
ful luminosity not found in any other medium
and if some of the paper is actually left un-
touched, in some circumstances it will give a
natural sparkle which no amount of Chinese
white would ever achieve.
14
FOOTHILLS OF THE ATLAS by Edward Seago

Ifever there was a single lesson in pure watercolour, then this is it.
The washes have been laid with economy and complete
transparency. The warmth of the colours creates an atmosphere of
shimmering heat. Even the foreground rocks have merely been
hinted at. Note the way in which the fort has been placed just off-
centre, but the whole painting is perfectly balanced.
15
One of the ways in which Wesson achieved Yardley was featured in my book Water-
his loose and distinctive style was the use of his colour Impressionists and \ater I produced an-
large French polisher’s mop rather than the other illustrated book devoted entirely to his
more conventional sables. work. I admire enormously his ability to sim-
Like all the artists mentioned in this chapter, plify a scene to its basic pattern, as well as his
a main feature of Wesson’s works was his re- way of painting which the layman can under-
markable economy of stroke and the simplicity stand and appreciate.
of his paintings, gained by meticulous observa- In recent years, Yardley’s subject matter has
tion of his subjects and strong self-discipline. widened even more and he leaps from interiors
to flower paintings to busy street scenes. He
John Yardley (born 1953) discovered an ability to describe a moving fig-
ure with an astonishing ease and conviction,
John Yardley is a relative newcomer to the art using the minimum of strokes. With no more
world, having spent most of his working life in than a ‘smudge’ of paint, he gives a viewer a
a bank. This, of course, offered security but fleeting impression of twenty different people
frustrated his artistic abilities. Completely un- bustling about their business in a city street —
trained in art, he worked for thirty years at the quick, the slow, the ponderous and the
nights and weekends to perfect his painting. slight all displaying their own particular move-
Finally, however, in 1986 he was able to take ments. After careful observation, his brush
early retirement from the bank and pursue his moves with lightning speed when he finally
art full time. Since then his rise has been makes his considered stroke.
meteoric and he can hardly keep up with the I feel fortunate to possess twelve of Yardley’s
demand his work has created. He also travels paintings and I know that his future is assured
widely, collecting material for his varied sub- as one of our great watercolourists.
jects.
16
ST IVES, HUNTINGDON by Edward Wesson

| love the subtlety of the warm and cool greys and browns in this
picture. When |saw this painting in an annual R.1. exhibition, |
rushed towards it, only to find that it already had a red sticker on it! |
~ feel that this is a fine example of Wesson's transparent watercolour.
CHARLES BRIDGE, PRAGUE byJohn Yardley

In his early days, John Yardley was much influenced by the work of
Ted Wesson. However, once he began to increase the importance
of figures in his painting, his work began to have a unique feeling
which is truly John’s own. | know of no one who can match him in
the free interpretation of people. This example shows street
musicians performing in the Czechoslovakian sunshine. | always
admire the contrast and counterchange in John’s work which is
used here to great advantage.
I has been said that amateur painters are Brusheo
afraid of boldness and that professionals
are afraid of timidity. Although I regard I’ve restricted my brushes to three: my big
myself as an Impressionist type of water- hake, which I use for about three-quarters
colourist, I still have a mental battle against of my painting; the lin (2.5cm) flat with the
‘tightness’ caused by a fear of taking risks and bristles made from man-made fibre, which I
by trying to keep to safe ground. Sometimes I use mainly for buildings, boats and other sharp
win this battle, but more often I lose. It’s per- objects; and the No 3 rigger, a very flexible
haps understandable that many of the winners brush which I use for figures, branches and
are done on odd scraps of paper where I’ve grass.
already failed on one side and have therefore
already lost the money I’ve paid for the paper Palette
in the first place, thus removing one of the
inhibitions! The point I’m making is that there My palette, too, is larger than life, being an
is a lot of personal psychology in watercolour ordinary white plastic tray. I don’t like the
painting. I feel that the materials we use can palettes with little square partitions because
have a marked effect on our mental attitude they harbour so much dried-up paint. Yester-
and subsequent results, particularly as we're day’s paint is too unsympathetic — I like fresh
trying to move on in our painting, concentrat- mobile paint for each painting. This may
ing on distillation and improved composition. horrify more conventional painters who try to
Being something of a rebel, I soon aban- keep their bits of paint going for weeks — wear-
doned the more conventional materials — the ing out their brushes in the process!
tiny sable brushes and little square pans of
colour, the small palettes and expensive hand- Water-pot
made paper. They all seemed too restricting
and inhibited my attempts at freedom. I de- When I’m working outside, I use a collapsible
cided therefore to produce my own set of mate- water-pot which hangs from a metal easel. You
rials to help me loosen up. will also need a good supply of rags whether
you're inside or out, which are essential to
remove the excess water which causes so much
chaos for first-time users of the hake.
Paints
First the colours. Instead of the score of col-
Paper
ours normally used, I restricted myself to seven. I prefer Bockingford 140lb, in pads. I find
Instead of buying expensive ‘Artist Quality’ the more expensive, continental hand-made
pans or little tubes, I bought large 21mm tubes papers rather inhibiting because of their high
of Cotman watercolour made by Winsor and cost. I also scorn convention by never stretch-
Newton. The very size seems to encourage you ing my paper although I know thousands of
to squeeze out generous quantities rather than people do. I find that a spring clip on the loose
being stingy with the more expensive tubes, edge of my pad iS perfectly adequate to stop
thus removing another psychological barrier. the paper curling.
My palette consists of: raw sienna; burnt um- So you can see, as well as attempting to
ber; ultramarine; Payne’s grey; light red; alizarin ‘distil’ in my painting, I’ve also done so with my
crimson; and lemon yellow hue. materials.
18
MATERIALS
The photograph above shows the basic materials which | use in my

own work and teaching. They've been deliberately reduced for
simplicity's sake. The mixtures made by the seven colours are soon
memorised and the use and purpose of the three brushes quickly
learned.
19
Here you can see part of the interior of my new, purpose-built

studio. The balcony has a beautiful view of the trees and stream
below. Although it may all look rather swish, in fact I've had most of
the equipment for years and even then it was second-hand! |use it
not only for my own work but also for the painting courses | run here
at home near Chepstow.
The Studto full-size table-tennis table which, when cov-

ered, provides comfortable working space for
Regarding my studio, I’ve been very lucky. six students, and another six can be accommo-
I’ve just bought a charming cottage in a beauti- dated in other parts of the studio. I’ve used
ful garden complete with stream and mature kitchen work-tops with curtains to hide the
woodland. This has given me the opportunity inevitable debris underneath, and there are
to have a studio built to my own design. I also two large plan chests, one of which sup-
spend much of my day here, either teaching ports my sophisticated duplicator, essential
students, painting or producing my books. The when I’m writing my books. My easel is an old
studio is on the first floor and has a balcony disused drafting board which I picked up very
which is super to paint from. Carpeted with cheaply, painted white and covered with white
Heuga carpet tiles which are virtually inde- laminate.
structible and impervious to splashed paint, it You'll notice in the picture a transparency
really is ideal for all my activities. It contains a viewer which blows up transparencies to about
20
MATERIALS
Another corner of the studio. This time |’m working on a covered

table-tennis table which is ideal when I’m producing my books -
there's plenty of room to spread out. The 14 finished books are
displayed on the shelf behind me.
10in (25cm). This can be used in daylight and,

being fan-cooled, can be left on for long peri-
ods without overheating. You may also have
noticed the rack which contains my finished
books which are well thumbed by my stu-
dents! All this may seem rather luxurious, but
please bear in mind that I’ve only achieved it
after many years of making do with kitchen
tables and the like.
I do hope that the pictures in this chapter will

give you a few ideas and that the distilled
materials may help to change your outlook and
simplify your style.
21
3
TRAINING THE MIND

AND EYE
Select ano Reject

nce you've mastered the basics of your
craft and learned to portray everything
in front of you as accurately as possible,
it’s time to move on. Now you must learn to
become more critical and selective of nature's
design. It will take time to train your mind and
eye to this new task, but it must be done if you
are to progress from being just an amateur
picture-maker. As the famous watercolour
teacher, Ed Whitney, once said: ‘I make my
bow to nature, then do as I damn well please.’
As an artist, you can’t hope to transcribe all
that’s in front of you, even if you wanted to.
The scene before you is three-dimensional and
is bathed in beautiful light, while your paper
can only have two dimensions and you only
have paint to help you. Therefore, of necessity
you have to translate the beauty of the scene
rather than the actual fact. You must reject
absolutely everything that doesn’t convey your
own feelings about the scene and emphasise all
those elements that do. The decision of what to
reject needs as much skill and sensitivity as the
portrayal of the essentials. As a teacher I find
this stage one ofthe most difficult for the inter-
mediate student, and I’m constantly being
asked, ‘What do I leave out?’ Once you see the
work of a truly skilled professional, however,
the process of rejection and the reasoning be-
hind it become self-evident.
The process of rejection begins with finding
the subject and gradually homing in on it and
intensifying it. At first, you may find that a
small viewfinder is a great help in eliminating
extraneous material. This can be made simply
by cutting out a rectangle from a postcard.
Initially you don’t even need your paints. The
whole object is to improve your skill in select-
ing your basic subject.
22 aoa
TRAINING THE MIND AND EYE
In this picture of a misty woodland glade, the whole of the

background was portrayed using wet-into-wet cool greens,
resulting in the rigger work being blurred and thus adding to the
atmosphere. As | moved forwards, |warmed up the greens and as
the background dried, |was able to indicate the foreground trees
more sharply. A variety of strokes were used to obtain the
foreground textures, as well as the inevitable fingernail and a credit
card for the top of the rocks. Finally, the water was painted using a
preliminary wash of pale grey-blue and while this was still damp,
the reflections of the trees were added using stronger paint.
Planning Right
This shows how few elements are needed to produce quite an
attractive picture. A low horizon, a tree, and an interesting sky are
The next stage is to screw up your eyes to a all that are needed. There is a variety of techniques here — wet into
narrow slit which will immediately cut out petty wet for the sky, a simple flat wash for the distant hill, and good fast
detail and enable you to see your subject in horizontal strokes for the foreground. Remember always, never fuss
simpler terms (you see too much with your your foreground.
eyes wide open). If you think that you're now
going to sit down and paint the picture, you're
wrong! You haven't designed it yet, and you've
no hope of designing it as you paint. Trying to
cope with the difficulties of tone and colour
mixing is quite enough. After all, you wouldn't
just start to build a house, you would first sit
down with an architect, work out your re-
quirements and perfect the design. You might
be the best bricklayer in the world but you still
wouldn't have a viable house if you hadn't first Below
completed the groundwork. Similarly, how- Here we have a simple scene in Greenwich, Connecticut. The
picture divides neatly into three planes. The background village,
ever good a technician you are, without careful
painted very flat and cool, the middle ground in warmer greens,
planning your work will be bitty and confus- and the foreground in rich contrasting colours and tones to bring it
ing. forward. This is drawn in vignette form. Notice the use of the white
Planning is a huge barrier which daunts paper.
most amateur artists. They would rather paint
their picture by trial and error than ‘waste
time and paper’ in preparation. This lack of
planning, however, is what keeps them
amateurs and prevents them from attaining a
professional standard of work. It’s important,
therefore, that if you want to produce pro-
fessional work, you must be determined to put
this particular barrier behind you and do some
careful preparation.
I hope that the illustrations on this spread
will give you some idea of the approach. I find
that working quickly, possibly even setting a
time limit, is important. I’ve often thought of
buying a cook’s timer to put in front of me
while I paint! On the final day of my course I
make my students do what they call a ‘half-
hour quickie’! I ring the bell on the side of the
house and off they go. At the end of thirty
minutes the bell rings again and they must stop
— even if they haven't finished. There’s an at-
mosphere of silent panic as the brushes fly.
Believe me, the best paintings of the whole
course are often produced during this period.
24
ANN
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REN
AREAS
3
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| really enjoyed painting this scene. t was done very quickly in a
howling gale on Salisbury Plain, nea r where |teach in Dinton.
Clouds were of course th e main feature, exciting forms of cumulus
which cried out to be pai nted rapidly and boldly. I've also tried to
convey the wind by the directional st rokes of the grasses. It would
have been even more co nvincing if ‘d made the figure lean into the
wind and hold on to his hat
26
27
4
CREATING YOUR OWN

STYLE
ost watercolour books, including my

Mew concentrate on the basic tech-
niques of applying watercolour —
wet-into-wet, dry brush, etc. To become really
fluent and confident you'll have to work at this
for a year or two to learn your craft. Those
people who say that the ability to paint is a gift,
are wrong ~—it’s mostly a case of sheer hard work.
Most of us have a favourite artist we would
like to emulate, and are influenced by his or her
style. The time comes, however, when you have
to leave your mentor behind and put your own
unmistakable mark on your painting. I freely
admit that my personal hero was Edward Seago,
whose work inspired me to take up water-
colour at the age of 50, a process which has
changed my whole life. Such was my admira-
tion for the man, that subsequently I have
produced two books about him. His personal
style is recognisable from the other side of a
SHESIE
Another painter for whom | have enormous
respect is Edward Wesson, a charismatic artist
and teacher whose work has influenced thou-
sands of would-be watercolourists. To quote
from my book about him:
He was often asked whether it was in order

to copy another artist’s work. He always
said ‘Why on earth not?!’ He had no hesita-
tion at all, on a wet day, in offering sketches
of his own for copying by the students. He
felt that if they, as individuals, had anything
at all to say, it wouldn't be long before they
were saying it in their own language.
The most important part of the quote is the last

sentence, in which he is saying that you must
learn to create your own style, which should be
as unique as your own signature; you should
try to get away from being an efficient but
anonymous watercolourist. This progression is
28
CREATING YOUR OWN STYLE
This was a demonstration |did in a thick fog in the little village of

Port Clyde in Maine, where |teach every year. I’ve tried to give a
rough Impression of the place in this atmosphere using very few
strokes and painting as rapidly as possible. As you can see, much
of it is wet into wet to convey the blurred outline which the fog
produced. |find that demonstrating concentrates the mind and
adds to the excitement.
avery important point in your painting career.

Incidentally, you'll find that the selection com-
mittees of such bodies as the RI and the AWS,
when looking for new members, are searching
for just this elusive quality.
Having accepted the idea of creating your
own style, how do you go about acquiring this
quality? First of all, don’t be in too much of a
hurry. You can’t go out and choose a style, as
you would a dress or a jacket. Your own style
will gradually evolve as you work and develop
your own mental attitude as well as your tech-
nique. Learn to avoid the pitfalls. For instance,
beware of flashy techniques. You won't sud-
denly become unique because you've learned
how to use salt, candle-wax and tissue-paper,
or by stamping your washes with cellophane.
Your eventual style must be flexible enough
to encompass all the different moods and sub-
ject matter that you'll encounter in different
parts of the world. It’s too easy to become a
one-picture artist, churning out many varia-
tions of the same themes just because they
always sell. All you'll be doing is creating a
strait-jacket for yourself which will stifle your
style, your creativity and enthusiasm.
Expressing Emotion
One of your most valuable assets that enables
you to express your individuality is your own
emotion. After all, one of the hallmarks of any
great artist is the ability to feel deeply about the
content of his or her work. One of the ways in
which you can harness your emotions is to
expose yourself to those things in your envi-
ronment which will stimulate your creative
thoughts — for example, the dramatic lighting
of early morning or evening, a mist on the
river, or the brilliant light of midday. All these
provoke emotional responses, and this excite-
ment will become evident in your work.
Every now and again during my painting
year, I find a subject which provokes such a
response in me that the hairs on the back of my
neck stand up and I know that this will be a This quiet morning scene was painted on the River Wye near my
good painting. These few paintings are far home. | love attempting to create the subtle colours of the area
superior to the rest of my work, and I only wish where the mists rise gently from the river. | painted the top hil
sharply and then watered the paint down to achieve the misty
that it would happen more often.
effect. Watercolour really lends itself to this type of peaceful scene.
Try to work occasionally at a more fevered
pace. Move rapidly over the surface and treat
forms more simply, attempting to instil the
spirit of the subject in your painting. This, of
30
Overleaf
Here is another picture of Port Clyde, though contrasting sharply
with that on page 28. This time itwas a clear morning with just
wisps of cirrus clouds. I've tried to give a strong sense of depth by
painting the background village a pale shade of blue whilst
warming the colours as they came forward. The foreground beach
was pebbly, so I've indicated this with fast, dry brush strokes.
31
52
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See
course, involves taking risks and your first

efforts may seem out of control. However, as
you become more experienced in this approach,
you will soon regain control, yet your work
will ooze vitality and excitement.
A famous quotation of Albert Einstein is
very relevant here: ‘Imagination is more im-
portant than knowledge.’ Try to get out of your
comfort zone and be willing to explore and use
your imagination to look for the more unusual
aspects of your subjects. Be really daring, give
a free rein to your use of fantasy rather than
being too down-to-earth and stolid.
The style you produce is the result of your
own particular way of feeling and reacting.
After all, no two people ever react in exactly
the same way in any given situation. To be able
to make visual statements in your own unique
way is the most satisfying aspect of painting.
The more you paint with this frame of mind,
the easier it will become to create your own
unique imagery. Like your handwriting, the
way you express yourself in paint will be
uniquely and recognisably your own.
Of course, this way of expressing yourself is
risky, but failure can be positive in as much as
it can be part of the learning process. Let’s face
it, watercolour is a risky medium, but once this
risk is accepted, it too can be used to develop
your own style. If I may quote from my first
book: ‘It’s better to have a glorious failure than
a weak miserable one.’ Even if you only get
four good paintings out of ten, this willingness
to take a chance is what will produce the real
winner.
34
CREATING YOUR OWN STYLE
In this snow scene, |really let myself go. I've tried to keep the still damp. To achieve this freedom you have to be in the right mood
background woods as fresh, rich and loose as |could, dropping and not be too worried as to whether or not you're going to spoil the
almost neat colour into the wet, and using the other end of my hake picture. Being too careful would simply have ruined it.
along with my fingernails to get the white trees while the paint was
35
5
DESIGN IN
WATERCOLOUR
any watercolour books explain the

|
‘/ laying on of washes and the various
techniques of applying paint, but skip
over the actual design of the picture itself. This
is strange when you consider that it is design
that wins awards and gets paintings into na-
tional exhibitions and is what is lacking in
rejected paintings. While the ability to design
may not be something that artists are born
with, it is, however, something which can be
learned. Design has definite rules which, once
absorbed and applied, will take your paintings
into another league. Your ignorance or knowl-
edge of these rules will show in every painting
you do, regardless of subject matter.
The principles of design apply to all the arts,
whether it is drama, photography, music or
industrial design. However, in 1951 an Ameri-
can called Maitland Graves wrote a book called
The Art of Color and Design in which he applied
these principles to visual design generally. At
about the time he wrote the book, Graves was
teaching at the Pratt Institute in New York, a
famous and prestigious college of art. Here he
met and influenced another American artist,
Ed Whitney, who was to become the most
famous teacher of watercolour in the USA. He
it was who adapted the principles of design to
the process of painting watercolour. A man of
enormous vitality and personality, he discussed
his ideas nationwide. Students of all abilities
flocked to his workshops and, by applying these
principles, began to win an enormous propor-
tion of American national watercolour awards.
I was so impressed by this giant of a man, who
went on teaching well into his nineties, that
I've recently written a book about him and his
methods and ideas.
36
DESIGN IN WATERCOLOUR
This is a cliff top scene on the island of Monhegan painted as quickly

and simply as possible. The large tree on the right has been
balanced by the small dark trees on the left. Notice how the colour
and texture in the foreground have been varied to avoid monotony.
37
Seven Component Parts

Before you can apply the principles of design
to a watercolour, you must first break down
the painting into its component parts. There
are seven of these in any painting and they are
the raw material from which a design is built.
They are: shape, size, line, direction, colour,
value, texture.
Shape A shape is anything that has height

and width and it can be placed in three catego-
ries: curved, angular or rectangular. All three
can appear in a painting but one must be domi-
nant — ie, one shape must be larger, appear
more often or both.
Size Shapes are of various sizes to one an-

other, larger, smaller or the same size.
Line Lines ina painting are either straight or

curved and although both can be in any one
painting, again, one must be dominant.
38
Direction Ina painting, one direction must

be dominant, whether it is horizontal, vertical
or oblique. Where the horizontal is dominant,
_ the majority of the lines and shapes will also be
horizontal, whereas the vertical shapes will
play only a minor part. If the vertical is domi-
nant, then the opposite occurs and you could
actually start the process by using the paper
vertically. When the oblique is dominant, then
the lines and shapes will be sloping.
eee,
39
Colour You need to learn to use colour prop-

erly to get atmosphere and excitement into
your painting. I will talk more about this in
Chapter 12.
Value Value is the lightness or darkness of

any colour and its use in any design is of para-
mount importance.
Texture Texture is the surface quality of ob-

jects, and in painting, this can be divided into
three simple categories: soft, rough and smooth.
41
Eight Principles of Design

The eight most important principles of design
are: balance, harmony, gradation, contrast, vari-
ation, alternation, dominance, unity.
Balance The easiest illustration of balance is

probably a see-saw. If all the larger shapes are
on one side of a picture, it will appear out of
balance. If, however, you move them nearer to
the centre of the picture, they can be balanced
by moving smaller shapes away from the
centre. This is what is known as informal
balance. Formal balance is when you have two
shapes of equal size on either side of a picture,
but this is usually less interesting. You'll see
this in the illustrations.
Harmony Harmony simply describes ele-

ments which are similar to each other. Harmo-
nious colours are those which are adjacent on
the colour wheel such as red and orange. A
circle is harmonious to an oval, while harmoni-
ous shapes are those which are close together
in size.
42
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Gradation This is a gradual change from one

thing to another. For instance, in colour, it’s a
gradual change from cool to warm colour or
vice versa and in value it’s a gradual change
from dark to light or light to dark. The tech-
nique is used to create interest in an otherwise
flat, boring area.
43
Contrast Contrast is best described as an

abrupt change from one thing to another, be it
from light to dark in tone or from warm to cool
in colour. .
xi
saraes
A
ve,
44
Variation and alternation These are two ment — part of the artist’s job. You should
ways of repeating yourself in a painting, be it never have a large area of painting without
size, shape or colour, to avoid a monotonous variation, and this can be achieved by making
-effect. To repeat an element with variation can it lighter, darker, another colour, or a combi-
be very effective as it provides visual entertain- nation of both.
45
Dominance Probably the most important

principle of design is dominance. In any paint-
ing, one unit must be more important than
the rest. This importance can be achieved by
making the unit larger than everything else, by
providing more value contrast around it, by
making it the brightest colour or a combination
of these. If there are two trees, then one must
be larger than the other. One cloud in a sky
must be larger than the rest or one mountain
must be larger than the others. This is how you
will achieve dominance in your painting.
LE GSRESTEE ad
Unity To be worthwhile, a painting must be

a complete unit and lock together as such rather
than being merely a collection of several bits. If
_any of the elements appears in one section of
the painting, it should be echoed in another
part. In other words, it should be related — for
example, a large tree could be echoed by a
smaller tree, or a large patch of colour could be
echoed by a smaller patch in another part of
the painting. These are best done in an oblique
way. You can also do this with shapes by echo-
ing your tree in a cloud shape. Never make
these echoes the same size — one must always
be smaller than the other.
All this might seem a lot to take in at first 4 Entertainment, by repeating with variation.
glance, which is why many artists tend to avoid 5 Contrast, of dark against light and vice versa.
the techniques altogether. Once learned and 6 Balance, remember the see-saw.
used instinctively in your paintings, however, 7 Main object of interest.
youll find that your work will be vastly im-
proved. A good idea is to create a basic check It’s not necessary or even practical to apply all
list, such as the one below, which can be used the principles to each part of your painting.
to judge your painting. For example, you could probably have a well-
designed picture if you applied the principle of
1 Dominance of, say, colour, shape, texture, dominance to, say, three of the parts of the
line. painting — say, direction, shape and texture.
2 Variation, particularly of large areas. This would also provide your painting with
3 Unity, perhaps by echoing. unity.
47
TONAL SKETCHES
our tonal sketch is part of the vitally Above

Y important thinking period before you All you need for your design kit is a 6B carpenter's pencil, a sketch
pad, a razor blade and a putty rubber, then you're in business.
start on your finished painting. Art stu-
dents everywhere pay lip-service to and agree
totally with this concept — then they ignore the
practice completely! Their only reaction is a Below
sense of guilt because they haven't done it! This shows how much variation in tone can be obtained by varying
They then wonder why their paintings don’t the weight on the pencil.
progress as they should and why their pictures
get rejected by exhibitions such as the RI.
After all, they know that their washes have
been put on cleanly and freshly, so where are
they going wrong? Acceptance committees
these days have so much to choose from and
they expect technical competence at the very
least. What they are really looking for, apart
from an unusual slant on a subject, is a sense of
cohesion and unity in a painting, and the only
way most of us can achieve this is by thorough
preparation.
To do tonal sketches properly, you need
several more materials than I mentioned in
Chapter 2. Let’s call it your ‘designer kit’. This
48
TONAL SKETCHES
consists of a sketch pad of smooth cartridge

paper (don’t try to do the sketches on your
watercolour paper, it’s unsympathetic and won't
-work — you can’t get the range of tones). Next
comes pencils. Many people use HBs, which
are more suitable for writing. What you really
need are good soft pencils from 3B to 6B, anda
6B carpenter's pencil. These are better as they
discourage you from drawing lines around your
subjects. Apart from a putty rubber, that’s all
you need.
One of the first things you have to learn is
not to draw lines — I call them wires — around
everything. Artists may be inclined to do this
because they were taught to do so at school.
Lines are utterly unhelpful and have no place
in a tonal sketch. There is also an inclination to
use the same pressure on the paper through-
out. Again, this is wrong and simply won't
work. You must get into the habit of using
varied pressure from, say, /20z (14g) to Yalb
(225g) to get the full range of tones you'll need.
You should also avoid making your tonal
sketches too big: 2X3in (5X7.5cm) if done prop-
erly will be enough to tell you whether or not
your initial design is properly united and suc-
cessful. If not, then try another one.
Avoid putting in any detail whatsoever, an-
other great temptation. At this stage you mustn't
think of the components as objects, but merely
as areas of tone. Simply ignore window frames,
tiles, grasses and the like. Concentrate on the
overall pattern and then set it down in mini-
ature. For the cost-conscious artist, you'll be
saving thousands of sheets of expensive water-
colour paper through failures in the years to
come.
I should say here that I prefer to do my tonal
sketches in burnt umber, simply because I en-
joy handling paint. However, the pencils are
much easier.
On the right are three typical tonal sketches; they take only minutes
to-do after some practice, but are vital to improve the design of your
paintings.
7
COUNTERCHANGE
hose of you who have read my previous
books or have been on my courses will
probably groan when you see the head-
ing for this chapter. Yes, it is one of my hobby
horses! I see so many flat-looking paintings in
art society exhibitions where the artist has sim-
ply not understood the principle of
counterchange. Some of my students who have
nodded wisely as I’ve pressed the point home,
have forgotten the whole thing when they are
out on site, face to face with their subject. They
don’t realise that they have to work actively at
counterchange, even though it may not be ob-
vious in the subject. After all, you can't expect
nature to think for you. It really is necessary to
intensify the values and contrasts more than
are actually there.
Moving to the other end of the scale, every
one of the fine artists in Chapter | knows the
principle of counterchange well and exploits it
in every picture. I’ve taken the opportunity
here of showing another of John Yardley’s
pictures which illustrates so well the points I’m
trying to make. If you’ve seen my book about
John Yardley (David & Charles 1990), with
its hundred or so illustrations, then you’ve had
an even better chance to see his masterly use of
the concept. It really is well worthwhile to
spend time looking at the work of the masters
and to analyse where they’ve used the tech-
nique. So now, let’s go over it again. The basic
idea behind counterchange is very simple. It’s
the placing of dark shapes against adjacent
light shapes and light shapes against dark. Al-
though this sounds very straightforward and
sensible, it’s amazing how easy it is to forget as
soon as you start your painting.
WAITING byJohn Yardley

| can think of no better way of illustrating counterchange than by
showing one of John's powerful yet simple watercolours. The
design pattern makes the picture ‘read’ with very few strokes, using
adjacent darks and lights throughout the picture.
50
COUNTERCHANGE
51
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Betas
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eres AAR
ee
neee
ee
COUNTERCHANGE
Counterchange is the easiest way of stress-

ing the main centre of interest in your picture.
To do this you simply place your darkest dark
subject against you lightest light one, which
will immediately draw your viewer's eye to-
wards that area. Having said this, the principle
should be at work in a less obvious way all over
the picture. Do remember, though, that these
effects won't be achieved by accident. You
must think your picture through beforehand —
you can’t expect to do it as you go along. (Now
of course, we've come back to the tonal sketch,
a vital preparation for any and every painting
you do.) A good test for whether or not your
counterchanging has been successful is to pho-
tocopy your painting. This will eliminate your
colours and reveal only the tones. If the overall
effect is flat and confused, then you must think
again. There really is so much that you can do
to improve your work before you start on your
finished painting.
Why is it, then, that so many students feel
that counterchange is a waste of time and want
to leap in with full colour? This is one of the
biggest things that separates the amateurs
from the professionals. I don’t apologise at
all for repeating my advice on counterchange.
Get the idea of counterchange firmly and per-
manently into your brain and your work will
improve by leaps and bounds!
Here counterchange |s used extensively both to indicate the shapes

of the rocks and hillsides. In the case of the hillsides, this is much
more subtle, with minor changes of tone, whereas in the foreground
rocks you have a very strong alternation of lights and darks.
53
onstantly changing, the clouds for ever
on the move, skies are one of the most
exciting and challenging subjects for the
watercolourist. Skies are not an easy subject
and require lots of practice, but your hard
work will be richly rewarded when you pro-
duce your first convincing sky.
In Victorian times, students were told to do
at least one sky every day of the year. Now,
however, with all the rushed pace of modern
life, this probably isn’t practicable; but even
two or three a week would amount to a hun-
dred or so in a year. After that you should be
able to see a sky in watercolour terms.
One of the good things about skies is that
you don’t have the worry and the problems of
drawing and perspective. You're left free to
concentrate on the simplification of the pat-
terns. Skies are never static so you must find
the essential feature and simplify it. Don’t
worry, you'll soon be able to develop a free
style. After all, you don’t have to go out and
look for your subject. It’s there waiting for you
just outside your window.
Don’t start a sky painting until you're clear
in your mind how you're going to tackle it. As
with any other subject, think first, paint quickly,
and get out fast. It’s so tempting to ‘worry’ a
sky to try to improve it, but if you do, you'll
lose the transparency and spontaneity. If it
doesn't work the first time, take out a fresh
piece of paper and start again. The sky is al-
ways the first thing you paint in a picture so
you won't have wasted too much time!
Courage is an essential factor in painting
skies. One of the chief faults is timidity. No one
seems to realise that skies will fade back as
they dry — if it’s right when it’s wet, it’s wrong
when it’s dry! In other words, always make
your skies stronger than you think they should
be — that way they'll probably finish up right!
You've probably noticed, as I have, that many
watercolour books quickly gloss over the sub-
ject of skies, which is a pity because the sky
will make or mar the picture.
54
SKIES
This strong cumulus sky was a real challenge. |wanted to introduce on a pale raw sienna wash and indicated the clouds by using blue
more warm colour into the clouds which would be reflected in the negative shapes, immediately adding the shadows, made from
sea. I've also tried to show the shadows cast by the clouds on the Payne's grey, alizarin crimson and, in this case, a touch of raw
headland. Look too at the way the clouds diminish in size towards sienna for warmth. A picture like this must be spontaneous. If it
~ the horizon. Tackling a sky like this is something of a tightrope act doesn't work first time, throw it away and start again. Touching up
and depends for its success on timing and water content. First |put will only ruin it.
Painting Clouds In any cloud formation, always make one of

the clouds dominate the rest. This is one of the
If you want to make your skies really convinc- principles of design and it always works. Re-
ing, you must learn the various cloud forma- member, as the clouds recede to the horizon,
tions and conditions. Get into your mind, that they decrease in size. You'll notice that clouds
from now on you're not just going to look at on the horizon are only a fraction of the size of
skies as most people do, you're really going to those above you.
study them. Try to imagine how you would Don't ever think of the sky as just a back-
tackle them in paints — what colours you would ground to your landscape. Not only is it the
use and how you would go about it. source of light but it governs the whole mood
Painting clouds outdoors is enormously chal- of the painting. What you're aiming for is to get
lenging with changing light, moving clouds your basic knowledge of skies outdoors, but
and uncertain weather. However, it really is an also to be able to carry that knowledge back
exhilarating experience once you get to grips into the studio with you, so that eventually you
with it. From my own point of view, I some- will be able to produce skies out of your head.
times feel it’s almost like cheating because I A good sky will enhance any subject and can
can produce almost half my painting in only a transform the most mundane landscape into
few minutes. something really special.
56
SKIES
This painting of a cirrus sky is comparatively simple to do, but again My own favourite artist, Edward Seago, lived
relies on timing - thirty seconds should do it! First put on your pale in Norfolk, a county which is flat and to the
raw sienna wash and then with good confident whole arm strokes,
add the blue. The streaks should become narrower and closer
casual observer the subject matter may be
~ together as they reach the horizon. Make sure that the blue at the considered rather dull. Seago, however, could
top of the sky is strong, decreasing your pressure on the brush as produce magnificent paintings using a tiny gate
you reach the horizon to lighten it. The idea here is to create the or a tree with 90 per cent of the picture being
feeling of light and space. sky — but what skies! Looking through old
catalogues of his exhibitions will show you that
a lifetime of studying skies has reaped huge
rewards.
Incidentally, one of the many things I learned
Here we're confronted by an entirely different situation - a
threatening sky and approaching rain. This scene needs a variety of from studying Seago’s paintings is that cloud
colour if it's to avoid monotony. Boldness is absolutely essential, formations can be used to balance up a picture.
together with speed. Again, | began the sky with a weak wash of For instance, a dark boat in the right-hand
raw sienna, this time adding lemon yellow for brilliance. Next came foreground of a picture can be balanced by a
a rich mix of Payne's grey and alizarin crimson with which the main cloud formation in the top left.
shapes were swiftly indicated. To this |added a secondary wash of
light red and burnt umber to give variety to the distant clouds,
Don’t neglect photography either. Build up
leaving the sky nearer the horizon yellow, which reflects beautifully your own collection of sky pictures. Whenever
in the background water. you see an interesting sky or a good cloud
formation, grab your camera. Forget the land-

scape and just concentrate on the sky. The
process will also sharpen your awareness of
skies and clouds. I often find, too, that black-
and-white pictures are more effective, but in
this case it’s advisable to use a red filter which
darkens the blue area and heightens the tonal
contrasts of the clouds. When you're doing
this, be careful of the glare of the sun. Use a
lens hood or position the sun behind a building
or tree.
Photographing skies, though, is only one
aspect of your studies. The best way is still to
go outside and make rapid sketches either in
pencil or in watercolour. The more you do this
the more quickly you'll come to understand
how cloud formations which are parallel to
each other appear to vanish to the same hori-
zon line, in just the same way as the land and
This is a good example of how a picture can be balanced by the sea.
use of a strong, heavy cloud on the opposite side to the foreground
hill. Don’t be frightened of doing such a cloud, it may look horrifying A sky subject which holds a great fascina-
when you first put your rich wash on to the initial raw sienna, but will tion is a sunset and, of course, Turner was the
soon fade back. Ityou want the feeling of approaching rain, tip the master here. However, without great care this
board up almost vertically for a few seconds. is a subject which can quickly become a cliché.
SKIES
Never make your sunsets too garish, always In the case of this picture, the cloud shape not only
err on the side of subtlety. You have to work counterbalances the tree but echoes its shape, another good
very quickly too, because of the swiftly chang- design feature. Notice the contrasting techniques between the soft
sky and the crisp, rapidly painted foreground with its areas of
ing light. untouched paper.
When you're painting skies, always remem-
ber that the rules of composition apply just as
much here as to the rest of the landscape. As I
mentioned earlier, one cloud should dominate,
but don’t put it in the middle or on the edges of
your picture. Another design feature which
works well is to place a group of trees to echo
the shape of a cloud. This will create visual
harmony in your picture. I can’t emphasise
enough that the main reason for failures in sky
paintings is a lack of forethought about compo-
sition. A good test is to look at the painting
upside down or through a mirror, which will
quickly show up the faults. At all costs avoid
painting a row of identically sized clouds. This
always looks really amateurish and simply
mustn't happen.
When painting cumulus clouds, it’s impor-
59
tant to realise that you're painting negative

shapes formed by the blue sky behind them.
Although this sounds obvious, it’s a matter of
confusion for many students, so do sort it out
in your mind before you start painting. The
space of blue sky between the clouds can be-
come more dominant than the clouds them-
selves, so you may have to lighten this to
harmonise the composition.
Cirrus skies are basically soft and feathery
abstract patterns and are less dominant than
cumulus clouds. They need great delicacy of
stroke and the direction of movement is more
important than their background shapes. Here
again, you must give consideration to the spaces
between them, which are an integral part of the
composition. I find with cirrus clouds that speed
and boldness of strokes are very important.
Hesitant strokes will not be successful.
Another point to remember is that where
there are clouds there are also ground shad-
ows. These shadows can create excitement and
drama in your painting. Think of them racing
across a hill or covering a group of farm build-
ings. These shadows are, of course, elongated
and diminish in size and grey down with reces-
sion.
What you're aiming for is harmony and
compositional rhythm between sky and land-
scape, so get out there and practise!
Left
This is an example of cirrus clouds, which incidentally usually occur
at about 30,000 feet. They're quite harmless, but do help to break
up an otherwise flat sky for the painter.
a POONER
ase oatanae
Here we have a dramatic evening sky on the north-east coast. It's

surprising that, with all that turbulent movement in the sky, the |
eye should be drawn to the tiny church, just because it’s the only
man-made feature in the scene. Do let yourself go on a project like
this. You'll find it really exciting.
61
Bare, winter trees always hold a fascination for me. They give lots of
opportunity for using the rigger, however you do need lots of
practice to produce branches which look authentic. I've again used
my fingernail for the white, distant trunks.
9
TREES AND
VEGETATION
t can be a daunting moment when you come to your painting. The amount of texture you
face to face with masses of foliage and veg- put in is very much related to the distance. For
etation and you have to try to convey all example, a distant woodland is best illustrated
that atmosphere and flavour in watercolour. by one simple flat wash with no attempt to
First of all, you have no chance of portraying it show any detail. If it’s on the skyline, I often
in detail, nor would you want to. So, the first put it in before the sky is actually dry, which
thing to do is to screw up your eyes, which will will give a soft edge to the overall top profile. I
get rid of the detail and you'll see the scene in normally use a very cool colour to emphasise
much broader masses of light and shade. How- depth and distance.
ever, you still have to convey a sense of depth
TREES AND VEGETATION
The vignettes on these two pages show how | try to handle

woodland scenes using various techniques. You'll see examples of
wet into wet, fast strokes of the hake in drybrush and the use of the
fingernail in still damp paint to indicate grasses and tree trunks. I've
even used a credit card for the tops of the rocks.
65
Moving forward to the middle distance, you This is an autumn scene on the shores of a lake in Vermont where
can use more colour variation and slightly richer was teaching recently. You can see that the far distant trees are
painted wet into wet to push them further back, whilst strong, rich,
colours and a hint of texture — say, a few almost neat paint has been used in the foreground for impact.
counterchanged trunks. Again note the reversing of the tree trunks and grasses using the
Moving forward again, in the foreground scratching out method with the fingernails and brush ends.
you can really let yourself go using your skills
in the various techniques to illustrate the wealth
of texture. A word of warning, though, as this
is where the danger comes in. So many pic-
tures face ruination at this stage through
overworking. My own way of avoiding this is
to work as fast as possible using few strokes
but plenty of vigour and plenty of variety in
paint thickness. I enjoy the feeling of putting in
an almost dry brush with almost neat paint. To
avoid getting it too spotty, however, combine
the stippling effect with broad fast sweeps of
the brush to hold it all together. The work on
this page will illustrate this quite well. You
may notice that in every case I’ve used cool
colour in the background and warm rich
colour in the front of the scene. Perhaps I’ve
exaggerated this a bit to emphasise the depth.
I’m inclined to use a lot of wet-into-wet tech-
nique for the background, with blurred rigger
work gradually adding definition and strength
as I move forward through the painting. I also
use literally anything that comes to hand —
even my fingernails and knuckles in the damp
paint! The flicks of the fingernail must be done
with discretion and they’re impossible to do if
the paint is too wet as they'll just fill in. The
knuckles I reserve for providing foreground
texture. John Blockley once told us that he
used the elbow of his sweater!
Remember also that a quick light stroke of
the hake — and I do mean quick — can convey
more excitement than ten tentative touches
with any other brush. In general, I use just the
hake and the rigger for vegetation. Although
completely different brushes, they seem to be
an ideal combination for this purpose. Don’t
underestimate the skill needed for the rigger. It
should be held very lightly, the weight on the
paper being of paramount importance. Pressed
down it will convey the trunk of a tree, while a
light touch will produce the most delicate twig.
Be aware constantly of the effect of
counterchange. Show white or light trunks or
grasses against a dark background and dark
trunks against pale objects. In general, the un-
dergrowth and ground are lighter in tone than
the trees behind.
66
TREES AND VEGETATION
Used in the right direction, the hake can Opposite

easily convey sloping banks, vertical trees or This is an example of the effects you can get by using strong
contrasts and counterchange; for instance, dark branches against
flat ground. Again, notice from the illustra- the warm distant light and light grasses against the darker foliage.
tions how I've tried to use this in my paintings.
One thing to be avoided at all costs is the
cardboard cut-out effect, caused by making
trees, etc, too hard-edged. Try to get a light
frothy effect with plenty of sky holes around
the edges of your trees, bushes, etc. Merely
indicate the supporting branches in these sky
holes and avoid painting the branches on top of
the massed foliage — very much a beginner’s
mistake. Nothing else is changed in appear-
ance by the seasons as much as trees and veg-
etation. You can produce entirely different
effects by changing your range of colours. A
good idea is to try to produce the same scene in
different seasons.
Finally, don’t neglect the shadows. Dappled
sunlight across rough ground can increase enor- Below
This is another demonstration painting done on the beach on
mously the interest and attraction in a scene.
Sanibel Island in Florida. The main feature is the group of delicate
So I hope you'll agree with me that in this Australian Pines which grow right on the beach. Notice the warm
chapter particularly, the paintings speak for shadows and the rich foreground texture contrasting with the cool
themselves, more than any words of mine. distance.
68
oy
WY}
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10
BUILDINGS
iven the right attitude of mind and with

help from the hake, it’s relatively
straightforward to simplify or ‘distil’
subjects such as trees, hills and rivers. How-
ever, when it comes to buildings, you have
more of a fight on your hands, psychologically
speaking. Certainly I’ve found with my own
students, that while one half of the brain is
determined to indicate buildings in as simple
and economical way as possible, thus relating
them to the rest of the landscape, the other side
of the brain is saying ‘Wait a minute, unless we
carefully paint in bricks, stones and window
frames, my audience won't understand it’. This
is in spite of the fact that the students them-
selves love, admire and perfectly understand
the buildings painted by, say, the French Im-
pressionists. This is very much in my mind at
the moment as I've just returned from a paint-
ing holiday in the Italian lakes. My students
and I have been staying in a tiny but lovely old
town, where we've spent ten days painting in
the square and narrow streets.
During the first few days, there were the
usual problems with perspective. These were
mostly caused by angles of gutters and bases of
houses and can be cured fairly easily by hold-
ing up your pencil in line with the angle, and
then taking the pencil back to the paper at the
same angle. Once you've learned this trick,
you'll be surprised at how quickly things will
improve. Without it, gutters and roof lines can
be very deceptive.
Another obvious fault is a depressing
deadness in the colours of the buildings. For
example, the side of a wall may be discerned as
fawn, so a careful mix of weak burnt umber is
Demonstrating in a town or city definitely helps free your style, for

the very good reason that ifyou spend time on architectural detail,
your students would walk away bored! I've put in only the
essentials, whilst varying the colour in the walls as much as
possible.
70 —
BUILDINGS
NaN
x
used to paint it. Then the ground is painted Another technique which can sometimes be
grey, as is the roof, even though it is drenched useful is to put in windows before the colour on
in sunshine. This, of course, will produce a the wall has dried completely. This will give a
very dull and lifeless painting. I’ve never for- soft focus look which is useful particularly in
gotten that when I first went on a painting an area that is well away from the main object
holiday in the Pyrenees, the instructor looked of interest. I learned this from studying Edward
at my picture and said that I was painting Seago’s buildings.
Spain like the Yorkshire Moors. To avoid all Another idea I tried on my Italian holiday
this deadness, you should warm all your build- which was quite successful, was to cut down
ing colours and vary them in both tone and my pencil drawing to the very minimum, when
colour. A single wall may have many colours I began to feel that my painting was getting
introduced into it (see p73). It’s reasonably too tight. Day after day, I was playing a
easy to do. Once you've mixed your overall psychological game with myself to attain this
wash, add other colours as you cover the pa- spontaneity, even with complicated buildings.
per. By doing this you'll avoid boring your On some occasions, I even tried townscapes
viewer, not to mention yourself. with no pencil drawing at all, attacking virgin
Counterchange in a building is very impor- paper directly with the brush. It needs a strong
tant, too. Don’t be afraid to use strong darks nerve, but when it comes off it’s really exciting.
underneath to throw up a sunlit awning. Talking through the paintings to my students
I find that when putting in shadows, it’s as I went along was also helpful — it made it
often best to wait until the end and then put impossible for me to fiddle and overwork!
them in quickly. My own favourite mix for this I also discovered that my students were re-
is half-way between ultramarine and light red. luctant to add figures to a street scene in case
Keep them very transparent, letting the under- they spoiled the whole painting. This is a great
neath colour show through. Try to do it in one pity as figures give scale and add animation.
go without retouching the wash. Remember that if you’re standing painting, all
BUILDINGS
Above
This little sketch of a shop and café was painted in a town square.
Note the lightly indicated shutters and balconies. |’ve tried to get
subtle colours in the shadows, and to vary the colour in the awning.
There was a mass of brightly coloured goods outside the shop
which had to be greatly simplified.
Opposite
This is the village street in Wylye, painted as a demonstration for my
“Students at Philipps House. Again I’ve tried to vary the colour on
the walls. Perhaps the most interesting feature is the way I’ve left
the white paper for the village shop, by painting in the negative
shapes.
73
| painted the building from very close to with my back against a
wall, so there’s an acute perspective on it. Here the task was to
indicate the character of the building with its fancy chimney, in a Opposite
very simple way. This is a small sunlit garden with the mountains behind. The most
difficult part was to indicate the white window frames very simply
against the pink walls avoiding fussy detail. The interesting
shadowed wall on the left caught my interest. I've used warm and
cool colour here to avoid monotony.
74
BUILDINGS
the heads, whether near or far, should be on all the tiles on a roof or all the slats in a shutter.
the same level. It’s the bodies that get longer as These can be hinted at very simply, and the
they come to the fore. Once the students were viewer can do the rest — it will add to their
persuaded to put them in, the figures were enjoyment.
often too tight and stiff, so I insisted on a day Take risks! It’s very difficult to get a sponta-
devoted to turning out dozens of little figures neous-looking building if you’ve spent hours
drawn from café tables. The biggest fault was drawing it. You'll be forgiven a few odd mis-
always making the heads too big. A tiny head takes as long as the building is indicated with
with a slender body will look more profes- freshness and sincerity. Nothing will deaden a
sional. It helps, too, to put one or two light picture as much as over-correction. Regarding
figures against dark areas in the painting, by the brushes used, I find that the walls on larger
using negative shapes around the figures. Study buildings can be put in with the hake and, after
the figures in watercolours by Seago, Wesson that, most of the work is done with the lin
and Yardley, for instance, and you'll soon see (2.5cm) flat, while the rigger is reserved for the
what I mean. figures.
By the way, don’t be afraid to put in a few Despite all the difficulties, by the end of our
bright colours, dotted around — pure yellow, ten-day holiday, the overall change in attitude
red or blue. These can and do enliven any was terrific and the students went home with
street scene. paintings of free and spontaneous-looking
Regarding detail, don’t be tempted to paint buildings.
Another quick rendition of the town square - |was staying in the

hotel on the right. Avoid painting the sides of the buildings grey,
even ifthat’s how they look. Look at the varied wash on the hotel.
Each building has its own individual colour. It's also permissible to
drop windows in before the wash is completely dry, which helps to
create a ‘free’ atmosphere. This is one of many things I've learned
from studying the work of Edward Seago.
Opposite
This building was a beast to draw! On a steep hill and up close, |
certainly wouldn't recommend itto a beginner! It's always difficult to
keep the freedom when part of your mind is telling you to put in all
the details. It can become a real mental struggle.
76
BUILDINGS
Ithough not as immediately available as
skies, most of us don’t have to travel too
far to find water in at least one of its
moods. This for me is the fascination of water —
it has so many moods, so many contrasts, from
a quietly rippling brook to a raging sea. The
fascination is such that when I was moving
house, one of my main requirements was that
there should be water nearby. I finally found
the right property and my new house has a
beautiful brook running through the garden.
Water is the subject of a large part of about
70 per cent of my paintings. The greatest chal-
lenge is always to create the atmosphere and
the feeling of liquidity with as few brush strokes
as possible.
Let’s start with calm water. You can virtu-
ally look on this as a horizontal mirror. Water
itself has no colour but reflects everything be-
hind it. The apparent colour of the water is
governed by the sky, whether it is blue or
stormy. For instance, a yellow sunset would
turn the water into liquid gold. Any trees or
foliage on the river bank will reflect upside
down, adding interest and depth to your pic-
ture.
The distillation process is more important
than ever here. Too much detail will ruin the
effect. You have to be constantly on guard to
avoid fussiness.
If the water is disturbed by a slight breeze,
the reflections soften and become blurred. My
own method here is first to put the colour of
the sky in the water and then drop in the
reflected objects with rich paint on to the damp
surface.
Remember the basic rule that dark objects
reflect slightly lighter while light objects are
slightly darker. In other words, the range of
tones is less contrasting in the reflections than
in the objects themselves.
As the movement of the water speeds up as
in a rippling stream or a fast-flowing river, the
surface of the water is broken up and you can
have a lot of the white paper showing through
78
WATER
The object of this painting was to try and get the feeling of ‘blinding from the background with richer, darker, almost neat paint. |also
light at the end of the tunnel’ and the only way to get this effect is to put some of the rigger work in at this stage. As the paper dries the
build up the strong tones around it. It is no time to be ‘afraid of the front trunks will get sharper. Make sure that the colours in the
dark’. Also, try to get various colours into these darks - it is not background are repeated in the water, finishing up with a few fast
easy. It is relatively simple at the beginning to mix the yellows and sharp strokes on top when the initial wash of the water has dried.
blues wet-into-wet to get the distant light. You then work forward
Above
This painting was done on a cliff top near Tenby as a
demonstration. What I've tried to show here is the wide variation of
colour in the sea. Looking from above, the sand on the seabed
shows through, changing the colour completely and rocks too can
be seen beneath the surface. Note the gradual change of tone and Opposite
colour with each successive outcrop, and the shadow on the sea
A snow scene doesn't have to be cold. There's quite a lot of warm
cast by the wet into wet clouds.
colour in this snowy river scene, from the yellow sky reflected in the
water. This is another vignette, a form of painting which |enjoy (you
don't have to fill in the corners!). It suits some subjects very well.
80
WATER
to indicate the flow. A good idea is to make tions. Do remember also, when painting larger
quick, light strokes in the direction of the flow. stretches of water, to paint in cloud shadows.
The faster the river, the quicker and lighter the These will add interest to an otherwise plain
stroke. The hake is ideal for this method. With surface.
the water in this state you don’t have to worry Let’s take a look now at fast-moving rivers
about reflections, although patches of colour with white water, foam and the occasional
and tone will still be reflected, such as a sunlit waterfall. It will repay you to spend a few
tree or darker undergrowth. minutes before you even take your paints out,
When painting a river scene, | always leave to look at the scene quietly through half-closed
the actual water until the very last when every- eyes. What at first seems to be a complete
thing else has been put in. This way, you know chaos of random lights and darks, seemingly
where all the reflections should go. With wider impossible to paint, will soon resolve itself into
expanses of water such as lakes or estuaries, a steady pattern. Remember, too, that even
you'll find that weather conditions are the gov- here there are stretches of relative calm where
erning factor. I’ve often looked across Loch objects can be reflected. Understatement is the
Lomond, where | teach, and seen all the moun- thing and will be much more convincing. Even
tains reflected in the water. Two minutes later, rocks — an essential part of such a scene —
a breeze may spring up and they will all disap- should be reduced to a few and be made smaller
pear. as they recede into the background. Here, too,
In coastal estuaries, you rarely see a distant it’s essential to contrast the hard, sharp rocks
reflection because of the sea breezes. How- against the soft, fluid texture of the water. It all
ever, nearby objects such as boats or posts will, adds to the excitement.
of course, reflect, except in extreme condi-
81
Above
This river scene was painted on a misty day in autumn. The
background woods needed only a simple wash of light red and
ultramarine to produce the mauvey haze, finished with a few wet-
into-wet rigger strokes. The picture is framed by the ‘L’ shape
created by the tree and foreground bank.
Right
| love this sort of subject. The faster you paint then the better they
seem to look. |completed this in about ten minutes. It’s of a fast-
flowing river in Tennessee (yes I’ve even run a workshop there!).
There’s a strong contrast between the wet-into-wet river and the
sharp, hard rocks which were painted with the 1in (2.5cm) flat.
82
WATER
You'll sometimes see a water painting which in the slight variations of colour given by the
is monotonous and boring. This is because the reflected background foliage. In rough water,
artist has settled on a colour for the water and too, the contrasting area of dark water should
painted it in without variation. Every stretch of also vary in colour. You should be able to see
water needs variations of colour to give inter- this in the painting below.
est and excitement. In the seascape on p80, for With river scenes in winter that depict snow,
example, the water varies from pale blue to you'll need to darken the colours of the water
grey where there are cloud shadows on it, to throw up the snow. Above all, do avoid
through to pale green in the foreground shal- overworking your picture; for instance, don't
lows, dictated by the seabed underneath. put in masses of little ripples. Understatement
When you're painting rivers, as on p82, put is the key to success!
83
WATER
Opposite
Left is a sketch of a wave breaking on rocks. The task here was to
indicate the soft but powerful foam to contrast with the hard,
unshakeable rocks. Don't forget that the rocks too need to be varied
in colour, they're never just grey or brown.
Below
This is a painting of fishing boats at Fort Myers in Florida. Here too |
want to point out the variation and graduation of colour on the side
of the fishing shed and even on the back of the smaller boat. This
all helps to create interest.
olour can have an enormous effect on
mood and atmosphere in a painting. The
same picture painted in different colours
will produce an entirely different effect and
can be very usefulto convey the different
seasons. By using warm and cool colours, a
painting can be given a great sense of depth
and recession. Any artist, by his choice and use
of colour, can express his personality in a very
revealing way.
Just as a solid object has three dimensions —
length, width and height — so too does colour
— hue, value and chroma. Hue is the character-
istic by which we are able to distinguish one
colour from another — ie, yellow, blue, red and
green. Value is simply the lightness and dark-
ness of any colour. If you take red as an
example, you can move through deepest plum
to the palest pink. Chroma means the bright-
ness or dullness of the hue — in other words, its
intensity. Chroma shouldn't be confused with
value which is only concerned with the light-
ness and darkness of a hue.
The following is a brief explanation about
warm and cool colours. Warm colours are
associated with earth and fire — red, orange,
yellow and brown and the various mixes which
these produce. Cool colours are blue, purple
and anything which has blue in it, and are
mainly associated with blue skies and cool
water. Greens are neutral colours but can be
warmed by adding yellow or cooled by adding
blue. I use this technique extensively in my
paintings to obtain distance in landscapes.
Complementary colours are colours which
are opposite to each other on the colour circle.
They have the effect of heightening each other
and, once understood, this factor can be of
great use in a painting. Remember, too, that if
you mix two complementary colours, the Op-
posite will happen and each will become more
dull or greyer — this is very helpful in mixing
beautiful greys. It is much betterto do this
than to use watered-down black, which looks
dead.
86
COLOUR
I've tried to make this painting exciting by the use of warm and cool
colours in a wet-into-wet background. Their interplay seems to
make the background sing. Again, note the variety of colours in the
rocks, their surfaces being indicated by fast brush strokes with the
hake. The use of the white paper is also important.
yellow
orange yellow/green
red green
a blue/green
purple
purple/blue
One of the major factors which divides the or her responsibility to keep the viewers enter-
beginner from the advanced painter is the use tained and not to bore them to death!
of colour. A beginner will paint a field the same I should like to make one point very clear.
colour green all over, while an advanced painter So many artists are lured into art shops to buy
will move from a cool green in the distance to tubes of colour with exotic-sounding names
warm rich green at his feet. When he puts which they hope will make their paintings into
in the immediate foreground, this too will be masterpieces. You've probably heard on the
varied in temperature and tone to keep the art society grapevine ‘You must try “rose pink
viewer's interest and to avoid monotony. Two genuine’, it’s wonderful’. You're led to believe
other examples are the wall of a shed or a that they’re unique hues, but they’re not. Every
building in Venice. In both examples, the ex- hue can be fitted in to the ten broad categories
perienced painter will provide a rich variety of shown here. Basically, you can lighten any of
colours. By contrast, the beginner will say that these by adding water or darken them with any
is a brown shed or a fawn wall and paint it on darker colour. A colour can be as bright as
as he would emulsion on a wall with no thought when it comes out of the tube, or softened by
to variation. It takes experience and practice to adding its complement. As I explained in Chap-
identify this range of colours in a subject, but ter 2, I deliberately keep my own colours to
even if you can’t see them in reality, they should seven. For example, I don’t have any made-up
be used, albeit with discretion, to beautify your greens. I find, too, that I can use these seven
painting. An artist is an entertainer and it is his colours anywhere in the world.
88
COLOUR
This is a modest little scene on a sea shore, but itcan be increased

in stature by the imaginative use of colour. Colour which is not
immediately discernible in the scene itself. Look at the difference
between the foreground sand dunes and the more distant beach.
Never forget that it's the painter’s job to entertain, and to do that you
must avoid monotony.
ae es
PE rie kee ke
13

WORLDWIDE
can’t state strongly enough that this section |

is not about how to paint watercolours from Varney & Deter ie
photographs. In fact, a large proportion
of these paintings were completed before |
took the photographs. However, thousands of
artists do work from photographs, regardless
of the fact that they have been told by the
powers that be that they shouldn't! Certainly,
simply mindlessly copying photographs is a
sterile exercise, giving little opportunity for the
artist to show his or her personality or intellect.
However, the procedure I've tried to show you
in the following pages should be used whether
youre painting on site or in a warm studio.
So we start with first thoughts on the scene —
how it affects you mentally. Secondly, we look
at what design changes need to be made, in-
cluding what to reject and how to manipulate
and possibly alter the remaining objects to make
the picture more entertaining and satisfying.
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90
DISTILLING THE SCENE WORLDWIDE
Then we move on to painting the picture, alter-

ing tone and colours where necessary, espe-
cially when applying various colours to flat
surfaces to avoid boredom. Finally, you will
learn how to avoid possible hazards in each
This scene was enormous fun to paint. Notice the change in value
particular subject. Overworking is one of the and colour between the distant and foreground rocks and the use
major problems. Study each spread carefully of quick, strong directional strokes to indicate the waves and
and use the four factors when doing your own beach. A quick stroke is always more exciting to look at than a slow
painting. one.
on”
Kichapoe River, Wisconsin
FIRST THOUGHTS
Sunlight and shadow ina kaleidoscope of warm

and cool greens. Sounds of rippling water and
bird-song. This sort of subject always fills me
with adrenalin — it is without doubt my favour-
ite type of scene.
DESIGN CHANGES
I chose a vignette design so the white border

would add extra sparkle. Because there is vir-
tually no aerial perspective in this shallow depth
of field, the river has the job of taking the
viewer's eye into the painting. Therefore |
strengthened the back line of the river and
made the dark clump of brush the focal point.
PAINTING THE PICTURE
This began as a wet-into-wet for the whole of

the background and some ofthe middle ground.
First I used a thin wet yellowy-green to lubri-
cate the surface, then darker thicker greens
were dropped in almost immediately in patches.
As this was drying, I added the tree trunks and
rigger work along with fingernail scrapes. Next
I painted the foreground banks in warmer, POSSIBLE HAZARDS
richer and more contrasting colours. The focal
point, which I pre-planned, was untouched This subject offers a terrible temptation to
white paper and here I put in the darkest dark overwork the busy foliage. I did exactly this in
calligraphy. The river was painted in a very my first attempt. Just remember that sponta-
pale blue wash and immediately the reflections neity, to retain the freshness and sparkle, is the
were added with dark green vertical strokes aim.
on this wet surface. Finally, the foreground
framing of foliage on the left completed the
picture in rich dark green.
92
a
Milking Barn in Wisconsin

e FIRST THOUGHTS
The red barn is almost an obligatory subject

for watercolourists in the USA. Always painted
in red, they are a disappearing symbol of rural
America, being replaced by less romantic metal
structures. I just had to throw my hat in the
ring and give it a try.
e DESIGN CHANGES «
First the road going straight out of the picture

must be corrected. Turning it from being a
detriment into an asset, I used it to take the eye
into the barn opening. The trees were placed
behind the silo to throw it up with the roof.
Three additions were made for interest: the
hoist on a beam, the interior window to relieve
the black hole in the barn and the figure for the
focal point.
e PAINTING THE PICTURE
My main task here was to introduce as many

graded colours as possible throughout to avoid
boredom. (The large area such as the front of
the barn could easily become dead.) The planes
of the wooden sides and roof were given a light
wash, and strong warm and cool colours were e POSSIBLE HAZARDS °«
added to the wet surface, painting around the
figure. The usual cool to warm greens com- Try to avoid monotony of colours and making
prised the surrounding landscape. Note the too literal a copy of the scene.
added texture on the roof and barn sides, done
at the end.
94
Grazing Sheep in Olive Grove
e FIRST THOUGHTS »
I've tried this type of scene many times in the

past, on my painting holidays in the Greek
Islands, and I’ve always found two main diffi-
culties: first the texture of the olive trees, espe-
cially en masse, and secondly trying to portray
a convincing flock of sheep. So you can see, I
was fighting on all sides here.
e DESIGN CHANGES °«
The patch of sunlit grass had to be modified in

order to keep the viewer's eye in the painting.
I’ve softened and simplified the background
foliage and kept the values fairly close, except
where contrast was needed to counterchange
the sheep.
I used masking fluid to cover the backs of the

sheep, leaving myself free to produce a really
free wet-into-wet background. As I’ve said, the
colour of the foliage was difficult to portray —a
very soft cool green. I dropped in the distant
tree while the foliage was still wet but painted
the foreground tree on top when the wash was
dry. Removing the masking fluid, I painted the
sheep wet-into-wet.
e POSSIBLE HAZARDS «
Overworking the foliage, the varying colours

had to be merely hinted at so as not to distract
from the sheep.
96
7.i“
as
(ae
97
Oregon Coast
e FIRST THOUGHTS
The Pacific coast of Oregon is very exciting,

with high winds and crashing surf. One of the
most difficult challenges to painting here is
holding the easel down! The long sweeps of
sandy beaches are broken by huge rocks and
creeks emptying into the sea.
e DESIGN CHANGES
The scene needed a proper focal point which I

solved by placing four children on the beach.
Keeping the figures very small emphasised the
vastness of space. To clarify this focal point
and add interest, I used the ‘S’ shape for the
creek and this led the viewer’s eye to the chil-
dren with its direction.
e PAINTING THE SCENE
After painting a simple sky, I indicated the

waves with a minimum of blue-green strokes,
leaving a large untouched paper white for surf.
The beach was put in quickly using varied
colour to avoid monotony. I warmed up the tan
as well as it came into the foreground. Rocks
and pebbles followed.
The usual problem of painting beach scenes

may be encountered, in which all of the dark
value is on one side, so that the empty space is
boring and monotonous colour occurs.
98
END GN
Mounton Brook 4( . |
e FIRST THOUGHTS
The tiny stream that runs through my garden

is a constant
joy to me (except when it floods!).
The garden, seen here on a misty morning,
calls out for a soft wet-into-wet painting.
e DESIGN CHANGES
I played up the curvilinear shapes and pale

colours to add as delicate and gentle a feeling
as possible. Keep the warm colours predomi-
nant and, above all, keep it fresh with quick
undisturbed washes. There’s only a suggestion
of my cottage in the distance as a whisper.
I used paled raw sienna for the sky, quickly

adding the cool greyed-down and diluted blues
and mauves for the distant trees. Moving for-
ward fast to ensure soft edges, I painted the
middle-ground trees. Even these trunks must
not be too distant. Fingernail scrapes of the
damp reddish tone indicated the weeping wil-
low branches. I was careful to leave white
paper for the sparkle of the stream. To get the
reflections here, I wet the surface with clear
water before dropping in the soft reflections.
Overdoing the tree branch shapes, even though

they are silhouetted, they could become overly
busy with too many twigs. This could destroy
the quiet peaceful feeling of the early morning
garden.
100
PEE
A Greek Alleyway
e FIRST THOUGHTS »*
These narrow Greek alleyways climbing uphill

are a delight to paint. The pristine white build-
ings and delicate shadows produce fascinating
patterns. With such a close subject, however,
the acute perspective can be difficult.
e DESIGN CHANGES e
The scene definitely needed a focal point, care-

fully placed just off-centre, and near the
brightest colours so that it attracts the viewer's
attention.
This was a wonderful opportunity to allow

the white paper to do much of the work. The
shadows were put in witha mixture oflight red
and ultramarine and were painted in quickly to
preserve their transparency — opaque shadows
would ruin the freshness of the whole painting.
It would have been easy to make the figure the

wrong size compared with the doorway. The
shadow of the figure had to be linked with the
main foreground shadow to avoid a bull’s-eye
effect.
‘
Lp res 5
ad EMSC MARS
102
Lisl
Bolivian Farmhouse
¢e FIRST THOUGHTS *
This is an exciting panorama with the clouds

on the distant mountains and the unusual farm
buildings for a focal point. There’s an enor-
mous depth of field here, too, which I enjoy
painting.
e DESIGN CHANGES
The main object is dead centre and the road

leads out of the picture, both bad points. I
therefore moved the farm to the right, got rid
of the road and added trees for counterchange
and balance. I stressed the horizontal lines to
keep it a quiet, peaceful scene.
First I painted the clouds wet-into-wet, blend-

ing into the mountains with Payne’s grey and
alizarin on a wet raw sienna wash. The moun-
tains were painted in cool blue-grey colours,
gradually warming up as they came forward. I
wanted to spotlight the farm, so I painted it
very contrastingly, adding more trees in warm
greens around it. I brought the foreground
forward by painting it in light red on raw
sienna with fast sweeps of the brush.
e POSSIBLE HAZARDS
In order to feature the farm, too much extrane-

ous matter must be avoided. It’s easy to
overwork the foreground.
104
105
Greek Waterfront
e FIRST THOUGHTS
I wanted to try what is known as ‘checker-

board animation’ for some time and this scene
presented an excellent opportunity. This is the
town onasteep hillside of Poros, another of my
painting holiday locations.
e DESIGN CHANGES «
I didn’t really need a tonal sketch here as the

aim was simplicity. The general pattern just
needed to be painted in a flat manner with
rectangular dominance and glowing colours.
I wet the paper all over first and loosely glazed

the surface with warm soft reds and yellows,
letting them run together. When these were
dry, I added the mid-tones for roofs, sky and
trees. Finally, I put in the calligraphic marks
for the windows and boats.
Never try to be too realistic and paint every

house; keep the abstract all-over pattern, pur-
posefully eliminating details.
106
Sa by
Se ete
WG
Woodland Glade
FIRST THOUGHTS
This charming little scene is another part of my

garden. It was a complex mass of foliage and
undergrowth, which simply cried out to be
simplified.
DESIGN CHANGES
I’ve strengthened the feeling oflightness at the

end of a tunnel and emphasised the path
through the woods. Also, of course, I’ve elimi-
nated much of the detail.
PAINTING THE PICTURE
This was started very much wet-into-wet.

After the overall background colour was laid
on, I put in many of the trees before the first
wash had dried so that these soft edges con-
trasted well with the hard-edged trees, which
were added later. I’ve tried to paint the whole
scene as spontaneously as possible, to convey
an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity, while
attempting to avoid a totally green appearance.
POSSIBLE HAZARDS
I had to be very stern with myself to avoid

overworking — there were so many twigs and
branches begging to be included.
108
ANE Oi i
oe i
Porlock Weir, Somervet
e FIRST THOUGHTS *
This is my most favourite spot in England.

Within 200 yards there is enough material fora
month’s painting. There’s a row of thatched
cottages, dozens of boats of all kinds and, as if
that’s not enough, the scene changes with every
high and low tide. This is the scene from a
bedroom window of the Anchor Hotel.
e DESIGN CHANGES «
I decided to lose some of the boats at the side to

concentrate attention on the main group of
yachts. I felt the composition would be im-
proved by balancing the cottages with a big
dark cloud to the right — so I changed the
weather!
e PAINTING THE PICTURE °
First the sky: I worked quickly, using the hake,

putting in a pale raw sienna wash, followed
immediately with a patch of ultramarine on the
top left. Then the big cloud: I used Payne’s
grey with a touch of alizarin crimson dropped e POSSIBLE HAZARDS «
in with a light dancing motion, and left it alone!
The cottages, harbour wall and boats were There is the temptation to include too much
then put in mainly with the lin (2.5cm) flat detail in this busy scene. Using the lin (2.5cm)
brush. Only the first two boats needed to be flat prevents you from trying to put in every
authentic; the others are just dashes and white window frame! It is also tempting to cover up
paper. Finally, the water was indicated and the all the white paper.
reflections which were wet-into-wet. | left out
all the rigging, putting in only one or two
scratches with a Stanley knife blade.
110
eMule,
‘
4¥
4
IEE
sienna, the shadows being added water with a

mixture of ultramarine and light red.
Avoid leaving too much clutter and overfussing

the scene.
The Citadel, Skopelos

e FIRST THOUGHTS «
I’ve spent many happy hours here on this tiny

Greek island. This particular scene is a con-
stant challenge, presenting a strong visual
pattern.
e DESIGN CHANGES «
As you can see from the photograph, the base

of the citadel is surrounded by a clutter of cars,
boats and trucks, which rather takes away the
romance of the scene. I therefore had to elimi-
nate this conglomeration. The tonal pattern of
this scene was so strong that it needed very
little alteration, as can be seen from the tonal
sketch. All I had to do was to add a strong dark
shadow to the foreground for extra drama.
e PAINTING THE PICTURE «
The tricky bit was to get a strong yet spontane-

ous sky which would pick out the profile of the
building. I must admit to using some masking
fluid here, something which I rarely do. Most
of the buildings were left as white paper with
occasional touches of warm colour to indicate
the shadows. The surfaces of the rocks were
portrayed with directional strokes of the hake,
varying the colour to avoid monotony and re-
membering to counterchange the tops of the
boats. I used a corner of the lin (2.5cm) brush
to indicate windows, gutters, steps and boats,
using the minimum of strokes. Finally, the fig-
ures were added with the rigger to show scale.
The first wash for the warm foreground was
put in with a mixture of light red and raw
112
Piraeus Docks
e FIRST THOUGHTS
Many’s the hour I’ve waited in this harbour

area of Athens for a hydrofoil boat to the
Islands. An unusual subject for watercolour,
the crane offers a strong vertical pattern with
rich dark colours which form a background for
the busy activity.
e DESIGN CHANGES
Simplification is the name of the game here,

with just enough detail to maintain a busy
atmosphere. The focal point was planned
around the lone figure on the lorry, framed by
the base of the crane.
The strength of this machinery was best ex-

pressed by a vertically dominated painting, so
even the sky was painted vertically. I tried
enriching the darks as well with lots of varying
colour. I kept them neutral, however, to play
off the rich orange on the containers. Notice
that the brightest orange and only pure white
were saved for the focal point.
e POSSIBLE HAZARDS e
Mainly I had to avoid the dead, flat colours in

the darks and too many directional lines taking
the eye off the painting. 2
E, ¥ i
ay
5:
%
Ea
114
ae
x
ae
115
Mont St Michel
e FIRST THOUGHTS «
This scene in Brittany is magnificent, even

awe-inspiring. It is an island at high tide, sur-
mounted by its spire pointing heavenward.
e DESIGN CHANGES
First I painted the island off-centre to get away

from the too formal balance, thus making a
more active composition. I gave it more drama
and balance by adding a strong cloud shape
which goes behind, forming a backdrop. The
lone boat in the foreground provides a simple
object to contrast with the grand scale of the
Abbey of Mont St Michel in the distance.
e PAINTING THE PICTURE »
I painted the sky first using Payne’s grey and

alizarin crimson for the big cloud shape. I used
a variety of warm and cool colours to pattern
loosely the town and abbey, trying to keep it as
random as possible. For the foreground I used
sweeping strokes to lead the eye in and repeat
the curve of the cloud, adding texture with a
dry brush afterwards.
Avoid too much detail in the treatment of the

town — you need only provide an impression.
The same advice applies to the boat — it
shouldn’t steal the show from the main object.
116
Skopelos Harbour
e FIRST THOUGHTS °¢
This is one of the Greek islands where I teach.

The town itself presents an almost ‘wedding
cake’ appearance as the houses rise up the
hillside, punctuated by trees. The foreground
boat is built in the traditional style and the two
together give a true feeling of the island.
e DESIGN CHANGES °
I changed the direction of the boat so that the

curve of the bow leads the eye back into the
picture. The weight of tone was too heavy on
the left and moving the boat helped to correct
this problem as well.
After painting the sky with my usual ultra-

marine blue over a very wet raw sienna wash, I
painted around the white shapes of the build-
ings. I utilised the white of the paper to the
utmost, just using light red and raw sienna for
roof colours and a medium green for the trees.
The harbour was painted wet-into-wet, reflect-
ing the town while leaving untouched paper
for the boat. Finally, the boat detailing was
completed on the dried surface.
Regarding the town, resist the temptation of

paying too much attention to detail — don’t
count the windows! Let the viewer’s imagina-
tion fill in the gaps. Simplify the boat to large
shapes as well.
118
119
14
WHAT OF THE FUTURE?
ou can’t stand still with watercolour I actually met Lawrence Goldsmith for the
painting — you either move forward or first time and visited his studio. They've be-
you stagnate. I’ve learned my craft, and come rather expensive visits as for the last two
am still learning, from those masters of distilla- years I’ve come home to England with one of
tion such as those whose work I’ve shown in
Chapter 1. Having never attended an art school
myself, the study of these works has been my
education. I’ve tried not to base my style on
any one artist but to use the mental and
emotional responses they've stirred in me to
emulate their thinking and to create my own
style. But where do I go from here? After all,
hopefully I’ve got another twenty or thirty years
ahead of me to explore new ideas and tech-
niques. I could, of course, venture into the
somewhat rarefied world of abstract painting,
but this isn’t for me. It would be fighting against
my own personality and inclination. I feel that
I always want to keep one foot firmly in the
figurative camp but to push out its parameters,
as did the French Impressionists early in this
century. Here, too, you need role models to
provide ideas and possibilities — if you like, the
frontiersmen of watercolour.
Here, then, is the work of four artists, all of
whom | am proud to call friends and who each
in their own way are constantly pushing out
the borders and whose work inspires me to
extend my own possibilities.
Lawrence Goldsmith
I was thrilled by this man’s work when I first
saw it in his book entitled Bold and Free. This
bestseller, which incidentally is his only book,
sells in tens of thousands worldwide. When I
started to teach regularly each year in the little
town of Port Clyde, Maine, on my day off I
would take a boat ride to the tiny island of
Monhegan, which seemed to be populated en-
tirely by fishermen and artists. Here it was that
MONHEGAN ISLAND by Lawrence Goldsmith

120
WHAT OF THE FUTURE?
his paintings. I find them truly inspirational. that his work occupies an area somewhere be-
The freedom and looseness of his technique tween the figurative and abstract. If you ever
leave me quite breathless. visit the island, you'll understand what I mean
Goldsmith verges on the semi-abstract. The when I say that this is how it feels rather than
picture shown here represents the spirit of how it looks.
Monhegan Island itself with its pine trees, Goldsmith’s area is the one in which I would
beaches, rough seas and mists — all incorpo- like my own work to be in the future. With this
rated in this one dramatic painting. Using large example over my fireplace, I’m hoping that his
sheets of Arches rough paper, which he soaks work will somehow permeate my own approach
first, he puts on loose washes in rich imagina- to watercolour. It will, of course, take time —
tive colours. As the paper dries, he puts in his you can’t suddenly rush out one morning and
spatter and later the calligraphy. It seems to me produce this type of painting.
Jeusme€ OhMdrmett
Claude Croney 7
I was introduced to Croney’s work through his
books. He is a master of the really well-de-
signed and powerful watercolour, full of life
and vitality. When I came to write Watercolour
Impressionists, 1was able to choose the work of
artists I admired from all around the world,
and Croney’s work was, of course, included.
He was so pleased with my presentation of him
that he asked me to stay at his house in the little
village of Cedar Quay on the west coast of
Florida. It was a memorable experience! He
was a real Hemingway-type character and we
soon became firm friends. I came home with
the painting opposite, which is an excellent
example of his work, being so full of rich vi-
brant colour and strength of technique.
Croney used to spend much time designing
and composing a painting, but once he had
made his decisions, he painted rapidly and with
vigour — a true watercolour lesson in itself.
Since meeting him, I’ve spent a much larger
proportion of my time on the design stage and
I’ve tried to pass the importance of this on to
my own students. I also learned from him the
use ofrich colour in places where you wouldn't
expect to find it. Sadly, Croney died recently
through cancer and I hope that some time in
the future I will produce a book about him as a
tribute to a fine artist and friend.
AUTUMN WOODLAND by Claude Croney

This powerful autumn woodland scene is typical of Claude Croney's
work. The fallen tree and its stump form a strong focal point,
counterchanged against the rich woodland. He's managed to get
an amazing variety of colours into the scene. This is a picture I'm
very proud to own.
122
WHAT OF THE FUTURE?
123
John Palmer
I came to know John Palmer’s work by paint-
ing beside him at the Bristol Savages Club, the
famous institution that was founded in 1909.
Each Wednesday evening we would paint from
imagination the subject written on the black-
board in front of us — a challenging test! I
found John’s work exciting, and was amazed
by his dexterity and the looseness of his tech-
nique. His pencil work is completely original,
quite unlike anything I had seen before. He
learned his craft in the commercial studio of a
tobacco company in Bristol, producing art-
work for cigarette cards. One might expect
that this would tighten the artist’s approach,
but this certainly wasn’t the case with John.
His work is free though controlled and utterly
professional, and he seems to be able to work
in any medium with a freedom I would give my
ears to attain. He’s a true impressionist — some-
thing I always find tremendously inspiring.
PICCADILLY CIRCUS by John Palmer

John Palmer has combined great strength with delicacy in this
exciting portrayal of Piccadilly Circus. Without really putting in much
in the way of detail, he’s convinced the viewer of the authenticity of
each building. Much of John Palmer’s genius is knowing exactly
where to stop, and in the way in which he takes the viewer into
partnership.
124
WHAT OF THE FUTURE?
se eee race
125
Frank Webb
Frank Webb learned his craft and discipline in
the tough world ofadvertising. An intellectual,
his approach to watercolour, which inciden-
tally has influenced the work of many of his
contemporaries, particularly in the USA, is
unique. Respected and admired, he’s been
showered with national awards and has writ-
ten numerous books. These books were my
introduction to Frank’s work, which I found so
far advanced that I felt that I should never be
able to catch him up. Although his work had a
tremendous impact on me, it wasn’t until I
asked him to become a contributor to my book
Watercolour Impresstonists that | came to know
him personally. In the design of his paintings,
he abstracts his subjects to a very high degree.
This requires a deep knowledge and a lot of
paper! Frank thinks that having a large supply
of paper is like having many tomorrows. He
says he ruins acres of it in the pursuit of excel-
lence, and always starts a new sheet rather
than attempting to rectify a bad start.
Frank Webb has a deeply philosophical
nature and an infinite capacity for hard work.
For him the thrill is beginning a painting and
his aim is brevity. He would like to complete a
painting in just a single stroke if he could. One
of Frank’s statements is very relevant to this
chapter: ‘Most people judge us by what we've
done. We judge ourselves by what we think we
should be able to make tomorrow.’
All these four artists have given, and continue

to give me, through their paintings, a feeling of
elation and a spirit of expectancy, which gives
me hope not only for my own future but for the
future of watercolour.
UNTITLED by Frank Webb

|find the way in which Frank Webb uses such rich and varied
colours really exciting. He’s produced this painting in an almost
kaleidoscopic manner to create impact. The two figures against the
light striped building are the centre of interest. After this the viewer
is left to explore the many changes in colour and tone. A real feast
of artistic virtuosity.
126
WHAT OF THE FUTURE?
127
INDEX
Numbers in ttalic indicate illustration eight principles, 42—7 shadows:
preliminary planning, 24 of buildings, 72, 102
abstract painting, 106, 120 of clouds, 60, 81
Art and Colour of Design, The (Graves), easel, 20 of trees/vegetation, 68
36 sketches (tonal), 48-9, 53
figures, 72, 75 skies, 54-62
beach scenes, 98 as focal point, 98 painting clouds, 56, 59-60
gee aldo seascapes of John Yardley, 16, 17, 75 sunsets, 58-9
Blockley, John, 66 snow scenes, 80, 80-/, 83
boats, 110, 116, 118 Goldsmith, Lawrence, 120-1, /20-/ speed of working, 24, 30, 34
Bold and Free (Goldsmith), 120 Graves, Maitland, 36 stretching paper, 18
Bristol Savages Club, 124 style, 9, 28-35
brushes, 18, 19 hake (brush), 18, /9, 66, 68 sunsets, 58-9
for buildings, 75 harbour scenes:
for figures, 75 Piraeus Docks, 114, 114-15 tonal aspects, 44, 48-9
hake, 18, 79, 66, 68 Porlock Weir, Somerset, 110, 110-11 counterchange and, 50-3, 66
rigger, 18, /9, 62, 66 Scopelos Harbour, \18, 118-19 of trees/vegetation, 66
for vegetation, 62, 66 Hilder, Rowland, /2-/3, 13 transparency viewer, 20-1
buildings, 70-7 trees and vegetation, 63-9
A Greek Alleyway, 102, 102-3 materials, 18—2] Autumn Woodland (Croney), 122-5
Bolivian Farmhouse, 104, 104-5 for tonal sketches, 48-9 Grazing Sheep in Olive Grove, 96, 96-7
Greek Waterfront, 106, 106-7 Mounton Brook, 100, 100-1
of John Sell Cotman, 10 pace of working, 24, 30, 34 winter trees, 62
Milking Barn in Wisconsin, 94, 94-5 paints, 18, 79, 88 Woodland Glade, 108, 108-9
Mont St Michel, 116, 116-17 palette, 18 Turner, Joseph Mallord William, 58
Porlock Weir, Somerset, 110, 110-11 Palmer, John, 124, 124-5
The Citadel, Skopelos, 112, 112-15 paper: value, 41
for tonal sketches, 49 dominance and, 46
checkerboard animation, 106 watercolour, 18 gradation in, 43
clouds, 56, 59-60 Wesson on, 14 vegetation vee trees and vegetation
in Seago’s paintings, 57 pencils, 49 viewfinders, 22
shadows of, 60, 81 people vee figures
colour, 40, 86-9 personal style, 9, 28-35 washes, 9
of buildings, 70, 72, 94 photocopying of painting, 53 water, 78-85
choice of paints, 18, 88 photography, 90 see also reflections; seascapes
complementary, 86 sky pictures, 57-8 Watercolour Impressionists (Ranson), 16,
contrast in, 44, 66, 86 transparency viewer, 20-1] 1227 126
dominance and, 46 water-pots, 18
gradation in, 43 reflections, 78, 81 Webb, Frank, 126, 726-7
harmonious, 42 Mounton Brook, 100, 100-1 Wesson, Edward (Ted), 14, 16, 28
in street scenes, 75 rigger (brush), 18, /9, 62, 66 influence on Yardley, 17
value of, 41, 86 river scenes, 78, 81, 82-3, 83 St ves, Huntingdon, 16
in water, 80, 80, 83 Kichapoe River, Wisconsin, 92, 92-5 Whitney, Ed, 22, 36
Cotman, John Sell, 10, /0-// woodland scenes, 63-9
counterchange, 50-3 Sargent, John Singer, 10
in buildings, 72 Seago, Edward, 13-14, 28 Yardley, John, 16, 50
in foliage, 68, 68—9 buildings of, 72, 76 Charles Bridge, Prague, \7
Croney, Claude, 122, 122-3 Foothills of the Atlas, 14-15 Wazting, 50-1
skies of, 57
design aspects, 9, 36-47 seascapes, 80, SO, 83, 84, 85
design components, 36-41 Oregon Coast, 98, 9S—I
128
Ron Ranson is a bestselling artist, whose
work has been exhibited in Europe,
Australia, and South Africa. He also
enjoys a worldwide reputation as a tutor
and runs residential watercolour courses
from a variety of locations. He has
produced a number of videos, has written
several successful books on watercolour
techniques, and is the author of the
popular illustrated biographies of Edward
Seago and Edward Wesson. Ron Ranson
lives near Chepstow, Gwent.
Other books by Ron Ranson published by

Davto e° Charles:
PRACTICAL:
Watercolour Fast and Loose

Big Brush Watercolour
ILLUSTRATED BIOGRAPHIES:
Edward Seago
Edward Seago: The Vintage Years
The Art of Edward Wesson
ILLUSTRATED COLLECTIONS:
Watercolour Impressionists
Modern Oil Impressionists
It is easy to fall into the trap of including too
much detail in your paintings. Here Ron Ranson
explains how to avoid this, by distilling out the
essence of a scene. By following Ron’s enthusiastic
advice, you will soon be painting watercolours full of
light and movement which capture the true beauty
and simplicity of nature.
—
ISBN 0-7'
>
DAVID & CHARLES © "80715

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y aint (Wate TCO /OU 2

B= artist knows how easy it is to

DAVID & CHARLES

Ron Ranson has asserted his right to be identified as author of this

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British

ISBN 0 7153 0067 9

Typeset by Ace Filmsetting Ltd, Frome

n the past, I seem to have gained something

This painting was done very rapidly on one of my trips to Italy. |

| painted this scene during a workshop which | ran in Oregon, USA.

ot to make any bones about it, the five

John Sell Cotman

GRETA BRIDGE (1810) by John Sell Cotman

SEA REACH FROM KENTISH SIDE by Rowland

Rowland Hilder (1905-93)

Edward Seago (1910-74)

complaint, Seago had very little formal educa-

Edward Wesson (1910-83)

FOOTHILLS OF THE ATLAS by Edward Seago

ST IVES, HUNTINGDON by Edward Wesson

CHARLES BRIDGE, PRAGUE byJohn Yardley

The photograph above shows the basic materials which | use in my

Here you can see part of the interior of my new, purpose-built

The Studto full-size table-tennis table which, when cov-

Another corner of the studio. This time |’m working on a covered

10in (25cm). This can be used in daylight and,

I do hope that the pictures in this chapter will

TRAINING THE MIND

Select ano Reject

In this picture of a misty woodland glade, the whole of the

CREATING YOUR OWN

ost watercolour books, including my

He was often asked whether it was in order

The most important part of the quote is the last

This was a demonstration |did in a thick fog in the little village of

avery important point in your painting career.

course, involves taking risks and your first

any watercolour books explain the

This is a cliff top scene on the island of Monhegan painted as quickly

Seven Component Parts

Shape A shape is anything that has height

Size Shapes are of various sizes to one an-

Line Lines ina painting are either straight or

Direction Ina painting, one direction must

Colour You need to learn to use colour prop-

Value Value is the lightness or darkness of

Texture Texture is the surface quality of ob-

Eight Principles of Design

Balance The easiest illustration of balance is

Harmony Harmony simply describes ele-

Gradation This is a gradual change from one

Contrast Contrast is best described as an

Dominance Probably the most important

Unity To be worthwhile, a painting must be

our tonal sketch is part of the vitally Above

consists of a sketch pad of smooth cartridge

WAITING byJohn Yardley

Counterchange is the easiest way of stress-

Here counterchange |s used extensively both to indicate the shapes