I’ve missed a few months of the Blog due to having been busy preparing paintings for various exhibitions and fairs.

Currently I have two paintings in the Glasgow Society of Women Artists’s (GSWA) ‘Exhibition of Small Works of Art’ being held at the RGI/Kelly Gallery, 118 Douglas Street, Glasgow, 1st - 13th March 2010. One of the paintings is called Dordogne Hillside and you can see it below.

The GSWA has been in existence since 1882 and was originally formed by the first eight female students of The Glasgow School of Art. It now has a membership of around 140 elected artists. www.gswa.org.uk

I’ve also been teaching watercolour painting to new students. In the first lesson we’ve looked at how to use a variety of techniques and materials, starting with a large piece of cartridge paper and making all sorts of marks and designs.

The second part of the lesson involved looking at various shapes of objects and the spaces in between them and how to put shapes together to form a good composition.

Aileen

Last week, my friend Isabel invited me to stay with her for a few days in a beautiful cottage in the English Lake District. The cottage overlooked Lake Windermere and was part of an old converted school. While I was there, she asked me to show her how to paint in watercolour since she wanted to try it, but had never painted since leaving school. We started with a blue flower and then moved on to a strawberry. I will let her tell you of her experiences, in her own words.

“I think the best thing was that you chose very simple shapes and a single colour. Even using something as simple as this, I was able to learn a great deal.   I also appreciated watching you demonstrate, seeing you do it and then for me to create my own version. I found it interesting that you were aware that we see things differently and was prepared to let me paint what I saw, for example the sage green strawberry leaves.”

“You made it much less scary by stressing the fun element and the fact that it was very private; that no one needs to see it.  By saying that, the process became almost more important than the outcome and the pressure was taken off. You have always said that time passes quickly whn you are painting, but I had thought that that wouldn’t be the case with me. I thought I would struggle so much I would lose heart, get bored and want to stop soon. In fact I almost missed lunch - most unlike me!”

I am very happy to say that Isabel went off and bought  paper and books on watercolour painting and drawing so I am sure she will get as hooked on it as I am. Thanks to Isobel I had a very happy time with her at her cottage and look forward to seeing what she paints in the future, that is if I’m allowed to see it.

Aileen

I have just spent two weekends selling my paintings and prints on the Railings at the Botanic Gardens in Glasgow. (20/21 and 27/28 June). There were up to 22 artists there selling their work outdoors, hanging work on the railings, as part of the Glasgow West End Festival fortnight. I only decided, with my husband Mike, to take a ‘pitch’ at short notice and so we spent a hectic few days selecting paintings, getting them ready, wrapping them in Cellophane, labelling them, and getting all the other materials we needed to make a good display. We had to be at the railings at 7am each day to get a ‘good pitch’ and set up the display. Because it was selling outdoors, we had to be ready to cover everything with polythene should it start raining. Only on one day of the 2 weekends did we have a few showers and luckily these were very brief.

My display on the first day

Over the two weekend I sold 18 original paintings and 18 prints directly from the display or from a browser  and the response from the public to my work was very gratifying. Even those who did not buy, but stopped to look, were very complementary in their comments. In addition to this, I met lots of other artists who were all very friendly and chatty and it was very enjoyable talking with them when there were few people about.

Some of the 22 artists showing their work on the railings

Given the success and enjoyment of the weekends, I hope to be able to do this event again next year.

Aileen

The magazine The Artist in it’s July issue

(http://www.painters-online.co.uk/magazines/issue.asp?issue=125)

has published an article by my husband, Mike on his experience of building a studio for me in our garden.  You can see a summary and pictures of the article in my first Blog.  It’s now been nine months since the studio was completed and I’ve been working steadily in it ever since.  During that time the temperature has fluctuated during the winter from -5C to a summer high of +26C which for the West of Scotland is unusally high.

I have an electric heater which has been perfectly adequate for the cold winter months and in the summer, with the door open or closed, it’s been comfortably cool to work in.  The two main windows are north facing and the side window and window in the door are shaded from direct sunlight by the balcony roof overhang.  I did think I would need blinds for the strong summer sunlight, but so far I haven’t found it necessary which is great, because the blinds could have greatly reduced the light.

When we first decided to build the studio we thought a good size would be 3m x 3m, however I am very pleased we chose the larger 3m x 4m size as this has enabled me to have shelving on one wall for my collection of props, books and other bits and pieces.  It’s also made it possible to paint from life without being too close to the objects.

I’ve found having my own studio and designated painting space a really liberating experience, as I can leave things set up and not worry about having to tidy everything away at the end of each day.  It’s a special place with a very relaxing atmosphere and I’m thoroughly enjoying it.

Aileen

When I’ve chosen the subject for a painting and stretched my watercolour paper I then select most of the tubes of paint I think will work for both the subject and which ones will go well together.

Not all of the colours I’ll use in the painting are chosen at the start, however, and I’ll quite often wait until I’ve laid down some paint then place scraps of coloured paper against what I’ve already painted until I find a colour I like that suits what’s already there. I either find the required colour in a tube, or I’ll usually be able to mix two colours to get an accurate match.

I would rarely mix more than two colours together to make a third as I think this can result in muddy pigment and dull mixes of paint. The exception to this would be if I wanted a dark solid area in the picture.

Because I like to have a large selection of paints to choose from, I don’t have specific favourites I stick to and I like to pick and choose at random for each painting. This week I’ve been using Purple Madder, Rose Madder Genuine, Indigo, Cadmium Yellow Pale and Pthalo Green in my painting of Fritillaria.

It’s very interesting and sometimes a great shock to see the result of mixing colours I haven’t fully experimented with. When it comes to choosing paints I’m not one for staying within my comfort zone and am very happy to experiment with new colours. I don’t like always using the same colours with predictable outcomes and would far rather take a risk which makes each painting a fascinating adventure for me.

Aileen

Until you find your own way in watercolour, the different methods teachers/instructors give can be very confusing. Many people think that the next course or the next good teacher they hear about will be the illusive breakthrough they need to produce the perfect painting. They spend a fortune on courses and painting holidays in their efforts to learn. I’m not suggesting that it’s a bad idea to attend classes and for the beginner it can be very helpful, comforting and informative when starting out and not knowing in which direction to go. But if the student is taking one course after another in an attempt to find the ‘one perfect way’, he/she can find themselves following each different teacher’s methods so closely that their own individuality is lost.

Their own creativity and ability to think for themselves can be buried in the process. Unfortunately many students never break away from taking courses and although they may become very proficient painters they tend to become copiers of others’ work rather than inventers of their own.

Teachers will all vary in the way they suggest drawing and painting. Some may suggest painting individual objects using the local colour of the object then linking it to the next object like a jig saw puzzle. Others will suggest the way to go is to blend or bleed one object or colour into the adjacent object, area or colour with soft fluid edges. Some will suggest starting at the top of the paper and washing a pale colour right down to the bottom, allowing it to dry and working over the top of it. The initial wash they say will hold the painting together and create a cohesive look to the entire picture.

Yet another ‘way’ is to make a pencil or pen ‘contour’drawing which holds the picture together and is still visible after the paint has been applied. Although the washes of paint in this type of approach can be pale with only the odd section darker to contribute to depth and focus, the painting relies heavily on the under drawing. This can sometimes produce a charming loose painting.

I’ve found an interesting quote in a book by G John Blockley, Painting in Watercolour:-

“Many watercolour painters work in a different way. They aim to paint each part directly on to dry paper instead of building up from an overall wash. In this process the idea is to try to paint each part alongside its neighbour, piece by piece, until the paper is covered. Like building a jigsaw puzzle. This way of painting can lead to a delightful feeling of immediacy and purity of colour. The danger is that white spaces can be left between neighbouring brushstrokes and this can make the painting look restless and busy. My initial wash of colour holds the painting together from the beginning and allows a little more flexibility in judging tones and colour values. The other process calls from first time judgement and decision in applying the colour.”

I’m sure there are many other methods of constructing a painting but the main ones I’ve talked about here are:-

Painting the picture like a jig saw, building up individual objects next to one another.

Painting loose washes on top of a structured pencil or pen drawing

Painting pale washes and building up the image by using fewer washes with more dense pigment in subsequent layers, working from light to dark.

Which way do I paint? Well, each painting is a new adventure and once I get into it, the painting tells me the way to go.

Aileen

Masking Fluid is very useful in reserving the highlights in watercolour and with a bit of care can work well. I’ve always been careful using it in paintings because of the very hard edges and stark white patches it leaves when I come to rub it off.

After I apply masking fluid, I always make sure it’s completely dry before painting over it. I’ve dragged several good brushes over damp droplets or areas of masking fluid, which I thought were dry, only to discover that the fluid has stuck to the brush and I’ve got blobs of rubber scattered in the brush hairs, which is very difficult to remove. If you don’t get it off immediately it can completely ruin the brush and you will be left with an expensive sable brush only suitable for applying masking fluid.

I like to use masking fluid in subtle ways and will sometimes splash, drop, sponge or spread it on with various implements after the first wash is completely dry. It is not being applied directly on to the white paper and I don’t have to worry about hard white edges.

Normally I wouldn’t use it as the sole method of retaining light areas and will often use it in conjunction with candle wax (see previous blog) or alternatively lifting areas, for example on a petal or leaf using the edge of a damp flat bristle brush.

It is very important to make sure the painted area over the masking fluid is completely dry before removing it, which I do with either a hard rubber, finger tips or my preferred method the edge of my finger nail. Grease from finger tips can leave a deposit on the paper which can result in the paper repelling paint.

Sometimes I soften one edge of the masked area to blend it into the adjacent area or colour. Or alternatively overpaint the stark white area with a light colour like a pale blue or yellow to soften the harshness of the white paper.

Masking fluid is very useful in landscapes where a lot of broken washes are needed to show foliage, tops of waves, etc., and I also use it on the rims of jugs, highlights on fruit or glass/crystal etc., in a still life. In fact anywhere where an area is highlighted.

Aileen

This week I have been painting tulips.  Interesting effects can be achieved on the petals using white candle wax.   The wax creates the effects of differing light on the petals and gradations of light through the petals,  I find that wax is not as stark as using masking fluid and doesn’t produce hard edges.  Rubbing candle wax on the paper only catches the ‘peaks’ on the paper surface and not the ‘troughs’.  When you then put a watercolour wash over the area,  the wash goes through into the ‘troughs’ and some of the paper is protected by the wax, so you don’t get harsh edges as you do with masking fluid.  The amount of wax rubbed on an area will also influence the final effect achieved.

I like to use candle wax on petals, leaves, the rims and insides of dishes or bowls where the light strikes but is diffused and again the effect is more subtle than effects produced by masking fluid.

Aileen

The Fritillaria have bloomed outside my studio in the last couple of weeks and how pretty they are. I got my husband to photograph them so that I can use them as reference material for paintings. He photographed them as they were, against the green background of the rest of the garden and against a piece of white card so that they would stand out.

The lovely purple checkerboard patterns will be very challenging to paint but during this week I intend to give it a go.

The advantage of photographing them against the card is that the flowers cast very interesting shadow patterns and again these will be intriguing to paint.

Aileen

Watercolour Texture Medium(TM) is very useful and can be used to create a variety of (illusions) textures. For example, this week I have been painting what I call one of my ‘ composite’ paintings. These are paintings I create from bits and pieces of references I have collected and this week I been working on an African theme. I used texture medium on the body of the leopardand and in the top right corner of the picture where I have tried to give the impression of a cave and cave paintings. The texture medium is used for the rock walls.

African Faces 39h X 29h cms.

The texture medium can be used in various ways and you can use it before, during and after painting. You can spread the TM with a brush, a lining pen, an old credit card edge, a stick or an old broken comb, to give many different effects. It can also be spattered using an old toothbrush.

It is easy to get ‘carried away’ with excessive use of TM so I am careful to be very selective in its use but I hope you will try using it if you have not already done so.

Aileen