Waterfalls

Lightspout
Watercolour and Ink on Paper
160mm x 240mm (6.25" x 9.5")

"Waterfalls" is the penultimate topic in the "The Look of Transparency" chapter of Creating Textures in Pen & Ink with Watercolor by Claudia Nice. My choice of subjects was limited to Niagara Falls or Lightspout on the Long Mynd. These are opposite ends of the waterfall spectrum and not great candidates for the techniques Claudia describes.

The topic at least served as a prompt to try a subject that I have shied away from for a long time – the photo is from 2008. It always makes me smile because I love the Long Mynd, but it is probably Elaine's least favourite venue for a walk. I was never sure why she disliked it. I suspected it was because it usually rains (heavily) every time we visit, but Elaine says its because there are no convenient pub or toilets.

I haven't made much use of pen and ink in this chapter - I'm going to make a conscious effort to do more ink drawing in the next chapter - Metallic Impressions.

Compositions with Empty Space

Tranquillity
Watercolour on Paper
40.5cm x 34cm (16" x 13.35")

The duotone study of yachts moored off St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly (see Drawing and Painting the Landscape - Duotone) inspired me to try the largest watercolour I've painted in a long time – maybe 8 years.

Since I started painting, I've admired artists who have the confidence and ability to create pictures containing empty space - particularly big empty foregrounds. Whenever I tried it, the results just looked unfinished and I've ended up cropping the blank space. What was their secret?

The answer is (of course?) their compositional skills. Exercises like Duotone and the Five-Value Monochrome Study from Tom Hoffmann's  Watercolor Painting (see Five-Value Monochrome Study) help me to better understand where details are not needed in an image.

The Principles of Composition exercises from Composition by Arthur Wesley Dow have also given me some insight into how blank space fits into a satisfying composition. I’m sure the later chapters on Line and Notan would help even more, but they are not at the top of my study list because there are lots of other resources I am keen to experiment with and learn from.

Its interesting to reflect on what I’ve learnt from where. In March, Stephanie asked

I notice that you are often working your way through an instruction book or course. Do you have any recommendations for the order someone should choose these resources? I would love to see a page where you gather links to your posts that review your thoughts on a book once you've finished with it.

I’ve realised this is going to be a time-consuming undertaking. I’ve started the first steps:

• Create a list of all the resources I've mentioned on this blog and others I’ve used but not discussed
• Make sure the blog posts that discuss each source are properly tagged
• Write two sentences for each resource to explain whether I finished the material and whether I would recommend it to someone else

I will post this information when it is ready.

Drawing and Painting the Landscape - Duotone

Sheep Grazing from the Mon & Brec
Duotone - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
Ink on Paper
13.5cm x 9.5cm (5.25" x 3.75")

Lesson 15 of Drawing and Painting the Landscape by Philip Tyler continues with the black, white and grey studies introduced in the previous lesson (Drawing and Painting the Landscape - Negative Painting).

Walberswick Beach
Duotone - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
Ink on Paper
9.5cm x 13.5cm (3.75" x 5.25")

The focus of the lesson is identifying the grey shapes and thinking about the balance of the three tones - is the scene mostly grey with a few black shadows and white highlights?

Kennet and Avon
Duotone - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
Promarker on Paper
9cm x 12.5cm (3.5" x 5")

Phillip recommends the use of photo editing software to help simplify the landscape into tonal masses. The initial exercise uses grey and black promarkers (permanent alcohol-based markers) on white paper. Phillip then suggests making a series of three-tone studies using a range of dry and wet media on white and toned surfaces.

Near the Otter Estuary
Duotone - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
Promarker on Paper
16cm x 11cm (6.25" x 4.25")

I did a lot of experiments and particularly enjoyed the ink on toned paper. Some of these are more detailed and lack the spontaneity of Philips examples, but this can be a symptom of drawing and painting from photographs.

Moorings Near Hugh Town
Duotone - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
Promarker on Paper
16cm x 11cm (6.25" x 4.25")

The lesson reminded me of the Five-Value Monochrome Study from Tom Hoffmann's Watercolor Painting (see Five-Value Monochrome Study). This provided a useful connection because Tom's exercise isn't about accurately replicating the tones in the landscape, it is about creating a picture that makes sense to the viewer.