One can travel the world and see nothing. To achieve understanding, it is necessary not to see many things but to look hard at what you do see.
-Giorgio Morandi
Painting 1: day 3, blocking-in and scumbling
With the foreground and shadows roughly blocked in, my goal today is to begin on the lighter areas and the sky. This requires blocking in the darker areas of the sky, while loosely scumbling in for the highlights and lighter areas – beginning to define the entire tonal range. Another goal at this point is to keep everything loose and try not to get distracted by the details – working with a brush which might be slightly too large for detail work helps me to remain loose and gestural.
The greenish grey color here is a combination of Indigo, Umbers, Ochres and Prussian Blue with a touch of white. The scumbled highlights are with Titanium White, as it is more opaque than both Flake White and Zinc White. (I keep all three whites on my palette, as they all interact uniquely with different pigments.)
click on images to enlarge
Painting 1: day 2, blocking-in shadows
The finished painting will have an extreme level of contrast between the light of the sky and the back-lit, silhouetted shadows of the foreground. It is important to me that these seemingly flat, dark shapes possess a richness and depth to their color, as well as some unexpected varieties. Therefore, I will mix these darker values with color rather than rely on the use of straight black.
Years ago, I discovered that deep rich “blacks” could be achieved by mixing Alizarin Crimson with Viridian Green and applying these colors in multiple layers. I also keep a little Indigo close by as a “darkening agent”, and to maintain the coolness of the shadows.
I mix the colors together each time before touching the canvas, as opposed to mixing one big batch of the color for the entire area. Again, this is to ensure that variety is maintained within the shadows as well as to provide room for the unexpected – allowing for some improvisation and play.
As these transparent colors layer on top of one another the value will darken more and more. This is just the “base coat”.
click on images to enlarge
Painting 1: day 1, the underpainting
I’ve decided to use a previous study as the compositional basis for the first painting of the series.
The first stage of my painting process typically involves toning the ground and then applying some sort of texture or pattern as an underpainting. I’m working with oil paint and I’m thinning the paint with a medium to increase the paint’s transparency and fluidity. (More later about the use of painting mediums)
The next step for me is to lay in a grid pattern with a cooler color which is more similar in color to what I’m shooting for with the finished surface of the painting. The contrast between the initial wash and the the grid lines should produce some interesting and unexpected varieties to the finished surface.
I’m not that worried about the drips and inconsistencies of the lines. In fact, I’m wanting some variety within the imposed structure of the grid.
I want this underpainting to be visible through the successive layers of paint. Therefore, I stop here and let it dry.
Vija Celmins
I feel that the image is just a sort of armature on which I hang my marks and make my art.
-Vija Celmins
Sketchbook Study with FW inks
Intrigued with some of the elements of my previous study, I decide to continue working with images of the sky and atmosphere. I reviewed my photos from my most recent trip to Yellowstone National Park, and was immediately drawn to this image of a passing storm taken on our last morning in the park.
I’m working within a 6″ by 8″ format for a variety of reasons. One of them being that I want a border around the image for notations and testing of colors – this is, after all, an experiment. Also, I have a bunch of 30″ by 40″ canvases which are already built – the 6″ by 8″ format corresponds to the format of these canvases – familiarizing myself with the basic spacial relationships if I end up wanting to translate one of these studies in oil paint on canvas.
One of the best things about these FW inks is the eyedropper cap of the bottles, allowing a measured application of media to the palette. I use only a couple of drops of ink, and then dilute with water, to create the wash.
Similar to the “glazing” and “scumbling” techniques of oil painting, I continue to apply wash layers of color to darken areas, and use the opacity of the pure white to define the lighter areas.
Once the basics are in place, I expand my color palette, which now includes: Indigo, Paynes Grey, Raw Sienna, Sepia, Prussian Blue and White. I still add water to the pure inks, but not as much, allowing the color to retain most of its intensity and saturation. I use separate palettes for the washes, saturated colors, and white. The opacity of the white allows me to begin defining the figure by painting the ground (defining the trees by painting the sky). To tone down some of the brightness of the white areas, I use the washes – controlling value by the layering of pigment rather than the direct mixing of pigment into the white.
Agnes Martin
The adventurous state of mind is a high house.
To enjoy life the adventurous state of mind must be grasped and maintained.
The essential feature of adventure is that it is a going forward into unknown territory.
The joy of adventure is unaccountable.
This is the attractiveness of art work. It is adventurous, strenuous and joyful.
-Agnes Martin
Sketchbook Study with FW inks
Using the oil paint studies as a starting point, I’m jumping into the world of acrylic based pigmented inks.
The first step is to familiarize myself with the properties of the media. I want to know what the ink looks like straight out of the bottle, and what happens to it when diluted. How well is it suited for different application techniques? Using both brush and dip pen I create a simple chart which allows me to experience the media as well as provide me with reference materials for future use.
I first apply the pure color with the provided eyedropper. Then, using a dip pen with a Brause “Blue pumpkin” nib, I test the line characteristics of the ink as well as its flow rate through the nib. Lastly, loading a brush with water I lay down a wet area below the color sample, allowing the pigment to bleed into the area – this to test the thinning potential and shading characteristics of the ink. I follow this process for each of the colors that I have on hand, which allows for easy comparisons of the properties of the different colors.
One of the first things that I notice is the ink’s tendency to stay put – these are not watercolor! The colors are overly saturated and opaque. Transparency of the color is increased with the addition of water, however the pigments begin to separate a bit more than I’m accustomed to seeing in watercolor. They also seem to dry more quickly and more permanently. In the Payne’s Grey sample above, the ink actually dried out on the nib before the nib ran out of ink – and some interesting effects happened by simply dipping the nib in water. Watercolor or dye based inks may have rinsed entirely away while submerged in the water, but these acrylic based pigmented inks are a lot more stubborn and will require much more diligence while cleaning my brushes and nibs.
I start my first “atmospheric” study by defining the format, thinning (diluting) the ink with water and toning the surface with a wash.
Continuing with thin washes of color, I begin to define the larger areas of the composition by quickly and loosely blocking in the basic value and color distribution.
The colors of the FW inks are so strong and saturated that only two to four drops of ink are required to create a wash.
Because the ink is near permanent when dry, the looseness of the underpainting is retained and begins to influence the variety of the surface in lovely and unexpected ways – I enjoy that quality very much – influencing the image but remaining open to the unexpected.
Here, I find myself beginning to think of Turner a bit – referencing the basic structure of the clouds while maintaining a looseness towards abstraction. Trying to emphasize some areas while subduing others.
Switching from brush to pen, I decide to test the opacity of the white and experiment with its flow characteristics through a nib.
Some arbitrary text should do.
I also find that using the white as a wash goes along way in quieting and softening other areas of the composition. I continue to play until satisfied.
Working with new materials is always liberating. My expectations are minimal, and I’m able to give myself permission to just experiment and play.