HL AUTUMN 2023

MEDIA OPTIONS:  ***Please just use these for reference  but substitute your own paints or pencils.  There is no need to match  mine exactly.  Ask me for ideas if you are having trouble substituting  colors.  All watercolor pencils are Albrecht Durer by Faber-Castell  unless I specify something else on the list.

***IMPORTANT COLOR NOTE:   The tinted UArt paper does not photograph true to actual color.   Because of this I’m just including a few different views of these color  swatches under a few kinds of light.  If you are doing a drawing using  the tinted paper please just make your own color swatch and choose the  colors you like.  Sorry I’m not able to give you better swatches on this  one.

MAPLE TRIO

Goal: to pair dry graphite or brown colored pencil for definition and detail with vibrant, autumn watery washes. 

You can choose  one dry media (Graphite or Colored Pencils) and one wet media  (watercolor paints or pencils) for washes if you want to try my  technique.

      DRY MEDIA OPTIONS: Graphite Pencil 2H or 4H  or a combination of  Prismacolor Burnt Ochre (a warmer orange-brown) and Caran d’Ache Olive  Brown (cooler greener-brown)

    WET MEDIA OPTIONS:

     Watercolor Paints: Aureolin, New Gamboge, Quinacridone Gold,  Quinacridone Red, Quinacridone Pink, Burnt Sienna, Sepia, and Sap Green

     Watercolor Pencils: Light Yellow Glaze, Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Orange,  Dark Cadmium Orange, Pale Geranium Lake, Fuchsia, Burnt Ochre, Derwent  Inktense Dark Chocolate, and Earth Green Yellow

ONION

 Goal: to pair graphite pencil for contour, definition, and texture with soft washes for low intensity color and interest. 

 DRY MEDIA OPTIONS: 2H or 4H Graphite pencil and an HB or B.  You can also just use the colored pencils if you prefer.
      WET MEDIA OPTIONS:
       Watercolor Paints:  Aureolin, Quinacridone Red, Sap Green, Cobalt Blue, Light Red, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna
       Watercolor  Pencils:  any lower intensity watercolor pencils or complementary  colors will work fine.  I’ve just included my swatch for ideas.  You  don’t need to use all these.  On my swatch ideas I’ve listed Cream,  Ivory, Burnt Ochre, Raw Umber, Olive Green Yellow, Cadmium Orange,  Middle Purple Pink, Derwent Graphitint Juniper, Earth Green Yellow,  Light Green, Light Yellow Glaze, Helio-blue Reddish. 
*Again,  you definitely don’t need all these colors, I’m just showing color  combination suggestions, which I’ll show in class.  You can just pick a  few. 

AUTUMN LANDSCAPES: 

Watercolor  Paints: Aureolin, New Gamboge, Quinacridone Gold, Sap, Quinacridone  Red, Light Red, Burnt Sienna, Cobalt Blue, Winsor Blue Red Shade

Watercolor  Pencils: Cold Gray I, Cream, Dark Flesh, Fuchsia, Red Violet, Burnt  Ochre, Raw Umber, Derwent Inktense Leaf, Derwent Inktense Bark or Dark  Chocolate

Permanent Colored  Pencils: Derwent Colorsoft Grey Lavendar, Colorsoft Cloud Blue,  Prismacolor Terra Cotta, Prismacolor or Verithin Goldenrod, and  Prismacolor White.

PAPER: I will  demonstrate on white watercolor paper Arches 300 lb Hot Press and on  Tinted Sanded UART 600 grade Pastel Paper. You can substitute your own  white or tinted paper.  If you have any questions, just let me know.

COLOR TEMPERATURE OF SOME WATERCOLOR PAINTS WE OFTEN USE

I  just wanted to explain a little bit about color temperature based on  Carolyn’s question today.  This is a very involved subject, so I’m going  to really simplify here.  I don’t want to get super detailed (which I’m  afraid will also be super confusing!) here.  Color theory is not a  simple topic so excuse the over-simplification.  If you want a more  accurate, but more involved discussion, we can do that in a future  class.

Some colors are warmer than other colors. 

    --Yellow, Red, and Blue are the three primary colors, which just means that you can’t mix any other colors to get them.

     --Orange=Red+Yellow.  

         Green=Blue+Yellow.   

Violet/Purple/Magenta=Blue+Red (depending if there is more blue or more  red in your mixture).   

    --Blue is the coolest primary.  Any blue is cooler than any other red or yellow.

    --Yellow and Red are warm primaries.  

Within  each color, you will find some versions that are warmer and some cooler  than other versions of the same color.  That is because the paint is  actually made using bits of other colors.  Here’s a list of some of the  colors we often use in class.  

      --Red - Quinacridone Pink is a bit cooler (looks a little more blue) then  Quinacridone Red, which is a little cooler than Scarlet Lake (more  orange).

     --Yellow - Aureolin is a bit cooler (looks a little greener) than New Gamboge (looks a little more orange).

     --Green - Phthalo Green is usually a bit cooler (a little bluer) than Sap Green (looks a bit more yellow).

     --Blue - Winsor Blue Green Shade is more yellow and Winsor Blue Red Shade is more red.  (Okay, that’s pretty obvious!)

There are several reasons you may care about color temperature.  I’m going to just bring up a few here.

--When  you mix your colors together, paints which lean closer to each other on  the color wheel mix really well.  For example, if you mix Sap Green  with Yellow, it looks very clear and bright.  If you mix Scarlet Lake  with Yellow it looks clear and bright.  

If  you mix Quinacridone Pink with Yellow, it will look fine, but it won’t  be as bright as mixing Scarlet Lake with that same yellow.  If you mix  Quinacridone Pink with blue, though, it will look nice and bright, more  than if you chose Scarlet Lake with your blue.

Why?   Scarlet Lake mixes easily with yellow, because there’s more yellow  (warm) in the Scarlet Lake paint.  That’s just the way they mix the  paint.  Quinacridone Pink mixes easily with blue, because there’s more  blue (cool) in the paint mixture of Quinacridone Pink.

--If  you want to portray highlights or suggest the sun is hitting a certain  part of your painting, use a bit more of a warm color.  If you want to  portray a shaded section, with lots of shadows, use a bit more cool  colors.  

This  description is very much over-simplified, but hopefully it gives you a  bit of an idea. I used watercolor paints because I think that’s what  Carolyn asked.  If anyone wants me to give them information on  watercolor pencils, just let me know.

 I love autumn leaves!  I placed these maple leaves in a simple  arrangement and just enjoyed painting warm watercolor paint washes for  the autumn color.  I added watercolor pencils for a bit of texture.   This painting can easily be done using either media alone, and I will  demonstrate each.  You can then choose your media. 

Just add a few more layers the same way we started in class in order to finish.

I loved the subtle color and texture on this onion, which began to  sprout in my pantry.  I let the leaves grow so I could use it as the  basis for a painting.  I will demonstrate using a hard graphite pencil  (a 2H or 4H) to convey the texture of the onion and completing the piece  by adding color in watercolor pencil or watercolor washes for subtle,  muted low intensity coloring on the onion and brighter fresh growth on  the leaves. 

WATERCOLOR PAINT with WATERCOLOR PENCIL ACCENTS

The  following shows my step-by-step process.  I began with a sketch.  I   masked some of the grasses, followed by a series of watercolor washes   (or use watercolor pencils).  I continued with accents using watercolor   paints and watercolor pencils (or just use one or the other media).
 

I altered the photo quite a bit but used it as an  inspiration for this  piece.  I wanted to focus on grasses in the  foreground on the lower  right and give them subtle detail with muted  autumn color.  I added a  backdrop of water as in the photo and a line of  trees, as in the photo,  but chose to add a bit of autumn color in my  tree line.  I also choice  to alter the composition a bit by showing the  edge to the water on the  left.
This  painting uses primarily watercolor washes.  I added some fun  detail on  the grasses with a combination of watercolor paints and  watercolor  pencil.  I will demonstrate using each media so you can  choose your  favorite for your painting. 

MY PROCEDURE ON WATERCOLOR PAPER:

1. I figured out my composition, altering it as I wanted.  The photo(s) are just an inspiration.
2. You might want to stretch your watercolor paper or use a block of watercolor paper.
3. I sketched my composition, just generally.  I don’t need to be detailed.  
4. I masked the foreground grasses on the lower right.
5. I  wet the paper except the sky and water area and added a diluted wash of  aureolin paint (or use light yellow glaze watercolor pencil).
6. Once dry, I added new gamboge and sap green (or use a little cadmium yellow and earth green yellow watercolor pencil.)
7. Once  dry, I added new gamboge with touches of quinacridone gold,  quinacridone red, and sap in the tree line. If using watercolor pencils  choose similar colors of your choice in yellow, gold, green, and just a  touch of red if you want.
8. Once  dry, I added a VERY diluted wash of winsor blue red shade and/or cobalt  blue in the sky and water area.  I deepened the value a little bit on  the top of the water line, at the bottom of the water line, and the base  of the tree line.  Light cobalt turquoise and/or light ultramarine  would be good blue choices in watercolor pencil.
9. Add a spark of color  (your choice) in the foreground grasses and tree line and watery loose  wash in water to suggest reflections. 
10. I removed the mask.
11. I  continued doing a bit of detail work with watercolor pencil, especially  in the foreground grasses and a bit in the tree line area.  Be as  detailed as you choose.  If you don’t want to use watercolor pencil you  could substitute with dry brush watercolor paint or permanent colored  pencil.
12. Continue  with the detail work until it’s as detailed as you want. I doubt you  want to detail every grass because it might look too busy.  Step back  and look periodically so you don’t go too far.

Watercolor Paints:  Aureolin, New Gamboge, Quinacridone Gold, Sap Green, Winsor Blue Red Shade, Winsor Blue Green Shad 

Watercolor Pencils: There are many excellent  watercolor pencils you can choose here.  I’ll list a few by color  groups, but just use whatever you have already.  

White Permanent Pencil and/or Watercolor Pencil

Low intensity light value color: cold gray I, warm gray I, cream.

Blues: Ultramarine, Phthalo Blue, Light Cobalt turquoise, Helio-blue Red, and/or Indigo

Reds: Dark Flesh, Pale Geranium Lake, Venetian Red, and/or Inktense Poppy

Browns:  Raw Umber, Burnt Ochre, Derwent Watercolor Pencil Walnut, Inktense  Baked Earth, Inktense Dark Chocolate or Inktense Bark.

Accenting Green: Olive Green Yellow

Ink Option:
If you want to use a micron pen for detail and texture you can use a black or brown pen.  An 08 thickness would be great.

My  liquid inks are FW Acrylic Artist Inks by Daler Rawney: Sepia, Burnt  Umber, Scarlet, Crimson, Indigo, Cerulean, and/or Marine Blue

Dr. PH Martin Bombay India Ink: Yellow Ochre. 

Any  of the media I mentioned here would be great.  Just substitute your own  similarly colored media.  There is no need to add anything you don’t  already have. Ask me for substitutes if you’re stumped

I think pheasants are so special for several  reasons and I want to focus on a few of these in our painting—the  gorgeous color and interesting patterning on the feathers in this regal  bird.  

I will continue techniques  I used in the other demonstrations this autumn, focusing on a  combination of washes with a transparent water-based medium to achieve  rich color, supplemented with a dry media to achieve detail and  texture.  

There are many  excellent media choices which would be wonderful in your pheasant  painting and I’ll suggest several here.  You can pick whatever media you  prefer.  In my demonstrations I will use watercolor paint and  watercolor pencil for the washes (you can choose either) and watercolor  pencil for the dry media.  

In  case you want to add ink for your piece I will discuss using an ink pen  such as a micron pen for the dry media and/or liquid artist inks for the  color washes.    

Please see some  color swatches in the various media below.  You can choose any of these  you prefer or a combination if you feel adventurous.