AMANDA BRETT WATERCOLOUR ARTIST
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​Paintbox Tips, secrets, thoughts, scribblings
and doodles on art, ​my life as an artist,
​travels and musings!! 

Auckland Viaduct Studio Greys - AWARDED 1st PRIZE

30/5/2018

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Amanda Brett Watercolour Artist, Auckland Viaduct studio greys AWARDED 1st prize by Watercolour New Zealand and Gordon Harris Art Supplies. AVAILABLE email me
Thrilled to say Auckland Viaduct studio greys has been awarded 1st prize by Watercolour New Zealand and Gordon Harris Art Supplies.

I had painted the same subject en plein air the previous day and was dissatisfied with the result, I was, however, inspired to create the scene with a new composition and a different mix of greys.

As I am a heavy handed painter and struggle with light values and greys, more practice required!!


I started with a loose thumbnail value sketch, then applied a loose simplified sketch to my watercolour paper.
​

Painting in an en plein air style ie, top down, I started with varying mixes of greys (phthalocyanine blue, alizarin crimson and burnt sienna); warmer hues gradating into cooler and sometimes painting with clean water, all this around planned whites.

​Once the shine had left the paper I splashed in some some light value spatter and continued to paint stronger washes of colour - that is, less water more paint with each successive shape created. Parts of the “office” and fishing boat were painted with colour straight from the tube. I painted in some dark people and also scrubbed out some lighter value shapes.


The paper was still quite damp which allowed me the freedom of soft edges and more spatter. I also started to add accents of raw sienna, cerulean blue and splashes of white gouache.

I get totally absorbed in negative painting - the worse you do it the better, some soft edges, plus some bleeding - squirting water and when close to dry, some final hard edges. I added some calligraphy marks to seal the deal.

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ciao cari amici xx
Amanda

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Negative painting for the watercolourist - Paint Box Tip #7

23/5/2018

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the real purpose of negative painting in watercolour painting is to build depth and volume with a full range of values.
​

Using the white paper, we build a watercolour painting from light to dark - there really is a limit to how much one can paint “positively”, in other words subject shapes. This method becomes dissatisfying as we realise the limitations of painting only in “positives” or faced with a compositional error.

The problem many of my students face with negative painting is simply the technical terminology, they are put off because they think that a technique with a technical label must be difficult when really, the terminology was created to simplify the description and process.

A good way to start painting negatively is to choose a simple “repeating” subject, for example foliage. Create a small pencil drawing with your repeating shapes and “wash” in a light value, all over but working around whites and light value shapes (see figure 1).

next using value #2 or 3, work around your light values shapes with a slightly darker value, then, another darker value around 1, 2, 3 and 4 and so on - e ecco!!

A key element is to use edge variety as you go, soften some edges with your kneadable eraser and let some darker values “spill” into your light values.

OK now it's time to break out your watercolour paper, create a quick “nasty” sketch of some sort of repeating pattern and follow the same process using a mid or dark value pigment and diluting to create lighter values as you usually would. Progressively increase the amount of pigment on your brush and reduce the amount of water. For example, if you are using a natural bristle brush, you might only need 1 "brushful" of water for the whole doings.

Avoid temptation to leave hard edges all through your painting and let spatter and soft edges work their magic for you - even with your pencil sketch. Of course you can alter values where necessary by either lightening or darkening a value.

Have another go with a non repeating pattern and then change to a limited palette of 3 or 4 colours.

let me know how you get on, email me here with questions!!

ciao cari amici!!​ xx
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Amanda Brett Watercolour Artist Auckland viaduct studio greys
detail from "Auckland Viaduct" studio greys awarded 1st prize by Watercolour New Zealand and Gordon Harris Art Supplies

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The Secret of 5 Big Shapes - value sketching demonstration en plein air - Paintbox tip #6

2/5/2018

8 Comments

 
Ciao a tutti!!

​I'm back in Lucca, my home away from home, preparing for my watercolour painting holiday workshops. This morning I set out to surprise my dear Lucchese friends and while we chat over coffee I became overwhelmed with a huge wave of "I must paint right now!". Not quite organised for plein air painting, a quick value sketch on site will help me understand and remember shapes and values, what I see and prepare me to paint in my studio. 

My non-secret strategy works for any subject, any style and is relevant to design principles from any school of thought.

​I've mapped out some processes to help you get started on your own plein air sketches.

Once I select my subject, I use a soft pencil with a seriously sharp point (I sharpen my pencil several times during my sketching process), I sketch a light "frame" - the size of a credit card - remember this is a value sketch to understand the darks, lights and shapes, you can create a masterpiece sketch later, this small study is purely for the purpose of getting to paint quickly - my key thoughts are:
  1. quick
  2. nasty
  3. dirty
  4. loose
  5. and rough!!
  6. :)

Sketching AND painting!!

Next I lightly mark in a grid of thirds vertically and horizontally, each intersection is an optimal focal area.

I'm thinking 5 big shapes - no detail at this point - so, for my subject today, my 5 big shapes are:
  1. the sky
  2. the roof as one big shape
  3. front of the building
  4. foreground
  5. porta (doorway or entrance) della Piazza del'anfiteatro
  6. oooops, i forgot an umbrella or 2!!

I used my pencil to measure angles - always have a new pencil on hand, it's hard to measure angles with a stubby!!

Now that we have 5 (6) big shapes, first rule of thumb is to forgive yourself for blunders you are about to make, say it out loud "this is the way I want it!!" :) tomorrow you'll do another version and it will be different again because you'll be a different person tomorrow with a different view and a greater skill-set.

2nd rule is to think BIG, Medium, small - in other words VARIETY is the spice of life!

3rd rule is to make INTERESTING shapes - no squares nor circles, odd shapes are best and no shape the same size next to each other, this is more interesting for you as an artist and also for your viewers and collectors - always something new to look at and wonder "why did she do that?"

There's a lot to think about and we've barely got started!! mamma mia!!

While we're here lets block in a light value tone around white areas just to get our heads in the game.

Build up your sketch by giving each shape a darker tone from the shape next to it, it's a good idea to have shapes overlapping so use your eraser to steal back lights/shapes where you need to.

Consider leaving "WRONG" marks, don't erase them, they add character  -  PLUS, I don't know about you, if I erase a wrong mark I can almost guarantee I will make the same wrong mark again!! I think that's why I got to the point of not erasing and I have come to enjoy the marks that make a sketch full of character and life.

While I'm sketching I'm positioning darks against lights and lights against darks, especially in the focal area, then I can think about possible detail shapes ... 5 for a small sketch, 7 is stretching it for this size - thinking silhouette shapes only!! To satisfy my itchy fingers I often make a list of goodies to add to my painting later. In this case its pot plants, tables and chairs and people, copper downpipes, chimneys, electrical wiring, pigeons, bicycles, signage etc, etc.

I hope you enjoy sketching value studies, with practice you will get better and quicker. I'd love to hear how you get on!!

cari amici!! xx
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Amanda Brett watercolour artist, Piazza del'anfiteatro, Lucca Italy en plein air sketch 1
Amanda Brett watercolour artist, Piazza del'anfiteatro, Lucca Italy en plein air sketch 1
Amanda Brett watercolour artist, Piazza del'anfiteatro, Lucca Italy en plein air sketch 1
Amanda Brett watercolour artist, Piazza del'anfiteatro, Lucca Italy en plein air sketch 1ture

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    Amanda Brett Watercolour Artist

    Paintbox Tips, secrets, thoughts, scribblings and doodles on art, my life as an artist, travels and musings!! www.amandabrett.net

    ​Copyright 2018 All images and text on Amanda's blog and website are the legal property of Amanda Brett and may not be reproduced without express permission, thanks for respecting my art and creativity.

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Amanda Brett - Watercolour Artist

Quality Guarantee: All my watercolours are painted with only modern professional grade watercolour paints on Museum exhibition grade watercolour papers, they are extremely lightfast and will become a family heirloom and passed down to subsequent generations. If​ properly cared for, watercolour paintings will last as long, if not longer, than oil paintings. I only paint on 100% cotton rag paper, mostly Arches and Fabriano, and frame to conservation standard with acid free materials.
Copyright © 2020 All images and text on Amanda's blog and website are the legal property of Amanda Brett and may not be reproduced without express permission from Amanda Brett or her authorised agent. Thank you for respecting her art and the livelihood of all artists.
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  • Home
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