AMANDA BRETT WATERCOLOUR ARTIST
  • Home
    • About Me >
      • More About Me & Watercolour >
        • What I See
  • Gallery
    • New Original Paintings
    • Lucca watercolour paintings
    • Art For Sale - en Plein Air
    • Art For Sale - Glamping & Kombis
    • Art For Sale - ICONIC New Zealand
    • Art For Sale - STILL LIFE
    • Studio
  • Shop
    • SHOP New Original Paintings
    • Shop Limited Edition Prints
    • Gift Certificates
  • Tuition
    • Video Lessons
    • Beginners One day Workshops
    • Watercolour Weekly Classes
    • Paintbox Tips
    • Feedback & Photos
    • FAQs
  • Contact
    • News
  • Subscribe
  • Members



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

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
Picture
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

Painting Holiday Workshops in Italy

Watercolour Classes

Beginner's Workshop

​
8 Comments
Mary Nissen
4/5/2018 08:41:59

Thanks for sharing Amanda.
Have a lovely time in Italy. M

Reply
Amanda Brett link
5/5/2018 08:48:01

thanks Mary, it certainly is a beautiful place!! best wishes to you too! a

Reply
Jude
4/5/2018 12:09:56

I really enjoyed your Paintbox Tips and viewing your latest works Amanda. You've really inspired me on my way to becoming an Artist and I will always appreciate you for that. Still love your 'quirky' style of painting, it's fun and and inspirational. Thanks for reminding me of the basics, I often don't bother with a thumbnail or value sketch, which usually ends up with me painting myself into a corner... I must try to follow your valuable advice. Lucca looks amazing. Who knows, one day I may be able to join one of your fabulous sojourns. Ariva Diva :-). Love Jude.

Reply
Amanda Brett link
5/5/2018 08:50:57

thanks for your kind words xx fantastic - well done you!! not always an easy habit to get into and it took me ages to find a sketch book that works for me! yes save up and come and paint with me you'll love it!! xx

Reply
Louise du Plessis
4/5/2018 17:41:39

Thanks Amanda ,great help for us that's not in Lucca!!

Reply
Amanda Brett link
5/5/2018 08:52:21

you're very welcome Louise - it works for every subject so have a good play!! would love to hear how you get on!! x

Reply
Venessa coels
6/5/2018 21:37:22

THANKYOU I have learnt a lot from this lesson...so gracious for you to share this gift....💝🌹

Reply
Lois
30/5/2019 09:35:34

I enjoyed your Paintbox Tip #6. I really like the way you explained looking at our subject as shapes as a way to bring interest to our paintings. And I get bogged down with too much detail right away, so this should help me with my preliminary sketches. Leaving our pencil marks is also cute!! Addio!

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Amanda Brett Watercolour Artist email news signup

    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.

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    June 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    January 2018
    September 2017

    Categories

    All
    Classes & Workshops
    Creative Process
    En Plein Air
    Paintbox Tips
    Secrets
    Sketching & Drawing
    Watercolor
    Watercolour

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    June 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    January 2018
    September 2017

    RSS Feed

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
​
Art For Sale    |     Events & Shows     |      About Me     |     Classes     |      Paintbox Tips    |     Subscribe      |    Contact
​

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 © 2021 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.
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS & CLASSES




​Watercolour Weekly Classes 
Auckland New Zealand



​

Beginners One Day Workshops
Auckland New Zealand




Online Tutorials and more - FREE TO JOIN members network





Watercolour Painting Holiday Workshop
Lucca Italy May 2022
read more and book online


​
​View all workshops and classes
FIND ME ON FACEBOOK
  • Home
    • About Me >
      • More About Me & Watercolour >
        • What I See
  • Gallery
    • New Original Paintings
    • Lucca watercolour paintings
    • Art For Sale - en Plein Air
    • Art For Sale - Glamping & Kombis
    • Art For Sale - ICONIC New Zealand
    • Art For Sale - STILL LIFE
    • Studio
  • Shop
    • SHOP New Original Paintings
    • Shop Limited Edition Prints
    • Gift Certificates
  • Tuition
    • Video Lessons
    • Beginners One day Workshops
    • Watercolour Weekly Classes
    • Paintbox Tips
    • Feedback & Photos
    • FAQs
  • Contact
    • News
  • Subscribe
  • Members