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Sunflower Watercolor
This is the artwork I will have painted by the end of this video.
I will be painting on a half sheet of 100% cotton watercolor paper which is cold-pressed and has 300 gsm weight. This paper is manufactured by Saunders Waterford. I will use a wide, flat synthetic brush to wet the reverse side of the paper. When the reverse side is soaked, I can turn this paper over, place it on the rubber mat to prevent quick drying, and wet its front surface as well. After several minutes, wet paper expands; its size becomes slightly bigger. This is the time to affix the sheet on the wooden board. To do this, I will use a staple gun and strong tape, which I think is made of polyester or some other synthetic material. This tape is totally optional, but it will make removing the staples easier at the end. While the watercolor paper is drying, I will do a cartoon drawing to scale. The term “cartoon” in classical art means a full-scale drawing which will be used to transfer the design onto the artwork support, which is, in our case, watercolor paper. There are many cartoons left from the Old Masters, especially those they used for fresco painting. Because making full scale designs on wet fresco would be very challenging and time-consuming, the Old Masters used cartoons for almost every single fresco artwork they did.
The reason I’m doing a cartoon drawing for this watercolor is exactly the same: To protect the white, clean surface of the paper from any dirt and re-drawing, which are the sub-products of redoing the composition and fine-tuning contours and outlines of the drawing. I draw this still life design on a cheap, disposable piece of paper in graphite pencil.
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I traced the cartoon drawing on tracing paper; flip the paper on its reverse side, and now I will repeat every single line in graphite pencil once again. So, this tracing paper will have exactly the same drawing on both sides. Then, I place the tracing paper on top of the watercolor sheet which is absolutely dry by now, affix it to the board on one side with masking tape, and now I am outlining every single line using a pen. Outlining with a pen makes it easier to see which lines I already did and which lines remain to be transferred. Repeating the same drawing on both sides of the tracing paper is needed to avoid a mirror image.
When the drawing is transferred, I can take the tracing paper off the board and now I will mask white margins of the watercolor sheet with masking tape. Because I plan to do a multi-layer watercolor, there will be several cycles of wetting this paper and paint might get underneath the masking tape. To prevent this, I will apply a masking fluid with a ruling pen, which gives very straight lines, especially when used together with a ruler. This is exactly what I want: Very straight edges of white margins around the piece. Because the masking fluid slightly overlaps the masking tape, it is very unlikely that water will get under it. While I’m working with the ruling pen, I will also apply masking fluid in some places in this artwork, which I would like to keep white for now. When the masking fluid is totally dry, I can do a very light first wash which is called imprimatura. For this layer, I’m using quinacridone gold paint from the Winsor & Newton paints range. It is a convenient mix of three pigments: red, violet, and yellow, mixed into one paint by the manufacturer. But you can easily mix a similar color using separate pigments from your paint box. What I like about this paint is that it’s permanent and highly transparent. These are the qualities I’m looking for in the underlayers.
I apply the tint of this gold paint using the “saw wash” technique. Numerous diagonal brush strokes look like teeth of a saw, hence the painting method’s name. I cover the whole sheet with the same paint mix, without paying any attention to the drawing. This is imprimatura. When the first wash is totally dry, I can now apply more masking fluid to cover very light areas of the drawing, for example, the petals of the sunflowers. I can add the next layer only after the masking fluid is fully dry. Now, I’m using the burnt sienna paint which has excellent permanence and is very transparent. This paint contains only one pigment, which takes its name “Sienna” from the place it was sourced during the Renaissance period. I also use the saw wash for this layer. When this layer is fully dry, I turn the board upside-down and apply clean water with a wide, flat brush in one corner to prepare this area for the wet-into-wet gradated wash. For this wash, I will use the same tint. If you wonder, why not do the same color in full strength from the first wash, there are several reasons for this. When painting in multiple layers, you’ll have a much greater control over the tonal values. This way, you can build up the tones, little by little, as precisely as you want. Another reason is that you can achieve smoother gradations when painting in several layers. This way, it is easier to avoid accidental harsh borders between brush strokes. Also, multiple layers will look different than one layer of the same paint in full strength.
The paper is now dry and I’m masking additional bits of the piece. I can continue painting only after the masking fluid is totally dry. With a flat, wide brush, I’m applying clean water all over the artwork to prepare it for the next wet-into-wet wash. For this wash, I premixed three colors with yellow, red, and blue hues. The saturation of these colors is muted because they will be used for the background which I don’t want to be very colorful. Using a soft, natural-hair mop brush from Escoda, I apply these three pigments, one next to the other, quite randomly, and softly diffusing the borders between the colors, directly on the paper. This method is called the wet-into-wet variegated wash. Because the board is tilted at about 15 degrees, the paint flows down. To distribute it more evenly and smoothly, I can rotate this board at different angles. When the paper dries, the colors become lighter. To make another wet-into-wet wash, I moisten the dry paper surface with clean water using a flat, synthetic brush.
The same three shades of yellow, red, and blue are used for the second layer of the variegated wash. Because I don’t follow the exact areas of the three colors which were previously applied, the variation of background colors becomes even smoother. This is the same reason why I’m doing multiple layers instead of painting in full color from the first wash. I want to achieve an optical mixing effect, which looks quite different when the same pigments are painted alla prima in one go.
I tilt the board at different angles once again to make a smoother gradation between colors. Then, I will leave this layer to dry fully. To apply another layer of the variegated wash, I will first wet the dry paper surface with clean water and then paint with the same three pigments once again. With every layer, the background becomes darker and the effect of optical mixing becomes more and more apparent. I’m tilting the board for paint flow in different directions. I fully dried the previous wash and wet the paper once again before turning the board upside down to continue painting wet-into-wet. To the previous palette of three colors, I added another one to widen the color range. The creative task I have in mind is to achieve a very dark and slightly cool background on which light and the warm sunflowers will stand out. That is why, for each successive wash, I use a darker mix of paint and follow the rule that darker pigments must be applied on top of lighter tones. I am now applying the masking fluid to preserve colors and tones on the areas I don’t want to be any darker. After the masking fluid is fully dry, I wet the paper surface once again with clean water to prepare it for the wet-into-wet variegated wash. For this wash, I again increase the shade of four pigments – yellow, red, blue, and violet – and paint the background even darker.
There is one important question: How dark can I go with these washes? And the answer is: I can paint as dark as I need, providing – and this is very important – that the darkest tone still remains transparent and the white paper surface shows through it. So, this is as dark as I can go without breaking the transparency rule. When this layer dries, it will become lighter and I will not touch this background any more. To complete the foreground, I will paint the tabletop. With the background in place, I can take off all masking, including the masking tape and masking fluid. With the background in place, I can now start painting the still-life objects. This still-life is arranged indoors with cool light that is filtered through the sky coming through the window. That is why the highlights of the objects are cool, while the shadows, which are colored by the reflected light, are warm. So, I apply a very light blue tint for the highlight of the vase.
There are several rules you should keep in mind when doing multi-layer painting. One of the most important rules in watercolor is to paint from light to dark. This means that it is better to start with light areas of an object, such as highlights and lights, then progress to the mid-tones, and, finally, finish these objects with shadows. Another watercolor painting rule you need to know is that it’s better to start with paints that consist of dyes or very finely ground pigments, and, to finish painting an object by using paints that contain heavier and bigger particles of pigments. Needless to say, you need to have a certain knowledge of each paint in your box. Is it finely- or coarsely-ground? Does it have excellent permanence or will it fade and change color over time? Is it transparent or opaque? What drying shift does it have? How much lighter and duller will it become as it dries? How will it chemically react when mixed with other pigments? There is one more watercolor painting rule that is good to know but not always easy to follow: It is better to start painting with warm colors and finish by glazing with cold pigments. Cold colors will look better when applied on top. The knowledge of painting rules together with the knowledge of your pigments will give you the extra edge when it comes to making beautiful watercolor paintings. I’m now painting the sunflower petals. For their light-saturated yellow color, I may use either aureolin, which is cobalt yellow, or, for example, cadmium lemon or cadmium yellow, which can be replaced by cadmium-free alternatives, cadmium-free lemon or cadmium-free yellow pale. Cadmium and cadmium-free replacement paints have a slightly better permanency than aureolin. However, the cobalt yellow is more transparent than cadmium paints, which are opaque. So, the choice of the yellow pigment is down to your personal preferences and what you have in your paint box. There is no right or wrong decision here. The choice will very much depend on your creative task.
[ The full lesson is avaibale to Watercolor Academy members ]
For the darker yellow shades, you might experiment with the golden green paint from the Old Holland range. This pigment is semi-transparent and contains just one pigment, PY129. As its name suggests, this yellow color has a green shade which will look quite nice in combination with the green leaves of the sunflowers. The same pigment paint has a different name in the Winsor & Newton collection of watercolors; it’s called green-gold. Also, it is interesting that Old Holland golden green is semi-transparent while Winsor & Newton says it is transparent. Different petals of the sunflowers were masked at different steps. Those petals that are in shadow already have the background wash color. This underpainting helps in separating light and shadow tones on this piece. Because of masking, the sunflower discs already have some texture. It makes the job of painting them much easier. I paint the disc floret in a light warm tint and apply the darker shade for the seeds. I apply the seeds’ texture with a small round brush.
Now I will say a few words about how to paint the sunflower leaves. Because, in our case, the light is cold, I first paint the whole leaf with a light blue tint which will be the highlight color. While this first wash is wet, I add a green mix on top, wet-into-wet. A green color for vegetation always looks better if, instead of manufactured green paint, you mix your own green from yellow and blue pigments. Which yellow and blue to use? It’s totally up to you. I would advise experimenting with many combinations to see what colors you can make and what shades you like best. You may mix pigments on the palette or directly on the paper to get different colors, and the technique you use – wet-into-wet or wet-on-dry – will also influence the appearance of a leaf.
Let’s take care of the apples in the basket and on the table. For their cool light highlights, I’m also using a very light tint of blue paint. Then, I work on tonal values, from light tones to darker ones, keeping in mind that every apple is a sphere. As such, an apple’s tonal values can be divided into three main groups: light, mid-tones, and dark values. Each of these three groups can be subdivided into three values. Light contains highlight, light and local light; mid-tones will have light half-tone, middle half-tone, and dark half-tone; and, in turn, dark values can be subdivided into core shadow, form shadow, and accent.
In the Watercolor Academy course, I explain different painting methods and techniques by painting the same apple in different ways. So, I will leave it up to you to decide which painting technique you like the most, and which is best suited for your personal style and creative goals. You can paint apples using glazings, alla prima, or maybe dry brush, or even retouching. Whatever fits your personal preferences the best.
It’s time to paint the basket. For its warm yellow-orange color, I will use cadmium yellow and cadmium orange. I would like this basket to look bright and warm and, therefore, will start not with a pale blue tint for its highlight, but immediately with the yellow mix. The sequence of painting steps will go from light to dark tones, so I’m starting with the highlights. To paint this basket in a realistic manner, I will depict quite a number of details, so the process will be rather slow. Anyway, this basket has a cylindrical shape and I need to keep this shape in mind to define its tonal values, which include light, mid-tones, and shadows. I’m painting this basket wet-on-dry because it gives a high definition for small details and works well for its intricate design.
Each successive paint layer I apply on this basket is a bit darker than the previous one. This suits the main watercolor rule of painting from light to dark tones very well. The choice of pigments is less important than correct tonal values. One or another yellow, orange, red, or brown pigments would not influence this basket’s appearance much. If tonal values are done correctly, this basket will look like a basket regardless of which exact yellow pigment I used. It could be cadmium yellow or cadmium lemon – it doesn’t really matter because a very similar-looking basket can be painted in very different pigments. So, for example, I can pick cadmium yellow, gold ochre, and caput mortuum violet to paint the whole basket. Now, it’s time to paint the white drapery lying on the tabletop. I would like to do it wet-into-wet and, to do so, I apply clean water on the paper’s surface. For the highlights, I will keep the imprimatura color, which is already in place. For cool light, I will use a light blue tint which is desaturated to be almost gray. The drapery’s shadows will be darker and warmer. When painting white objects, here is one good tip: it is better to avoid manufactured black paints to get light gray tints. You can get colorful grays by mixing complementary pigments. When the drapery has multiple folds and you’d like to depict it in a realistic manner, there is no one magic shortcut which will make it fast. You’d have to work on the tonal values of every fold.
When painting shadows, you have to keep in mind that shadows are not only the absence of direct light but they are also colored by the light bouncing off nearby objects. That is why the shades of such colors will depend on the reflected light color. For example, the casted shadow under the maple leaf will include colors this leaf has.
[ The full lesson is avaibale to Watercolor Academy members ]
Painting sunflowers loosely
Hello , it’s Thursday and I have decided to show you how I paint loosely. It is a strange week here in the UK, politics is all over the news and it seems we shall have a new Prime Minister soon. I am having a quiet day as I had some treatment yesterday that leaves me feeling a bit tired for a day or 2, so I’m being very lazy, typing my blog and sipping my tea, We have had some lovely days walking by the river Otter at the weekend, seeing the activity of the newly introduced beavers 
Each walk or outing gives me some new ideas. Lots of people ask me how I decide what to paint everyday , a walk helps me so much, it clears my head, and it often helps me settle on a subject, I also collect parts of paintings e.g. this view of vegetation that could be used in a foreground of a painting 
I have many such a moment walking up my very own Devon Lane. 
Each day has it’s own challenges artistically, I look at things and wonder How would I paint that? 
This blog explores the subject of sunflowers, and was written some time ago, it shows you how to loosen up. never easy, have fun and see what happens. Watercolour is made to be moved around, sploshed and splattered. exploit that ! Some subjects come more easily than others, sunflowers , for me, are a tricky subject. I have thought about why and it is I think their colour, yellow has one tone, so it is tricky to create the darks. So I have struggled with making them sing , I wanted a very loose painting and a real celebration of summer, so here goes. Firstly I sketched out the sunflowers 
Then I sprayed the paper with lots of water and dropped in yellow, I am using a range of yellows from a zingy lemon yellow, to Indian yellow and the oranges and reds to add depth, but I start with a cadmium yellow liberally splashed around 
I have taken a picture on an angle so you can see just how wet it is 
Now the hard part, do nothing, let it be. I popped the painting outside to dry so I wouldn’t be able to look at it 
and I made a cup of tea 
Leaving things alone can be the hardest thing of all. Now I stared to add definition to the flowers, 
Think about the colour and shape of the petals. I need to leave sections where the light shines through, then add darker tones where the shadows are. Try to have a lightness of touch and think about the mark making. 
Don’t fret about blooms and different shapes created by the water underneath they add to your painting and the spontaneity of watercolour.Be as bold as you dare. 
Keep going with the petals, then I started on the middles, I wanted texture and tone there too, I started with yellow ochre then raw sienna and a touch of green too. I took out some colour too, and added dark tones with a shadow colour made from cadmium red and cobalt blue. Finally I added some salt for more texture in the middles. 
Now onto the leaves, keeping them loose and interesting. , add dark shadows and vague leaf shapes, 
and a few more sprays of the water bottle so that the edges fade away, and so my sunflowers are done , now just to let them dry in the sun . Hope the sun is shining on you wherever you are reading this and you have some fun painting the sunshine x
Thank you very much fore sharing this lovely sunflowers. I have to try to this loose painting method. I will follow you. Thanks. Sonja Þorsteinsdottir August 30, 2022 Thank you for all the wonderful detail and technique tips for this painting! Feel better soon. Hugs from Salado, Texas USA Kathleen T Darnell July 7, 2022 I had painted these sunflowers from another of your posts but I really learned so much from this blog post. I am going to try to spray my paper (I have never tried that before). I hope you get some rest and have a good day. thank you from Alabama USA. Linda Merrell July 7, 2022 Thanks for sharing. You are really talented. I read in an earlier blog that you failed your art ‘o’ level. That is so mystifying. So generous with your time. Greatly appreciated. Michelle Howard June 28, 2021 Thanks for sharing, as usual… Sunflowers are far too tricky for me, I guess I need a few more YEARS of practice.
For me, waiting is the hardest part, too! Even harder since I’ve stopped smoking a year ago and I can’t tell myself anymore: Have a cigarette first, and only then another look at the painting… 😀
My painting teacher keeps yelling: “Hands up!” “This painting is finished!” (just for the fun of it, of course… :D) Korina June 27, 2021
