Notes On Materials
These materials are what I normally use, and as such
are only suggested materials. I would never insist that a student only use the
same materials that I use. I would much rather see you stick with most of the
materials, such as paints, brushes, etc. that you normally use. An exception to
this would be a new technique that I might introduce that you have not seen and
that uses completely new materials to you. For instance, it would be best if you
stayed with the colors that you normally use, and maybe just introduce one or
two interesting new ones to the mix. I will be teaching a lot about color
theory, and most of the time what I am teaching can be used right away with your
current palette of colors. You may notice some colors on the color wheel as I
teach that you need, and then you will need to either get that color or mix it
from your colors. Sometimes a student relies too much on an instructor's
suggested new color, when you could actually learn more by substituting or
mixing it from your colors. Note: I may not use all the colors on my suggested
colors list, or I may use one not on the list, but that list will give you a
pretty complete palette to choose from.
One material that is crucial to the pouring technique that I use is the Windex
spray bottle. This can be hard to find, but the best one is the smaller Windex
bottle with a top-button trigger. By this I mean you push down on the trigger,
not pull toward you like some of the larger bottle. What will not work is the
smaller bottles that just "mist" the spray. This is because you will use the
bottle as almost an extension of your arm to move the water around the painting.
Actually, a bigger spray bottle with more force is better than the little "mist"
ones.
You will notice on my list both Crescent watercolor board and d'Arches paper. I
like the watercolor board for my poured painting because the poured frisket can
sometimes be quickly absorbed into regular watercolor paper. However, I also use
d'Arches 300# paper for my poured paintings (both hot and cold press), and I
will probably demonstrate on both paper and board during the workshop. The board
is great to pour on, since the colors tend to sit on the top of the surface, but
it can be hard to paint on for the same reason. I will leave it up to the
student to choose the surface to use for their painting - you may want to begin
with the 300# cold press paper and then move on to the board later for a
challenge!
The board listed (Crescent Hot Press Watercolor Board #5115) is a completely
acid-free product (somewhat hard to find - see the contact info at the end of
this letter). It is like a piece of mat board and is acid free throughout. The
regular Crescent watercolor board like you find at Cheap Joes is only acid-free
on the paper side. The cardboard backing is not. The regular board is fine for
this workshop. You should try to cut it to size before the workshop. The best
size for a class is either a half-sheet (15"x20" in this board) or a quarter
sheet. The size is up to the student, but please try to cut it before the class.
I measure the size, score it twice on the back with a heavy exacto knife, turn
it over, make one more cut on the front, and break it at the cut.
You should also bring other pieces of watercolor paper for color studies. 140#
cold press paper is fine for these, although it can sometimes be better to use
the same paper as you plan on using for your painting. The studies are a big
part of my success with painting - I do a quick one for almost every painting.
I use a large enamel butcher's tray for my palette, and usually put out just the
paints that I will be using on the current painting. I like Fresh Paint! The
palettes with the pools for paints are fine, as long as you have a large area to
mix paint. One of the keys to a vibrant painting is using enough paint!
The key to the poured paintings is having the right subject matter to work from.
It will work best when done from photos or other pictures of close-up subjects,
such as florals or leaves, in analogous colors. That's why sunflowers work great
(analogous yellows and greens), but red water lilies do not (red and green don't
mix in this class). Subjects that are far away do not work as well as close-up
subjects, because we will be working with negative shapes and spaces. The shapes
of the subjects are important, also - round shapes, such as a rose, do not work
as well as sunflowers or orchids with their more interesting and arbitrary
shapes. Take a look at my web site to view some of
the shapes in my paintings, both negative and positive. Some rounder shapes
might work if you bunch them together to create interesting negative spaces. I
often use several photos to build my own composition - it can sometimes be
difficult to get a good composition from one photo. Some other subject ideas -
close-up shots of antiques or old weathered machinery, still lifes (if they are
bunched together to create interesting shapes), small household items, rocks,
animals, sea life. Or you can do abstract shapes to try the pouring technique.
Supply List Contacts:
Watercolor board:
You can now purchase this material through many art supply catalogs, but I like this web site:
http://www.jerrysartarama.com/art-supply-stores/online/4085
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