Carrasco Studio

Black and White, Color, Here to There in Watercolor Values

For all interested parties, I am giving a hands-on demo at Daniel Smith (4150 First Avenue S., Seattle, Wa, 98124) on September 18 at 11 am to 12 noon, 1pm to 2 pm.  The theme is about working with value in watercolor, something I've noticed is a problem for a lot of students, and, frankly, a challenge for me as well.

The Daniel Smith Lunar Black watercolor pigment is a great vehicle for doing value studies, and I have found it to be effective even as a method of establishing values and then glazing over the black and white rendering with color glazes.  Sort of like the Venetian method of oil painting in the 1500's.  The trout is an example of this.

I know all of us have been cautioned about using black in paintings, especially watercolor because carbon black or ivory black is so opaque and tends to make a "black hole" in your painting.  However, this Lunar Black is a different kettle of fish.  It GRANULATES and sparkles on the paper, and is terrific even for mixing with a stain or glaze.  I did this with the leaf in the following example.  The middle image is a little lighter in value than the actual leaf, but that was a choice on my part.  I both glazed with some Lunar Black and sap green and use it straight in wet areas to create the spots.

 

And here are some black and white studies and the color watercolors coming out of the studies.

I have shown also how you can work with a photograph you have altered to black and white on your computer.  I usually flail away with paint in plein aire situations, but for teaching and careful rendering (especially when you live in rainy Seattle), it's often more practical to work with photos.  I think one needs to work directly in the landscape or with object/figures to get that energy transfer and to take chances, but from time to time, it is necessary to work inside with a photograph.

So, you will be able to experiment....and since there will be materials, the charge for the workshop is $10 for supplies.  You'll get three pieces of paper, some Lunar black and some other colors to play with, and Dan Smith and I will have some brushes you can borrow.  The class is limited to 15 or 20 (I forgot how many), so if it appeals to people, it may fill up soon.

Oh say can you see.....the Lunar Black blending with the greens?

 

Summer's Lease , Lesson 4, CandP Coffee watercolor

To enhance the quality of the day... that is the highest of the arts...Henry Thoreau

Ollala Path                                                                               © Jennifer McCabe Carrasco 5/18/10

I really like the black and white version better...Lunar Black Watercolor Primatek, Daniel Smith.

Lesson 4   Watercolor values.

1. Reading ..37 to 38...French Style values...start light...add more and more glazes to painting.or drawing.  How many values do you see?  color?   Look at Tiepolo drawings.

 How can you glaze over a painting to  unify it and keep it from being too “jumpy”.  Best glazes...aureolin yellow, cobalt blue, and Rose madder genuine. (Look on page 37.  Look at glazes on pg. 37....where were they applied?

2.  Look at lunar black value studies,,,,can glaze over and over to get a deep black.  Now, match a color in the strip  to the value....squint!   poke hole in value strip. Show with black plexiglass.   Look at Mitch’s color chart.

Give out color chips. How would you make this color from primaries?  I am giving you 3 colors... and match them to your value strip and.reproduce the color using only your primaries.  Make sure the value is correct. Paper punch on their value strips so you can see without distractions.  Show me your colors before you go on to the next project.

3,  When you finish, look at your value study of your waterscape.  Is there anything you need to correct in the values?  Remember....usually, the sky is the lightest...then the water or the horizontal plane.  Then the slope, and elements in the vertical are often the darkest. But remember, even within the very darkest shapes, there are variations .

Ollala Path 1                                                                   © Jennifer McCabe Carrasco 5/18/10

4. Paint your waterscape.....working in 4 values of color in the broad shapes.  For example, if one shape is mostly the darkest value...then paint in that shape any color in that darkest value.  (Some colors have a wider value range than others...i.e.....blue or green or purple goes from the lightest value to a very dark  value.  Yellow goes from very light to medium dark before it chickens out and becomes something else.  In a very dark shape, yellow would not work.

Look at the yellow in this painting by John White Alexander.

With your own painting, don’t worry about “Real” or local color.....think about value and temperature....cool (recedes) hot (advances)Work large brush first....top to bottom, light to dark.

Assignment: Re-read 66 to 67 carefully.

CandP Watercolor class #4 Green thoughts in a Green Shade

 Jerry drawing                                                                 ©Jennifer M. Carrasco  5/15/10

  Lunar Black Primatek watercolor paint (Daniel Smith)..washed on 300 lb. Arches.....then LIGHTLY, LIGHTLY apply some color watercolor glazes over the top.   Sort of like after Dorothy got whisked off to Oz.  Although, I think the black and white type of rendering with granulating paint  is quite chic.      

The best way to show depth is to have variation in values. The best way to learn this is to paint without color... (Tom Lynch) 

Jerry drawing                                                                 ©Jennifer M. Carrasco  5/15/10

Value does all the work and color gets all the glory. Unknown quote.

Lesson 3...Water color and Water.  The "Green Thoughts" is a quote from the poem, The Garden, byAndrew Marvel.

1.  Would people be interested in a coaching type watercolor class?
Look at waterfalls....lay them out and make suggestions. Show pictures again of my steps...then show Marsden Hartley's waterfall.  He just got in there and let 'er rip! Bold, direct and almost abstract.

Ask about pigments reading...stain glaze? Use for first wash...can lift only for a short while.Sedimentary, granulating and opaque.? Name a few...good for rocks!...let move, don’t overwork  Hand out pigment chart.
2.  Discuss frisket and maskoid  (show leaf frisket)  ...would suggest using old brush for liquid frisket, (rubbed in soap first) and applying that way.  Look again at brushes.....fan brush is not appropriate for watercolor.  When you scrub with something like a fan brush, it forces pigment into the paper where it dies, and because of the bristle shape you have no control in making marks.  It’s for blending with oils.

3. Brush movement...Show Homer..rounds and riggers are good for squiggles. Flats are good for sideways marks and chunks of color or value. (Show on example). Demo.  The flat 2D surface...it is a flat plane....the surface of the water!

4. Values....in landscapes and sea scapes.  Show Albala’s diagram of planes.  When the sun is shining, the sky is usually the lightest value, the water the next value, and vertical and slanted areas will be the darkest.  Show examples in Trevor Chamberlain’s book. (flop a tissue over the example so students can see)....then tell them to Squint!!!!  When a plane changes, the value changes. (show “bendable” strip of a single grey value...how it changes the value of the grey when the strip is bent into planes.).

5.  Make a four value watercolor strip.  Leave a moat between each value!

6. Flop tissue on your seascape and  the shapes you see....Exterior shapes...simple straight and curved lines. No minor details!  Draw some interior contour lines that describe the planes and curves of some of the shapes....a topography of sorts. Bend paper to show example. “Color” in the 4 values (show Mitch’s design) with your pencil and then do the same thing with lunar black on watercolor paper.

Assignment.....Re-read 36 and 37 of Jan Hart’s book.

-on painting a watercolour...
Make the best of an emergency. (John Singer Sargent) 

©Jennifer M. Carrasco 5/17/10  All blog entries on this site, visual or intellectual, are the property of Jennifer M. Carrasco (unless stated otherwise) and cannot be reproduced or used without her written permission

Book Announcement! Surfer Otters with Attitude!

The book!  The book!  (will be published and on it's way to my place by September 18!)

It's called "Lotus and the Golden Pearl" and it's written by Libby Pink(lotusandthegoldenpearl.com) and illustrated by me. First book for me to illustrate, and I loved it.

It's a little book (5x7"), what they call a chapter book in the trade, just right for next Christmas/Hanakuh stocking stuffers and our meager budgets ($8.95 each plus shipping and handling..which will vary, depending on how many books are ordered)

Anyhow, the writer, Libby Pink, the book designer, Shannon McCafferty, and the editor, Ceci Miller and I (the illustrator) collaborated online to turn out this marvelous story of how a young girl named Lotus brings peace to the animals living on a magical island.  A combination of her own bravery (imagine allowing yourself to be transported to an island in the beak of a giant pelican!, )the help of a magic pearl and more than magic white deer, and the cooperation (non partisan, folks) of the animals help deal with some very aggressive otter surfer Dudes.

 

Jade, the big sister otter is REALLY MEAN and very aggressive.  She tries to drown Lotus, but Lotus calls on her magic pearl and is saved.

 

And Zack, the more laid back Surfer Dude otter, comes to the aid of Lotus when he realizes that peace is the better option.  And little Dakota, the youngest otter....well, she is more concerned with eating clams than anything else.

 

 

In this exciting adventure story, Lotus gets to sleep in a beyond-cool bedroom inside a giant conch shell, and talks with animals. (Everyone takes turns to give their opinions...no screeching and yelling at these town hall meetings!)  And the awesome finale...well, you'll have to read it and see.....

 

If you are interested in ordering a book, contact me (upper right hand corner) and I'll put you on my list. (and confirm when I find out the shipping and handling....it's usually about 4 to 5 bucks a package)

By the way, I did all of the interior illustrations in Daniel Smith Lunar Black watercolor, which is utterly divine for illustrating.  It looks like graphite drawings, doesn't it? And frankly, it is nice to work small for a change...I like working back and forth in scale.  It prevents dotage.

And, a reminder, if you are in the area and would like to take my watercolor class that starts on September 8, 6 to 8 pm at CandP coffee house, send me an e-mail and I'll give you the details and what you need.  The fee is $120 per 6 units of classes.

Ditto for the Plein Aire extravaganza on Sept.11 and 12.....

And, very important.  My beautiful little cousin Lucy was my model for Lotus!