Advancing with Watercolor: Immersion "The Path"

In our first demo I will look at my image and describe how I begin to find a painting in any subject and apply these ideas to the subject of my path. I will concentrate on the shapes of the scene using the idea of a Notan or a single value sketch followed by a 2 value sketch.

It’s our first session and so we will start with observation and some simple watercolor sketches. I will introduce you to the form of Notan - coming from the Japanese it means simply Light/dark. For us it means looking a subject and asking which shapes communicate the idea of “The Path’ and deciding if they work better as dark shapes or light shapes. I like this exercise fore its simplicity and the way it shapes my decisions going forward.

After we develop the series of studies and accomplish the first painting I want to consider an alternate view to illustrate how I work as an artist - building on the previous painting and making a few changes I develop a second theme - this is the path I would like you to take with your homework this week and post all your work in cluster. I also ask that you post any observations you make along the way so that we can develop a conversation around the process…

Starting from our Notan Sketches in watercolor

Some of the benefits in creating a series of paintings of a single image or Motif

FLUENCY

Fluency with Watercolor is something we all would like to acquire - the ability to find inspiration in our subject and bring it to life through watercolor  but what is the best way? I have experienced great gains through immersion in a single subject -  really - it could be any subject - ideally  it should have some appeal, some mystery but really any subject can lead to the sort of fluency that we want.

For this session I am suggesting some subjects that I think are easier and can lead us to the goal of fluency.

1. Build a Continuam 

I think our brains need time to experience and process what we learn as we paint - working on a single subject over multiple days, weeks, months gives us the time to process - plus we don’t have to think about a new subject to paint each day when we arrive to the studio

2. Not repetition

Each painting you do leads to a deeper understanding of the subject. Beyond simple repetition - we dive deeper and deeper into the subject. It is not uncommon for a variation to emerge as you are finishing up a painting…follow through

3. Focus on technique and Design

As you become more familiar with the subject, you can explore the technical approaches, deeper thoughts on edges and layering, and especially how composition and design give a unique feel to your subject

4. Fear  - disappear

Fear and hesitation disappear as you become more and more familiar with your subject

5. Tackle the problem areas

If something is unfamiliar to you or you have trouble painting it, this is a great way to become acquainted and understand your subject. By repeating it over and over in different variations you’ll come to know it quite well.

6. Perform and improvise

Performance and improvisation are vocabulary not usually aligned with painting but watercolor is different - painting a watercolor IS a performance from beginning to end, and we harness the ability to improvise when we have internalized our subject

7. Create a lot of paintings

The urge to explore a single subject will result in a collection of paintings you may not have otherwise created. You’ll also have a cohesive body of work to show to a gallery. The owners will see your process and commitment to go deeply into your work and vision