Watercolor Interpretations

JOHN

BLOCKLEY

WiTERCOLCM

INTERFHEEmaSS

mfiXJT.CZ^.IBUl-'ft

JOHN

BLOCKLEY

mTERCOLm

JOHN

BLOCKLEY

WiTERCOLOR

Firstpublishedin 1987by WilliamCollinsSons

&

Co, Ltd

London•Glasgow•Sydney•Auckland Toronto

lohannesburg

FirstpublishedinNorthAmerica 1987 NorthLight,animprintof

Writer'sDigestBooks 9933AllianceRoad

Cincinnati.Ohio 45242

©

lohn Blockley 1987

Allrightsreserved.

No

part of thisbookmaybe reproducedinanyform or byanyelectronicor

mechanical means,includingmformationstorage

andretrievalsystems, without permissionin

writing from thepublisher,exceptbyareviewer

who

mayquotebriefpassagesina review,

ISBN0-891 34-196-X

SetinNovarese

by

V

&fvlGraphicsLtd,Aylesbury, Bucks.England

Originated, printedandboundinSingapore

by Tien

Wah

Press Ltd

Photographic acknowledgements

Colour photographybyBen Bennett

(pp 16, 17. 18.36. 39. 42. 43. 73. 78. 87.

111 and 152); DrDavidRidge(pp 15, 106.

128. 132. 134. 138. 139, 154and 156):and

Michael PettsI

pp

13, 14.33. 107. 1!0.

Contents

INTRODUCTION

7

WATERCOLOUR MARKS

8

MOUNTAINS

BOATS

AND HARBOURS

Fishing

Boat

92

Polperro.Cornwall

96

SEASCAPES

Blue

Mountain, Scotland

12

Sutherland,

Scotland

16

TREES

'TreeMarks' 22

Summer

Trees 25

Winter

Trees

26

Hinchwick

Wood

32

FLOWERS

Sunflowers

34

Vase

ofFlowers

40

BUILDINGS

Scurdie Ness,

Scotland

102

Seascape

105

Dunnet

Head, Scotland

106

Pembrokeshire Headland,

South Wales

108

LANDSCAPES

Tewkesbury,

Gloucestershire

44

Black Dog,

London

48

Hand

and

Racquet,

London

50

'DoItYourself

Shop,

London

56

Warehouse,

London

58

St

lamess

Palace,

London

62

INDUSTRIAL

LANDSCAPES

Blaenau-Ffestiniog,

North Wales

66

BigPit,

South Wales

72

Marine

Colliery,

South

Wales 76

Miners'

Cottages

81

FIGURES

Miners

82

Shoppers 84

Woman

with

Shopping

Basket

87

Gypsies 88

Trefelli,

South Wales

114 Tretio,

South Wales

120

Pembrokeshire

Cottage,

South Wales

126

Cae

Lem,

South Wales

130

Welsh

Cottage

134

Holyhead Mountain, North Wales

136

Strumble

Farmhouse,

South Wales

138

Cotswold

Landscape

140

FARM

BUILDINGS

Lake

District

Barn

142

Gloucestershire

Barn

144

Farm

on

Dartmoor,

Devon

146

Dartmoor

Wall 148

Pembrokeshire

Farm

Buildings 150

SKY

Soft

Morning

152

Storm

Clouds

153 Caithness

Sky

154

MOORLAND

—

Moorland

Road

156

INTRODUCTION

"••ihliiiUnJdu,_

r.tfcJ/iftfccWi*;

\^

1

Introduction

'A pictureisfirstofalla productofthe artist's imagination; itmust

never bea copy.'

Degas

We

areconstantlytold thattheprocessofpainting

should

be concerned

with

more

than

merely reproducing

appear-ances,but thedifficulty for

some

artistsisindeciding

how

far todepart

from

the subject before

them.

For

my

part, 1

liketoassociatecloselywith the things1paint,

so

thatthey

no

longer

have

separate,

remote

identities,

and

conse-quently

my

paintingsrarelydepart

fundamentally from

the

subject.

The

departuresthatI

do

make

are

concerned

with

expressing

some

particularaspect of a lightingcondition,

such

as

mood,

seen

at

one

moment

of time;or with

some

qualityinherentinthesubject,

such

asitstexture or shape.

I regard this as a selective process in

which

to explore a

particular

emphasis

and

not as

an

alteration of the

subject's basic content.

It

seems

to

me

thatin orderto identifycloselywith the subject

you

arepainting,

you

must

exploreitin

some

depth

and

look at the possibilities of painting it differently.

^

atercolour Interpretations \sa\\

about pursuing such

possibil-ities,

and throughout you

willfindpaintingsofthe

same

or

similar subjects

grouped

together, with a realistic,

repre-sentational version placed alongside

more

'alternative', imaginative interpretations.

One

of the

most

important

aspectsofcreativewatercolour paintingisthe

way

in

which

an

artist

observes

his subject.Every

element

ofa

composi-tion - light, colour, texture

and

design -

must

be

very

carefully considered, for the relative

emphasis

the artist gives to

each

ofthese

determines

the overall

mood

and

impact

of his finished painting.

By

considering theeffects

ofvariousinterpretations of asubject

and becoming more

aware

ofthepossibilitiesavailable,

we

can

learntolookat

itina

wider

context

and

consequently be

more

experimen-tal inour watercolourpainting.

Sometimes

thesepossibilities,or ideas,

develop

during the course ofa painting, with

changes

occurring quickly

and

one

idea

prompting

another, to

be

either

accepted

or

rejected.

On

other occasions,

an

idea

might develop

over a period of time, experimentally

and

with a succession of

failures. For

me,

the

most

exciting ideas

develop from

something

actually seen,

perhaps

unexpectedly,

such

as

grassreflectingthesky,

so

thatthe

green

inclines

towards

blue or, with a little imagination,

towards

turquoise.This

sudden

recognition that grass

could

indeed

be

blue

can

prompt

aseries of

comparisons.

Inthe

book

1

have

painted

trees with conventional colours

and

then

explored the

possibilities offantasycolours: for

example,

trees

illumi-nated by

silvery light in

an environment

ofblue -

perhaps

even peacock

blue!

Such

comparisons might

lead to a

complete

change

of

direction in

an

artist'sthinking.

My

natural inclination

has

always

been

to paint with strong tonal contrasts

and

aggressive textures, but

now

1

am

also interested in

differentcolour

and

tonal ranges.

Mountains once seen

as black

and

inky are

now

often paleblue,traced with veinsof

blue or pink,

so

that

my

painting vocabulary contains

interpretations

sometimes

strong

and

contrasting,

and

sometimes^on

alighter,

more

sensitive scale. 1

have found

thatgreen,thepainter's

nightmare

colour,

can

be

a

mouth-watering colour

when

diffused with subtle variations of

other high-keycolours.

The

chain reaction

continues

with the lighter scale of

tonal

and

colour values, leading to a

change

ofpainting

surfaces. Textures areless coarse;they

become

discreetly

mottled

with flecksoflight, orwith

passages

oflight

which

are

almost

imperceptible,

washed

out

atnail-biting, critical

stagesofthe dryingperiod. Inturn, this

change

leadsto a

search for unfamiliar

paper

surfaces,

smooth

instead of

rough,

and

lessabsorbent,

so

that

washes

ofcolour

remain

floating

on

thesurface,allowing

time

forsubtle

adjustment

and

manipulation.

The

processof

extending

one'simagination to

produce

interpretations of similarsubjectsisexcitinginitself,butit

is also self-perpetuating, with

one

discovery leading to

another

and

resultingin

changes

of direction

and

inquiry

intolong-heldbeliefs. In"Watercolour \nterpretations

my

aim

is

to share these

changes

of painting style with you. Obviously, the paintings in this book,

and

the processes

used

to create

them,

reflect

my

personal thinking; but !

hope

that,

by

their

example,

theywill stimulate

your

own

artisticperceptions

and

encourage

you

to

be

more

imagin-ative

and

adventurous

in

your

painting. Every painter, at

whatever

level,

needs

to

be

constantly

on

the look-outfor

V^atercolour

Marks

Before looking at the paintings in this

book

it

might

be

useful todiscuss the kindsofbrushwork, or

brush

marks',

that I

employed

in painting

them.

1

use

traditional

watercolour

techniques, but

adapted

to express

more

effectively the marks' that 1 see in the

landscape

- the

smudges,

dots, lines, blots, soft-edged darks, soft-edged

lights, infiltrating colours,

and

so

on. In these instances,

preliminary

washes

ofcolour arefirstapplied

and

then

the marks' are

made

intotheseatvaryingstagesof theirdrying

period. Different effects

can be achieved

in this way,

de-pending

on

whether

the

wash

isdry,nearly dry orstillwet.

The

darker

marks

are

made

by adding

paint.

Washes and

areas requiring

broad treatment

are usually put in with a brush,

whereas

lines

can

be

effectively

added

with a

pointed

stick.Pens,

dipped

inwatercolour,

may

be used

for

finer lines

and

adding

detail.

Smudges

of colour are

perhaps

best

obtained by

using afinger.

The

lighter

marks

are

made

by

blotting colour,

using any

kindof

absorbent

material,or

by washing

it

away

-in fact,

I

spend

as

much

time removing

paint as i

do

adding

it!

Adding and

subtractingcolour to obtain patternsof light

and

dark is a

continuous

process. Usually, I

wash

colour

away

by completely immersing

the painting in a bath of

water.

The

amount

ofcolour

removed depends on

how

dry the paint is

and

its consistency,

and

on

the

energy

of

washing.

Immersion

in a

bath

ofstill water, for

example,

willgently

loosen wet

paint,butif

you want

the paintto

be

furtherdisturbedthis

can

be achieved by

stirringthe

water

with

your

fingers

so

that it gently ripples across the

painting

Sometimes

I

even

run

water

forciblyintothe bath

water

or directly

onto

the paintingtocreate

even

greater

disturbance

Gentle

immersion

willalsoloosenthick paint,

which can subsequently be scraped

away

with

any pointed

tool.

Dots

or lines of paint

can

be

gouged

through

the

loosened

paint

without

disturbingthe

paper

surface Ljnes

ofpaint

may

be removed,

orloosened,

by

dribbling

water

across the paintsurface:or

drops

of

water

can

be induced

intothepaint, orflicked orviolently

thrown

intoit.

These processes

are very

much

related to tht

^.^cpted

brush manipulations

employed

in traditional

watercolour

painting.

They

are notslick tricks forquick effect Mostly, they are

done

with great caution, teasing colour

away

gently in

some

parts of a painting

and

accelerating the

washing

away

inothers with intense concentrationinorder

to achieve a satisfactory

washed-out

pattern, or a

sensi-tive'

edge

value

which

is not

too

hard, not

too

soft, but finely balanced.

An

even

more

unusual technique can

be used

with

thickly applied paint

Because

it

sometimes

stays

moist

longer

than

thinlyapplied paint, it

can be hosed

away

to

leave areasof

white

paper.

To

achievethisI

draw

patterns

or

dots

of thickpaintwhich,

because

ofitsextrasubstance,

appears

darker

than

thin,dilutecolour

Then

I

wash

it

away

with a

hose -

it is fascinating to

see

the white

shapes

appear, revealing a reverse pattern oflight

and

dark.

The

darker, thicker painted

shapes

revert to areas of

white

paper, or nearlywhite,

according

tothe staining

power

of

the paint.

Timing

forthis

technique

isvital - a

moment

too

long

and

apleasing pattern will

be

lost. Itis

something

ofa hit

and

miss

process,

although

with practice

good

judgement

can

be developed

and

an

awareness

of

how

the paint will

behave

By

using these

brush

marks

beguiling

nuances

ofcolour,

tone

and edge

values true to nature

can be obtained

-softlydiffused

forms

and

lines,strengtheninginpartsthen softening again to

make

hardly perceptible

marks

Dots

and dabs

of paint of varying intensity set

up

points of tension,

momentarily holding

attention

then

becoming

sinuous, lethargic lines of

movement

all

designed

to thread

through

the surfaceofthepainting, not specificin

their intention but inviting inquiry - hinting, suggesting,

then

explaining.

The

illustrations

on

the following three

p&ges

demon-strate

some

oftheeffects

which can

be achieved by these

WATERCOLOUR MARKS

I Thisstartedwitha

wash

ofblue over thepaper

When

thewetshinebegan to

disappear, I blottedcolour

away

witha

pieceof stick

wrapped

incloth.The pro-cessproducedsoft-edgedlightshapes.

2, 3These were both produced by

flick-ingand dribblingwaterthroughadrying wash.I then accelerated the drying with

a hair dryer; theinitial

wash

dried

quickly, but the

added

waterremained

wet 1

washed

this

away

torecover the

whitepaperas soft-edgedshapes.The

white lineswere obtainedby scraping

away

paintwhich

was

not quitedry,but still atthestickystage,

4Again, asinthe previousexample. 1

createdunevendrying byaddingwater,

1also

added

stronger, darker colourin

places, brushingordottingitin.Then 1

10

WATERCOLOUR MARKS

5The dotsherewere

removed

either

with

my

finger or apaintbrushhandle

wrapped

ina rag Varyingdegreesof

softnesscan be obtainedbyblotting

witha rag,blottingpaperornewspaper

7, 8 Here1

made

pen linesof

water-colourinto a

damp

wash.

The

smudgy

blobswere

made

by dotting paint into

the

damp

wash

with abrush handle.

6 To

createthis effectIsplashedclean

waterontothepaperat

random

and then

made

lineswith watercolourand an

ordinarydippen The linesare firm

on

the dry paperbutbleed intothewet parts.

WATERCOLOUR

MARKS

"^^^^^

-^. ^S>

^

9

Thesevigorousdiagonalbrushstrokes

were

made

with ahousepainters brush into

damp

paper

10 Here1used acombinationof

diago-nal brushstrokes,dabsanddiscreet

finger

smudging

into a

damp

wash.

1 1 Thesepaint textureswerealso

made

withahousepainters brushand

smudges

of paint,but with additional slabsof dilutepaintspreadwithasmall painting

knife.

Grey

Landscape

Thiswatercolour sketch

was

done

using

many

oftheprocessesjustdescribed It

containspassagesoflightsuggesting wallsand landscapetextures,allwith

edgesofvaryingsoftness Theonlyreally

hard edge isalongtheroofline ofthe buildingsandthishelpstofocus atten-tionon them.Allthelightshapes,

in-cluding thebuilding, were achieved by washingoutor blotting

away

colour

When

thepaintinghaddried1

added

extracolourtothebackground,shaping

itcrisplyaroundthe buildingto

empha-size itshard-edgedprofile

I usedonlytwocolours - Payne'sGrey

and

Lemon

Yellow Mixedtogether,these coloursproducea subtle grey-green

which can beinfluencedtowardsgreyby adding

more

Payne'sGrey, ortowards

green byadding

more

Lemon

Yellow,

12

MOUNTAINS

THE

landscape inSutherland,inthe northernpart ofScotland,isrugged,

in placesalmost lunar, with outcropsof

rockand wonderful textures Thecolours

are

sometimes

rich, peatybrowns and

ochressetagainst

deep

blues, with occasional streaksofpale

lemon

slashed across thedeeper sonoroustones.At othertimesI have seen the coloursof

the

same

landscape transformedtopink

and palestblue. Itcan bea landof

dramaticcontrasts,changingquickly

from

one

conditiontoanother:dark

skies,

deep

blue,highlightingthe

mountain peaks

one

minute, then suddenly, with a

momentary

shiftof

weather, clearingandlighteningsothat

themountains

become

silhouetted darkershapes

It isdifficult topainton thespot

when

coloursaltersoquickly-theychange almostbefore theycan be mixed inthe paintbox. InthesecircumstancesI find it

bettertoconcentrateon thelighting

conditions,absorbingandnoting the information ina sketchbook, 1 can then

paintfrom thesenotesback inthe

studio. Alternatively, if1

am

determined

to paint thereandthen, I follow the

same

processofsoaking

up

the

informa-tion in

my

mind

andthen paintquickly, almostwithout looking again atthe

subject,sothat1can retain a particular

impression

and

notbedeviated by ever-changingconditions. Thisapproach

demands

intenseobservation

and

a

trained

memory,

butthesecan bothbe developedwithpractice,

I

am

alwaysconcerned aboutjudging

theshapesofmountainscorrectly, 1

scrupulouslyobservethe heightand

slopeofeach peakandcarefullyconsider

anyexaggerationsforinterpretative effect

Sometimes

some

exaggeration is

helpful toexplain characteristicspeculiar

tothatmountain - a particular peak,for

instance, orraggededgesofthe

mountain profile -but the mountain

must

remain recognizable Thisvast,

lonely areaiscoveredwith

mountain

peaks,eachwithits

own

name

-

evoca-tive

names

inthe Gaelic language-_andI

am

fussyabout drawing eachdistinctive profile

So

I alwaysstart

my

paintings by

deciding

on

the positionoftheprofile

on

thepaperand drawingit inpencil This done,I thenfeel freeto interpretthe

sceneas1wishandtoexpressit interms ofwatercolourwashes andother tech-niquessuch asdrawingintothewashes.

liftingand blotting,untilgradually the paint surfaceisdevelopedtosuggest the natureofthegroundasI seeit.

Blue

Mountain

I

Blue Mountain is

my name

fora

particu-larpart ofthelandscapenear the small

villageofOldshore

More

inSutherland,

NorthernScotland. I

must

admittonot

havingseen theplacein quite these

colours, butI hada fanciful notiontotry

paintingit inpale blue with hints of

green verging

on

turquoise. I

am

not

certain,inretrospect,what

prompted

this

choiceofcolours.Thepainting

was

made

in thestudio, fromsketch notes,

and

in

these circumstances,

away

fromthe scene,one'simagination can often lead

toa

new

approachorstimulate

inven-tiveness.Thisisnotalwayssuccessful,

sometimes

appearingabitforced or

gimmicky; butartistsalways

hope

fora

bitofmagic,soit isworth experimenting

a little,

I

do

recall, however, seeing the

mountainslope incool lightsothatthe

bentgrasses reflected silverybluein

places;possiblythis

momentary

effect,

onceseen, was

enough

tosuggest the colourcombination. The landscapehere ispuncturedbyroundedrocksand

scatteredwith stones, small and large 1

have seenthesestonesreflectingan almostsilverylight,andtheboundary walls, too, threadsilveracross the

hillside - softedgeswithglintsoflight Inthe painting

shown

here I havetried

tosuggest theseeffects bywashing dilutePhthalo Blue,and touchesof PhthaloGreen,overHot-pressed paper

Thispaper hasa

smooth

surfacewhich is noteasytohandle, but it iscapableof producingdelightful nuancesofcolour

and

the kindofmarbledeffectthat Ihave

seen,orimagined, inthis particulararea

Thestonesandwallswere obtained by splashing dropletsofwater intothe dryingwashes, which werethendried,

unevenly,witha hairdryer I

washed

out

small particles oflightandalsoin places

some

largepatches, leaving thepaper

justslightlystained Here

and

there I

drew linesofwatercolour withan

ordinarydip pen, meanderingover the

papersurface, or1

drew

around

washed-out spotsto re-establish theirshape slightly Mostlythelineswere

added

while thepaper

was

still just

damp

^1

4«0x63S

_mm

(19x25in)

MOUNTAINS

.^^7i

^'»"T»«„

•y <

14

MOUNTAINS

Blue

Mountain

2

Thispaintingwas planned ina similar

way

totheprevious one. It isalso painted intonesofblueand

employs

the

same

processesof blotting,washing

away

colour,and drawinglineswith a penandwatercolour

Whereas

inBlue Mountain I there are

some

fairly large

washed-outareas, particularlyat the

bottomofthepainting,here suchareas are

much

smaller Insteadofaddingbig

poolsofwatertothewash, I flicked

small dropletsofwater intoit

and

then,

as the paperdried,

washed them away

to

obtain specklesoflight.

480x650mm|19x25'/;inl

Blue

fAountain

3.

This painting features thecluster of

cottages

shown

inthepainting above.

!

likedthesimpleshapeoftheendofthe white cottage facingout over thehillside

I kept the sky asa flatIndigo

wash

asa

contrasttothebusy,decorative

treat-ment

oftheforeground Here passages ofcolourwere

washed

out.darker colourswere added, and

some

drawing

was done

withapen dipped in

water-colourtobringout thetexture Forthe foreground colours I used mainlydilute

CrimsonAlizarin

added

to Indigo,with

some

Burnt

Umber

towardstheleft.

MOUNTAINS

16

_MOUNTAINS

i

v:m

t

Sutherland

I

HereI

was

very

much

concernedwith

colourandwith thebalanceofsimple andtextured areas

Colour importance

was

achievedby paintingina relativelyhightonal key.

thatis,avoidingverystrong contrastsof

lightanddarkwhich mightdetract atten-tionfromthe colour Thepainting

was

made

in the studioso

my

choiceof

colours

was

influenced by

my memory

of

the blueandpinkthatI had seenin the

particularrock structures inthat part of

the country Bluepredominates, but is

modified by washes of

brown

This can

be seen intheleftforeground,where I

commenced

witha

wash

of PhthaloBlue,

allowing ittodrycompletelybefore glazing overitwithafairlydiluted,

trans-parent

wash

ofBurnt

Umber

Intheright foreground I splasheda brushfulof Rose

Madder

toprovidea colourfulaccentof

red against the

more sombre

colouring

oftheforegroundasa whole

An

echoing trace of thisredisalsoseen towardsthe

bottomleftofthe painting

i.-«v^

MOUNTAINS

Sutherland

2

This small paintinginterpretsthe

mountainsinsombre, stormy

mood

-conditionsthatIlikemost.

On

theright

thereisasuggestion ofdarkcloud- oris

itmountain?

We

shallonly

know

when

the skylightens.This istheexcitementof

themountains- the expectancy, the waitingforconfirmationofanticipated

mountain peaksas they are revealed by theclearingweather

The mountain profile startssharpand edgyattheleftofthe painting,

becomes

slightlyragged asitcurvesdownwards,

then sharpandangular asitclimbsto

the peak.Atthispoint thereisa patch of

lightbefore the mountainslose themselves inthestorm clouds

on

the

right.

The

central peakismottled andcrusty, andisplaced against the darkestpart of

theskywith thepurposeof attractingthe eye Therestofthe painting consists

mostlyofbroad, flatwashes, withafew

washed-outspotsand

some

drawing

made

witha finelypointedbrush

and

pen.The brushwork

was

applied vigor-ously, however, inkeepingwith the

harsh,abrasivetexture ofthe

mountain

140x210

mm

15/2x8/4in) subject

The

painting surfaceis

criss-crossed withlines,which although not

particularly descriptive, effectively

suggest the cracksandfissures ofthe rocksurfaces.

I used fewcolours:Indigoand Black,

paintedwet into wet,intheskyand the darkestforegroundparts;the

same

mixture, verydiluteand

warmed

witha hint of

Cadmium

Red,forthelightparts ofthemountain;

and

occasionallya trace of

Raw

Sienna

on

theleftto give

some

relieftothe

more sombre

colours elsewhere.

18

MOUNTAINS

Sutheriand

3

Thisinterpretationof aSutherland

lands-cape

was

made

on

thespot and hasnot

been worked

on

since It

was

acoldday.

witha near gale blowing,andI crouched

ina ditchwith

my

feet

on

aflatslabof stone Theditch

was

man-made,

cutfrom

thepeatyground -thecolourofthedark

brown

inthe painting -andthebottom

ofit

was

covered withclear,

amber-coloured water

My

paper

was

clipped

to apieceofhardboard(masonite),

anchoredtothegroundwithastoneat

each

end

Sometimes

Istarta painting

on

the spot butwork

on

itonlyuntil I

have obtainedtheessential informationI

need,finishingitback inthe studio

On

other occasions,suchasthis,however, thechallengeofpaintinginalmost im-possibleworkingconditions, asI usedto

do

in

my

youth

when

I scorned working

indoors,can beverystimulating

The

painting

shows

a

panorama

of

distantmountains

beyond

aforeground ofpeatand

bog

It isascenetypical ofthearea, withgrassbleached tothe colourof

Raw

Sienna,patchesof

choco-late

brown

heather covering the ground,

and

thewholeareacriss<rossed and groovedwith drainage ditches 1enjoy

drawingthese witha penand water-colourintowetpaint,sometimes,

however, ashere,theycan alsobe

drawn

witha pointedstickdipped intostiff watercolourwhich isonlyslightlydiluted

from thepaintbox

When

the paintisdry

itcan bepartly

removed

by pouring

water overit- the pressureofthewater

will break

down

thecrusty paintsothat onlyabroken, transparentstain isleft

on

thepaper If

some

ofthe paint is

resist-ant tothewater, I breakit

down

with

my

thumb, which not only helpsto

remove

it

butatthe

same

timeslightly

smudges

theremaininglines Asa result,the

marksandstriationsthat Iseeina

landscape suchasthis -brokenlines

withblobsof dark,globulesof light

MOUNTAINS

19

beads-are very effectivelyportrayed.

Thedistantfiills inthispaintingwere

drawn

accuratelyandprecisely,each

curveandslopecarefullydefined. Being

sofaraway, theyappearasflat, paleblue

shapes The profileofthe middle-distancehills isalsoaccurate,andthe colours- bronze, peat, hints ofsubtle pink- are true Imixed Burnt

Umber

with Payne'sGrey forthepeatcolour.

Burnt

Umber

and

Raw

Siennaforthe bronze, anddiluted CrimsonAlizarinfor

thepink This analysisofthe colours

usedisessentiallycorrectalthoughas I

rarely

wash

thepaletteabsolutely clean

betweenwashes each mixturetendsto

containsomethingofthe previous one.

Thepinkhere,forexample,isslightly

muted

bytraces ofPayne'sGrey.

Itriedtocontainall the texturesto

themiddledistance,addingand

sub-tractingcolour, blottingand washingout,

scratching

and

scraping,anddrawing.I

dribbledwaterfrom

my

water pot over thesurface,andflungwateratitfrom a

bigwater containerI keepinreserve;the

painting dried quicklyinthe wind. In

contrast,theforeground

was

kept simple, withjustacoupleofflatwashes, using

Raw

Siennagreyed with Payne'sGrey, anda littledrawing. Inrealitytheground

was

heavily textured withrough heather.

190x736

mm

17'/,x29in) butIfeltthe paintingneededa restful

area,so1concentrated theroughness

elsewhere. Paintingisvery

much

concernedwith the organizationofrough andquietareas, softedgesand

hard-edged

flatshapes. By producing an

inter-esting textureinthis

way

theartist

encouragesinspection, offeringthe vieweraninvitation toread the painted surface

Whenever

1 paintI imaginethe

viewer'seyetravellingover the paper,

moving

easilyacross the bigsimple

areas,examiningthebusytextures,

asking questions,

moving

on.then pausingmomentarilyatsmall precise

20

MOUNTAINS

Sutherland

4

This interpretationfeaturesalighting

conditionthatI haveseen;blue-black sky

withrainslanting

downwards and

partly obscuringthemountains,whichinthe

dramaticlightingappear almostsilvery andhardedged

The

sky

was

painted as

aflat

wash

around thehard profile ofthe

mountains Then I

made

positive,

diago-nal,

downward

strokesthroughthe

wash

witha25

mm

(1 in)housepainter's

brush, occasionallydraggingthe sky colourover thewhite

mountain

shape In

contrasttotheseangularlinesandhard edges, theforeground, with its

warm

colouring, reds

and

browns, isheavily patterned withrounded shapes Colour

was

spottedontothesurface,paint

was

dribbledintowetcolour,

and

soft-edged

rounded passages wereblotted or

washed away

underthe tap

Iused Indigoforthesky.

Raw

Sienna

forthe horizontal

band

ofyellow

immediatelybelowthe mountains,and

Brown

Madder

Alizarin

and

Indigo

painted into afirst

wash

ofBurnt

Umber

fortheforeground.

180x280

mm

(7x11 in)

Sutheriand

5

Inthisquieterinterpretationthe colours arelessintenseandcontrastisreduced The mountains werepainted withflat,

simple washes,withall thebrushwork andtexture confinedtotheforeground

The

lightpassageswereblottedout.and

here

and

theresoftlines, onlyjust

appar-ent,drift throughthe painting These were

made

witha penandwatercolour

and were

drawn

on

damp

paper Sometimes,however. Iwetthepaper

more

thoroughly

and

drawthe lines

on

theactual surfaceofthe water Thisisa deliciously tantalizingprocess-the gentle loweringofthetipofthepen onto

the water surface

and

the

way

theline

sometimes

sinksontothepaper

and

sometimes

diffuses slightly intothefilm

ofwater It

sounds

impossible, but

sometimes

itworks, andI love totry it

The

same

colourswere usedforthis

paintingasinthe previous

interpreta-tion,butvery

much

diluted. 180x280

mm

(7X II in)

MOUNTAINS

The immediacyofpainting small sketches without colourisverysatisfying.

A

few

monochrome

washes immediatelyexpress the contrastsoflightanddarktonesandcanconveythe texturesand shapesofthesedramaticmountain sketches.

22

TREES

Tree

Marks'

insteadojaimingatfinish,aim

W

execute the

mentalvision . . withasmuchinventiveenergy

aspossible.'

Samuel

Palmer

Thefollowingsixlittlewatercolours

show

interpretations of treeforms, usingthe processes describedin the chapter

on

watercolourmarks Theyareconcerned

withimpressionsof light reflectedoff

moving

foliageorpeeping through it,

and

are suggestionsof treestructures

ratherthan analysed andanatomically

correctrepresentations.

The

lightpartswere obtained byfirst creatingdryand wetareasof paint,then

washing

away

thewetparts toleave

soft-edged

passagesof light Thedarkerparts

were

drawn

eitherwithabrushora

brush handle dipped inpaint,orby

applyingfingerdabsand

smudges

into

paintofvarying stagesofdryness. ForthebrightgreensI usedAureolin

mixedwitha verylittle Hooker's Green,

andforthe blue-greensPhthalo Blue darkened inplaces with Payne'sGrey.

TREES

23

.,*

24

TREES

^S.

TREES

25

165x245

mm

(6/2x9%in)

Summer

Trees

This

was

paintedinthespiritofthe previousseriesofsmall watercolour

sketches.The imagehereisof swirling passagesoflightand

masses

ofgreen

foliage, with theleafedgesblurredand

softened by the diffusedlightbeyond. Thefoliageisnot depicted inprecise

detail

and

isrecognizable onlyin associ-ation with thetree trunks. In fact,

most

ofthe painting consistsofabstract blotted-outshapesand

random

patches ofcolour

You

can seethatthe fore-groundispainted inthe

same manner

asthespaces betweenthetrees; tohave

painted itrealistically, indicatingeach

bladeof grass,would havedestroyed the

illusionof light.

Thefoliage

was

painted with Hooker's Green, I alsouseda littleof thiscolour

forthetree trunks, butinthisinstance 1

applieditdirectlyontothepaperand brusheda strongmixofPayne'sGrey intoit.This mixture, withhints ofBurnt

Umber

added,isrepeated in the dark

parts ofthe foregroundaroundthebases ofthetrees.

26

Pencildrawing,255x330

mm

110x 13in)

i

•\ 27 ?

^

"&

^

V\

^^-%

4

Winter

Trees

The drawinghere

was

made

one

after-noon when

theground

was

snow-coveredandthetreesblack againstthe

sky, 1worked fromtherelativecomfortof

my

car

It is

composed

intwoequaldivisions,

thetreesoccupyingthetophalfofthe

pictureandtheforegroundoccupying

thelowerhalf.This

was

an intentional arrangement-I

was

struckby the

white-nessoftheslopingground leading

up

to

and

supporting the lineofdarktreesand soIdecidedto giveitplenty ofspacein

thedrawing.I

was

alsoimpressed bythe

heightofthetrees,reaching

up

to find

thesky,and soinsteadofcompressing

them

within the confinesofthe paper.1

stretched

them

outtodisappear

beyond

the topedge

The

drawingcontainsconsidered

linework

combined

withfree, looseline:

it

was

importanttodrawthesubtle, sinuouscurvesofthetallertreetrunks accurately as they stretchedupwards and yetalsoto indicatethe

movement

ofthe thinnerbrancheswithflexible, looser drawing.

Thefollowingfourwatercolour interpre-tationsarebased

on

thisdrawing.

28

TREES

V/inter

Trees

1

I

was

impressed bythewhitenessofthe

snow and

thisconditioned

my

approach

when

paintingthisfirstcolour sketch it

isa very obvious, althoughfrequently disregarded factthatwhiteappears

whiterifsurrounded bydark colours -so

hereIdarkenedthe sky

The

whitenessof

the

snow

isalso

emphasized

byreducing

thewhitestpartofthepainting, the paper,toonlyasmall area Everywhere

else,thewhite isin factslightlyblue

To

obtain thiscolourI usedjusta little

French Ultramarine, greyedin places withink.

TREES

29

Vf

inter

Trees

2

Inthissketchit iswinterstill,but

without snow.The

emphasis

here is

on

theroad, lightintone,leadingthrough

thegapinthetreestowardsspaceand

lightbeyond.Asachange from the previous sketch. I

made some

trees

lighter, providingacounterchangeof dark, light,dark, light,across thepicture.

I useda mixtureofFrench Ultramarine

and Black,withBurnt

Umber

added

to

this,fortheforeground

30

TREES

I50x 180

mm

(6x7in)

Winter

Trees 3

Thissketch, incontrast, ignorestheroad andconcentrates

on

a fewofthetrees

on

therightofthedrawing

on

pages 26

and27 I

aimed

togiveasenseofcool

light filteringthrough them, soIleft

whitepaperforthe distanttrees

on

the

rightandblottedand lifted

random

dots oflightfrom the misty bluebackground

I used the

same

coloursasinthe

previous painting,with the additionof

Cadmium

Red

tothe mixtureforthearea

TREES

31

^.lioJwi hkciclst/..

Winter Trees

4

Thissketch

shows

achangeofcolour

fromthepredominantblueofthe previous ones.Thegreenofthegrass,a

mixtureofvery dilutePhthaloBlueanda

littleAureolin, iscontinuedforthetrees,

which helpsto give unity totheworkand an impressionoflightfallingontothe

trees

and

grass.

32

TREES

TREES

33 ^Jof^vfkchii^,

^y

'.^'..e2--'-:^-vs«rz-.:._^

i

150X 140

mm

I6x5/jinl

•'Sj^

HinchwickyNood

\ (left)

The

firstpainting

shows

asimplegroup of treespainted ina realistic

way

I used

Burnt

Umber

with varyingadditions of

Indigoforthetreetrunksand allowed

the directionofthebrushstrokes to

followthe curvatureofthe trunksand

suggesttheirroundness.

Some

interest

isprovided intheforegroundby using

washing-outtechniques.Incontrastto

the

more

detailedbrushworkforthe

treesandforeground, the sky isa simple

pink

wash

ofdilute

Cadmium

Red. This colouring

was

sensedratherthan actuallyseen.

Hincfiwick

Wood

2

(above)

The second painting alsoillustratesa groupof treesin Hinchwick

Wood

but here1 havegiven

more

playtoan

imaginativeinterpretationwith eye-catchingcolour.Thetreetrunks are bleachedto givetheeffectofbeing

touchedwithsilverylightandareset

againstafantasy backgroundofdark

blue.Issuchintensityofblue everseen

ina

wood?

Remember

that

my

interpre-tation of thissceneisnotintended to

show

a literalrenderingof tree colours. It

isapersonaladventurewithcolour

-darkblues,traces ofpale blueand passagesofdarkgreen.Thegreen isa

blue-green'insympathywith theoverall

bluetonesandthetreesalso contain

hints of pink, repeating the pinkofthe foreground. Thispart ofthepainting,

however, iskept simpleandlight.The

coloursusedarethemeresttints,only

slightlystainingthe whitepaper, sothat

the colourintensityislocalizedtothe

SUNFLOWERS

areexciting topaint

am

especiallyinterested inthe

many

possibilitiesoffered by theflowerheads

withtheir fringes ofyellow petalsframing

the big dark centres which,viewed straight on.areround

and measure

almost a

handspan

across Seen fromthe sidethe flowers

become

elliptical

and

theircentres balloon outto

make

pleas-ing

domed

shapes. clasped within the

grip ofthesurroundingcurled petals

-likeabrooch, or a big pincushion Theseplate-sized flowes

on

man-high stemswiththeirbigfloppy leaves presentaflamboyantsight,suggesting

thatthey might bepainted ina bold,

attackingstyle: butequally,the

construc-tion oftheflowerheadsinvites careful

drawing, or imaginative design This is the kindof

dilemma

anartistisoften faced with

and

the

way

he respondstoit

FLOWERS

35

455x305

mm

118 X 12in!

Sunfbwers

I

Thisfirstpainting

shows

afairly literal

approachtothe subject with the flower-headcarefullyobservedandrecorded I

began bydrawingthe flowerandthe leavesin pencil andthen I

washed

inthe

neutralbackgroundofPayne'sGrey mixedwith Burnt Umber, leavingwhite

paperfortheplant, 1deliberately

made

thebackground rough

and

crude; it

containsa fewtonal changes, darkand

light,to give

some

varietybut otherwise isnotspecific I used

Cadmium

Yellow

witha little

Cadmium

Orange and Aureolinforthe flower and, with the additionofPayne'sGrey, theleaves.

36

FLOWERS

fCehn UlcaHa

FLOWERS

37

Sunflowers

2

This interpretationisstillfairly literal but hereI

am

beginningto recognize

some

designpossibilities, exploiting

them

to emphasizetheparticular characteristics ofthe flowers Forexample, the centreof

thetop flower hasa lessrounded,

more

interestingshape

As

I drewitsoutline1

imagined myself using the brush to squeezethe flower centreintoan

exaggerated bulging shape.Thepetal distribution ofthe smallerflower, too, is

more

interestingthan inthefirst paint-ing 1collectedthe petalstogetherat

thetopofthe flowerto

make

two large shapesandcontrasted

them

with petals reduced insizealongthebottomedge. Thischangeofdimension isfurther

exaggerated by painting the larger petal shapesbright yellow,whereasthe small

petals are less colourful.Thepetalsof

thelargerflowerarebrighterstill sothat

thecolourisconcentrated

most

ofallat this part ofthe painting The impactthis

creates isfurtheremphasized by the treatmentofthepetals, hard-edged, raggedandtorn, andby thefactthat

theyareagainst the darker tonesofthe flowercentreand backgroundofleaves

Aswith the otherflower,the petals are arrangedinconsidered shapes

Those

alongthetopofthe flowerarecollected togetherinto a largeragged fringe,whilst

thelower petals aresmaller, shorter,

some

almostrounded Thefewvery

smallroundbeadsofyellowwere

added

toprovideinterestingvariationinthe

overall patternofyellow. In fact,they did notactuallyexist, but1derived the idea

of

them

from

some

hardlyvisiblesmall

seed pods aroundtheperiphery ofthe

largedark centre Well, I thinktheywere

seed pods,and I thinkIdidsee

them

-orperhapsI justwantedtosee

them

There's

no

reason

why

we

shouldn'tlet

our imagination createwhat

we

wantto see.In this

way

apaintingcanevolve

from being anactual representationtoa

more

imaginativeinterpretation.Here

the characterofthe flowerismaintained, with itsbulbouscentre -dark mottled,

andwith hints ofbronze -surroundedby

a fringeofbrilliantyellowpetals These areelementsoffact, which inthe paint-ingare interpreted into a distinctive

design.Thefringe of petalstravels,

anti-clockwise, from thelargegroupingatthe

toptothefourpreciseblots.AsI writeI

can feelthebrushdoing

them

-dot, dot. dot,dot-then puttinginthegroupof

threelarger petals(thoughnot as big as

thoseatthetop),then revertingto blots, thistime

much

largerthanbefore.

You

may

wonder

why

I decidedtoinclude

theseblots Thereareseveral reasons: they provideechoesofthe bigrounded

flowercentre;theyprovideacontrast with theshapeofthepetals:andthey

form part of acounter-changeof

dimen-sion -largepetalsatthetop,smalldots, larger petals,thensmallerblots again.

TheleavesarejustasI

saw

them,by

which I

mean

thatIdid not inquire

closely intotheformofeach one.They

are paintedsimply asanuntidy collec-tionofleavesforminga backdroptothe

flowers.They

make one

bigragged shape, repeating theragged natureofthepetals.

Thisrepetition ofshapeis

more

import-ant.I feel,than paintingindividualleaves

-theprofileofthewhole shapesuggests thesesufficiently Within the

one

shape, however, colourvariations of green,red

and

brown

hint atthevulnerability ofthe

38

FLOWERS

Sunflowers

3

In thispaintingIhaveextracted

some

definitedesigneienfientsfrom the flowersthemselves I havetriedto

emphasizethedepthofyellowby surroundingitwith black paintandby

keepingtheedges sharp

and

crisp -Ifelt

280X 185

mm

111 x7'/,in)

thattheIntensity

would

be reduced ifI

softened theedgesintothebackground.

When

the paintofthesoft

brown

centre

was

still

damp.

Iusedthe pointofa

small paintingknife toflickout the suggestionsof soft hairygrowth.

Sunflowers

4

(right)

This

example

isperhaps even

more

stylized. 1 reducedthesize ofthe petals

toemphasizethelargeflowercentres, andI painted

them

as

one

continuous

enclosingringratherthan separated

petals.

The

centreswerepainted blueand allowedtodry, thenoverpainted with

fairlystiffblackpaint, lustbeforethis dried,while it

was

stillsticky. I lifted

spotsofcolour

away

witha brushhandle

wrapped

ina ragto revealtheunderlying

blue

Then

1 immediatelyoutlined

some

ofthese blue spots with the

wooden

tip

ofa brushdipped in blackpaint. I tried

tocreateaninterestingdistribution of

lightparticles,carefullyvaryingtheir dimensions

and

spacing.This process

was

prompted

by

my

originalanalogyof

a brooch, clusteredwithstones

and

granulated light.

The

edgeofthelower black centre is painted with subtle variations At the

top, it iscrispand hardagainstthe yellowfringeof petals.

On

therightit

has softenedandslightlyblended into

thestill-dampfringe,whereas

on

theleft

Icontrivedachangeofcontrastby

stippling a fewverysmalldotsofblack paintalongthe edge. 1think these

subtletiesofedgevalues areimportant Theyaresufficientlyprecisetoenclose andcontain thedark flower centreyet

they

do

not

compete

with the verycrisp

FLOWERS

39

40

FLOWERS

IENIOY

theexuberanceof painting flowerswith transparent watercolour, seeing

them

in termsofcolourand

luminosityratherthan botanical

accuracy

My

temperamental approachto

flowerpainting is

one

ofimmediacy; 1

prefer tostuffa handfulofflowers into a jamjar

and

toworkathighspeed The

painting above, forinstance, isa small, spontaneous impressionof flowers, in

which I tried toexpress the translucency

ofthepetals,thelight falling

on

them,

and

theirporcelain

smoothness

It is intendedtoconveythesenseofthe flowers ratherthan portrayanexact representationof

them

Flower paintingis

demanding

interms ofwatercolourdexterityand

resourceful-ness Itentailscontrollingwashes,letting

colours blend, makingwet-into-wet

smudges

anddots, placinghardedgesto

explain occasional form- a leafperhaps, or theedgeofapetal -

sudden

high-lightsandsoft lights,plentyofwater very white paper,andcoloursemerging

and

disappearing I thinktheexcitement

offlower paintingfor

me

derivesperhaps from the opportunityitprovidesto

practisethesefundamental processes

The

three paintingsofflowers

on

the followingpages werepainted with the

same

coloursbut

on

different paper

surfacesto give different effects

The

backgroundcolours aremostlymixtures

ofIndigoand

Paynes

Grey,providinga

neutral backclothtoempfiasize the coloursinthe flowers These were

painted mainlywithCrimsonAlizarin,

sometimes muted

witha littleofthe grey

background mixture but with highlights

ofpurecolour OccasionallyI inclined

the red towardspurpleby adding PhthaloBlue,

and

some Cadmium

Orange was

also

added

inplaces The

greensare various dilutionsof

Hookers

FLOWERS

Mase

of

Flowers

1

This

was

paintedon Not(cold-pressed) paper,which isdiscreetlytexturedand is

my

favourite surface. Iused itfor

most

of

the paintingsinthisbook. Itaccepts

colourwasheswellandyetissufficiently

smooth

todrawon.Although notso

evident inthispainting, Iveryoften

incorporatelinesdrawnwitha pen dipped inwatercolour

when

working

on

this surface.

InthispaintingItriedtocontain the

strongest impactoflightonthecentral

red

bloom

andthesharp-edgedpointed

leafbelow it This flowerisstreaked with

light,theeffectobtainedby scrapingout

some

ofthe paintwhilewet.Theflower

justaboveit

was

paintedwetintowet,

witha

sudden

highlight of red. Hintsof

leavesappearinthebackground.

FLOWERS

43

Vase

of

Fbwers

2

[left]

I used

Rough

paperforthis painting.

Thishasasurfacewhichisheavily textured and encourages broad

treat-ment.Thetextureisusefulforobtaining

passagesofdraggedcolour, asinthe caseofthe vaseherewhere Idragged

darkgreen colour overa first

wash

of paler green. Althoughthepaper can be effectivelyusedtoexpress vigour

and

sparkle, I rarelyuseit infactsinceI

preferthe

more

sensitiveNotpaper.

Ilet

my

hair

down

withthecolourin

thispainting,placingredagainst

com-plementarygreen.It

was

done

vigorously

and

employed

traditional

washes

of

colour applied witha bigfloppypointed

brush.1scored lines ofdraggedpaintwith

anoldhogbrushto giveaneffectof brokenlight.

290x205

mm

(111/2x8in)

Vase

of

Flowers 3

This

was

done on

Hot-pressed paper

Thishasavery

smooth

surface

on

which

wash

control isnoteasy: but with experienced handlingitallowsdelightful modulationsofcolour.

Thepainting

shows

a

more

gentle

result,althoughit

was

stillpainted with

vigour.Theflowershapesare mainlysoft andblurred,achieved by painting

them

into a still-wetfirst

wash

ofvariedcolour

Theoccasionalhard-edgedshapeshelp

290X255

mm

(11

'/jx 10in)

toaccentuate the general softnessand

provideanchor pointsinthe paintingto

hold theeye momentarily.Thesoftlight

partswereblotted outhere,althougha similar effectcan alsobe obtained by

othermeans. Forexample,

sometimes

1

dryparts of apainting witha hair dryer,

leaving otherpartsstillwet.Soft-edged

passagesoflightcan thenbe produced

bycarefullywashingthewetparts

away

44

BUILDINGS

TEWKESBURY

InGloucestershireisa

delightful riversidetown fullofold

houses

Some

of

them

areof brick

mellowed

to a delightful

warm

russet

colourand

many

aretimber-framed

infilledwithbrick,orwattleand

daub

paintedwhite fvlostofthe buildings

lean, outofplumb, and have massive chimneys which

make

wonderful

silhouettesagainst the sky Boththe sketches herewere

made

on

thespot.

Tewkesbury

Inthisfirstsketch the proportion and details ofthe buildingswerefairly

accuratelyobservedandrecorded

The

shapesofthechimneys,the bulkofthe

roof,the

number

of

window

panes, the positionof the

windows

relativetoeach

other areallcorrectlyjudged However,

the sketchdoesfeaturean elementof

personal interpretation.I

was

Interested

Inthe rooftops

and

thechimneysasa

Pencildrawing, 255x280

mm

110x II ini

single

mass and

soI blurred individual

roofsbystrongpencil strokesinto

one

bigdark bIcKk I

remember

theroof

details -theuneventiles, hand-made,

andtheundulatingsurfaceoftheroofas thetilesfollowed thedepressionsofthe centuries-oldsaggingrooftimbers-but

inthe sketch these are ignored infavour

ofthe scribbled

mass

ofdark

aimed

at

BUILDINGS

45

Tewkesbury

The secondsketch

was done

veryrapidly

witha finefelt-tippenanda pencil to

blockinareas oftone Thefelt-tip

lineworkisthinandspideryand

moves

over thesmooth-surfaced paperwitha feelingofcontinuity, up and

down

the

chimneys and alongtheroof top.This

Inkdrawing. 125x255

mm

(5x 10) isa brief,spontaneous notebutit

adequatelyrecallsfor

me

the character

oftheplace with itshuddledbuildings, squatbuildings, thin buildingssqueezed betweenothers,and the patternofthe timberframesandtheirwhite plastered

46

BUILDINGS

PERHAPS

theinitial interpretation of a

subjectatthetimeofmakingthe

sketch,orthetypeofsketchitself,either spontaneousorconsidered, has influence

on

thesubsequentpainting Certainly thefirstsketchofTewkesburyisrobust

incharacter, solidandfairlyliteral,

and

thefirstpaintingcopiesthistreatment with theroofspaintedinareasof tone,

the

window

panesalldepictedandthe

timberframeworkcarefullyobserved.

The

influenceofthesketchisobvious.

The

second interpretationhas

more

freedom initsstyleand isintendedas

no

more

than acolour sketch -forfun

-butitdoes

show

some

selectivity

and

imagination The chimneysare

emphas-izedandtheyinturnemphasizethe small areaofwhitebuilding,which is

sharpanddecisive,

on

a tongue-in-cheek

backgroundoforange

and

palest blue.

Tewkesbury

1

In this painting thesky

was

masked,

leaving whitepaperforthebuildings.

Once

theyhad beenpainted,the

maskingfluid

was removed

to revealthe

sharp, preciseedgetotherooftop

and

chimneys-the

same

process as

was

used forSt James's Palace I Payne's

Grey

was

mostly usedforthesIq'

and

thiscolour

was

continuedoverparts of

the buildingface.

The

central

chimney

was

painted withCrimsonAlizarin modifiedwith Payne'sGrey,whereas

Burnt

Umber

was

usedfortheroof

on

the leftandBurnt

Umber

mixedwith Payne'sGreyfortheroof

on

the right.

BUILDINGS

47

Tewkesbury

2

Hereaverypale Indigowash,blending to

Cadmium

Orange,

was

washed

all over thepaper, andthen the roofand

darkchimneys wereadded, using Burnt

Umber

mixedwith Payne'sGrey,The

walls ofthe cottagewereputinlastwith

190 X 165

mm

IV/jxe'/jin) whitegouache Thistime thechimneys

androofedgeswere

made

sharpand edgyby outlining

them

with pen

and

watercolour. This

was done

while they

werestillwet sothattheline

would

not

48

BUILDINGS

THE

twosketchesof

The

BlackDog,

GlasshouseStreet,

London

were

made

withsoftpencilsgraded from

2B

to

68.1

was

attracted bythe

mass

ofthe

building,thecollection ofchimneysand

theornate, curved gablesandcornices.

The

Black

Dog

I

When

choosinga positionfrom whichto

draw

thissketch,I

moved

arounduntil

thechimneys overlappedto

make

a

dominant

grouping. 1then emphasized

thisbymaking

them

verydarkand

leav-ingthe restofthe buildingunshaded.

ii /n T_-!

205X 180

mm

(8x7ml

BUILDINGS

49

The

Black

Dog

2

Heretheviewpoint

shows

thebuilding as being

composed

ofa

number

oftall

boxesstucktogether,withthedirection ofthelightingproducinga

counter-changepattern ofdarl<, light,dark.The

viewpoint, in fact, isfrom aspot only

slightly totheleftofthefirstsketchand

yettheresultantimage isvery different.

I prefer tochooseaviewpointquickly.

It isbest

when

the reaction to asubject isinstantaneousand

when

the

compul-siontodrawor paint itisimmediate. Continuallywalkingaroundtodiscover thebest viewcanleadtoindecisiveness,

soI tendtogofortheloveorhateat

firstsightapproach

On

theotherhand, however,itcan beinteresting to

compare one

viewpoint with another,

seeing

how

shapeschange,

how

spaces

alter, or

how

separateelementsofaview

overlap

when

seen from anotherangle, perhapscreatingdifferentpatternsof

lightanddark.

180x205

mm

(7x8in)

:i

"45

This pencilsketch

was

drawn fromthe

same

siteasthetwo drawingsofThe

BlackDog.Ideliberatelyleftthe building

on

theright unfinished, asjustan outline.

An

unfinishedpartsuchasthis,

placed alongsidea

mass

ofdark build-ingsasinthissketch,creates

more

interestthan ifthe

same

treatmenthad

50

BUILDINGS

Pencildrawing.230x150

mm

(9x6

in)

Hand

and

Racquet

1

1

made

thisdrawingofa

pub

In

Orange

Street.London,

on

adayofpouring rairr

from theshelter of a

doorway

across the

narrowstreet Theconditionswere decid-edly uncomfortable, withcarsthrowing

thepuddlesofrainwaterat

my

legs,and

so1 concentrated

on

theornamental

qualities ofthedoor

and

windows, regis-teringjust

enough

informationtobeable to paint fromthedrawing

when

backIn

BUILDINGS

51

280X 180

mm

(11 x7in)

Hand

and

Racquet 2

inthe studio 1tried torecapture the

spiritoftheday

on

which I'd

made

the sketch opposite,concentrating only

on

essential detail emerging throughthe wetness.Theinitial drawing

was

made

directlywith a finebrushand

water-colour,withoutanypreliminary pencil

drawing.

Then

I

washed

inpassagesof

Sap

Green, Indigoand CrimsonAlizarin

on

the dry paperand immediatelysliced ahousepainter'sbrush through the paint

tocreatea rain-likeeffect.I deliberately

aimed

foran unfinished lookin keeping

withthe urgencyoftheday,although I

highlighted

one

ofthevertical

columns

andpart ofthe

window

frame.Opposite andhigher

up

inthepicture,the

lamp

providesa further highlight.Thiswasa

deliberate ployinordertobalancethe

52

BUILDINGS

Hand

and

Racquet

3

I

made

thisdrawing

on

the

same

dayas

the

one on

page50 It

was

still raining,

veryuncomfortable,and soagain 1

concentrated

on

afewchosendetails I

likedthe

lamp suspended

inspace from

itscurvedornamentalbracket I also

liked thesimplerectangular

columns

whichflankthe door.

Althoughthedrawing

was

made

quickly, it

shows

an instinctive selectivity

in the placingand

emphasis

ofthe variouselements

The

curved features

-the

lamp

brackets, therounded mould-ingsandcornicesofthebuilding, and

the curved

window

top-areall collected

in

one

part ofthe drawing, whereasthe

rest ofthe sketch concentrates

on

the

linear, rectangularfeatures.

BUILDINGS

53

Hand

and

Racquet

4

HereI usedthe

same

processes asinthe

paintingon page51, startingwithfine

brushdrawing and progressingtobroad washesapplied withahousepainter's brush, Idecidedto

subdue

my

interestin

theornamental

lamp

and instead concentrated

one

main passageoflight

inthe

column

which extendsvertically

throughthe painting.Thisvertical passageoflight issupportedby the

secondaryhighlightsinthe

window

and

inthe slantingrain.

i

54

BUILDINGS

Hand

and

Racquet

5

I returnedtothe

same

placeafewweeks

later

on

a dryday sothat 1

was

ableto

walkabout

and

notberestrictedtoa

sheltering

doorway

ThistimeI

was

able

toviewthe buildingfrom

some

distance

away

and

was

impressed byitsheight, so

I

made

thedrawingtall

and

narrowto

reflect that.Thedryday

made

a further

contribution, forthe red stripabovethe

windows

(seeopposite) looked intensely

brightincontrast with thetextured,

yellow

London

brickblackenedto

sombre

bronze, 1 alsohad time

on

this

occasionto drawthechequeredpattern

ofthe dark

window

panes and putina great deal

more

detail overall.

u

BUILDINGS

55

1

IIIIJillllilH

~n

Mill

_IN

Hand

and

Racquet

6

Backinthestudio1copied thedrawing,

workingdirectlywith a finebrush and

watercolour.andthen applied thecolour. Thewhite parts ofthepicturewere

nnasked with maskingfluidsothatthe darktones could be

washed

in freely.The

textured brickwork

was

obtainedby

applyingBurnt

Umber

mixedwith

Paynes

Greythickly, thenspattering

waterintoittocreateunevendrying. I

waiteduntilthe paint

was

nearlydry

thenhosedthe paintingunderatap -theverywetparts

washed away

immediately, leavinga texturedeffect.

Furtherwashing loosened and

removed

excesspigment from thethickwash, leavingthepaperstainedto adarkbut translucentcolour.

56

BUILDINGS

BUILDINGS

57

'Do

It

Yourself

Shop,

London

{left)

I

was

intrigued bythisverytall building

standingatthecornerofthestreet. Itis

interestingthatthefrontofthe building isslightlycurvedandiwantedto

show

this,aswell as the heightofthe building

andthebusycolour.Thescaffolding

and

thetall

lamp

postboth helptoconvey

thefeeling of height.

My

paintingoriginallycontainedquite

a largearea offoreground,but

on

maskingitexperimentally with a pieceof paperI decidedthatthecomposition

was

improved byomittingit.The sense

ofheight

seemed

greater withthe build-inggrowingalmost fromthe

bottom

of

the paper.Also, reducing the area ofthe painting

seemed

toconcentrate the

impactofthe

Cadmium

Red

vehicle,the

red letteringandthe red-shirtedfigure,

stridentagainst the

Cadmium

Orange

paintandcontrastingwith the quiet

combinationofthe

deep brown

building

andthedarkbluesky.Thesecolour contrastsare typical of streetscenes, createdby thevariety ofadvertisements and shopssellinganythingfrom

news-papers, magazinesandradio sparesto furniture, junk,sandwiches,

and

Pepsi Cola - as the sketchesontherightshow.

So

Icut

away

a third ofthe paintingto

concentrate

on

this particularaspect.

Ink sketch, 135 x 135

mm

i'i'Ax5'Ainl

BUILDINGS

59

Warehouse,

V/apping,

London

1 This paintingfeaturesanothertall build-ing - awarehouseclosetothe River

Thames

at

Wapping

in London.

The

red

doors, placedin line

one

above the

other,and thearched

windows

are typicaloftheseriverside buildings.Their

walls arerichwith texturesandlichen, andtheirgrimyfaces are

muted

tosubtle

variations of colour. Sadly,

many

of

them

are

now

beingdemolished

and

their

entrancesareoftentemporarilyblocked

with corrugatediron.

Iused Burnt

Umber

forthe

sombre

brickand

Cadmium

Redforthe doors,in

both casesslightlygreyingthe colours by

addingPayne'sGrey, 305x255

mm

112 x 10in)

V/arehouse, \Napping,

London

2

This

shows

aclose-upviewofthe

brick-workofthe

same

warehouse- eroded, bleached,grimy, andwith traces offaded

grafitti.it illustrates

many

ofthe'mark' techniquesdescribedatthebeginningof

the book,which

depend on

the constant

adjustmentofcolour,

sometimes

adding

it,

sometimes

blotting orwashingit

away.Inaddition, thispainting features

anotherprocess 1oftenusetoachieve

particular effects Ideliberatelycreate

unevendryingtimes by dryingparts of a

wash

rapidlywitha hairdryerand

leaving otherparts wet:and

sometimes

I

add waterdroplets,orsimultaneously brush inlinesofwater with

one hand

whileoperating the hairdryer withthe

other.

When

I seea satisfactorypattern

ofwetanddrypaint, I

immerse

the

paintinginabathofwater,orhoseit

underatapto

wash away

thestill-wet parts

and

leaveedgesofsubtlesoftness.

*l".'-;l*^--L.^-.