This was another exercise I found quite hard. The most difficult part of it was to settle on a subject. I’m not overly happy with my final choice, but decided I simply had to get going even if it wasn’t the perfect subject for continued work on a longer series of paintings.

I briefly reconsidered the cats as subject but scared away from the difficulties, and instead decided to try some terrace views.

Terrace views

What I found interesting were all the potted plants and their “unorderly appearance”. My terrace is kind of a refuge because I can be outside, but feel safe and at home. I also thought it would be helpful to be close to my art materials for all the experimentation expected for the exercise.

In the first view, I particularly liked the shadows of the plants and pots. I started with a pencil drawing, which I colourized with dry pastels using my finger to smudge pigment on the paper. Then I dissolved the pigments and laid washes with watercolours.

The second view was made on blue ground. I started with watercolours and added some white gouache, but the only additional media I managed to employ was black felt pen for the handrails on the roof of the building opposite the terrace. I was so busy painting all the details of the scene that I wasn’t open for any experimentation.

The third view was made on rose ground and again I started with a pencil underdrawing, then added white gouache for highlights and laid darker washes for the pots and stuff. Same problem of not wanting to spoil the image with additional media… At this point I decided to abandon the subject for now.

     

Painting a bouquet of flowers

I had made a first quick tryout painting of the bouquet after the second small terrace study because I felt I didn’t get going with additional media. Part of the problem was the small size – I wasn’t comfortable with using bold media like oil pastels on a small surface for small elements. I thought I might get along better using a larger format, and that a colourful flower bouquet would help me to work a little more experimental.

Choosing a setting was the next problem because my study is small and there’s not much space for nice arrangements. I resigned to using two brown cardboards as background and placed the vase on the floor. I chose oil pastels for the flowerheads and watercolour washes for stems and leaves, the vase and the background. (Format: 38 x 28 cm on white ground)

I wasn’t very satisfied because I found the format still too small and was unsure about the quality of the painting, but at least I seemed to be able to integrate other media, so I decided to continue with the bouquet.

Flower bouquet: Four small studies (A4 watercolour sketchbook)

Study 1: White ground, grey felt pen and watercolours
Study 2: Ice blue ground, purple felt pen, white and coloured gouache, watercolours
Study 3: Brown ground, coloured pencil, gouache and watercolours
Study 4: White ground, coloured inks, watercolours, crayons

In studies 1 to 3 there’s a zooming in effect which was my response to finding the A4 format too small for the large bouquet. I thought focusing on a smaller part of the bouquet would help me capture the shapes, colours and textures better. The fourth one was back to including the entire bouquet and trying a dark background to bring out the colours more intensely. I made a real effort in overcoming my reluctance to use additional media and felt like being pushed out of my comfort zone.

      

     

Two larger paintings

The fourth small study was based on a slightly altered arrangement of the flowers, and I found this composition worked better. I also liked the dark background. So I chose that one for the larger study on coloured ground. I did not want to revert to the earlier flower arrangement, so stayed with that one for the second larger study as well.

Large study 1 (48 x 34 cm): Light blue ground, started with ink pen (non-waterproof), added white and yellow gouache, watercolours, crayons and oil pastels.

I was surprised that the ink pen wasn’t waterproof and bleeded into the gouache layer. But gradually adapting to experimental mode, I wanted to continue and see how the painting would develop. I applied oil pastels over the coloured areas to protect the colours before the final wash, but the blue undertone changed the bright yellows into a green tone which was not quite what I wanted. Nevertheless I think this painting looks quite interesting due to the bleeding of the ink. I also like the visible brush strokes in the flowers, they are energetic and make for a lively effect.

Large study 2 (48 x 34 cm): White ground, started with watercolours wet in wet, added pen & ink, crayons and watercolour. Used masking fluid and transparent wax as resists before applying a final wash in Payne’s grey.

The second study is somewhat more considerate. I used a wet in wet technique on white ground to obtain intensely coloured areas with undefined edges, and then added definition for flowers and stems with pen and ink. The technique was less energetic and the result is quite different in style from the first study, a little more delicate and subtle. The transparent wax worked well to protect the colours.

 

Guided reflections

The effect of coloured paper

I had already begun using coloured in the previous exercise and did so because I wanted an even background without brush marks. It had the effect of toning down all colours, which could be counterbalanced by using white gouache or intensified by employing even darker tones, or tilted by adding coloured layers for unusual mixes.

In the terrace views, I was not very happy with the colour changing effect of the blue and red grounds and found it added an awkward tone to the entire painting. I think the effect remained awkward throughout the bouquet paintings as well. The ice blue background tilted the yellows into green and mudded the red tones, and the brown background mudded the entire painting. Of course it is possible to make extended use of white gouache to neutralize this before adding more colours, and maybe it would have been the best solution. That would make it possible to have the best of both worlds: A smooth, dark background plus clean bright colours on top.

On the other hand, there’s also a certain charm and interest in the chance effects that can result from the coloured ground. The mixed media approach gives more options to work with the effects and change the painting in ways that would’t be possible with watercolours alone.

In this exercise what was the initial effect of working on a coloured ground as opposed to white?

The initial effect was clearly a darkening of the entire painting and change of any colour applied subsequently on the coloured ground.

Are either studies more successful than the other?

I think the first and the fourth small studies are better than the second and third because the colours are more natural and there’s more fluidity in approach. I also prefer the second large study over the first. In all cases, these are the ones on white background. I think it’s because of the strange change in colours resulting from the coloured ground that I prefer the white background.

Maybe this depends on the subject of the painting. I imagine that a dark and mysterious scene would benefit from a coloured ground.

Do any of your pictures show a strong sense of abstract composition? If so, which ones?

I think the first large study is the most abstract one. I think it’s because it has the least detail and the emphasis is on coloured areas. The energy of the brush strokes is more important than the similarity with the actual flowers. It’s also the painting with the least definition of details in the flowers.

Do you think any of your paintings or studies could be looked at primarily for their abstract qualities?

Probably again the first larger study, but maybe also the second. In the second I particularly like the underlying watercolour wet in wet effect. There were moments where I regretted to add ink lines into the colour clouds.

How could you develop greater abstraction in your work?

Choosing the right format may play a role. I have already observed that working on small scale has helped me to let go of detail when working with watercolours alone. Maybe it’s even in general helpful to choose a bold medium in relation to the format available that will promote a more generous approach. But I must admit that I felt quite uncomfortable with the idea of using bold oil pastel sticks in the terrace views, it just did not seem to work.

Interestingly, this time the larger format seemed to have helped me to work more generously. Maybe this was because I knew I couldn’t maintain a detail approach on that format. So maybe the mindset and intention for a painting are just as important.

The instruction to work quickly has also helped this time. I remember well that I often have my problems with time restrictions, because I want to study an object first and “it takes as long as it takes”. But this time at least in the two larger paintings, the time restriction felt beneficial to focus on the essentials and work more generously over the entire surface.