Watercolour Techniques

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December 30, 2010

Watercolour painting utilises various techniques and artists may prefer one style over another or indeed may use different styles within the same painting.  We’ll have a look at the most popular.

The Flat Wash

This is the most basic technique.  The area to painted is first wetted.  Then sufficient

The Flat Wash

pigment should be mixed to cover that area.  The surface should be sloping slightly as the pigment is applied in overlapping, horizontal bands from the top of the wash area.  You can add variation to this method by grading, this means diluting the pigment with water with each horizontal stroke, resulting in ever lighter strokes.

Glazing

Glazing is a simple technique added to the flat wash.  Wait until the flat wash is completely dry then add a thin, transparent layer on top.  More glazing can be added to achieve the desired effect.

Dry Brush

Load a brush with pigment and a small amount of water then apply it to blank paper. This produces a slightly raised area useful for highlighting prominent features in the painting.

Wet on Wet

Exactly what it says on the tin, with this method you are just applying pigment to wet areas on the paper for a faded-in, blurry effect.  This method can also be applied to painted areas provided the area is dry.

Lifting Off

Lifting off is a technique used to remove previously applied layers, creating a lighter tone on previously darker areas.  It’s a simple process, just use a wet brush to dampen the area then blot the unwanted pigment off with a tissue.

Dropping in Colour

This technique is used to create a blurry area on the painting – perhaps giving a rough or

Dropping In

vague impression of an object in the background.  Essentially the process involves applying pigment to a wet area of the painting and leaving it to bleed into the colours around it.  It can give interesting but unpredictable results.

Categories: Watercolour Facts.

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Sergei Andriyaka – People’s Painter of Russia

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December 25, 2010

When we think of Russian art, we normally think first of the great oil paintings from the last few hundred years.  A stroll through The Hermitage in St. Petersburg will show any visitor that oil on canvas is the dominant medium.  However Russia also has a rich history of watercolour painting and one such artist is the contemporary Sergei – or Sergey –  Andriyaka.

Andriyaka was born in Moscow in 1958.  He has worked in various different media, including pottery and and prints, but he is most renowned for his watercolour work. Growing up in the communist era did not affect some aspects of Soviet life and Andriyaka studied art as a student first at the Moscow Surikov Art School and then, following graduation from this facility, at the Moscow State Surikov Art Institute.

Sergei Andriyaka

He held his first private exhibition in 1985 and to date has exhibited more than 200 times around the world.  Following graduation, he stayed on to teach painting techniques at the Institute before becoming a senior teacher there in 1985.

The title People’s Painter of Russia, or National Artist of Russia is an honour awarded to Russian citizens distinguished in the field of art.  Andriyaka was awarded this title in 2005.  His work is currently exhibited in galleries in numerous countries around the world.  In 1999 Andriyaka, supported by the city of Moscow, founded the Sergei Andriyaka Watercolour School which currently teaches this medium to around 700 students.

He became noted for developing individual techniques to surmount problems that arose when painting and some of his best work centres around Russia’s smaller towns and Russian nature.  Still only 53 years old, in 2001 he became Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Arts and in 2007 became a full member of the same organisation.


Two of Andriyaka’s most notable works.

Categories: Asian Artists, European Artists.

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Vincent Van Gogh – Dutch Post-Impressionist

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December 19, 2010

Some of the most prolific artists work in many different mediums so we cannot say they

Vincent van Gogh, aged 18

are purely watercolour artists or oil artists or whatever else they may specialise in. Vincent van Gogh was one such artist, born on 30th March 1853 and dying tragically young at the age of 37 on 29th July 1890.

Van Gogh had very little critical acclaim during his short lifetime, but following his death his paintings have become some of history’s most sought after works.  His oil paintings are his most widely known works, Sunflowers and Night Cafe to name a couple but he also painted some 150 watercolour paintings.

It’s difficult to squeeze a biography of van Gogh into a precis sized article such as this but his early life in Holland was already marked by a kind of melancholy which would later influence much of his work but would also lead to his eventual attempted suicide and subsequent death almost certainly caused by depression.

In his early working early years he travelled to London, The Hague and Paris while working for a firm of art dealers.  He was always a religious man and eventually, in 1879 he took work as a missionary in Belgium and it was here he began to sketch scenes and characters from the local community.

After his art became the focal point of his life, he moved to Paris to concentrate on this career but was also drawn to the south of France to where he eventually relocated.  The rural scenes and strong colour so familiar in van Gogh’s work were clearly influenced by this region and he remained here largely for the rest of his shirt life.

Vincent van Gogh’s watercolour works grew from his use of the medium to prepare him to paint in oils but gradually his talent in this area also forced these works into becoming masterpieces in their own right.  Van Gogh has described in letters to his brother Theo how he himself saw improvements and perfection in these paintings.  Theo, a successful art dealer, also financially supported Vincent, allowing him to paint without concern for the necessities of everyday living.

Fishing Boats on the Beach, 1888

Cafe Terrace at Night, 1888

Categories: European Artists.

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Albert Namatjira – Australian Aboriginal watercolour pioneer

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December 13, 2010

Most Australian Aboriginal painting focuses on the Dreamtime style of art which most

Albert Namatjira

art lovers and visitors to Australia are familiar with. It comes as a surprise therefore for most people to learn about the existence of genuine pioneer of watercolour from the Australian outback.

His name was Albert Namatjira, he was born on 28th July 1902 near Alice Springs and raised at the Hermannsberg Lutheran Mission. Possibly his Western-style Christian upbringing afforded him the opportunity to experience non-Aboriginal styles of painting and perhaps this influenced him later in is career. Certainly the mitssion was visited by two watercolour painters in 1934 and in then in 1936 one of them returned to paint in the area. Namatjira acted as his guide and in return was shown watercolour techniques.

By then he had already completed his Aboriginal cultural initiations and was familiar with the traditional outback landscapes. Namatjira’s paintings quickly became popular, partly because they appealed to Australia’s Western city dwellers and Namatjira exhibited in Melbourne in 1938 very successfully, quickly followed by others in Sydney and Adelaide.

His success and wealth also brought it’s own problems and under Aboriginal tradition Namatjira was obliged to provide financially for his extended family, which at one point contained around 600 people. In 1957 he was exempted from the Australian governments harsh restrictions on Aboriginals which meant he became able to vote, buy land and buy alcohol. This led to his brief imprisonment after he was found guilty of supplying alcohol to a native by leaving a bottle on his car seat (the bottle was taken and drunk by a fellow artist). A public outcry ensured his incarceration was brief.

He died of heart disease on 8th August 1959, leaving a legacy of some two thousand paintings. His work can be seen in most of Australia’s galleries and he has been the subject of several short films as well as pop songs. He was also featured on a stamp in 1968.

Hermannsberg Mission

Mount Sonder, MacDonnell Ranges

Categories: Australasian Artists.

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Xu Beihong – Chinese Master, 1895-1953

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December 9, 2010

Xu Beihong, also known variously as P’eon Hsu and Hsu Pei-Hung was born in Jitingqiao

Xu Beihong

in the Jiangsu Province of China on the 19th July 1895. He is regarded as one of the foremost artists of various different artistic media, including ink (calligraphy) and oil painting. We are primarily interested though in his ability to paint stunning watercolours.

Watercolour painting began to influence Chinese art in the mid-19th century although it had been introduced there more than 100 years before that. Xu Beihong was initiated into the world of art by his father at the age of six. After working in Shanghai for several years he left to study in Tokyo in 1917 and followed this trip with another to France and Western Europe, learning and studying new techniques before returning to China in 1927. In 1940 Xu had the opportunity to paint some stunning Himalayan scenery when he exhibited in Calcutta and met famous Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Ghandi.

He blended Western watercolour techniques with Chinese Ink and Calligraphy techniques to create something unique, especially when painting wildlife. Watercolour painting lends itself well to botany and wildlife because of the details possible when using the medium. Xu became an important force in the direction art took in communist China after his release in 1948 of his book “Chinese Art: It’s Past and Future”, and his influence still presides over modern Chinese art. By the time of his death on September 26th 1953 he had become globally renowned and The Xu Beihong Museum in Beijing still honours his memory. Here you can see all his displayed work not just watercolours but oil on canvas and calligraphy among others. In his later years he became President of the Art College of Beiping, President of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and was elected Second Congress of the All-China Federation of Writer and Artists.

Forest Scene

Horse Grooming

Cat

Categories: Asian Artists.

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