1/3 My notes from the Watercolorist's Essential Notebook (section 1) - (Tools and tips)

"The Diligence with which you pursue your vision determines your artistic growth" -

 Gordon MacKenzie, The Complete Watercolorists's Essential Notebook, P128.

 

So, during a recent art-book online-shopping spree, I picked up a new copy of The Complete Watercolorists Essential Notebook- 10th anniv on Taobao for a very reasonable price of 129 RMB or 20USD, and thought I could help others by sharing some of the notes that I took from part 1 (Since I was surprised to learn that this book actually contains both the Essential Notebook, as well as the 'Landscapes' version.)

I'll start by saying that I intend to check out part 2 later on, but since it covers much of the same ground as part 1 (albeit in greater depth), I'll be taking a diversion through James Gurney's 'Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter' to balance out some of my knowledge and bring some opportunity to blend techniques and styles when I get around to putting brush to paper. I've heard great things about this book so I'm really looking forward to absorbing everything that I can! (In fact I could go on about Gurney's work/tutorials/blog but I'll save my 'art parents' spiel for another time) -  see video below if you're curious about the concept, it's well worth the watch in my opinion.

So, onto the notes:

1. Firstly, on colours:

• Mixing between brands is OK, but refer to the brand/colour chart in the book to identify some of the particular groups that don't mix well. (obviously the author spent a lot of time creating the table, see p14-15 of the book for a table including 12 brands and 34 colours/trade names- that's a total of 408 combinations that were tested for various characteristics!)
• Transparency: When working with transparent and opaque colours- you may add water for thinning opaques but lose intensity, so if intensity is desired, layer transparent colours instead.
• Stain vs Non-stain : If you're going to scrub your paint later, use non-stain. If you're going to push/lift or add salt for effect, use staining colours.
• Permanent vs Fugitive: refers to lifespan of the paint- can save money (I presume) and use fugitive for stuff like posters, newspapers etc.
• Flow: refers to the viscosity of a pigment on a wet surface. White paint can slow the flow. Transparent paints flow well. High flow helps colours to "explode".
• Highest influence comes from Staining and Transparency.
  

2. Brushes:

• Brush type: Seems there are so many variables and 3 full pages dedicated to just this, but the general gist that I got was as follows:  

Sable > Ox > Sabeline > Camel (refers to random animal) > Badger > Goat > Hog > Synthetic. 

• My set of ratings was super-generalised from the book's version, and I saw the author recommend certain Hog brushes whilst warning against others. 
• Snap: refers to the brushes ability to spring back when wet. Artists usually want a brush with a balance of snap and flexibility.
  
• In summary, in a shocking turn of events, you get what you pay for!

3. Paper!

• Paper is the single most important tool/resource for watercolour painting! This is where to spend the money. 
• "Best paper": 100% rag (cotton) fibre, pH7 (acid-free), handmade/mouldmade.
• "Texture": Basically 3 varieties, as follows:
  
• Hot press: Very smooth, detail-oriented, highest level of detail can be achieved here. Paint can slide on this surface.
  
• Cold press: Most popular paper, medium texture, reasonable level of detail.
• Rough: Good for loose textural effects, but poor level of detail.
• "Weight": Technically the weight of a ream of paper (500 sheets 22" x 30") - Doesn't necessarily denote quality. Heavier paper can generally absorb more water without buckling. recommended:
• Durability: Arches Waterford, T.H Saunders. (rough)
• Finesse: Strathmore, Winsor & Newton, Bockingford (soft)

4. Stretching paper:

1. Immerse and soak the paper 30-240 mins depending on weight.
2. Shake off excess water, place on board.
3. Smooth+remove water with a damp sponge, paper towel the edges.
4. Tape in place with ~1cm overlap, using dampened tape, and allow to dry in upright position.
   

5. Palettes:

Flat good, slanted bad. Don't want mucky water mixing into your clean paint!

6. Palette knives:

• Clean palette knives with 240-400gr sand paper+water.
• How to use: 
1. Load the knife : mix pigment on palette, not too thick.
2. Make marks, using different edges, angles and directions for different line quality/texture.
3. Make sure not to use the burred (sharp) edge. (refers to knife sharpening, the burr is the raised edge that results from running the blade along the whetstone.)
4. Can apply to wet or dry (dry can be faded by adding water).
   
5. Just 'play' and get a feel for it.

7. Sponge:

• We need a firm, opaque, cellulose sponge (retains its form well?)
• It's a fast and expressive tool.
• Cut slices for use (the book goes into quite a lot of detail for this)
• How to use:
1. Wear rubber gloves to prevent inky fingers.
2. Rub wet sponge in pigment, squeeze generous amounts into mixing area (we want a saturated sponge for painting)
3. Hold by the sides, with the holes perpendicular to the paper. 
4. Experiment with edges, faces etc.
5. Build up marks to form shapes. (paint coniferous trees from top to bottom, deciduous trees from centres of mass outwards)
   

 8. Masking materials:

 

• An efficient way to achieve negative painting in areas. 
• Can use candle wax, rubber cement, liquid latex or tape. (latter not for rough paper)
  
• Use the medium to cover the 'negative' area, allow to dry, then paint, then allow to dry again, then remove with rubber eraser/hot air (for tape).
• Techniques are covered later in the book.

That just about covers the first part today, please come back for parts 2 and 3 where I'll cover my notes on painting techniques, colour schemes, composition, idea generation and problem solving.