Floy Zittin's Watercolors and Workshops

Class Paintings of Facebook

2010-08-02T15:20:00.000-07:00

I have posted a number of the class paintings on my watercolor class facebook page. Here are the links:

Friday July 30 - paintings finished at home - click here

Friday July 30 - click here

Monday August 6 - click here

Transparent Glass Class

2010-07-23T20:03:00.000-07:00

We had a great time today working on still lifes with glass objects. I've posted eight of the class paintings at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=19226&id=125192950848216&saved

Painting Trees at SWA

2010-07-19T11:58:00.001-07:00

This last weekend I conducted a three day workshop for the Society of Western Artists focusing on effective watercolor techniques for painting trees, branches and foliage. Here I am demonstrating on canvas.

And here are a few of the artists working away. We really did have a good time and I know I learned A LOT! I've put examples of some of the paintings on Facebook.

Traveling Conversations

2010-07-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

Here's one shot from our reception with Jean and Terri H. and friends. And below is a shot of the 'sketchbook' wall without the crowd in front. Sixty nine paintings from over five years!

New Class Session in Menlo Park

2010-07-12T15:03:00.003-07:00

We started a new set of classes at Little House today. We really had some interesting paintings develop from our playing around. I posted 5 of them on the class facebook page - the link is below.

Click here

Conversations Workshop

2010-07-11T17:21:00.001-07:00

We had a great time at McCellan Ranch for our workshop and just perfect weather. Here are a few of the participants busy creating.

Here are a couple of the short 'conversations' we created-

Join us on Friday in Los Altos | Art Reception

2010-07-06T16:57:00.000-07:00

This Friday is the reception for a five year long art project that I did with two of my best friends, Elaine Frenett and Jean Warren. Elaine and Jean are both professional artists and in 2005 they both moved away from the Bay Area. We wanted to keep our friendship strong and as we've always had our art in common we agreed to communicate through painting.

The July 2010 show at Viewpoints Gallery is a collection of 70 paintings that were part of our ongoing 'conversation' from 2005 to 2010. What I like about this collection is the strong narrative thread that encapsulates a moment in time that we wanted to share with each other.

We hope that you'll join the three of us on July 9, 5pm to 8pm, at Viewpoints Gallery in Los Altos to help us celebrate the bond of friendship and art. The show runs through the end of July.

For fun we put together a book to compliment the show. It has all the paintings alongside a personal narrative for each one. If you're interested in this book it's available to order online. You can find it by clicking here: Traveling Conversations.

Hope to see you on Friday!

July 2 watercolor class on facebook

2010-07-02T17:14:00.000-07:00

We had a very interesting (to me) class today exploring transparent and opaque painting techniques. I've posted eight images of class paintings on July 2| Transparent and Opaqu e Please note that you can see comments and names by scrolling over the paintings. Click on date to see them all.

Find Class paintings on Facebook

2010-06-25T18:05:00.000-07:00

To see the latest class paintings visit the Floy Zittin's Watercolor Classes page on Facebook: Click here. I've posted five images from each class - click on class date to see them all.

New Workshop: Painting Trees, Branches and Foliage with Confidence

2010-06-23T11:12:00.000-07:00

I'm running a three day watercolor workshop focusing on painting trees with confidence. The dates for this workshop are July 16th through the 18th, from 9am to 4pm, at The Society of Western Artists Gallery in Redwood City. For full details and registration information please visit: www.floyzittin.com/news.

Join us on Facebook

2010-06-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

Since Facebook is more interactive than a blog I'd like to trial using it for my students. You can access the page for my watercolor classes by clicking here.

You don't have to be a member of Facebook to see the page. However if you are a member you'll be able to tag, or upload, your classwork so that your friends can see it too. Additionally, as a Facebook member, you'll also be able to 'like' this page which means you'll see any updates on your main feed. I fully encourage you to use the wall on this page to share watercolor resources and tips with your classmates.

Thank you for joining me in trialling a Facebook page for my classes and I look forward to this summer's watercolor painting sessions with you.

Floy Zittin Watercolor Classes on Facebook.

Summer schedule posted

2010-06-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

The Summer schedule for classes at Hillview Center, Los Altos is online at:
http://floyzittin.com/hillviewsummer10.htm

Lesson 73 - Painting a Floral without using a Brush

2010-05-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

One of my mentors, Jean Sorensen, used to brag that she never used a brush in creating her paintings. She painted wonderful studies of trees and woodlands using stamping techniques and drawing with twigs and a palette knives. So for this lesson I decided to try using these techniques on a floral motif. The challenge was for everyone to experiment with new ways of creating texture patterns and to see if they could create something that looked like flowers without using a brush. We came up with lots of wonderful paintings. Here are a few.

Jean used a credit card and sponge to paint this arrangement.

Kay painted most of her piece with the edge of a cardboard strip. This was done on brown paper using white paint with the watercolors.

Anna cut out a potato in concentric circles and used it to stamp a pattern suggesting roses.

Bev made stamps from a wide variety of objects, including shoe soles and used these to create a vibrant design.

Lesson 72 - Palms in the style of Sargent

2010-05-07T16:43:00.001-07:00

This lesson was inspired by a painting of palm trees by John Singer Sargent. I was interested in the variety of dark hues Sargent worked into his painting as well as the calligraphic brush strokes he used to represent palm fronds. We began with lesson by looking at Sargent's work and copying a bit of one of his palm paintings. Then was worked on a painting of palms from a photograph using his style.

Lavonne worked with a series of palms and used lots of warm darks.

Selma concentrated on one tree in front of a waterfall.

Celine has a pair of palms balanced by a small hill.

Carrie came up with a very stylized row of trees leaving lots of white areas.

Lesson 71 - Rocks and Water

2010-04-30T19:01:00.001-07:00

This lesson had two goals. First we wanted to make a blob of paint look like a group of rocks. We did this by using sharp edges, creating texture, wiping or scraping out light planes and adding dark accents. The second problem was to consider compositional arrangements of dark rocks and white rushing water. We began by playing with cut out paper shapes to get ideas for possible layouts. Finally we developed one of these designs into a painting. Here are a few of the results.

Karen used a credit card to scrape out planes and texture on her rocks.

Kazuyo's rocks are defined by lines and dark accents.

Bev's rocks with the orange colors and square tops suggest the southwest.

Carol used a palette knife for her texture and created an interesting variety of rock shapes and sizes.

Lesson 70-Monochromatic Portraits

2010-04-24T09:40:00.001-07:00

The purpose of this lesson was to reproduce a portrait from a photograph paying special attention to values or lightness and darkness of each area. We worked from black and white photographs, either old family photos or ones taken for this project in black and white. The photograph was transfered to watercolor paper using tracing paper or a grid system, or by projecting the image. Once the information about features and shapes was established we could concentrate on judging the value relationships in the face. As a final step we tinted areas with color using a light glaze. We really got some wonderful results for the short time we have to work.

Denise worked from a picture of her mother and added light glazes of color at the end.

Nancy began with a photo she liked that had strong side lighting.

Another Nancy started with a graduation photo of her mother.

And Emily started with her mother's wedding photograph.

Leslie worked from a photo she took of an interesting face.

Lesson Change

2010-04-16T17:37:00.000-07:00

At the request of one student ! we will be switching the order of a couple of the classes. Next week we will be working on portraits and everyone should come prepared to work on a realistic, monochromatic face.

Lesson 69 - Flowers with a Border

2010-04-16T17:20:00.000-07:00

An interesting way to create depth in graphic design is to play with a subject and a border. The subject can overlap a border or disappear behind a border and the border becomes part of the overall composition. In this lesson we played with this idea using a floral subject. Besides the challenge of designing with the floral shapes, there was also the problem of deciding on the colors of the background and of the border itself. We did come up with some very successful paintings. (Note - the degree that the paintings are skewed is due to my photography.)

Selma worked with a bouquet of tulips and a dark gray border.

Jan used a dark border with a light wash behind her flowers.

Carla used a blue green band to tie her dark shapes together.

Rita surrounded her flower with a very dark background and lighter borders.

Lesson 68 - Yellow Green, Red Violet Complements

2010-04-11T09:07:00.000-07:00

Yellow green and red violet are a complementary pair and sit opposite each other on the color wheel. When mixed together they create a perfect neutral gray and when used side by side they enhance and brighten each other. We began this exercise by exploring colors on our palette and finding which were true complements that would create a true neutral when mixed. These were not always the obvious choices. After finding a complement pair we explored varying value by creating light and dark versions of our hues and varying intensity be creating semi-neutrals. Finally we used this complement pair in a painting.

Lois chose to paint a floral and used the complements in the background as well as on the flowers.

Denise worked on a landscape. Notice how she used the yellow green - red violet in the sky.

Elaine worked with red and green fruit. Set side by side each enhances the other's color.

Carol glazed layers of yellow green and red violet to bring out her floral shapes.

Lesson 67 Two Point Perspective

2010-04-02T16:50:00.001-07:00

Every so often we have to review perspective theory. This session we tackled two-point perspective where we are looking at the corner of a building. The subject was a street corner, or a corner store and the challenge was to depict architecture retreating in two directions. Here are the results.

Nancy chose some old buildings in Murphy, California.

Mike mistakenly painted on the back of his backing board but still came out with an interesting painting.

Kay worked on a complicated business built on a hill.

Celine drew her painting in pen and ink and added light watercolor washes.

Lesson 66 Calla Lilies - Negative Painting

2010-03-26T18:09:00.000-07:00

This lesson was inspired by a project in Karlyn Holman's book, Watercolor - the Spirit of Spontaneity. The idea was to begin with a wet in wet underpainting and to superimpose flower shapes. We tried actually cutting out calla lily shapes and positioning them on the underpainting. We traced around these shapes and painted the background in darker to define the flowers. Here are a few of the results:

Kazuyo painted around her shapes with washes that matched the underpainting so that her flowers almost appear transparent.

Karen painted her background much darker but the initial painting still shows in the flowers.

Emily's flowers have an ethereal feel.

Lavonne began with a textured background and warm colors.

Workshop Day 2

2010-03-23T09:54:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple images from the second day of the workshop. Kathy's painting is done on canvas and Martha's on paper - both sealed with gesso. I love the way the two have such different styles even though they began with the same reference material.

Weekend Workshop - Gesso

2010-03-20T17:27:00.000-07:00

This two day workshop was designed to explore painting on either paper or canvas which had been primed with gesso. The surface handles differently than traditional watercolor paper but allows for experimentation as one paints. Our exercises the first day involved lifting shapes out of a textured background.
Here is an example of shapes lifted out of a wet-in-wet wash.

And here are a couple of more polished floral studies done by lifting out without any preliminary drawing.

Lesson 65 Painting with a Moon

2010-03-13T13:22:00.000-08:00

One can find lots of horrible paintings and photographs where the artist tries to incorporate a moon in the work. The moon can be so eye catching that it is important to consider carefully the moon's size and position in relation to other shapes in the painting to create balance. Another possibility is to keep the moon subtle so that it is only found secondarily in the painting. Our goal in this exercise was to come up with a pleasing composition which included a moon.

MaryAnn found a bold design where a large moon is balanced by a bird shape. She washed over the upper portion of the moon to modify the circle shape.

Herching worked with a Yosemite subject where the moon was kept subtle and the focus is on the waterfall.

In Kazuyo's piece the moon is balanced by the amorphous light shape.

Rita created a design where the moon and it's reflection is balanced by the boat.

Lesson 64 Masa Paper

2010-03-06T09:05:00.001-08:00

This lesson revolved around techniques popularized by Cheng-Khee Chee using Masa paper. This rice paper has sizing on one side which can be broken by crumpling and wadding the paper. When it is painted on paint collects in the cracks giving the painting a batik effect. This works particularly well in depictions of foliage and winter trees. Here are a few of the paintings from the class.

The crinkle texture in Karen's painting became rocks and evergreens.

Denise left a lot more light areas with the texture suggesting misty trees.

Marilyn sketched in her figures in waterproof ink before she started and worked the path scene around them.

Carol developed a large foreground tree and rich hills and grassy areas.

Lesson 63 Sports Action Compositions

2010-02-26T20:26:00.000-08:00

In this lesson we considered figures in action. We first thought of them as shapes and placed them in a rectangle or square to create an exciting layout. We began with a series of 7 minute studies. In each we sketched a silhouette of the figure and laid out a rectangle around it which would surround the shape in an interesting way. Here are some on Lynn's studies.

Some of the figures are positive shapes, darker than the background, and some are negative shapes, lighter than the background. Next we chose one design to work into a more finished painting. Here are a few.
Jan has a bold figure shape connected to the left edge.

Dan has two figures skating slightly off center.

Nancy worked on another skier, this time connected to the right hand edge.

Lesson 62 Water Ripples and Sparkles

2010-02-19T17:45:00.001-08:00

This lesson was designed to experiment with various ways to depict water ripples and sun sparkles. We tried lifting, dry brush, scraping and using various brush strokes and mask. The idea was to let each person find a technique which worked well with his or her style. Here are a few of the larger exercises.

Carrie used large bold brush strokes to mimic the way she treated the clouds and hills.

Bev used a lifting technique to suggest ripples in the lower section.

Celine dragged a dry brush to create the skips behind the reeds which read as sun sparkles.

Jean worked with a combination of brush work, lifting and scraping to create a variety of water effects in her landscape.

Lesson 61 Liftiing Out Flower Shapes

2010-02-13T09:18:00.000-08:00

I think sometimes watercolorists rely too much on mask when dealing with light shapes, so for this lesson we explored possibilities of lifting paint off both wet and dry paper. We used flowers and weeds for subjects and lifted with paper towels, stiff brushes, sponges, stencils and credit cards. First we experimented with small studies. For the larger work, we laid in a dark wash combining several colors which completely covered the paper. The challenge was to work from this medium dark value back to the lighter shapes by lifting paint out using these various means. Here are some of the results.

Alice used paper towels and a brush to lift off the soft flower shapes and the vase.

Emily focused in on the blossoms, lifting out the petals and center shapes.

Adelheid was able to lift almost back to white with the paints she used.

Lois lifted very delicate lines and shapes off of her initial wash.

Lesson 60 Candy Compositions

2010-02-06T15:39:00.000-08:00

For this lesson we brought in Valentine's Day candy to set up arrangements using six different compositional formats. Everyone did six small studies and some went on to complete a larger painting based on one of the sketches. Here are examples of the six formats.

Lynn arranged her candy to connect with all four edges for a cruciform layout.

Linda worked with a horizontal bar idea. I like the formal arrangement of hearts with the loose painting style.

This is Carol's small study of a 'division of space' composition.

Below is Nancy's small study of a circular arrangement. Each candy leads to the next. (This one and the last, Carol's, are rotated 90 degrees. Blogspot would not let me load them in the correct orientation)

Rita included her hand in a vignetted design.

Finally, this is Teresa's painting using an 's' curve composition.

Lesson 59 - Designing with Value Shapes

2010-01-30T11:28:00.000-08:00

The challenge in this lesson was to simplify a design down to a basic value shape, either a light shape or a dark shape on a mid value field. We also added an accent of the opposite light or dark value in the focal area. We worked on a landscape problem, first as a collage laying black and white paper on a gray background. After this was completed we painted a small version of the scene trying to keep the value relationships we had designed. Here are a few of the results.

Nancy worked with white shapes and a dark accent area.

LaVonne worked with dardk shapes and a light accent near the top.

Susan chose curvy light shapes and used cows for the dark accents.

Bev used a sunlight area and the light accent in her dark design shapes.

Lesson 58 - Designing with color shapes

2010-01-17T11:08:00.000-08:00

This lesson was inspired by silk scarves. Sometimes it is easier to think of pleasing color schemes when visualizing something to wear or use in home decorating. The challenge here was to design a scarf or fabric with a tropical fish motif. We first reviewed some color theory and then worked out a design leaving a white edge around shapes. This allowed us to color in shapes without waiting for paint to dry and the white lines also served to unify the work. Here are four of the exercises.

Lois built a design around yellow orange and yellow green with blue violet accents.

Kazuyo began with an orange background, used analogous colors for the sea weed shapes, and used the complement for the fish.

Jan began with a bright blue and contrasted this with a range of yellows to orange to red.

Emily started with a bright yellow green. She used a variety of analogous colors for most of the shapes except for the red/orange accent fish.

Winter Class Schedule Online Now

2010-01-07T17:37:00.000-08:00

This winter's watercolor class schedule is now online. My Monday class is already full but I still have some spaces left in the Friday classes. You can sign up online through the Los Altos Parks and Rec.

The Friday 9 to 12 class is course reference: 330508-01
The Friday 12:30 to 3:30 class is course reference: 330508-02

The course schedule for Friday's students is available here.
The course schedule for Monday's students is available here.

I hope to see you all there!

Nancy's painting finished

2009-11-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

Because we only have a couple hours to paint in class most paintings are unfinished when I photograph them. Nancy completed hers after class and sent me this image. The lines and darker values really complete the work.

Lesson 57 Children's Book Illustration

2009-11-14T12:52:00.000-08:00

Each session I schedule in one lesson dealing with figures. I usually try and talk people out of working with someone they know but for this lesson we dealt with the problem head on by thinking of the studies as whimsical book illustrations. We began by working of 2 minute sketches in pen or pencil from photos of children playing and a second series of 2 minute sketches in wash. Then we developed one of these into a possible line and wash book illustration.

The idea for this project came from Nancy who is working on a book for her granddaughter. This is the title page she worked out in the class.

Lynn took her studies, lined them up and added Peter Rabbit.

Adelheid began with a family photo and turned it into a charming illustration.

Nancy began with photos she had taken of kids playing in the fountain. The fairy was developed from another of the children.

Cheryl began with a photo of a similar set up but simplified it into a charming composition.

Lesson 56 Semi abstract fall fruit

2009-11-07T19:29:00.000-08:00

This lesson was inspired by projects in Karlyn Holman's book Spirit of Spontaneity. We began with a pencil drawing of pomegranates or persimmons. We chose four colors from around the color wheel and and used these wet in wet to create a underpainting around the fruit shapes. Next we worked out a rectangle or geometric shapes overlapping our subjects. Finally we worked around the composition, sometimes painting within a shape, sometimes outside a shape to create an exciting interplay of foreground and background.

Lavonne's painting is part way done. You can clearly see the underpainting and how she has painted inside and outside edges of the background rectangle.

Marilyn painted her fruit more realistically with her rectangle lost and found in the background.

Sue let the geometric shapes run through her fruit so that they are only subtly showing in the background.

Emily's persimmons are very lifelike even though the values have been altered so that they interact with the background shapes.

We do a short critique at the end of each three hour class. The paintings from this exercise looked particularly striking together on the blackboard.

Lesson 55 Furry Animals

2009-10-31T11:49:00.000-07:00

How does one paint fur? In this lesson we experimented with different ways of dragging and stamping to create fur texture, working wet in wet to make a blurry, fuzzy edge and creating a jagged edge to a shape to read as fur. Next we worked on a portrait of a furry animal using these various approaches.

Barbara used dry brush stokes to create a fur texture and negative painted an irregular edge on the right, sunlit side of the dog to say 'fur'.

Dan began working very wet letting the paint form blurry edges. Later he sharpened up the left edge and added line work on the right in the tail.

Nancy worked with flat patches of color letting the jagged edges say 'fur'.

Rochelle used the red to paint a sharp furry edge around her cat and used gray to create some jagged edges in the neck fur.

Lesson 54 Color and Value

2009-10-25T17:37:00.000-07:00

For this lesson we were using watercolor paints full strength from the tubes - applying them much as an oil painter would. We wanted to determine the value of the various undiluted pigments. We began with a value scale marked off in white plus 10 increments of greys ending in black. Next we assigned tube colors a value by comparing a color swatch with our scale. Finally we took a black and white photo, imagined in as a 'paint by number' arrangement of value shapes and painted each shape in with the color that best approximated its value.

Here is Liz's color chart and a small landscape.

Norma's mountains and yellow sky worked particularly well.

Elaine also ended up with a yellow sky and various greens and oranges in her landscape.

Carrie was able to make sense out of a complicated beach scene .

Lesson 53 Pressed Textures

2009-10-17T16:30:00.001-07:00

One way to create interesting textures in watercolor is to press objects into a wet wash, let it dry, and remove the objects. The pigments will collect at the edges or under folds and form shapes. Crumpled plastic wrap is an old standby. Shapes cut out of mylar, bubble wrap, corrugated cardboard, stretched out gauze are all fun to play with. For this exercise we laid a wet wash of two colors in a horizontal band across the paper and set in a variety of stuff. Once this dried and the objects removed we added smooth washes to the top and bottom portions of the design. The textures now suggest rocks or hills which we refined.

Wendy turned her textured band into coastal rocks.

Mary Ann saw mountains and trees.

Leslie found bold stylized hill forms.

Bev is beginning to paint in portions of the texture shapes which may become rocks.

Lesson 52 Fall Leaves

2009-10-10T16:09:00.001-07:00

Each session I incorporate one lesson were we look at a subject closely and strive for photo realism. For this lesson we studied fall leaves. We were lucky to find richly colored leaves to work with and ones with interesting twists and folds. We set the leaves on white paper and incorporated shadows to give additional dimension to the work.

Emily had to work around the light veins in this leaf plus depict the dark mottled pattern.

Carla worked on an arrangement of three differently colored leaves.

Susan found wonderful variation on dark browns in what at first glance looked like a rather drab leaf.

Elaine also worked with dried brown leaves, but in her case she focused on giving the leaves form and making them look three dimensional.

Cannon Beach, Oregon

2009-10-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

I got a bit behind in class blog postings because I took a trip up to visit my paintings in Northwest by Northwest Gallery in Cannon Beach, Oregon. Dave and I had a wonderful time exploring the coast and I feel inspired to paint some rocks and waves!

Lesson 51 Creating Mood Using Color and Line

2009-10-06T17:11:00.000-07:00

For this exercise we played with creating different moods by varying color schemes and by emphasizing different types of lines.
Here Linda has created a bright, cheery study -

And here she has created a more somber mood -

In Lois's first study she used angular lines and brighter colors-

And in her second piece she emphasized curvy shapes and used a monochromatic palette.

Lesson 50 Aspen Trees

2009-09-27T16:27:00.001-07:00

We are beginning classes again after a long break. For this first exercise we began with a wet-in-wet under-painting. The goal was to let several colors grade into each other by tipping the paper, and to create a light pathway through the work. Next we considered interesting placement of aspen trunks. After these were drawn in we painted around each trunk with a glaze dark enough so that the trunks stood out but light enough so that the under-painting showed through. We repeated this again and added dark accents and background foliage. We didn't have time to finish but here are a few part way along.

Even without linking dark shapes and background foliage, Leslie's painting has a real sense of depth.

Lynn's under-painting suggests shapes and gives this piece a mysterious quality.

Nancy used a wide range of colors in her under-painting and was able to maintain the bright hues as she added glazes.

Rita worked with yellows and greens in the initial stages and later added the oranges and browns for contrast.

Alexander's Fine Art Gallery

2009-09-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of me painting in the window during a reception at Alexander's Fine Art Gallery, Pleasanton, CA.

Northwest by Northwest Gallery

2009-08-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

My paintings are now shown at Northwest by Northwest Gallery in Cannon Beach Oregon. I'll be at the gallery October 3rd from 1-3pm. If anyone from the Bay Area is heading up that way, please let me know - also check out the link below!
http://coastexplorermagazine.com/news.php?id=116

Lesson 49 Whimsical Animals

2009-08-16T08:50:00.000-07:00

The challenge for this lesson was to create a series of four paintings of farm animals which might be appropriate for greeting cards or a children's book. Sometimes it is as difficult to create a drawing that looks simple and whimsical as it is to paint something more realistically. We began by doing a series of quick two minute studies from photographs of farm animals. For the first group we did contour, outline drawings with pen; for the second group we used brush and puddles of paint to do quick silhouettes. For the final drawings we sketched in pencil, outlined in ink and added a flat, wet wash which we tried to keep 'out of register' with the pen lines.

Claire left lots of white but we are still able to make sense of the pose.

Nancy added bits of red in the wet wash on the sheep.

Jeff left unpainted areas on the face and back and worked with two colors in his wash.

Carrie used different weight pen lines and bold green color for her goat.

Lesson 48 agricultural fields

2009-08-08T12:34:00.001-07:00

Rows of crops make interesting design elements to work with. The rows can lead the eye into deep space or around the contours of hills or can serve as patterns in a design of shapes.
When rows converge on a vanishing point it is important to have other strong elements balance the overall design. In Lynn's painting, the rows converge on the left and she as added yellow trees and a foreground post to the right to create balance.

Mary Ann had a similar problem and she found dark tree shapes on the left to create balance.

In Jessalyn's painting and field rows lead the eye left, then right to the upper trees which take the viewer across to the large foreground tree.

Jean's foreground rows act as a stripped pattern which is repeated in the cypress trees

More paintings of collages

2009-08-08T12:23:00.000-07:00

Bev was not happy with the image of her unfinished painting which I posted last week and asked me to post the more polished version. Here it is -

Clair and Jean also brought in paintings of their collages which they had worked on during the week. Here is Claire's -

And Jean's -

Lesson 47 - Linking Value Shapes

2009-08-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

One way to organize material for a strong composition is to think in terms of light or dark shapes
that are linked to each other and carry the eye through the painting. For this exercise we began with a magazine photo of an interior scene. We cut this up into random pieces and rearranged the segments so that dark shapes touched dark shapes and light touched light. We added smaller pieces to complete the linkage of lights and darks. Finally we worked on a painting of the design we had created.
Here is Bev's collage. Notice how the dark shapes are all connected.

And here is her painting.

Leslies's collage had interconnecting light areas.

Here is the beginning of Leslie's painting. I like the variations of the grid pattern.

Emily had some strong colors to work with in her collage.

Here is Emily's painting.

Lesson 46 - Purple and Yellow

2009-07-24T18:26:00.001-07:00

Purple and yellow are a particularly difficult complementary pair to work with because of the extreme difference in their values and tinting strength. For this exercise we first made a chart of light, medium and dark yellows and violets. It is tricky to get a dark yellow (brown) which does not read as either a green or an orange. We also experimented with various mixtures of yellow and purple. Next we chose a black and white landscape photograph with strong light and dark values. The challenge was to create a painting where the lights were both light yellow and light violet, the medium values were made up a variety of mixtures, and the darks were painted with both violets and dark yellows.

Sheauli created a predominately violet painting with yellow touches in the sky and trees as well as the obvious accents on the mountain and in the water.

Lois worked with various values and intensities of yellow with light violet in the mountains and water.

Alice found both yellow and violet in the buildings, trees and rocks and sky.

Jan created a beautiful gradation of yellow to violet in her sky, rocks and water.

Lesson 45 - Fruit Close-Ups

2009-07-10T19:30:00.000-07:00

The challenge for this lesson was to compose a design of bright colored round objects. We each brought in bright fruit, plates and mats and set up small still life arrangements. We used view finders and made several small colored sketches to try out possibilities. We were looking for interesting division of space, repetition of circular shapes and bright, saturated colors. Here are four of Karen's sketches.

And here are three larger studies.

Kacie chose to zoom in extremely close to the grapes and cherries around the base of her apple.

Emily also found a small portion of her fruit set-up to focus in on. Small sections of various fruit give enough information to tell what is going on.

Marge included portions of her dark mat and table with the plate of fruit. The white plate and dark mat enhance the strong colors of the fruit.

Lesson 44 Flat and Graded Washes

2009-06-27T11:44:00.001-07:00

One of the first lessons in a beginning watercolor class is how to lay down a flat and a graded wash. This is actually a tricky thing to do in watercolor, particularly on the cheaper watercolor papers. In this lesson we revisited the subject. The biggest challenge in preparing for laying in a flat wash over a large area is to get enough color mixed up before you start. We used paper cups to mix up at least a couple tablespoons of rich color. Dampening the paper first helps, as does keeping the paper at an angle so it dries from top to bottom. Here are two examples of skies done with a rich flat wash. Both Barbara and Leslie contrasted the flat sky with a loose, textured treatment of waves.

Next we practiced laying in a graded wash working from dark to light and at the same time from warm to cool hues. Graded washes give the painting a sense of depth. In these two examples Brian and Nancy create a sense of deep space using graded washes and bring the foreground even close with accents.

Back in Class with Lesson 43

2009-06-19T19:04:00.000-07:00

We began a new series of classes with a project involving sunflowers. The idea was to lift sunflower shapes out of a saturated wet background. We brushed colors on very wet paper and let them grade into each other be tipping the sheet various ways. Flowers were lifted out by dabbing with paper towels. Yellow color was added back into the petals while the paper was still damp to create soft edges. When everything was dry we brought out some of the edges by darkening the background in places. Here are some examples by Jean, Carrie, Carla and Rita.

Summer Class Space

2009-05-23T15:15:00.000-07:00

This summer I am offering classes through the City of Los Altos for the first time. There was some confusion with the registration process and people were told that the classes were full. There is still room in both classes - particularly in the afternoon class - and I would appreciate everyone passing the word around. Register at www.losaltosrecreation.org Thanks.

Lesson 42 Still Life on Reflective Surfaces

2009-05-23T14:23:00.001-07:00

This lesson was inspired by paintings of Charles LeClair, particularly ones he included in his book "Color in Contemporary Painting". LeClair used plexiglass and other reflective surfaces to create variations of an image and to bounce color around a composition. In class we set up small still life arrangements on plexiglass or shiny plastic sheets and also experimented with propping up these reflective surfaces vertically behind the still life.

Sheauli set up her objects on a sheet of blue plexi on a brown table. Her reflections show the fruit's color tinged with blue.

Rita's yellow flowers are reflected on the shiny plastic sheet below and also on the glass vase behind.

Emily used the blue plexiglass and reflections to create a striking arrangement of predominately horizontal and vertical shapes.

Brian used clear plexiglass and plastic both under and behind his setup to create a pleasing play of blue and orange shapes.

Carrie added shiny metal to the challenge. She has reflections on the tray and bowl as well as under and behind these objects.

No Class

2009-05-19T11:38:00.000-07:00

I was not teaching this week - instead I was participating in the Los Altos Rotary Fine Art in the Park. It was a HOT weekend but the Rotary folks who run the show are so well organized and they treat the artists so well that it was an enjoyable weekend.

Lesson 41 Self Portraits

2009-05-09T09:40:00.001-07:00

Every so often we review the placement of features on a face. The easiest situation to deal with is a face in straight front view. After determining the general size of the skull on the page, the oval is divided into quarters with the horizontal mid-line representing the eye line. An eye width is roughly one quarter of the eye line and there is approximately an eye width between the eyes. Once the eyes are located other features are placed using eyes as reference. We went through the guidelines for placing features step by step checking these against our own faces using a mirror.

Here I am checking my face with Dan working in the background. Everyone complains about having to draw themselves but we came up with some great paintings in the short class session. Here are examples by Emily, Selma, Nancy and Kazuyo.

Summer Class Listing

2009-05-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

The following is the listing for my summer watercolor class offered through the City of Los Altos. Participants can start registering Friday, May 15th. They can register on the phone 650.947.2790, in person at the community center or online at losaltosrecreation.org.

Watercolor Explorations

Students will experiment with various watercolor techniques, as well as look at problems of color and design in painting landscapes, still life and the human figure.
Equipment Note: Bring basic watercolor supplies to the first day of class.
Hillview Rm 13 Zittin
130508-01 18+yrs Fri 6/19-8/14* 9am-12pm
130508-02 18+yrs Fri 6/19-8/14* 12:30-3:30pm
Residents $70 All Others $82
*No class 7/3, 7/17

Lesson 40 Compositional Formats

2009-05-03T14:58:00.001-07:00

The object of this lesson was to take one park or garden scene and to arrange the components into a variety of compositional formats. We began with pencil sketches making a scene into a cruciform, radial or s-curve design. Later we experimented with high or low horizons, cantilever or circular arrangements.

Jesslyn experimented with a high horizon in a vertical format. She pushed her subject matter to the top and let the bottom portion of the painting be a simple large shape.

Catalina also pushed her interesting shapes into the upper area and created a zig-zag path through the lower portion.

Bev chose a radial format with fields and fences leading to the house. Later she added the red roof to the second building which acts as a secondary interest area and balances the design.

Susanne used foliage edges to create a circular pathway framing an area of interest.

Summer Classes

2009-04-29T17:04:00.000-07:00

My summer classes have been in a bit of flux. Finally everything is settled. I'll be teaching same times, same location through the City of Los Altos. Details are on my website. http://floyzittin.com/classes.html

Lesson 39 Wet-in-Wet Flowers

2009-04-25T19:42:00.001-07:00

The purpose of this lesson is to explore the properties of paper when it is saturated wet and as it slowly dries. When the paper is puddle-y wet colors will run together and by tilting the paper it is possible to get wonderful graded washes. As the paper dries, paint will run less. There is a magical point where a line will hold it's definition but with a fuzzy edge. The trick is to use a drier brush as the paper drys - a too wet brush will lead to back-runs. It also helps to keep the paper at an angle and wipe off beads of water that accumulate at the bottom.
We set up small still life bouquets and tried two studies, one painting directly with no preliminary drawing and a second with basic shapes drawn out. The challenge was to first produce a background of graded colors on super-wet paper, put in some 'out of focus' fuzzy shapes as the paper dried and finally add sharp edged shapes on dry paper.

Jan created a beautiful background wash of primary colors. The tulip edges were put in with undiluted paint on damp paper.

Marilyn painted a subtle background wash and tulips with have a gradation of soft to hard edges.

Leslie created an interplay of positive and negative flower shapes each with some sharp and some blurred edges.

Marge worked with a bouquet of roses. The blossoms were put in loosely on damp paper and the lower ones were given sharper edges as the paper dried.

Small Works

2009-04-23T17:16:00.000-07:00

I just completed two small 8" square pieces on canvas. I wanted the American Goldfinch to be overlooking a progression of hills and I placed the cardinal low down in the landscape.

Lesson 38 Gesso-ed surface

2009-04-12T12:17:00.000-07:00

For my own paintings I routinely seal watercolor paper with gesso before beginning to paint. The paint then makes wonderful textures and can be easily lifted back to almost pure white. For this lesson the challenge was to paint a crashing wave and seagull on gesso-ed paper. A wave provides lots of opportunities to lift out spray and foam patterns. I also wanted to demonstrate with the seagull how a more detailed, controlled shaped can be lifted out. We first coated paper with two coats of thinned gesso. Next we put on mid value to dark blues and greens around a white wave shape. The trick to refining this basic design is to use a light touch and lots of water. Glazing can be done by going over an area once; brushing over a damp area will lift off paint. Paint can be lifted by spraying or drawing with water and applying paper towels and pressure. This surface takes a bit of getting used to but can be great fun. Here are some of our results.

Betty laid in a rich blue for the background and created soft edges on her spray pattern. She also lifted out the lighter areas on the rocks.

Elaine was able to glaze over the water multiple times which resulted in a wonderful gradation of colors. She found these same hues in the shadowed areas of the gull.

Nancy lifted out fine details on the gull and she found beautiful reflections under the rock.

Bev applied the gesso thickly with a palette knife and the resulting ridges create another layer of texture which suggest wave crests. Her bird has just been lifted out and will be refined to serve as an accent.

Splash 11

2009-04-08T20:48:00.000-07:00

I received the official notice today that my painting 'Cooper's Hawk' on canvas will be included in Northlight' Book's Publication Splash 11 - "New Directions". The publication will come out July 2010. I'm very excited and have to take the painting over to be photographed tomorrow.

Lesson 37 Experimenting with Liquid Mask

2009-04-05T17:38:00.000-07:00

For this exercise we started with a wet-in-wet underpainting and dribbled in liquid mask while the paper was still damp.

After the paper dried and we removed the mask we had white, highlight areas with soft edges. Next we painted around flower shapes keeping the white areas to create a feeling of sparkling sunlit petals.

Rita created daffodil shapes over the abstract underpainting. I like the way the blossoms dissolve into the background.

Teresa worked with calla lilies and the white areas create interesting abstract patterns on the flower shapes.

Nancy's painting has a feeling of depth. She used a series of glazes to create background blossoms.

Carrie's dribbles became the centers of her blossoms leading her to create a garden of stylized flower shapes.

Finished Blackbirds

2009-04-02T17:46:00.001-07:00

I've posted stages of my 'Blackbirds' paintings - here is the final image. It will be part of my show at Viewpoints Gallery this month.

Lesson 36 - Light and Shadow on Buildings

2009-03-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

Light and shadow shapes on buildings make a great tool in composing a design. For this exercise we put tracing paper over a photo of a sunlit building and traced out a pathway of light (sunlit shapes) or dark (shadow shapes). Tracing paper obscures details in the photo making it easier to see how value areas combine to make new, more interesting shapes which can lead the eye through a painting.

Carla created a light area along the roof which joins the lighter grid trim which, in turn creates a pathway through the painting.

The roof trim in Nancy's painting also connects to the light sky and the white in the foreground. The subtle, angled shadows make a nice contrast to the vertical - horizontal lines of the building.

Lois used dark shapes to organize her design. Here, the green shadows tie in with the green roofs and bushes.

Emily created a wonderful abstract dark design against a white background. Notice how the light and dark shapes are interconnected and how positive horizontal shapes in the upper portion are repeated as negative shapes for the tables.

Lesson 35 - Positive/Negative Letters

2009-03-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

Positive shapes are darker than the background; negative shapes are lighter than the background. A shape can also be darker than the background on one side and lighter on the other. It's an interesting problem to create shapes which go from positive to negative and to create text within these shapes which also gradate from negative to positive. Here are a few examples of what we came up with in class.

Rita created a playful market scene with text grading from positive to negative and lost and found edges of rectangle shapes.

Joanne was able to grade her letters against a loose abstract background. I like the negative cat and dog shapes she added.

Jan created a playful design of bright colored rectangles and text. The bright colors are repeated in the background and in the text and carry the eye through the painting.

Celine worked with Chinese characters. The large one is positive on the right and negative on the lower left. The edges of some of the rectangles disappear the the loose under-painting shows through.

Blackbird Painting

2009-03-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

We are in a break between class sessions at the moment and I miss being able to show off what I have been working on. So I'm trying to document this month's painting as I go along. For this piece I knew I wanted to work with reds and Naples yellow and blue violet. I started with a wet in wet wash and a splash of color.

At this point I knew I wanted birds flying but not which kind. After several trials the obvious choice seemed to be Red-winged Blackbirds. Here they are blocked in.

The next step was to work out a connection between the splash and the birds.

I'll continue with this and post more next week.

Small Works

2009-03-09T17:39:00.000-07:00

These are a series of small pieces I completed for a commission.

Class Critique

2009-03-06T17:32:00.000-08:00

My classes are structured around a lesson challenge. Participants have roughly one and a half hours to work on a small (around 11" x 14") painting dealing with the problem presented. In the last half hour of class we take a look at what everyone has come up with. As you can see in the photo paintings are not displayed in mats and can be quite crowded together because we have a large group. Therefore, I enjoy being able to show a few of them on the web each week in a better format. But I love the variety of solutions people come up with to class problems and I love the way an individual's personality comes through in his or her painting - especially working under pressure.

Lesson 34 Whimsical Portraits

2009-03-01T10:47:00.000-08:00

Many people find portraits intimidating so for this exercise the goal was to have fun and not worry at all about achieving a likeness. We began by using photos which had been distorted in some way on the computer. Next we made a contour line drawing of the face by using a pen to draw around major shapes and lines of the image beginning at a focal point area. Finally we added watercolor washes to complete the study.

Teresa began with a photo which had been elongated horizontally so the shoulders and ears are way out of proportion. The resulting painting is still very appealing.

Nancy took a photo of a friend and elongated it vertically. She ended up with a wonderful, playful study built on opposing angles.

Jan used a 'pinch' function on her computer to squeeze in the features of the face and enlarge the hat. She added pen line texture in the background to compliment the wrinkles in the face.

Leslie used bold pen lines to create an interesting division of space in a super close up of an elongated face.

Lesson 33 Fog

2009-02-22T10:41:00.001-08:00

The challenge in this lesson was to create a sense of low light and fog. We also wanted to have a feeling of depth in the painting.
First we considered color intensity. Colors become less intense as objects recede. We mixed complements to gradually decrease color intensity and found a variety of grayed colors to use. Too often painters rely on one neutral to create gray tones.

Second, we created a simple scene using these grayed colors, beginning with a wet-in-wet background. In the distance value contrast decreases and there are fewer details and softer edges.

Ruskin painted the background hills wet in wet to create lost edges. He was able to balance these shapes with small detail in the foreground.

Sue set a figure in the distance by creating detail and stronger values in the foreground.

Rita let her trees disappear gradually into the distance. The detail and stronger hues in front bring the foreground forward.

Carol used wet in wet technique to create soft edges in the background shapes and more intense color in the foreground.

Lesson 32 Creating textures using masking fluid

2009-02-15T17:12:00.000-08:00

Masking fluid is often used to save white details in watercolor paintings but it can also be employed to create a variety of textures. For this lesson we experimented applying liquid mask with twigs, sponges, crumpled paper and anything else we could find to draw or stamp with. When the mask was dry we painted a simple landscape scene and used the textured areas to suggest foliage, flowers or trees. Here are some examples.

Celine dabbed mask in the foreground to suggest flower shapes and she also used it to create snow patterns on the mountains.

Alice drew fine lines of masking fluid to show ridges in the mountains and trees in the foreground.

Herching stamped on mask in different thicknesses to create a feeling of flower clumps receding.

Chris applied quite a bit of mask in the initial stages and was able to develop foreground detail as well as to suggest distant flowers

Lesson 31 Drapery Folds

2009-02-07T09:31:00.000-08:00

Cloth folds can be difficult of paint and, when poorly done, can ruin a still life painting. In this lesson we focused in on fold anatomy. The trick is to treat each fold individually and keep in mind that each change in direction, from horizontal to vertical for example, will need to be shown with a change in value. First we practiced making a graded wash to depict one fold and then set up a simple still life on folded fabric.

This is Ali's study of one fold. The stripe also helps to define the contours of the cloth.

Kazuyo buried her lemons in a crumpled white towel. It is an interesting problem to show folds on white fabric and still have it look white.

Sue set up a complicated fold arrangement in the lower part of her composition. The angular folds mimic the angular design on the bottle.

Bev worked with a darker piece of fabric. I like the way the fabric seems to recede into the distance in this painting.

Lesson 30 - Winslow Homer style value study

2009-01-31T19:02:00.000-08:00

Winslow Homer was not afraid to use white paint for accents in his paintings. He also experimented with value studies on toned paper. For this lesson's challenge we coated a sheet of watercolor paper with a mid value wash and worked out a composition of dark shapes on top. Finally we decided which area needed more emphasis and added accents with opaque white watercolor.

Jim covered his paper with a light purple wash and used the white paper to highlight the sun and edges of the boat.

Georgine used a gray wash and chose to highlight the distant small boat.

Emily began with a reddish brown wash and highlighted the foreground boat edges.

Sheauli began with ocher tones and used the white accent in the background to create interest in the left side of the painting.

Lesson 29 Designing with Chair Shapes

2009-01-24T16:22:00.000-08:00

In this lesson we began with photographs of chairs and experimented cropping them to make the most pleasing arrangement of shapes within a rectangle window.

Emily focused in on a row of chairs and chose a long narrow format.

Alice used only one chair and repeated the vertical lines in the chair in the background trees.

This painting is not finished but I like the way Barbara treated the chair, table and vase as one dark blue shape.

Herching cropped into sections of two chairs to create an interesting design of brown and yellow shapes.

Lesson 28 - Winter Trees

2009-01-17T11:22:00.000-08:00

Depicting leafless trees can be a challenge, particularly when dealing with fine branches. In this lesson we experimented with stamping with sponges, crumpled plastic wrap, and cardboard and drawing fine lines with brushes, knifes and twigs. Next we created a sky by wetting the paper, dropping in paint and blotting out clouds with paper towels. Finally, when this was dry, we added a bare tree.

Elaine used sponges and plastic wrap to stamp a texture pattern that suggests bare twigs.

Celine drew fine lines in many colors using a brush.

Barbara created her twigs with light sponge stamping.

Sabra used a combination of fine lines and sparse stamping on her tree.

Lesson 27 - Color Preferences

2009-01-11T11:21:00.000-08:00

Do you prefer warm colors? Cool colors? Bright or greyed colors? This lesson is designed to help you understand your color preferences. We began by dividing a 3" square into 5 unequal sections and filling it in with pleasing color combinations. Next we expanded on this idea by dividing a sheet of watercolor paper into quarters, drawing in simple produce shapes and making color choices as we filled in the shapes.

Joanne used bright colors and played with patterns.

Christine used variations of a secondary triad, orange, violet and green.

Carol used softer, greyed colors.

Alice worked with warm, analogous colors with blue accents.

Lesson 26 - Sketching Pets

2008-12-11T10:39:00.000-08:00

The goal of this lesson was first, to work on sketching techniques and second, to tie a group of sketches together to make a composition. We worked from photographs and did four, four minute ink sketches on one sheet of watercolor paper. Later we added watercolor wash leaving white areas to unite the drawings. Below are four examples of what artists came up with.

Lesson 25: Introduction to masking fluid

2008-12-01T15:30:00.000-08:00

This is a simple project using masking fluid. The first step is to draw on several blossom shapes and then coat these shapes with masking fluid using the back end of a brush or skewer. After the mask is completely dry, a wet in wet wash is added. This wash must also dry completely. The mask is removed and the details of the blossoms are added.

Mary added a playful, colorful wash behind the poppies.

Ellen has removed the mask and is beginning to detail the blossoms.

Sandy has finished the daisies and added an out of focus third flower.

Elaine has created a beautiful play of shape and color.

Lesson 24: Design Game

2008-11-22T19:16:00.001-08:00

The challenge: Create an abstract beginning with a magazine food photo. Cut or tear a magazine photo of food into roughly 3" section. Choose 3 or four and glue to a sheet of watercolor paper.

Here Jan has glued on four sections randomly. Next find a way to connect dark and light shapes.

Here Leslie has begun working out a design by connecting red areas with a ribbon and dark brown areas with angled pieces. The goal is to match colors so closely that in the end one cannot tell which area is photograph and which is painting.

Theresa has her design further along. Using the color palette of the photograph creates a harmonious design.

Marilyn was able to match the reds and greens to form a fractured image.

Lesson 23 Back-lit Produce

2008-11-15T08:44:00.000-08:00

When an object is lit from the back the form is flattened and is defined by a narrow band of light along the edge. For this exercise we set up, photographed and painted simple fruit shapes back-lit by strong sunlight.

Evert kept the strong sun-lit areas white on top of the fruit.

Alice found interesting shadow patterns on the granite countertop.

Susan depicted the fruit using bold, dark shapes.

Jessalyn used rich wet in wet dark washed to create dramatic shadows and reflections.

Lesson 22: Painting a still life using only three colors

2008-11-09T19:11:00.000-08:00

For this exercise we set up several small still life arrangements and each of us created a painting using only 3 tubes of paint. Some chose to use three primary colors which give the widest range of color possibilities. Others chose to work with colors they were not comfortable with or wanted to experiment with. In both approaches the paintings were cohesive color-wise because of the limited palette. It was interesting to compare paintings of the same still life set up from people using different three color choices.

Kay and Jan used the same set-up. Kay's colors resulted in more muted tones; Jan used primaries which gave brighter reds and yellows.

Emily and Dan used the same set up. Here Emily's choices gave more muted tones while Dan's use of the primaries yielded brighter colors.

Lesson 21: Snow on Evergreens

2008-11-09T18:55:00.000-08:00

Snow is white; evergreens are dark and therefore paintings of snow on evergreens will utilize a wide value range which can yield dramatic images. In this class we considered arranging value shapes to create different size areas of light and dark. We also discussed modeling snow mounds with glazes to give them depth.

Jo chose to focus in on one small branch

Elaine rendered crocuses peaking through the snow.

Bev played with a variety of cool colors, interesting shapes and levels of snow clumps.

Linda created deep shadows on the snow and left bits of pure white to make it sparkle.

Lesson 20 Fall Foliage

2008-10-26T16:31:00.000-07:00

Oh dear, it looks like it's been a couple months since I last published a post. I have been doing LOTS of painting but have not conducted any classes so got out of the rhythm of updating the blog. So, here goes. This is the first lesson in a while so we just had fun playing with fall colors laid on wet paper. We put down two layers of wet-in-wet washes. The idea was to create different size foliage shapes and then, after the paper was dry, to add a few branch details with line work.

Jean's first wast with the purples and blues shows through her foliage shapes.

Carol added quite a few trees and a road to create a landscape.

Alice found a nice rhythm with the placement of the vertical trunks.

Rita created a focal area with detail, splatter and line work.

Lesson 19 Night Scenes

2008-08-02T20:32:00.000-07:00

Can you make an interesting painting which gives the illusion of darkness or low light?

Jim darkened all but a small area to create a sunset.

Lois used deep darks in the hills and water to give a sense of low light even though the sky is relatively bright.

Nardia used warm colors and dramatic darks to create a glow between the hills.

Even though the sky is not very dark the grey color around the yellow sign makes the letters glow in Carol's painting.

Lesson 18 Sketching with Pen and Watercolor

2008-07-31T19:18:00.000-07:00

For this exercise we went outside and spent 45 minutes sketching with a Sharpee pen - drawing around shapes working from a focal point outward. Later, inside, we added watercolor washes. This procedure produced charming line and wash drawings.

Ellen used just a few 'out of register' washes for a loose feel.

Helena used washes to bring out the white chairs and fountain.

Mary left a pathway of white skips running through the drawing.

Camilla filled in shapes carefully to form charming patterns.

Lesson 17 - Painting in Carl Larsson Style

2008-07-25T17:22:00.000-07:00

Carl Larsson was a Swedish illustrator known for depicting family life in the late 19th, early 20th century. He was a master draftsman and used line and light washes to create appealing paintings. Here is one in his style I did in class of grandbaby Ezra.

Cupertino Artist of the Year

2008-07-21T15:42:00.000-07:00

Here I am receiving the award for the Cupertino Artist of the Year.

Pleasanton Wine Stroll

2008-07-13T15:59:00.000-07:00

I'll be demonstrating painting on canvas at the Alexander's Gallery, 608 Main Street, Pleasanton, as part of the Pleasanton Summer Wine Stroll on Thursday, July 17 from 6-8pm.

Lesson 16 - Lifting out fish shapes

2008-07-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

This lesson is adapted from a Cheng-Khee Chee workshop exercise. The goal is to pour paint onto a saturated sheet of paper and lift out fish shapes with a clean, damp brush or sponge. The first step involves playing with the poured paint and watching for interesting areas to develop. When the paper loses it's sheen it's possible to lift out the paint back to white, or almost white paper. And then, when everything is completly dry add color and detail to the fish shapes.
Here are some examples.
Jane created a mottled green wash and lifted out a koi shape.

Marcia was able to pour an intense orange.

Teresa used the spots of blue/violet to balance the fish shapes.

Rita created some deep browns with a school of small fish.

More Studies

2008-07-10T17:47:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple more small studies.

Small Studies

2008-07-06T16:26:00.000-07:00

I've been experimenting with small bird studies on canvas. Here are a few - all 8" x 8".

Lesson 15 "What should I put in the background?"

2008-06-29T16:19:00.000-07:00

I frequently get asked "What should I put in the background?" looking at a painting someone has already invested significant time working on. The time to consider this is much earlier and the best way to see what works is to try studies of a small sample of the subject. Here Nancy has considered eight possibilities.

Each of these gives a different feeling and Nancy liked the drama of the bright blue green.
Here is a larger study.

Carol chose a compliment of the yellow flowers for her background.

Marge used a light version of the green found in the leaves for her study.

The second part of this exercise was to lay a background wash of on dry paper. By keeping the paper tilted and keeping a wet bead at the lower edge of the wash it is possible to paint around a subject and end up with a smooth background of color. Georgina was able to lay down an absolutely smooth yellow background.

Clara and Carlos

2008-06-26T16:39:00.000-07:00

Here are the finished paintings of the peregrine pair Clara and Carlos with the chicks.

Lesson 14- Putting Figures in a Landscape

2008-06-16T17:27:00.001-07:00

The first part of this problem is to search for shapes that will read as figures which are not posed.

The next part of the problem is to place the figures in a simple scene so that they appear to be receding in space. People are no different than fence posts in terms of perspective. They will decrease in size and fit into a cone formed from a reference figure and guide lines to a randomly chosen vanishing point.

It's fun to make up a simple scene, a beach or golf course or plaza, and add in several figures shapes.

Here are a few which were done in a short class session.

Judy had fun with figure shapes and put in a background afterwards.

Marjorie's bold green men could be the beginning of an abstract.

Fran's figures tied in nicely with the foreground.

Lesson 13 Shadows on Buildings

2008-06-01T10:49:00.000-07:00

The purpose of this lesson was to consider the darkness and color of shadows. I always forget how long it takes to draw buildings and because our classes are only three hours long the examples below are only half completed. But I think there is enough there to see the interesting patterns shadows can make and how these can be used to organize a composition.

Jan made her shadows a darker version of the wall color and put them in 40% darker.

Kay has the shadows depicted lightly at this stage but you can already see what an interesting pattern they will make on the center building.

Teresa is using blue/violet for her shadows which work nicely against the bit of green lawn.

Falcons

2008-05-29T16:12:00.000-07:00

One of the art groups I belong to is working on a show of paintings taken from recent events in San Jose, California. A pair of falcons have been nesting on the city hall building and there is a web cam set up so everyone can watch the chicks grow. In fact they fledged yesterday. I've been having great fun sketching from the web cam and two weeks ago I had a chance to sketch and photo a captive peregrine. It was a special treat.

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Lesson13 - Transparent Glass

2008-05-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

The problem for this lesson was to paint a transparent glass container with a flower against a white background. There were three steps involved. To make the glass look shiny you must find a few highlights which will be the only pure white paper showing. Everything else, even the 'white background' must be shaded a bit so the highlights appear white. Next, look carefully at what happens to the stem as it hits the surface of the water and as it is seen below water level. And finally, look for abstract darker shapes within the glass, particularly watch what happens near the glass edges. I find this type of painting and careful observation very relaxing.

Barbara painted a very believable transparent glass with a minimum of shapes.

Bev found some wonderful dark shapes along the sides of her container.

Catalina saw the yellow-green of the leaves in the water shapes.

Jean darkened the background enough to make the entire vase look shiny.

Nancy used a variety of light colors to shade her 'white' background.

Weekend Art Show

2008-05-23T18:19:00.000-07:00

Welcome back. I have been preparing for an art show for the last few weeks and let the blog slide. Weekend outdoor art shows are so much work but once they're set up it is pleasant to visit with friends and people I haven't seen in years. It was a hot couple of days but I was able to do some sketching and got several ideas for paintings. Below are a couple I plan to develop.