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WATER COLOR PAINTING

STEP-BY-STEP

Books by Arthur L. Guptill

Sketching and Rendering

in

1891-1956)

Pencil (1922)

Drawing with Pen and Ink (1930)

Freehand Drawing Self-Tanght (1933)
Color

in

Sketching and Rendering (1935)

Sketching as a

Hobby (1936)

Pen Drawing (1937)

Norman
Pencil

Rockwell, Illustrator (1946)

Drawing Step-by-Step (1949)

Oil Painting Step-by-Step (1953)

Watercolor Painting Step-by-Step (1956)

WATERCOLOR
PAINTING
STEP-BY-STEP
by

ARTHUR

L.

GUPTILL

Wi

WATSON-GUPTILL PUBLICATIONS

To my grandson
WILLIAM LEIGHTON GUPTILL

FIRST EDITION 1957

Copyright

1957 by watson-guptill publications, inc.

New York, New York

All rights reserved. Printed in U. S. A.

Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 56-13161

Publishers Note

THIS PRESENT

VOLUME by Arthur

L.

Gup till was completed

shortly

before his death, February 29, 1956. He intended it as the companion to Oil Painting Step-by-Step, published in 1953 and in
continuing demand. As with the previous book, the basic content

has been drawn largely from American artist magazine in which

it appeared serially during 1952 and 1953. Not only have the
articles been thoroughly revised and greatly amplified; in addition, supplementary material by other artists has been added in
order to diversify and enlarge the scope of instruction oflFered.
Arthur Guptill's books this is his tenth have always met
with a wide acceptance because he had the faculty of visualizing
the student's problems as have few authors of art books. He had
an unusually logical mind, and having given personal instruction
in art schools for many years he understood the learning process.
His love for teaching carried over into his writing, in which he
demonstrated an unusual ability to look over the student's shoulder, foresee his diflBculties and offer the advice and information
needed to cope with them.
In Watercolor Painting Step-by-Step he has tried to condense
his instructions within the pages of a relatively small book. After
all, no book, regardless of size, can exhaust this subject. This
book is intended to help the student over his first experiments
with watercolor, to present fundamentals which will serve as
a basis for future development. Other watercolor books published
by Watson-Guptill carry the watercolor painter on to professional
levels.

Contents

Part

Fundamentals of Watercolor Painting

Page
Care

1.

Equipment:

2.

How

3.

Getting Under

4.

Gaining Acquaintance with Your Paints

45

5.

Color Qualities; Values and Their Measurements

50

6.

Color Mixing and Matching; Color Charts

58

7.

Color Arrangements, Illusion, Activity

68

8.

Color Schemes

9.

Still Life:

Painting the Single Object

80

10.

Still Life:

Composition and Color

88

11.

Now

Part II

Selection, Preparation,

Watercolor Paper

to Stretch

by

John Rogers

Way

33

39

Which You Can Use

Let's Paint

15

Outdoors

73

99

Demonstrations by Professional Watercolorists

1.

Norman Kent

2.

How Ted

3.

Herb Olsen

4.

Ralph Avery Describes His

5.

Samuel Kamen Discusses His Creative Methods

Paints a Landscape

Kautzky Painted a Watercolor

Paints Out-of-Doors

Vll

Still-Life Painting

108
112
117
121

126

Authors Note

my

favorite

at least so far as

my own

WATERCOLOR HAS
resentation

whenever

loiig becii

medium

of pictorial rep-

painting

is

concerned

have taught it, or have had the opportunity to

have been able to do so with unusual enthusiasm.
Why do I like watercolor so well? Partly because it always
seems to me such a joyous medium. Good watercolor paintings
are customarily so crisp and clean-cut, so spontaneous, so alive.
Watercolor also seems to me a miraculous medium, permitting
maximum results with a minimum of time and effort. The skilled
practitioner can grab a big brush, dash it a few times across the
sky, puddle some large areas with fascinating colors (often delightfully intermingled) onto other features, draw a bit with
the edge of his brush, give the whole a dozen deft dabs and a
couple of pats, and, there before you, in an hour's time or less,
has developed a highly individual and amazingly expressive and
so

write about

it, I

attractive result

a spirited creation imprisoning for

a rare instant of time, an ephemeral

mood

all

to see

of nature, a record

of a mental conception.

This mere exhibition of the watercolorist's virtuosit)^ is sometimes enough to take one's breath away. Facility, spontaneity,
crispness, directness, color opulence

come

to

these are the words which

mind when you watch a good man

at

work

or

\'iev\'

his results.

But there

is

an additional reason wh\'

I like

watercolor. It

is

medium, always on instant call. I can keep a

stretched paper behind the door and a color box in my desk. I
may not use it for a month. But if that autumn foliage, with its
reflection in the pond, urges me to action I am under way in a
jiffy. If a fresh snowfall intrigues me, out comes m\' equipment
again. In the meantime, it has been no care and it has not deteria convenient

ix

W ATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

orated.

And

transport

all

of this

and easy

a very modest price.

equipment

to store.

And

Even the

it

is
is

light

in weight,

easy to

everywhere available at
no problem.
producer can be stored,

finished paintings are

year's output of the most prolific

unframed, in a single drawer or portfolio.
I could go on and on extolling the virtues of the medium, but
I want to set one thing straight. Don't think for a minute that
the virtuosity I was just talking about the manual dexterity
and the mental competence behind it can be quickly acquired.
Despite what I have said of facility and speed, it's not easy to
paint a good watercolor even when you possess skill, and it's
harder yet to gain that skill.
You may, to be sure, start with beginner's luck. I have seen
occasional students produce results of near-professional quality
at their very first attempts. Some of the award- winning entries
in the national amateur art competitions conducted jointly by

AMERICAN ARTIST magazine and the Amateur Artists Association

of America have been the very first watercolors done by these
successful contestants. And you may, as you go on, have a fair
share of what have so aptly been called "happy accidents," at
times producing far better work, either in whole or in part, than
you deserve.
Yet obviously you can't rely on either beginner's luck or happy
accidents. You must master your art. You must start at the very
beginning and learn the tools of your trade and what they will
and will not do. You must stretch paper, draw lines and run
washes with your brushes, learn to avoid "mud," to scrub ofi^
faulty areas and a thousand such things.
And take nature, one's normal source of subject matter. You'll
gradually have to learn what each of her subjects really looks like.
You may think that you already know, but, unless you have
painted before, you don't. Only when you try to play the game
of approximating, with the limited facilities at your command,
nature's multitudinous and diversified forms, tones, colors and
textures, will you realize how blind have been your eyes, how uncomprehending your mind, how deficient your technical means.
This getting to know nature and learning the fundamentals of
watercolor representation won't all be fun, for you will have your

AUTHOR S NOTE
and disappointments. Many things, though, will be simply
With a few hues \'ou will create others. W' ith a dozen
brush you will successfully catch the
strokes of a "split-hair
repetitixe undulations of a plowed field. You will touch a Hat
brush into two or more colors on \our palette and, in a single
stroke on your paper, effectixeh' render a tree trunk. You will
swish a brush up and down and cause a mass of tangled grass or
shrubber)' to appear. You will drag a somewhat dr\' Inrush ov^er
your paper and instanth' create the roughness, the weight, the
trials

fascinating.

immobilit) of a ledge or boulder.

You

will stick

your finger into

a paint puddle and manipulate the not-yet-dry color into a telling

reflection. You will disco\er the trick of
leading the spectator's e\ e where >'0u wish into the foreground
or background, to the right or to the left. You will develop the
magic of shrinking a huge oak to a space an inch high or of pushing it a mile away. You will \eil a subject in smoke or fog. You

semblance of water

will catch a

mood

of loneliness, of tranquillity, of excitement, of

mystery or romance. These are but indicatixe of the man\' treats

in store for \ ou. E\ ery step forward will give a thrill.
But can this book tell you how to master all of this? Not
exactly, and not entirely. But it's been m} pri\ ilege to teach
hundreds of watercolor students. I ha\e learned their strengths
and their weaknesses, their successes and their failures; these
all run much the same year after year. And from this ]:)road experience, I ha\'e disco\ered the l:)asic and encouraging truth that
practically anyone, if he will sincerely and persistently try, can,
before too long, turn out acceptable watercolors. And the course
which I ga\e these students, rexising it again and again as new
needs suggested themsehes, is, so far as is possible in print, what
I'm oflering on the following pages. But I can't do \our work for
\ou, nor can an} one else. You'll have to hold \our own ]:)rush and
perform \our own exercises preferabl\- in the order of those

which

prescribe.

However
laurels. You

gratifying \our progress, don't rest too soon on \our

ma\- not e\ en be as good as \ou think, so if possible

obtain at least occasional criticism from some qualified person.
And as you proceed keep before you always the goal of turning
out some day supremely fine work. You ma\-, or you ma\- not,
xi

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

reach that goal.

No one, least of all yourself, can as yet judge your

me again assure you that, whatever your ulti-

capacity. But let

mate achievement and I wish you every success once you

are well under way with the work recommended here, you'll
enjoy rich rewards: satisfaction in the mere doing, and gratification over your finished results. And you won't be alone in your
pleasure painting and paintings are things to be shared with
others.

Arthur L. Guptill
Stamford, Connecticut
February 1, 1956.

xu

Parti

FUNDAMENTALS OF
WATERCOLOR PAINTING

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

14

Circular

Box With palette cover

2

5"A3r'

Muffin Tin

An acijustaMe draftsman's table

IS

useful for

t/ie

Adjustable, to

Will tilt to

\vaherco\orislr

anu anal^

any angle

Tabled

Adjustable,
toariij

jf

''

Table easel

Folding
field

easel

mixing
cups

FIG. 1

Equipment:
AS

Selection, Preparation,

WITH EVERY Other medium

Care

of pictorial expression,

it is

obvious

that one entering the field of watercolor painting for the first
time should get to know, before rushing into premature attempts
at picture making, something of the customary materials the

new

"trade." Not only must he learn what the market

but he must carry out a few exploratory experiments
with each of several essential items in order to discover sometools of his

has to

offer,

its possibilities and limitations.

have seen from the Authors Note that a great virtue of
watercolor painting is that it calls for but few materials. These
may be purchased almost anywhere; even the best are relatively
inexpensive. They are easy to transport and to store; they deteriorate but little with time ( though paints in tubes will gradually

thing of

We

harden); they are clean to use. Also, finished paintings, unlike

those done in oil, are dry in a matter of minutes, so can be carried
and stored without trouble. Nor does watercolor work (at any
state of progress) smudge or dust off like that done with many
forms of pencils, crayons, charcoal, and pastels. All of which
makes watercolor a particularly convenient medium when working outdoors.

Colors Watercolor paints are available in several forms. First

the hard or semisoft types sold in pans or as "buttons" (as
in many of the student watercolor sets); these must be softened
with water each time they are used. Then we have the moist
types put up in tubes; these are preferred by most watercolor
artists and are what we recommend. Considerably less familiar
are powdered colors, "sticks" from which color can be rubbed,
papers coated with soluble pigments, etc. Each type has its
champions, though some of these last are for special purposes
photo coloring, for example. Then there are jars of color, both
dry and moist, most of them intended primarily for the poster
artist or show card writer.

come

15

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

16

and pans
tube clean and fresh. Tube colors
also permit the quick preparation of amounts of color sufficient
to coat large paper areas. (It is discouragingly slow, by way of
contrast, to have to soften enough color from pans or buttons to
cover any but the smaller areas of one's work.) Whatever one's
decision as to kind of paint, almost invariably considerable water
must be added, the quantity depending on the depth of tone
required. For dark or brilliant hues, relatively little water is
needed. For most light tints, the color is greatly diluted.
Make of Colors As to make, practically every painter ultimately develops a personal preference. In today's stiff competition it seems safe to assume that any of the well-known brands
will give satisfaction. Your choice may depend on what your
dealer has to offer, though most dealers carry several lines. Or
perhaps some teacher or artist friend will be the one to determine
your choice. The main thing is to realize that, whatever the
make, you get just about what you pay for, so the cheaper
colors sometimes known as "students' colors" cannot be expected to be as satisfactory in the long run as those made for
is

great acUantage of tube colors over those in cakes

that each color conies

from

its

employ the students' colors to

many
and
of them are capable of perhowever,
fectly satisfactory work. Yet this work may be more likely to
fade or otherwise deteriorate with time than that done with the
professional use.

some

Professionals

extent,

better grades.

may want to experiment for yourself with

makes and grades in order to determine the ones best

Eventually you
different

suited to you. On the whole, though, it will prove safer to stick to

one make once you are familiar with it, for you will gradually
learn exactly what to expect from every color of that particular
make. Artists often learn with surprise and regret that a given
color of one make may be quite different in hue or consistency
from some other manufacturer's product bearing the same or
similar name. In other words, if an artist were forced to paint
without his own familiar colors, for a while he would find himself
considerably handicapped.
Permanence of Colors Regardless of brand or cost, not all
watercolor paints are permanent. Some will fade badly on long
exposure to light, some very little, and some to no perceptible
degree. Several manufacturers very wisely list their colors ac-

THE EQUIPMENT

17

cordingly, so the artist has something to guide him.

fugitive colors

may do

their use at an)' time

is

for

work

The more

of a temporary nature,

questionable, for one never

though

knows how

long he ma\' wish to preserve even the most casual sketch or

(Later we shall offer simple means by which the

color note.

can test his own colors for fading.)

should perhaps be pointed out that certain colors, when
mixed one with another, set up harmful chemical reactions.
Apparently few painters worry about this, or take the trouble to
learn dangerous combinations, but the mere knowledge of this
mcompatibility will at least help to explain why some color areas
in one's painting change greatly with the passage of time.
While the day has not yet arrixed when we can think of all
watercolor paints as permanent, there has nevertheless been a
great improvement over the years. Watercolor paintings done today have a far greater chance of surviving unfaded than did those
of not too long ago. \\^hen it is realized that artists' paints come
from all sorts of sources from all over the world, some animal,
some vegetable, and some mineral, it is not hard to see what a
variety of problems face the manufacturer. Today, greater and
greater reliance is placed on the synthetic product created in the
chemist's laboratory. Aside from all other considerations, several
of these new colors are different in appearance from any previously available, some being extremely beautiful.
Number of Colors While at times it proves convenient to
artist
It

have quite a number of colors on hand many artists prefer

from fifteen to twenty-five one seldom utilizes more than eight
or ten on a single painting, and it is surprising how much can be
accomphshed with but three or four. Nearly every color normally
found in nature can be approximated, if not precisely matched,
through mixtures of three basic colors: red, yellow, and blue.
These three colors are, therefore, frequently referred to as "primar\^" colors. (These must not be confused with the light primaries of the physicist, red, green, and blue-violet.) This holds
true for all such color media as oils, watercolors, dyes, and
inks. All of the color work in this book, for instance, was printed
with red, yellow, and blue inks, plus black for greater depth
of tone.
(It is not a bad thing, by the way, to experiment for a while
with three such watercolor primaries most manufacturers make

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

18

them under one name

or another. For all-around use, however,

these "spectrum" hues are not as valuable as some others because
they are of necessity extremely brilliant. Most colors in nature

are not garish; therefore, they can best be interpreted with paints
to an extent already neutralized by the manufacturer.

which are

Yet when it comes to painting flowers in sunshine, sunset scenes,

or any other unusually colorful subject matter, these brilliant
paints have a very definite place.

Recommended
"palette"

who

As to the precise colors to buy the

uses artists seldom agree. Henry Gasser,

Lists

which one

is an outstanding painter but has for years taught

and demonstrated watercolor, says: "My palette varies according
to the subject, but I generally use from eight to twelve colors.

They

not only

are

Cadmium
Cadmium

yellow, light and deep

Indian red

red, light

French ultramarine (blue)

Yellow ochre

Viridian (green)

Burnt sienna

Payne's gray

Alizarin crimson

Ivory black

"Colors such as cerulean blue, vermilion, Davy's gray and

ochre are very helpful in controlling a wash when working on a

wet

surface."

Dong Kingman, who,

like Gasser, needs no introduction to

our Watson-Guptill audience, offers this:
"I choose about nine tubes of the best-made watercolor. I
prefer it in the tube for it keeps fresher that way." The colors are:

Cadmium
Cadmium
Cadmium

yellow, light

Prussian blue

yellow, deep

French ultramarine blue

red, light

Alizarin crimson

Hooker's green #2

Burnt sienna

Lamp

black

Jacob Getlar Smith, author of Watercolor Painting for the

Beginner ( Watson-Guptill ) an excellent book which could well
be read at this time offers the following considerably longer
lists with the advice, "If you choose at least one from each group

THE EQUIPMENT

19

there will be at \'our

any desired

for

command

result. Asterisks

a range of colors flexible

*
(

enough

indicate suggested palette."

'Cadmium
'Cadmium

\ello\v, pale or lightest

**

yellow, deep

**

Cadmium
Cadmium

red, light or lightest

red,

deep

Cadmium orange

Scarlet vermilion

Aureolin

Vermilion

Rose madder (permanent only

not mixed with earth

when

colors)

*Raw umber

Yellow ochre

'Raw sienna
Mars \ellow

**

X'^enetian red

*Viridian

Oxide of chromium

Indian red
Light red

Lamp

* Cerulean

**

Burnt umber
Burnt sienna

blue
Cobalt blue
French ultramarine
Prussian blue

black
Ivory black
Mars black

Below we describe

briefly some of the most popular colors;

manufacturers sell precisely the same hues
under the same names. Perhaps we should also stress the fact
that artists occasionally bu\' watercolor paints not for hue alone
but because they contain sediment or possess other peculiarities
which can pro\e extremeK useful in producing "granular," "sediment" or "deposit" washes which are invaluable for certain
purposes, as will be explained in a later chapter.

we

repeat that not

all

REDS

Everyone needs at least one good bright

red. This particular color is sometimes employed as a primaiy in
making color charts. It is also especialK' fine for producing
purples or \iolets in mixture with such hues as French ultramarine and cerulean blue.
Rose madder A transparent color, somewhat more delicate
Alizarin crimson

than alizarin crimson. It is quite a

Also mixes well with the blues.

fa\'orite in

painting flowers.

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

20

Cadmium r^d This, or cadmium scarlet, is often used today in

place of vennilion which has a tendency to blacken in impure air.
Light red: Indian red A pair of similar hues with many uses
where a slightly neutral red is needed.
Burnt sienna This is on the border between red and brown.
Mixed with French ultramarine it produces most interesting sediment washes, valuable in texture representation. An extremely
versatile color.

YELLOWS
Aureolin A veiy bright, transparent color. A common choice
as a primary in color mixing.
Cadmium yellow Another bright yellow, slightly opaque.
Also used as a primary. Does not mix well with all colors, however.

Yellow ochre

great favorite.

Not

as brilliant as the previous

two.

Raw sienna Similar to burnt sienna as an aid in obtaining

sediment washes in mixtures.
Cadmium orange Bright.
Naples yellow Very appropriate for certain limited applications. Somewhat opaque.
BLUES
Phthalocyanine blue A bright color especially helpful in mixing greens. Various manufacturers sell this comparatively new
hue under different names. It is gradually superseding Antwerp
blue which is less permanent.
French ultramarine An excellent all-around color.
Cerulean blue: Cobalt blue Standard colors found on many
palettes.

GREENS: BROWNS
reasonably adequate range of greens can easily be mixed
from blues and yellows. But among the well-liked ready-mixed
greens, phthalocyanine green has become a popular choice. Viridian is also a favorite. Among the browns, common choices are
burnt sienna (listed above), sepia, raw umber, and burnt umber.

WHITES: BLACKS

Chinese white has occasional uses, and one needs a good black
or two, such as ivory black or

lamp

black.

THE EQUIPMENT
Color Box

21

Though

absolute essential,

it is

a box for storing one's colors is not an

But think twice

certainly a convenience.

before choosing yours, for there is a great difference in such

boxes, and it is easy to throw your money away. Practically all
boxes are of tin, black outside and white inside, but there the
resemblance ends. (Fig. 1, page 14, pictures a typical box.)
The beginner all too often buys a "fitted box" ("watercolor
set") which contains an assortment of cheap colors (cake, tube,
or button), and two or three inferior brushes. The cover has
several depressions for mixing washes; also, there is often a flat
surface on which to mix smaller amounts of color. Even if the
box itself is good, these fitted boxes give one no choice as to
either colors or brushes.

The more serious student, like the professional, often prefers

buy his box and colors separately. He will want a box large
enough to accommodate at least fifteen or twenty tubes. Such a
box is often provided with a palette-type cover which slides out
to

to hold in the hand. This cover normally has

many

small "stalls"

(one for each color) into which fresh paint may be squeezed as
needed. The tubes remain in the box and so do not weigh down
the palette. Both the tubes and the colors in the stalls are usually
arranged by the artist in some logical way, perhaps in a "rainbow" or color wheel sequence such as we shall describe in a

moment.
Color Cups

Professional

watercolorists

use

paint

in

such

large quantities that, whatever their choice of box, they will at

times need supplementary vessels in order to mix adequate

amounts. Therefore, they buy some of the "nested" cups or
saucers made for that purpose, or they visit the kitchen utensil

which they think will serve;

(These should preferably be white if of tin they may
be lacquered by the artist so that hues can easily be judged.
Small white plastic or glass vessels can sometimes be found.)
store for muffin tins or anything else

see Fig.

1.

Water Containers In the studio, a white bowl, tin pail or

other suitable vessel is essential. Outdoors, a container of water,
preferably provided with a cover or stopper to prevent spilling,
must be taken along unless one is certain to be near a supply.
.

Some hke

a thermos bottle
both painting and drinking.

as this

can hold enough water for

00

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

Palettes

One

of the greatest faults of the beginning aquarel-

He

The limited accomodations

box do not encourage him to be as generous
with his paint as he should. Therefore, if he can buy a watercolorist's palette (Fig. 2, A) made with ample depressions to
contain all of his colors, plus sufficient space for mixing all but
large quantities of color, it can prove not only a great convenience but a definite factor toward the improvement of his work.
hst

is

timidity.

uses too Httle color.

of the typical color

FIG.

(^JUA^^
^hidUvtcdh-Pyi^

A^

-ftyy

fOMj^^

WATLR.COLOR. PALETTE,

E> ^

DIMMER. PLATE PALLTTL

Sometimes, however, an artist feels that small depressions in

more of a nuisance than none. He chooses, therefore, a flat palette or some sort of round dish perhaps a dinner
a palette are

plate, as pictured in Fig. 2, B.

Such a palette or

circular utensil

has an outstanding advantage: it permits the arrangement of

most of one's hues more or less according to the spectrum, which
makes it especially convenient when preparing such color charts
or "wheels" as are often made when studying color mixing,
matching, etc.
"Setting" the Palette Digging further into the arrangement
of one's colors on the palette and in his color box, the main
thing is to decide before too long on a good plan and then stick
to it, because much time can be saved if one gets into the habit
of organizing his colors always in the same way. While this
circular grouping just pictured is good, especially during one's
first experiments of the kind which we shall discuss in Chapter
3, some prefer other arrangements; there is no one way which
is

best.

Gradually an artist learns that he can advantageously use

again and again certain pairs of colors in combination. He may

THE EQUIPMENT

23

he hkes to mix French blue and burnt

and cerulean blue. It will, therefore,
he logical for him to have such pairs side by side on his palette
for easy manipulation, so if he uses one plate for a wheel-like
arrangement, he may eventually have a similar supplementary
find, for instance, that

sienna, or ahzarin crimson

plate for these associated pairs.

Brushes These are particularly important. Cheap brushes

usually prove a waste of money, so buy only the best; they will
be a wise investment. You won't need many, and, given reasonable care, they will last a long time. Talk the whole thing over
with \'Our dealer, who can compare for you the different items in

Of the

his stock.

as to preference.

method

several types

As we

commonly

offered, artists differ

shall see later, choice will vary

with

of working.

^:Z3y

CKMB.L HAIR. DAbbtR.

FIG.

yUU LtttMki MmmmiiHij

i/J
Sakoj^?''

fYneil{u/i^^
muecyju^

ROUNC) SAE>LE bRVSHLS

FIG. 3

FLAT 5A&LE E>RUSHES

FIG.

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

24

Red Sable Brushes Brushes of red sable are popular for many
kinds of work. Of these, the round, sharply pointed ones (such

we

picture at actual size in Fig. 3) are perhaps the most usesome painters employ nothing else. A good sable brush of
the round type should, by the way, be uniformly round, and
as

ful;

should keep a sharp point at

camel's-hair brush,

which

is

all

times.

flabby and

Unlike the cheaper

hold a point well,

fails to

the red sable brush should be springy and resilient.

Sable brushes come in many sizes; manufacturers vary in their

methods of designating such sizes. One needs at least three:
small, medium and large. As a safe rule, he will always use the
largest brush possible for any particular piece of work. Excepting
for fine detail, the small ones require too frequent dipping and
are likely to lead into finicky techniques. For all-around work,
a fairly large brush is good.
For quick, bold sketching, and for laying big washes (as on
skies or backgrounds ) a huge brush ( Fig. 4 ) is extremely useful,
but costs so much in sable that one often feels forced to substitute
something less expensive camel's hair or squirrel's hair.
There are special needs where flat, square-pointed sable
brushes are even better than the round-pointed type. They are
great timesavers, for instance, when it comes to the representation of buildings or similar subject matter where squarish forms
predominate. A single stroke can represent a window shutter,
the side of a chimney, or even a large roof area. Three or four
of these are, therefore, well worth having; they could vary from
in width. See Fig. 5.
Ys' to
,

Bristle Brushes For certain techniques, and particularly for

scrubbing out high lights or correcting faulty passages, bristle
brushes such as are commonly used in oil painting which are
much stiffer than sable brushes but otherwise look quite similar
in form are just the thing. The flat ones appear to be generally
preferred, though everything depends on purpose.

As already mentioned, good brushes will

years of service but only if they receive proper care.
Rinse them frequently as you use them. For maximum service,
Care of Brushes

give

many

wash them thoroughly with mild soap and warm water when
you put them away. Shake each one out don't squeeze it so
that

it

assumes a natural form. Don't

let

brushes stand on their

THE EQUIPMENT

25

hairs for lang, ar dry in

cramped

positions.

Don't try to soften

hardened watercolor paint on your palette or color box by scrubbing it vigorously with your best brush. And moths, by the way,
are all too fond of expensive sable brushes!
For Field Trips For outdoor work generally, where one
wishes compact yet adequate equipment, a metal box of the
type made to accommodate fishing tackle or household carpenter's tools can also prove of great convenience, especially if large
enough to hold practically all of one's paraphernalia excepting,
of course, paper.

Paper

Unlike

oil

paintings,

which are normally done on

canvas, watercolor pictures are customarily painted on paper.

This

is

manufactured especially

for the purpose, as

it

must be

of exceptional quality.

Although there are a number of good American papers on the

market ( of a machine-made variety ) a majority of discriminating
watercolorists prefer at least for their best work almost any
of the well-known imported papers, notably those from England,
France, and Italy.
In what ways do imported papers excel? Being handmade of
the very best rag stock, following methods passed down from
father to son for hundreds of years ( and apparently not practical
in this country), they have properties of toughness, long life,
surface texture, etc., which it seems cannot be matched in
America's machine-made products. Therefore, get acquainted
with some of these imported papers. They will at least give you a
,

standard for judging others.

Watercolor papers vary in size, weight (thickness), and surface. As to size, the "imperial" sheet is a common one; this
measures approximately 22" x 30". A slightly smaller sheet, the
"royal," is about 19" x 24". The "double-elephant" is 27" x 40",
while the "antiquarian" is 31" x 53". These are often halved or
quartered by the artist or dealer to bring them to suitable picture
size, though many paintings are made to the 22" x 30" dimension.
As to weight, sheets vary from a rather flimsy 72 lb. to an
extremely thick and heavy 300 lb. The lighter papers are of
course the cheaper ones; not only are they more likely to become
punctured or torn but, in their natural state, they afford a less
rigid surface which buckles annoy in gly whenever water is applied. This makes mounting or stretching almost necessary, fol-

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

26

lowing methods which we shall investigate in a moment. Even

the 72 lb. papers will stand considerable abuse if properly
stretched or mounted.
Some watercolor papers are smooth "hot-pressed" ( HP ) is
the term. More popular smfaces, however, are ( 1 ) the medium
"cold-pressed" ( CP ) having a slight grain and ( 2 ) "rough" ( R )
with a heavier grain. These last two have an indescribably sympa,

work upon and pleasing to the eye.

wrong side to handspeaking, yes. If you hold a sheet to the
and can discover a watermark (usually the name of the

thetic texture, excellent to

Which Side Up?

made paper? Strictly
light

Is

there a right and

paper) reading in the natural way that is, from left to right
the top (working surface) of the paper is facing you. So far as
general use is concerned, it apparently makes little difference
which side of a handmade sheet you paint on, but some machinemade papers reveal a noticeable difference between front and
back, the former being far superior to the latter.
Mounting and Stretching The heaviest, and consequently
most expensive, of the watercolor papers do not buckle badly
when wet; they are often used "as is." The lighter ones, as mentioned above, must preferably be ( 1 ) mounted on heavy board,
(2) "stretched" by any of several methods, or (3) made up by
the manufactmer into solid blocks (pads), each containing a

number of sheets.
Some papers can be purchased already mounted; once you
have decided on a brand you merely ask for it in mounted form.
Such mounted paper has two great advantages: it remains flat
throughout the entire painting process, and is relatively easy to
mat or frame. It is quite expensive, however, and, unless you
place a high value on your time, it is cheaper to mount your own.
Here is a typical method of mounting: the selected paper is
moistened until limp, with a sponge (or by soaking in water),
when it is pasted evenly all over the back with some watersoluble adhesive such as drawing board paste, bookbinders'
paste or diluted glue. It is then laid paste-side-down on heavy
mounting board, previously dampened. Next, with a protective
sheet of paper over it, it is rolled, scraped or brushed vigorously
enough to force all air from between paper and mount, and
promote uniform adhesion. It is then weighted down ( as between
two drawing boards loaded with books) where it can dry flat.

27

THE EQUIPMENT

This often takes se\ eral hours. The mount w ill buckle if removed
before thoroughh' dr\-.
This takes so long and results in so un\ ielding a surface that
man\' watercolorists prefer to "stretch" their paper, as the following process is called. In stretching, only the edges of the paper
are fastened down. There are sexeral methods of going about
ever\' painter should master at least one.
In what is perhaps the simplest of these, the initial mo\ e is
to assemble a wooden frame of the desired size, using for the
purpose four of the stretcher strips sold for stretching canvas.
This frame should be at least two inches smaller than the paper
in both length and width. The next mo\e is to saturate the paper
until it has absorbed all the water it can hold. It is then laid
flat on some clean, le\el surface and the frame placed upon it,
centered to lea\e a unifomi margin of paper all around. \\'orking
one edge at a time, this paper margin can now be turned up at
this;

right angles to the

main surface

of the

paper and thumbtacked to

wooden frame, using

tacks e\en' two or three

trimmed away or folded onto the
back of the frame and tacked. \Mien the paper is large enough
in relation to the frame, it is sometimes folded to the back of
the frame all around and thumbtacked there instead of along
the edges. This practice insures a stronger job and is almost im-

the edges of the

inches.

Any

extra paper can be

when stretching large sheets, as the\'

when drxing that the> ma\' otherwise split

perative

tension

exert

or

such a

work

loose,

or pull the stretcher frame out of shape, thus slacking the paper.
As the paper dries, it gradually shrinks to drumhead smoothness.
It is then ready for the artist. It wdll buckle to some extent each
time he wets it (depending on its thickness), but will go flat
again when dr\-. The finished painting should not be cut from
the frame until it has dried for se\eral hours, or it ma\' wrinkle

badh-.

In another stretching method, faxored by many, the thoroughh" wet paper is first laid face up on a drawing board or sheet
of hea\ > pl\ wood. Heavy gummed tape is then used to fasten the
paper to the board. The tape must run around the entire perimeter of the paper, equally o\erlapping both paper and board.
The tape ma>- be doubled or tripled for greater strength, especially if the paper is of sufficient size to indicate the possibility'
of developing excessi\e pull. As the sheet shrinks, watch the

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

28
tape to make sure that
repeatedly and reinforce

work

it

doesn't

it

with thumbtacks

loose.
if

Rub

it

down

you think

this

advisable.

Sometimes
ing

method

especially

is

for large paper still another stretchfollowed: the paper (in its original dry state) is

placed face up on a drawing board, and an inch or so is

turned up at each edge so as to form a sort of paper pan. The
paper surface the inside of the pan is now dampened with
a sponge (not too wet). After the sheet has received several
spongings, the turned-up edges are coated evenly on the outside
with glue or other powerful adhesive (library paste seldom has
the necessary strength ) The edges are then pressed to the drawing board and any standing water is sopped up; the edges are
next hghtly rubbed down with the damp sponge. (Don't soak
the edges too much on either the inside or the outside or they
may fail to adhere.) As these edges swell enough to permit the
entire paper to come flat, they should be rubbed to the board
repeatedly with some such instrument as a knife handle. Thumbfirst

may be added as a final precaution. When the painting is

eventually completed and thoroughly dry, the paper is cut
through ( with a sharp razor blade ) about an inch from the edge
'and lifted free, perfectly flat and smooth, ready for matting or
framing. (The glued paper strips which remain on the board
tacks

be soaked in water until they come loose, when they

may easily be removed. Glue on the board can now be sponged
away, leaving the board smooth and ready for the next stretch.
There are several variations of these procedures, one of which
is fully demonstrated in Chapter 2. With a little experience the
reader will discover a method that works well for him, permitting
him to stretch his paper tightly so that buckling is minimized as
he paints and it becomes absolutely smooth when dry.
Why bother? Is all this effort absolutely needed? Must one
so laboriously stretch his paper? No! Some artists including
prominent ones never take the trouble. Yet, unless they choose
a very heavy paper or employ what is known as a "dry" technique,
using a minimum of water, they work under quite a handicap
which takes a lot of knowledge to overcome. As their wet paint
produces wrinkles on their unstretched paper, for instance, the
pigment particles tend to float off the hills into the valleys.
Unless these particles are redistributed by the brush or removed,
can

later

29

THE EQUIPMENT
they will dry there and, in the finished work,

may

reveal a

each wrinkle. In other

words, the wrinkles not only have to be fought constantly as the
work proceeds, but they may unpleasantly affect the appearance
of the completed painting. This is only one of several negative
factors involved when painting on "loose" paper, but enough
to indicate the advisability of preparing in advance (at least for
any effort of more than minor importance) the best possible
working surface the mount or stretch.
definite trace of the original location of

Water color Blocks

Many painters who

don't

mount

or stretch

their watercolor paper rely instead on prepared blocks, each

consisting of quite a number of sheets (24 is common) glued by

the manufacturer at all four edges. The artist of course paints

first on the top sheet and then cuts this away, exposing the next,
and so on. If the paper is sufficiently heavy, not too large, and
securely fastened all around, the sheets may not buckle badly.
Surely such blocks save the artist a lot of time, and are very
compact and convenient, especially for work outdoors. They

come

in

many

sizes

and several

surfaces.

Clothespins and Such If unmounted or unstretched paper is

it is customarily taped (at several points) or thumbtacked
to a drawing board of suitable size plywood or one of the
stiffer types of wallboard may be substituted. Some artists use
the portfolio in which they keep their paper as a backing, temporarily fastening the paper to it with clothespins or heavy
spring chps.
used,

Easel:

Customarily, the artist especially

indoors
uses a suitable easel or table to support

Drawing Table

when working

the stretcher frame or board on which his paper has been

mounted or strained. Don't make the mistake of buying the type

which accommodates a painting only in a vertical (or

nearly vertical) position; that is, don't buy an easel designed for
oil painting exclusively. Although occasional watercolorists can
use this upright type of easel to advantage because they work
of easel

''dry'' (drawing

their picture with brush strokes rather than

most watercolorists work "wet" at least part of the
time, applying their color in a liquid or semiliquid form. Such
application calls for a support which is slanted only enough to
permit "washes" of color to flow down the paper gradually,

rather

painting

it),

*"^*^a

An

Gnild

'"K

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

30

always under control of the brush. For this purpose, an incline

of but five or ten degrees from the horizontal is usually ample.
For indoor work, one can manage very well with almost any
stand or table which happens to be available. He merely lays
his board, stretcher, or block of paper upon the table top, raising
the far edge by means of some such support as a book or two.
Still more convenient is a draughtsman's adjustable drawing
tables, such as we show in Fig. 1, page 14, for this can easily
be raised or lowered to any desired height and set at a convenient slope. A fairly satisfactory substitute is an adjustable "table
easel," as is shown in back view in Fig. 1. This is placed on a
table top.

When

painting outdoors, a folding easel, being portable, will

it should be of a type permitting the firm

usually be selected, but

support of the paper in the desired, almost flat position. Fig. 1

Your dealer can doubtless supply you
with something of this general nature. An "all-purpose" easel
is good for both watercolor and oil, indoors and out. Be sure
that the easel you buy is rigid, and that the legs are not only
sturdy but adjustable to the irregularities of the ground. Any
metal should be rust-resisting.
Some artists never bother with an easel when painting in the
open. They lay the board or frame which supports their painting
nearly flat on the ground sometimes between their feet or
support it on some such thing as a stump, log, box, or wall.
pictures such an easel.

Sketching Stools If one is to work in comfort, he will find

a folding sketching stool of great convenience. These come in
several styles, in metal or wood, with the seats usually of canvas.
(A second stool, by the way, can be used in place of an easel
to support one's paper.
Artist's Umbrella; Sun Glasses Whether you prefer, for outdoor work, to sit in the shade, or to create your own shade by
taking along an umbrella, is of course a matter of choice. Don't
use a bright-colored umbrella; if you do, the light coming through
it may be so modified as to affect the hues of your painting,
tricking you into errors. A white umbrella will do; one which is
neutral gray or opaque is better.
A wide-brimmed hat can prove invaluable, or, if you use dark
eyeglasses, be sure that the lenses are neutral, not colored.

THE EQUIPMENT

31

Blotters; Rags; Sponge Always have plenty of clean blotters

within reach. Rags and paper tissues also have various uses. A
sponge is extremely helpful not only when mounting paper, but
for softening or removing offending areas and for scrubbing out

high

lights.

As the artist often uses the pencil

on his paper, he should keep a small
assortment on hand. The degree known as HB, being medium, is
good for all-around work, though much depends on whether the
paper is smooth or rough, damp or dry. (Don't attempt to draw
with a sharp point on paper while it is very damp; your pencil
may cut right through. ) For thumbnail or other preliminary
sketches, a softer pencil 3B, for example is better; it is rapid,
and permits very dark values. Some artists prefer charcoal to
pencil, both for speed and breadth of effect, and because charcoal
work can so easily be altered.
Pencils, Erasers; Knives

for laying-out his subject

Two

or three erasers of different kinds are also convenient, as

are razor blades or a pocket knife.

Daylight Lamp If you plan to paint indoors, you should

obtain one of the so-called "daylight" lamps. With this you can
judge your colors reasonably well, even at night.

Hair Dryer When painting indoors, the impatient artist can

speed up the drying of his work by means of an electric hair
dryer, with its flow of either warm or cool air. A small fan is a

good

substitute.

Pliers When tube caps stick, heating them with a match or

under the hot water faucet will usually free them. Pliers are
sometimes of help, but don't break your tubes open!
These, then, are the principal items of equipment. You may
not need them all, yet remember that you will have handicaps
enough in your work without the added one of trying to get
along with too few, or too poor, materials.

32

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

FIG.

FIG.

How to Stretch Watercolor Paper

by John Rogers

We

are indebted to the noted watercolorist, John Rogers, for this

chapter, reprinted from American artist.

ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS a stucleiit watercolorist should

how

to stretch watercolor paper.

Many

artists

know

is

and students

though well aware of the difficulties invoKed in painting watercolors don't seem to realize how often these difficulties are
multiplied because the painting is done on unstretched paper. It
is true that some artists do well without stretching their paper
by using a \ ery dry technique or b\' working on heavy paper; but
for those who work on lightweight paper using average methods,

The method suggested here

turns out a
properly handled, will
adhere all around and remain absolutely flat, and it will work
with the pleasant tightness of a well-stretched canvas. This
method of shrinking (for that's what it really is) will give less
trouble and produce more successfully stretched paper than the
paste paper method or any other.
Our first picture (Fig. 6) shows the materials needed: a sheet
of clean wrapping paper about the size of the board being used;
a pack of white blotters; a jar of drawing board paste and a few
paste brushes; a sheet of any good handmade watercolor paper,
72 lb. rough; a five-ply plywood board about 26" x 34" for a full
sheet or 17" x 26" for a half. It is a good idea to have at least two
of each size. The plywood board is placed on the drawing table
with the wrapping paper on top of it the blotters, paste and
brushes are placed convenienth'.
Wet the watercolor paper (Fig. 7) by slipping it loosely half
folded under cold water which you have run in the bathtub. It
is important that it be completely submerged and remain submerged during the few^ minutes required to become thoroughly
wet.
stretching

is

imperative.

nicely stretched paper.

Any

sheet,

33

if

WATERC;OLOH PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

34

Fl(..

Grasp the wet paper by the corners and Hft it carefully out of
the water. Flop it onto the wrapping paper (Fig. 8), quickly
taking a blotter to soak up any large amount of water that might
run

off.

In our fourth picture (Fig. 9) the edge of the paper is being

dried it must be blotted all around to a width of about threequarters of an inch. Since the paper dries very rapidly this

should be done quickly.

FIG. 9

HOW TO STRETCH WATERCOLOR PAPER

35

FIG. 10

Fig. 10 ) to a
Appl\- paste around the edge of the paper
width of about one-half inch. Use a spare piece of mat board as
an aid in keeping neatl\- within the one-half inch width. The
drawing ])oard paste is put on just as it comes from the jar. It
must be ])rushed on smoothly and thoroughh'. Here again speed
is most important.
The wrapping paper is lifted and placed on some other table
so that the watercolor paper ma\- be lifted o\er and lowered onto
(

FIG. 11

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

36

FIG.

12

the plywood board. The paper should be placed so that an even

border of wood is left all around (Fig. 11). Run your thumb
lightly around the edge to be sure it has firmly adhered.
All excess moisture is again blotted from the entire border.

The

gentle pulling operation

and with considerable

torn. Generally, just a little

slight

unevenness that

shown (Fig. 12) is done sparingly

wet watercolor paper is easily
pressure is enough to flatten any

care, since

may

exist.

Allow the paper

pletely before starting to paint.

FIG.

13

to dry

com-

HOW TO STRETCH WATERCOLOR PAPER

When

the watercolor

with a razor blade

finished

is

Fig. 13

37
it

can be cut

off

the board

The pasted border should be

left on,

be attached. Assuming
that the first sheet is ]:)onded to the l:)()ard finnh', one can stretch
quite a few papers, each adhering to the previous border. When
the border builds up too high, the whole thing can then he pried
off. Portions that can't be pried oft must be soaked with lukewarm
water and scraped until the board is clean.
The ease with which work can be done on this taut surface is
ample payment for the trouble invoKed in stretching. At least
the basic element in a watercolor the paper will not stand in
the way of a successful painting if \ou follow this procedure.
for

it

is

to this that the next sheet will

WATERCOLOH PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

38

H^

FIG. 14

3
Getting Under Way
ONCE YOU HAVE ASSEMBLED yoiir equipment, you will be wise to
spend some time becoming acquainted with it before undertaking
your first picture. While there is no one best way of doing this,
the following exercises, long tested through classroom use, afford
a sound guide.
''Transparent" Painting

First,

it

should be clear that the type

which will receive most of our attention

volume is the orthodox, traditional type often

of watercolor painting

throughout

this

loosely referred to as "transparent" painting, in contrast with

other types
to the use of

commonly

called "opaque." (This latter term refers

such opaque colors as gouache, tempera, casein, and

or regular watercolor thickened with opaque

show card paint

white.
It

is

self-evident,

transparent. If that

however, that no watercolor work

is

truly

we would constantly see the

through the color; we know that often

were the

case,

white of the paper plainly

the paper is hidden entirely. Keep in mind, therefore, that the
term "transparent" is used by artists only for lack of a better
one, and is relative. Perhaps "translucent" or "semiopaque" would
be more suitable. Only when paints such as we deal with here
are greatly diluted with water do they approach true transparency; when less diluted, they are translucent; when employed
full strength, they are opaque (or nearly so). One of your first
experiments is designed to test your different paints in order to
learn how nearly transparent each one is.

Methods
let's

As a preliminary to this, however,

of Application
examine the several common ways in which the artist ap-

watercolor paints to his paper. This is a basic matter

fully understood from the start, so the reader
should carry out exercises of his own to test all of the procedures
here presented.

plies his

which should be

39

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

40
EXERCISE

on

Line

Work

First,

the artist often lays his color

what might be

called a linear manner. In other words, he

"draws" his color into place using strokes of his brush. These
in

strokes

may

vary in width from a hair line

A, Fig. 14 ) to an inch

more ( B ) They may also vary greatly in length and direction,

some long, some short; some straight, some curved; some wavy
or irregular ( C and D ) Similarly, some lines may be sharp ( C
some soft (E), some unifonii, some graded (F), some broken (I
and J). They may differ in color and in value. Such lines will also
show contrasts of texture, these being determined very often b\
or

the surfaces of the papers used. Try

many such

lines,

working

for

variety.

EXERCISE 2: Dry-Brush Wo r A: if, in such linear work, the

brush is dipped frequently into paint which is thin and liquid,
the strokes will be quite sharp and clean-cut (G) unless, of
course, the paint is extremely pale. If, howe\ er, the brush begins
to run out of paint, or if the paint was originalh^ thick, the brush
strokes will be ragged and broken (K), particularly if the paper
is rough. Experiment in this direction.
These latter strokes, or paintings developed mainly through
their use, are designated as "dry-brush" work. Though relatively

few watercolorists paint

entireh^ in dry-brush,

many

use

it

oc-

development of textures of such

things as rough building materials, the bark of trees, and coarse
cloth. Foliage can often be represented to advantage thiough
casionally, particularh' for the

dry-brush technique.
EXERCISE 3: Dabs; Stipple As a variation of the linear approach, the artist may "dab" his color in place, merely touching
his paint-laden brush to the paper again and again (H). By
\'arying his kind and size of brush, and his brush position or
pressure, he can produce an amazing variety of brush marks.
Occasionally artists paint some passages through the use of
hundreds of tiny brush marks placed side b\^ side in close proximity. This type of work (L) is called "stipple" or "stippling." By
contrasting these juxtaposed colors, following much the s\'stem
used by the French Impressionists, and known as pointillism,"
painters are able to set up a sort of vibration or scintillation
sometimes useful in obtaining atmospheric effects, appearances
of distance, or suggestions of movement as in foliage. Try these
this

'

dabs and dots for yourself.

GETTING UNDER

WAY

41

Spatter and Spray Now and then the artist may spray color
onto either the whole of a painting or a part of it. He nia\' use
for this a mouth or hull) atomizer, or the mechanical device
known as the aiibrush. Or he may spatter paint onto certain
areas. These are but occasional expedients, however, so we shall
pass them by. For a full explanation of such methods see the
author's book. Drawing with Pen and Ink (Reinhold).
EXERCISE 4: Wash Work Aside from these various kinds of
lines, dabs or dots, which together make possible one basic t\ pe
of watercolor painting a ''drawn" or linear t\pe we have
another wholh' different yet equalh' basic "painted" or "wash"
type. In this, the brush usualh^ of considerable size is employed to con\ey quite a puddle of liquid paint to the paper, this
"wash' then being brushed (or allowed to flow under control
of the brush) over quite a large area of the paper, paint being
added a brushful at a time as needed, or reduced (picked up by
a partly dr\' brush and wiped off on a rag or l:)lotter ) as the limits
of the area are reached. Such washes, when applied and dried,
may be either "flat" that is, uniform throughout (A, Fig. 15)
or "graded" ( Fig. B ) If the latter, the gradation ma> be from
,

o^i??

FIG.

15

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

42

from dark to light, or from one color to another.

something of a trick and a very valuable one to learn
to "run" or "lay" a wash efficiently, especialh when the paper
area to be covered is large or irregular in contour. At the very
beginning it would be well for you to spend several hours getting
a start at mastering this art one at which even professionals
are sometimes not too proficient.
light to dark,
It is

whether alone or in mixture, are much easier to

form of washes than others. The coarser the pigment particles, or the greater their tendency to separate or to
settle to the bottom of the prepared wash, the more difficult one
may find it to run the wash. Never forget, in doing wash work,
to stir, stir, stir your paint.

Some

handle

paints,

in the

As a preliminar}' to laying a flat wash, one nomially mixes

enough color ahead of time to cover the desired area completely.
He next pitches his board at an incline just sufficient to permit
the wash to flow slowly without danger of running out of bounds
or oft the paper. The area to be filled with wash is customarily
outlined in pencil. The artist's aim is to coat this area precisely
with a tone unifonii throughout. As a preliminary to this, it is
sometimes well for him to wet the area with clear water, brushed
exactly to the boundary line. (This preliminary wetting is not
always done; it proves most valuable when one seeks nearly
perfect results.) As soon as the shine has died down, but while
the paper is still damp, the wash can be started.

Dipping a large and sharply pointed brush, the artist gives

a shake or two (over his color cup) so as to get rid of surplus
paint and thus prevent the brush from dripping on his paper.
If it still seems too wet, he may touch the point to the inside
top edge of the cup, or to a rag or blotter. He then puts brush
to paper lightly and carefully, usually at the upper left-hand
corner of the area to be painted ( if he is right-handed
He then
strokes it deliberately to the right (when you do this, don't get
nervous and hurry!), dipping it once or twice or as often as
necessary to form a wet "puddle." With a puddle thus formed
all the way across the top of the area, he re-dips his brush and
starts once more at the left. With some paints, it is best merely
to touch the point of the lower edge of the established puddle,
painting another band to the right, allowing the puddle to flow
it

GETTING UNDER

WAY

43

of its own accord (Fig. 16). The brush should be dipped

enough to maintain a good wet puddle at all times.
With other paints especially those containing pigment particles which tend to settle to the paper surface very quickly
it may prove better for the artist to work back into the lower

down

often

FIG.

16

part but only the lower part of the area first painted, using,
perhaps, a round-and-round stirring movement of the brush just
as though he were painting small circles. (An up-and-down
motion is sometimes substituted. ) As he gradually proceeds from
left to right in this way, the puddle should flow down uniformly
to re-form at the bottom. He should never forget that in order
to maintain an adequate puddle, he may need to dip his brush
again and again; he must keep the puddle wet. The main thing
to avoid is the drying out of part of the area too soon.
He should now return once more to the left and proceed as
before, gradually supplying just enough paint to keep the puddle

wet as he paints this third band across. (The upper areas which
were first painted will soon begin to dry. One shouldn't go back
into them once they start to set and lose their shine or he
will be in trouble.) This entire procedure should be repeated
as necessary until the designated area has been nearly filled.
As one approaches the lower boundary line, his job (aside
from painting exactly to the pencil boundary a thing which
it is good practice to try to do at all times) is to take up any
surplus paint which may flow down to make the puddle too wet
along the lower edge. As has already been hinted, he does this
by drying his brush slightly touching it to blotting paper or a
rag after which it will absorb the surplus paint. In this, one

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

44

should work with an especially light hand, trying not to disturb

which may have set. And he shouldn't

edge of the washed area will
soon
and
paint
dry too
from above may streak down across it,
preventing a uniform result. Yet if one fails to absorb the surplus
moisture, the area above the puddle will become dry, and the
puddle may creep back over it to form a blemish.
When you start this practice for yourself, if your first wash
doesn't dry out uniformly, you simply haven't acquired the
proper knack. But don't let it annoy you. Try again and again.
With practice you will soon develop this extremely valuable skill
of running a uniform wash. Much will depend, however, on the
any pigment
"lift"

too

size of

particles

much

paint, or the lower

your predetermined area.

satisfactory

wash a few inches

successfully a large area

Graded washes
general procedure

an

are even
is

It is

in size

an easy thing to run a

and quite another

to cover

entire sky, for instance.

more

difficult,

though much the same

followed. For a large graded

the

wash

a sky,

sometimes mixes
a number of color cups of wash, each a little darker than the
previous one. He builds his puddle with the lightest wash,
then shifts to the next and so on. With practice, he can learn
to create in this way a gradual transition from light to dark (or
from one color to another).
Some prefer to work from dark to light. If so, they should of
course reverse the order of using this premixed color. Not infrequently, they grade dark to light and back again, or the reverse.
In the case of color, they similarly grade from one hue to another,
then to a third, and so on.
If an area is comparatively small, it is seldom necessary to
prepare the cups of color in advance. If one has learned always
to keep his wash wet, he can probably master in a few attempts
the trick of increasing or decreasing any given color in order to
secure uniform gradation. Often he adds paint or water from
time to time to his pool or puddle on his palette, thus reloading
his brush with paint of the right hue and value.
Let me stress once more that this matter of wash laying is very
important. Stick to it (even if it takes a week) until you can lay
a wash of any size and kind. Many painters are needlessly handicapped for half a lifetime because of failure to acquire this knack
of laying flat and graded washes.
again, or a large area of lake or sea

artist

Gaining Acquaintance with Your Paints

AS YOU EXPERIMENT With your different paints, you will discover
that each has highly individual characteristics, not only of

hue

but of texture, amenability to mixture with other colors, etc.

Before you undertake actual paintings, it is logical for you to play
around with each paint in turn, carrying out exercises on the
order of those which follow. In this way you will discover how
each color looks in its full strength, as diluted with varying
amounts of water, or as darkened with black. You will learn how
each color mixes with every other color. You will find out which
of your colors are absolutely clear and which possess sediment,
giving on application a granular quality which, for certain purposes, is highly desirable and, for others, distressing. You will
observe that some paints so dye the paper that they cannot
easily be removed, while others are so soluble that, following
application, they can be wet with water and blotted or wiped
away with little effort.
Inasmuch as various brands of paint differ one from another
in all such characteristics, we can give you only general suggestions. You must learn through experimenting with your own
paints.

Comparative Washes Choose a fairly large sheet

paper half-imperial ( 15" x 22" ) will do nicely.
On this, draw as many small rectangles as you have colors in
your palette (Fig. 17). Then fill each rectangle with a wash grading for almost pure water at the top to the strongest color of
which the pigment is capable. For ease in comparison, group
your reds, yellows, blues, greens and browns. You will learn a
lot from the mere making of the chart, and when it is finished it
will prove a valuable reference from which you can discover, at
any time at a glance, the hue and intensity of each of your colors
in full strength and as diluted.
EXERCISE

5:

of watercolor

45

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

46

Superposition of Color In making watercolor

becomes necessary to paint one color over
anotlier. Not only are many new hues thus created, but textures
of various types are developed, some of them pleasing and others
offensive. Not all colors work equally well when thus superimposed; sometimes the foundation color is dissolved by the

EXERCISE

paintings,

6:

it

often

superimposing color and a muddy effect results. Some colors are

opaque that they tend to hide any color beneath. For such

so

ALlIXRtMCRlMSOM

Ckmim

AUllEOUMYELlOW

CADMIUM

WIMSOR BLUE

RED DE F P

YE

UOW

FREMCH UITRAMARIWE

YELLOW OCHRE

COB>ALT

B^aiE.

I^AWSIENJUA

CERULEAM

B-LUE

W>iii$m90^9^^

EMERALDGI^IEM

FIG. 17.

WiKiSORGREEM

Make

V^SM?^

k-E

[^^QWK

LAMrp~.\.,r

a graded wash with each of your colors

GAINING ACQUAINTANCE WITH YOUR PAINTS

reason,

we

suggest that

by applying it
every other color.

palette
witli

not unlike that

47

on make a test with e\'ery color in your

as a narrow band and then crossing it
This \\ ill gi\ e \ on a do/en or more bands
\

in Fig. bS.

number ot things can be learned. For

be noted that the order of superposition is
important. In Fig. 19 a band of \ellow ochre was first applied
French blue was next washed o\ er it ( 2 ) When dry, a band
( 1 )
Although
of \ ellow ochre was washed over the French blue ( 3
the bkie flowed over the yellow with little damage, the ^'ello\^,
when passed o\er the blue, dissoKed and streaked it.
From such

example,

it

a test, a

will

FIG. 18. Supcrinipo.sc

Artists troubled

each of your co/o/s

in

turn with every other eoU^r

with getting mudd>' or otherwise disappoint-

ing color in their paintings should experiment extensixeh' along

these hues, for here may lie the ke\' to their difficult). They will

when several colors are applied one on top of another,

often results because the first applications are dissobed
by, and merged unpleasanth' with, the subsequent work. This
shows us that in making finished paintings we should work as
find that

"mud"

freshly

and

a\oiding a build-up of la)er on

should use for foundation washes onh

direct!)' as possible,

layer of paint.

Or we

those paints which

we

FIG.

kno\\' to

19.

Order

be resistant to

of superimposifion

later overpainting.

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

48
EXERCISE
still

7:

Water-Resistance Test Fig. 20 carries

further. Parallel

bands of

all

this

thought

the colors of the palette were

applied and allowed to dry. Then water was carried across

stiff bristle brush, using a scrubbing motion. Some
colors immediately dissolved and were almost entirely washed
away. Other colors resisted the water. Try this for yourself. These
latter colors would obviously be the best ones for foundation
washes in a painting the first to be applied while the others
might better be reserved for subsequent application.
first

them with a

FIG. 20. Water-resistance test

EXERCISE 8: Opacity of Color In Fig. 21 a line of black waterproof ink was painted across the paper. This was then superimposed with various colors. Some of these cadmium red, cadmium yellow and emerald green, for instance nearly hid the
line. Such opaque colors can be very valuable when one wishes to
hide or disguise unpleasant passages but should not be used in
full strength when it is desirable to have underlying color or
detail show through. Test your colors in some such manner.
EXERCISE 9: Test for Fading Many a good watercolor painting has been injured some of them ruined through long
exposure to strong light. Certain colors resist light well; others
fade badly. Here is an easy test of your own colors; make it now

FIG. 21.

Opacity

test

GAINING ACQUAINTANCE

\\'ITH

YOUR PAINTS

49

and by the time you are reach" to start \ our "masterpieces" you
should know a lot about e\ er\ color's permanence.
Paint a vertical band (a half-inch or so wide) of each of your
colors in full intensit\ all the way down a sheet of paper, so that
\ou finalh" have a dozen or more parallel bands. Then cut this
paper horizontally in several strips; each strip will thus contain
a sample of each color. Write the names of the colors on at least
one of the strips preferably all and add the date.
Place one strip permanenth* in bright sunlight, as at a window;
another in bright light but awa\' from the sun; a third in a darker
part of the room; and a fourth in a drawer or elsewhere, where
no light can penetrate. E\ery few weeks, la\' these strips side
by side for comparison. If an\' colors are proved by this test to
be too fugiti\ e they can be rejected from your palette at least
for any serious work. For all-around practice, however, you will
probably find that each of >'Our colors is sufRcienth" light-proof.

Color Qualities: Values and Their Measurements

AS TO THE EXPERIMENTS to this point, you need not perform them
at any particular time or in any particular way. They offer you
no panacea no guarantee of success. Their purpose is only to
give you, previous to any great amount of actual picturemaking,
at least a basic understanding of the leading qualities and characteristics of your paints, and an increased knowledge of how
to manage them. If you prefer to pitch right into painting
pictures without devoting time to such preliminaries, your impatience is understandable, and it must be admitted that no amount
of such advance practice can prepare you to cope successfully
with the many problems of painting a picture. You must wrestle
with each as it comes. But isn't this all the more reason for
first trying these exercises?

Mixing and Matching Colors There is one sort of preliminary

exercise which under no condition should be neglected, as it is
worth far more than the time which it takes. This has to do with
the mixing and matching of colors.
Let us suppose that you have selected a palette of a dozen
or fifteen paints. In nature there are literally thousands

upon

thousands of hues, some bright, some dull, some light, some dark.
How, with your few paints, can you represent them all?
Frankly, you can't hope to match each one perfectly, especially

viewed in brilliant sunshine. It is by no means necessary

you to do so. In fact, the most satisfactory pictures are often
painted with a somewhat limited palette, nature's colors being
greatly simplified and conventionalized. It is important, however,
for you to be able, when you wish, to approximate quickly and
without conscious effort any of nature's hues.
As an aid to this, you should at once learn certain qualities
if it is

for

or

characteristics

of

your different

principles of color mixture.

50

colors,

along with basic

COLOR QUALITIES VALUES AND MEASUREMENTS

51

Some

Before venturing into this new field,

it seems best to stop for a few general definitions without which
it is hard for the writer and reader to find a meeting ground.
Unfortunately, the terms common to the field of color can
pro\e \'ery confusing. The ph\sicist, dealing with color in the
form of light, utilizes a highly scientific vocabulary. The psychologist, concerned with visual and mental impressions of color, has
another tenninology equally erudite. The painter prefers his own
language, somewhat more simple yet scarcely less strange to the
layman's ears. And even the painter is not always consistent.
Many of his words, such as "shade," "tint," "tone," and "value,"
have a variet\^ of meanings.
If these variations were confined to terminology that would
be bad enough, but the student of painting is confronted with
more vital differences. Referring again to the physicist, you will
recall from Chapter 1 that his "primary" or basic colors from
which all other colors can be created remember he is dealing
with light are red, green and blue ( blue-violet ) To the psychologist, the primaries are red, yellow, green, blue, black, and
white. The painter's primaries our primaries as we work with
color in the form of paint are often stated as red, yellow, and
blue. You will remember that these are the printer's primaries,
too; together with black, all the color work of this book was
printed with these three. We should perhaps point out, however,
that some systems of color notation the Munsell, for instance
use, as their principal hues (in place of our three primaries),
red, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Still others use red, yellow,
First,

Definitions

green,

and

blue.

So the terms that

to

which you

are

I shall employ may or may not be the ones

accustomed, although most of them have

general acceptance in the field of painting.

Hue Color possesses three qualities or attributes of which
the most outstanding is perhaps hue. Webster defines "hue" as
"that attribute in respect to which colors may be described as

an intermediate between two of

..."
the word 'Tiue" relates to
language,
In the layman's
these
the name of the color. An apple is red; red is the hue of that
apple.
can alter the hue of a color by mixing another color
with it. If we mix red paint with yellow paint we produce
red, yellow, green, or blue, or as

We

orange paint. That

is

a change in hue.

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

52
Brilliance;

Value

Webster

defines "brilliance" as "that one

which

of the three attributes of a color ... in respect to

it

may

be classed as equivalent to some member of the series of grays

ranging from black to white; roughly the degree of resemblance
to white or difference from black."
Many artists prefer, in place of the term "brilliance," the word

by brilliance or value that we are able to discriminate between light red and dark red. By mixing a color with
something lighter or darker than itself we change its value.
"value." It

is

Chroma; Intensity Coming to our third color

and again quoting Webster, "saturation is that attribute
respect to which colors may be differentiated as being higher

Saturation;
quality,
in

or lower in degree of vividness of hue; that

is,

as differing in

degree from gray." As "saturation" refers to vividness or distinctness of hue, the more gray we mix in a color the less saturated
it becomes.
Some artists substitute the word "chroma" for "saturation."
(Webster tells us that "chroma" characterizes a color qualitatively without reference to its brilliance [value], thus embracing
both hue and saturation.
Still more in use by the artist in this connection is the word
"intensity." Therefore, that is the term we shall employ in the

coming chapters, despite the

fact that

many

authorities don't

recognize "intensity" as a color term. Simply stated, some colors

are strong and some weak; the quality by which we distinguish
between them is called "intensity."
can change the intensity
of a color by mixing it with something which tends to dull or
gray it.
can change intensity without changing value or hue
by adding neutral gray of equal value.

We

We

Normal
strength

Colors;

may be

value." If lighter
sense,

it is

a color.

wrong

Tints;

Shades

color in

its

full,

natural

called a "normal color," or a "color of normal

we

call

it

a "tint";

if

darker, a "shade." In this

to refer to a "light shade" or a "dark tint" of

Remember

Tone The word

that all tints are light, all shades are dark.

"tone" is another of varied and complex

meaning. Webster offers this for "tone": "Color quality or value;
any tint or shade of color; any modification of a chromatic or
achromatic color with respect to brilliance or saturation; also,
the color which appreciably modifies a hue or white or black; as,

COLOR QUALITIES VALUES AND MEASUREMENTS

:

53

a bright dark or light tone of bhie; the gray walls took on a greenish
tone; the soft tones of the old marble." As to painting, Webster
adds this thought on the word "tone": "The general effect due
to the combination of light and shade, together with color;

commonly implying harmony;

Complicated? Don't
artists

excellent

let

colorists

it

as, this

picture has tone."

worry you. Some of our leading

little or nothing of such defi-

know

nitions.

For your present purpose of making

each of your water might be considered as a "normal" color, that term sometimes being loosely
applied to one's more intense colors just as they come from the
tube. Some painting will be done with your colors in this natural
form. Often, however, it will be necessary to lighten, darken,
intermix or otherwise so modify them as to create a greater
variety of hues to approximate the myriad colors of nature.
color paints

at

least the

more

tests,

brilliant

ones

There are several ways in which you can obtain, on your white
paper, tints of each of your colors ( 1 ) You can dilute the paint
:

with water; obviously, the more water you add, the lighter the

method for the watercolorist to

create tints, and by far the most common. (2) You can add
white paint. (This method is usually reserved for painting an
occasional high light, or for making minor corrections, or for
work generally opaque in nature see Chapter 10. ) ( 3 ) You
tint will be.

This

is

the best

can brush the paint on so very dry that it "breaks" to let the
white paper show through in places. (The rougher the paper,
the more easily this method can be used. ) ( 4 ) You can cover an
area of your paper with small separated dots of color. The eye
will blend these dots with the surrounding white, through this
optical admixture, gaining the effect of a tint. (5) You can also
lighten a color by mixing it with some other color of lighter
value, though this will, of course, change the hue as well as the
value.

The common way

is to darken
with gray or black. It can also be mixed with some other color
(or colors) darker than itself, though this again changes both

to obtain true shades of a color

it

value and hue.

EXERCISE 10: Value Comparisons Vaint a row of squares

(each an inch or so in size) horizontally across the middle of a

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

54

sheet of paper, one for each of your colors just as it comes from
the tube. Group your reds; also, the yellows, blues, greens, and
browns. Above this row of squares, paint a second row in which

every color

is

somewhat lightened by the addition of water,

series of tints. Above this, add another row in

giving you a
which the colors

are

still

further

diluted

possible), creating even lighter tints.

Still

(as

above

uniformly as
this add, if

you wish, another row or two, with your paints so greatly diluted
as to result in very pale tints of all of

your

colors.

same general procedure, painting

several rows below your normal colors, adding more and more
As

to

shades, follow the

black to each new row.

Analysis You will now begin to see what a variety of colors
is obtainable through even this simple mixture of water or black
to each of your normal colors. Some interesting comparisons will
also be evident. If you study your two series showing normal
colors and tints, and normal colors and shades, you will observe,
among other things, that normal colors vary greatly in tone, some
being quite light and others quite dark. For example, yellow in
its normal form is very light in tone really a tint in relation
to most normal colors. Therefore, as you add the water to yellow
to create a series of yellowish tints, these will vary only slightly
in value one from another. On the contrary, in the case of a
paint which is normally dark, deep blue or violet, for instance
as you add the water to create tints, you will discover a very
noticeable difference from area to area. Whereas a light tint of
yellow will look quite similar in value to the normal yellow
paint, a light tint of deep blue or violet will look very different
from the normal deep blue or violet.
Now study your areas of shade. Here the yellow will change
very rapidly in tone as the black is added to make it darker. The
chances are that a dark shade of yellow will have an appearance
which, if seen as an isolated spot, you would scarcely recognize
as being yellow, yet, strictly speaking, it is. In the case of your
deep blue or violet, there will be far less difference in your shade
squares. Try to get all such differences in mind by forcing

make such comparisons as the above, so that if you

wish to represent a certain tint or shade when working
from nature you will know just what paint will give it to you
through the addition of water or black only.

yourself to
later

COLOR QUALITIES VALUES AND MEASUREMENTS

:

55

could sufficiently impress upon you the importance

of trying to memorize the fundamental appearances of these tints
and shades which you can obtain by the simple addition of water
or black to each of your colors.
In painting these first comparative squares of Exercise 10,
it is improbable that you will succeed in "stepping" your colors
as gradually as you would like from the palest of tints to the
darkest of shades. You will try, however, to add your water (or
black ) to your paint in exactly the right quantity for each square
so that your gradation will be as uniform as possible. But don't
worry if you fall short of your goal. It doesn't matter much.
Whatever your success or lack of it, you won't be wasting your
time for, through all this manipulation, you are certain to familiarize yourself quite thoroughly with each of your individual
hues while at the same time automatically developing considerable control of mixing and painting procedures. These are the
I

wish

things that count.

EXERCISE 11: Value Scales In view of the fact that one of

your main jobs in representational painting will often be to
match nature's tones as well as you can, not only in hue but in
value, it's not a bad idea, while you are on the subject, to make
a few additional and more accurate value scales to supplement those described for Exercise 10. Start with such typical
colors as your most dominant red, yellow, blue, and green. Later,
go as far as you choose.
You are likely to be more successful in this effort if you take
a few minutes first to make at least one or two carefully executed
black-and-white scales. They will prove of use in more than one
way. In our accompanying illustration (Fig. 22) we show, as a
guide, a pair of such scales. (The original drawing was done in
pen and ink, rather than watercolor, in order to insure more
faithful reproduction.
This drawing which you will of course interpret with your
watercolor paints is practically self-explanatory. For a "stepped"
scale, as at "A," first pencil on your paper a vertical row of nine
squares, each an inch or so in size. (Any number of squares
may be used; the scale is a purely conventional and arbitrary
thing. Nine, as shown, are convenient. ) The first of these squares,
at the top, you will leave bare plain white paper. The bottom
square you will paint solid black. Halfway between, you will

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

56

apply a "half black" or "middle gray," formed by diluting your

black paint with water until it satisfies your eye as being a
neutral gray. (As all watercolor paints seem to lighten as they
dry, you may have to go over the area more than once to build
it to the desired value.) Adding still more water, paint next a
"quarter black" or "light gray" tone as indicated in the third
square from the top. Now add black and paint the "three-quarter
black" or "dark gray" tone as indicated in the third square from
the bottom. Next paint four carefully adjusted intermediate steps.

AG RAPED"

A'iTEPPEP'

SCALE

SCALE

(The above procedure, which

keeps you alternately lightening
and darkening your color, is
usually

^^AjJbi

more

accurate,

slower, than the

though

mere addition

of a bit of water for each step

from the black

both methods

iii

^IMi
wmvr^'^^m

all

to the white.

Try

you wish;

it's

if

excellent practice.)

te!;.ri:f..-r4-;.yi

Wi?\*S

Nature's values from light to

dark of course seldom follow
such a definite scheme of graduated steps as this arbitrary scale
records. Nature shows us every
possible nuance from bright light
(far "whiter" than our whitest
paper) to the blackest of black
"darker than the inside of a
cow." We therefore come a bit
closer to her myriad tones when

we draw
stepped
that

at

painted

or paint, instead of a

scale, a

"B."

graded scale like

making your

In

interpretation

of

this,

you will preferably start with

a puddle of pure water, adding
black by degrees. (This is quite
a knack which you may not acquire for some time. Therefore,
FIG.

22

VALUE SCALES

COLOR QUALITIES VALUES AND MEASUREMENTS

57

you may have

once

to paint over this

or parts of

it

more

than

in order to obtain the desired uniformity of gradation.

When

you have finished these black-and-white scales, try

putting them to use. Look around your room at some particular area of white plaster, perhaps, or a white door. Hold up your
scale in good light and compare with it the tone you have picked.
With a little experience your scale, used in this manner, will
prove a sort of yardstick for "measuring" the value of any tone
in nature. Compared with your scale, is the tone in question
(as it appears to the eye, not as you know it to be) quarter
black, half black, three-quarters black or what? Study a white
house outdoors, again "measuring" its various values by comparing each with your scale. This practice will help you more
than you think, for you will gradually become more aware of
values, and more discriminating as to their subtle differences.
This will be of great help when you start to paint actual pictures,
for the value of a color is often as important as its hue sometimes more so. ( Of course the two are inseparable.
Now at last you are ready to make some reasonably accurate
value scales using some of your typical colors each lightened
with water and darkened with black as necessary. Paint a number
of these, following either the stepped or the graded white-toblack form, or both. Then use these scales, one at a time, in an
attempt to "measure" some of the colors you see in nature. Hold
up each scale in turn for comparison with areas of similar hue,
just as you did your black-and-white scales.
Another revealing test, in this connection, is to cut or punch
a small opening in a sheet of white cardboard a half inch or
an inch will do and then peek through this opening at some
limited area of one of nature's colors. Its hue and value will
now show clearly against the white card. By isolating a single
area in this way it will be far easier to judge it than when it is
surrounded by a lot of other hues. Study area after area, comparing it both with your white card and with your various
scales, and try to judge it not only as to hue, but also as to value.
Another way of learning values and hues through comparison
is to cut or punch small holes through all the areas of a stepped
value scale, then by peeking through each hole in turn, endeavor
to find values and hues in nature which match those of vour scale.

6
Color Mixing and Matching: Color Charts
YOU HAVE NOW MIXED cach of your watercolor paints with water
and with black to obtain a full gamut of values. You have also
made value scales in black and white, as well as in color, and
have practiced "measuring" nature's tones by comparing them
with these scales. All of this exercise, even if it served no other
purpose, could (1) strengthen your realization that areas of
color as seen in nature vary not merely in hue but in degree of
light and dark, and (2) sharpen your faculties of observation
and discrimination between one hue or value and another.
Now the Real Fun At last comes the excitement of turning
magician, for your next move is to create an endless variety of
colors of your

own by mixing

together, in pairs (and perhaps

later in groups of three or more), your various paints just as

you squeeze them from the tube.
EXERCISE 12: Be a Good Mixer When it comes to mixing a
color with another in order to discover what the two will yield,
there is no one best way; any experiments which you perform
will help you. Yet it goes without saying that the more systematic
your procedure, the more you will profit. Whatever your method,

your final purpose, as earlier stated, is to learn how to obtain

from your dozen or so paints the numerous colors needed when,
in later painting your pictures, you wish to interpret any of
nature's multitudinous hues.
Fig. 23 suggests one logical procedure: first, squeeze out a
small amount of color (a) and, two or three inches away, a like
amount of any second color (b). Then, using a brush and a
minimum amount of water ( so as not to overdilute them ) bring
the two together (c) and intermix them thoroughly to form a
puddle of paint. To extend your experiment further, add more
water gradually to your mixture (c), extending it on your paper
to create a series of tints approaching pure water (white) as at
(d). Next squeeze out a bit of black (e) and add it gradually
,

58

COLOR MIXING AND MATCHING

59

A/a/ng e.veTcwe

FIG. 23.

Thus \ ou will not onl>' see what

( c
the two colors through admixture will \ield in the wa\' of a
to the color just created

third color, but \"ou will discoxer

in a full

Repeat

gamut

of \-alues ranging

this exercise

You should

how

appear
dark shades.

this third color will

from

light tints to

with man\" pairs of paints.

them again and again,

memorizing the appearance of each hue and its component parts.
Thus, when \-ou \\'ish to represent some specific hue seen in
sa\-e

the results and stud\-

and \ou don't ha\e a read\'-mixed paint of the right

\ou will know preciseh' how to produce it.
A Fascinating Discovery This mixing of colors can prove
as entertaining as it is informati\e. B>- a sort of magic >ou will
create from \our limited number of original hues a large number
of new hues: we ha\e seen that in theory, if not in practice, all
colors can be mixed from the three primaries, red, \ellow, and
blue, plus black and white.
You will note interesting things about these mixtures. For
example, one pair of bright colors such as red and yellow ) will
mix together to produce a third bright color (orange), while
another pair of equally bright colors (such as red and green)
will, on the contrar)*, intermix to produce a dull color (gray or
drab brown ) ^^'h^?

nature,
color,

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

60

A Color Wheel Such differences can perhaps best be noted,

understood, and memorized by referring to (or, better yet, by
making) a highly convenient and clever gadget known as a color
wheel. (See Fig. 24.) Different authorities recommend different
wheels; unless you go more deeply into color study it matters
little which you make. Every such wheel is an artificial thing
roughly representing the detachment from the solar spectrum of
the portion of that spectrum visible to the human eye. The bringing together, purely for convenience, of the ends of that visible
portion to form a circle has no counterpart in nature.
EXERCISE 13: Making a Color Wheel As you can learn so
a color wheel on the order of that shown above, why
not make one?
First, rough out in pencil on your paper a circle six or seven
inches wide or any convenient size.

much from

Primary Colors Start by applying, in the positions indicated

by our diagram, small areas of three primary colors: red, yellow,
and blue. You may not have a red as clear and bright as could
be desired, but choose your "reddest" red one which is inclined
toward neither orange nor violet. Paint at the left of your circle
an area of this red, full strength. Next, choose your purest
yellow, and add an area of that, as indicated by our diagram.
Do the same with blue. ( Some manufacturers offer paints especially

made up

as primaries, secondaries, etc.)

Secondary Colors If you mix together primary red and primary yellow they will give you orange; primary yellow and primary
blue will give green, and primary blue and primary red will give
violet.

colors.

These three new

Apply them in the

colors

are

often

called

"secondary"

positions indicated.

Intermediate Colors Similarly, by mixing the primaries and

secondaries as shown, you can obtain "intermediate" hues. ( They
are sometimes referred to as "tertiary" colors but a tertiary,
according to Webster, is made by mixing two secondaries. Yet

you needn't be unduly concerned with these names; in themselves they mean very little. The thing which counts is that
when the colors are arranged around an arbitrary circle such
as we have in our diagram, they give us to repeat a very
useful instrument.

COLOR MIXING AXD MATCHING

61

>^

FIG. 24.

VIOILT

Color wJ]cel

Analogous Colors Colors which are adjoining or adjacent

any one of the primaries on the color wheel are ob\-iously
somewhat similar in nature or of one famih'. We refer to these
as "analogous" or "related" colors. Red, red-orange, and red-

to

contain red. So are blue, bluegreen, and blue-\iolet; the\' all contain blue. Because of their
common factor, analogous colors of an\- one famih* usualh'
haniionize estheticalh* among themsehes and so can be em\-iolet

are analogous, as they

plo>ed together

all

safely.

Complementary Colors Colors which He directh* opposite to

each other on our arbitrary wheel (t\pical pairs are red and
green, \-ellow and \iolet, blue and orange) are, on the other
hand, dissimilar in character to an extent inharmonious, at
least in their natural state. The\ do not belong to the same family.
Such opposite colors are called ''complement" or "complementary^
colors."

These opposite colors are the ones which tend to annihilate

each other when mixed together. We hdve seen that red mixed
with green produces gra}' or brownish-gra>'. Similarh, \ellow
mixed with \iolet tends to gi\-e us a dull hue. If we mix blue
with its complementar}'^ orange, these once more tr) to neutralize
each other. And so it is with an\- opposite pair on our chart,

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

62

such as blue-violet and yellow-orange, red-orange and bluegreen, red-\'iolet and \ello\v-green.

Colors

which are

on our chart as to
our three primaries, (2)
our three secondaries, (3) our two trios of intermediates are
Triads

form equilateral triangles

so positioned

i.e.,

(1)

sometimes known as "triads." Just as complementary colors fonii

brownish hues when intermixed, so do triads.
( This should be obvious, for if you mix together red, yellow, and
blue, it is the same as if you mixed red and green, for what is
green but a combination of }ellow and blue?) It naturally follows
that if you inteniiix a lot of miscellaneous colors the resultant
color is almost sure to be a dull gra\' or brown sometimes a
gray-green. (The reader can learn a valuable lesson from this
simple fact. If he wishes an}' area in a painting to be colorful,
he must hold to clean, clear colors; the more hues he inteiTiiixes,
or applies in such small dots that the eye automatically intennixes
them, the more neutral his area will become.
A Strange Paradox One of the most amazing and fascinating
things about color is this: we ha\'e seen that complementary
colors, in mixture, tend to annihilate each other. Contrarily, when
placed side by side each intensifies the other. Test this for yourself. If you wish to make an area of bright orange look all the
brighter, surround it with an area of bright blue; the blue,
through contrast, will definitely increase the apparent brightness
dull gra\'ish or

seem brighter.
A Practical Application If you are picturing a building
bathed in the yellows and oranges of sunlight, and you wish to
make it look still more sunny, you can use, adjacent to these
warm colors, cooler colors such as blue, blue-violet, and bluegreen, thus creating (through what is known as "simultaneous
contrast") an illusion of brighter light. One reason why artists
employ so man>- blue and purple shadows is because they know
of the orange. Also the blue will

that through this complementar}' contrast they can

make

their

sunm^ areas more brilliant in effect.

Another Chart Application When it comes to everyday color
mixture, you will discover the value of your chart again and
again. As a single example of this, let us suppose that you ha\ e
mixed some red-\-iolet and that it is a little too bright for your
purpose. You know from \our chart (which you should endeavor
to memorize keep it before you until you do ) that by adding

COLOR MIXING AND MATCHING

63

yellow-green to \oiir red-\ iolet \ou will dull it somewhat. (You

could also dull it through the addition of gra\- or black, but more
pleasing colors are usualh' generated through a mixture of more
colorful hues.

'

EXERCISE 14: MafcJiing Xatures Hues We have spoken of

holding up \our color scales for direct comparison with the hues
\ou see in nature. Sooner or later \ou will want to test \our
abiht\- to match some of these hues with \ our paints. Don't wait
imtil \ou are making pictures before \ou do this, but choose
one color area after another and see how close \ou can come to
catching its correct color. If \ou need help, refer to your color
^^'heel and to the painted results of \"Our pre\"ious exercises.
There is no reason for \ou to limit \ourself to mixtures of two
colors

three or

the t\"pe which

more

we

ha\-e stressed. If

you ha\e

colors in order to gain the desired result,

to

do

mix
so.

won't be long before >ou can quickh" come close to almost

hue \ou find in nature with the exception of those extremeh'
brilliant ones seen at sunset or under other extreme lighting
conditions. We ha\e ahead)- pointed out that at best the artist
can oiil\- approximate some of these.
EXERCISE 15: ''Copying' Color Ar^'as Nature's colors being
so \aried and changeable, if \ ou ha\e trouble matching them
with \"our paints \ou might well turn for a while to an attempt
at matching colors as >ou see them printed in books or magazines.
Find a color picture in a magazine an ad\ertisement wiU do.
In this, select a small area the size of a dime, for instance
of one definite color. Co\er sunounding areas with strips of
paper ( or with one strip with a hole through it to mask away
other colors. Then tr\ to mix an area of watercolor of the same
hue. You won't alwa> s be wholl\- successful, partly because \ou
are using paint \\hich dries dull on \our dull paper in an attempt
to match ink which is quite likel\- to be on shin\" paper. But come
as close as \ou can.
Repeat this exercise man\- times with many
colors. Then tuni to nature again.
A logical extension of this exercise \^-ould be to cop\ a color
reproduction of a watercolor painting (or, for that matter, to
While we can't recommend such
cop\- an original watercolor
cop\ing as a general thing, there are times when one can leani
valuable lessons from it. This is one of those times. Your whole
aim will be to match each color area as well as \-ou can.
It

an\-

'

64

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

Color Schemes In Chapter 8 we shall deal at some length

with color schemes, they being another highly important consideration in which the color wheel can prove very helpful.
To give a specific application, in one type of color scheme the
artist very wisely limits his palette so that the larger areas of
his paper are covered with analogous hues. Thus he is practically
sure of harmony of color. To obtain the desired relief, however,
he utilizes small areas of complementary colors. (In an oil landscape by Corot we often find the canvas largely covered with
grass and foliage masses of a somewhat neutralized green. To
bring relief to this green and enliven the whole, the artist effectively uses a small area of red perhaps a cow or a boy's cap or
coat.

A Successful Scheme Study many paintings and you will discover that in such analogous schemes with complementary accents the artist often selects, for the larger areas of any given
painting, the analogous colors which would be found in approximately one-third or one-quarter of the circumference of our color
wheel. He then goes to the opposite side of the wheel for
complementary colors to be used in relatively small areas only.
But Be Careful! Although comparatively small complementary areas can thus be effective, the employment of anything like
equal areas of two full-strength complementary colors can be
highly dangerous; it often creates a chromatic clash. In other
words, it is generally best not to cover large adjoining or adjacent
areas with opposite or competing colors of any great degree of
brilhancy unless you are intentionally working for a dazzling,
unrestful effect. Usually, when opposites are conspicuously employed, one or the other should dominate either in area or in
hue. To give an illustration, if a painting were to be made with
roughly one-half of its area bright red ( a red barn, perhaps ) and
one-half of its area bright green (the foliage around the bam)
would have, instead, an
there would be no dominant hue.
unpleasant clash of opposites, a fighting for supremacy. To prevent such a chromatic battle, the green could be dulled down,
leaving the red to dominate, or vice versa. Or the areas might be
adjusted in size so that one of the two colors would dominate

We

through mere bulk.

Neutralized Colors Of course very few painters regularly
use their more brilliant colors in large areas and full strength

COLOR MIXING AND MATCHING

results

would be too

garish.

65

And

the less brilliant one's colors

are in any given painting, the less the danger of ol)taining a

chromatically inharmonious result. If, for instance, a Httle red

(or gray) is mixed into almost all of the greens, and a little
green (or gray) into almost all of the reds, this common factor
will tend to bring these naturally opposing colors into closer
harmony, as we mentioned in connection with the red barn.
Other complementary pairs could be similarly treated. (We
earlier saw that many colors, when purchased, are already so
neutralized.

In order to create harmony, artists frequently use complementary colors to neutralize the shade or shadow side of an
object. If one is painting a blue bowl, a certain amount of complementary orange can often be used to advantage in the shade
side. A yellow bowl might have some violet added in the shade
areas, and so on.
Timidity Whatever you do, however, don't neutralize everything. It is far better at first to risk garishness or stridency through
the use of overbright colors than to risk monotony or worse
through an attempt to "harmonize" everything.
EXERCISE 16: Try for Yourself Why not make some little
sketches (or paint experimental areas) to illustrate these points.

Or you might

like to

hunt for examples

either

actual paintings

or reproductions in color.

Importance of Color Area and Relative Position

we

shall

offer

little later

additional hints for obtaining successful color

schemes, but right now we wish to stress a most important fact:

no one, no matter how expert, can tell you exactly how to obtain,
consistently, successful color schemes in all your paintings or
anywhere else for that matter. Many have tried, and some actually offer charts, gadgets, etc., which they practically guarantee
will insure successful schemes. Dont he fooled by any excessive
claims in this direction. Some such charts and gadgets or systems
can be very useful up to a point well worth their price but
they will take you only so far.
Among the reasons why no infallible rules for color harmony
can be offered, two are outstanding: (1) Colors may be harmonious when employed in areas of a certain size, yet be inharmonious if used in different areas. (2) Colors can deceive the
eye because of the way in which they are arranged one in relation

^^'ATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

66

to another; in other words, colors which prove pleasing in some

arrangements ma\ clash (or at least proNc ineffective) in other
arrangements.
EXERCISE 17: Experiments in Area We've already discussed the
first

point

brieflx', Init let's

take a closer look. Select

some colored

paper clippings

from booklet covers, for example.

most inharmonious pair of colors you can
find. Then, with your scissors, snip out areas of these same colors
varying in size and pair them up. Study each pair by itself. Just
sheets of

From

these, pick the

as a small area of bright red usually looks effective placed next to

a large area of bright green, so one of your small clippings will

quite possibly prove pleasing in combination with a larger clip-

combination
harmonious relationship by the mere
expedient of changing the areas in size. Designers of such things
as millinery, dresses, rugs, etc., have also long since learned the
importance of thus restraining certain colors as to area, while
expanding others. Rules can be of little help here; the trained eye
ping of the other
of

is

two or more

color. Artists often bring a clashing

colors into

the best guide.

EXERCISE 18: An Area

Phenomenon

In

order to test

ther the importance of color areas, paint, side

by

side,

still

fur-

each three

and a like
area of bright green. Here you have the typical and very lively
complementary color combination repeatedly mentioned, each
or four square inches in extent, an area of bright red

Now, using the

very same red and green colors, stripe areas with alternating red
and green stripes just as narrow as you can make them with your
finest brush or a pen. (Don't allow the two colors to intermix or
overlap. But don't, for a fair test, leave any more white paper
than necessary.) Next, place these various areas, plain and
striped, eight or ten feet away. At this distance the first pair of
color heightening the other through contrast.

larger areas will still look bright. The narrow

however, will run together, merged by the eye into a
somewhat neutral tone, much as though the paints themselves
were blended together. ( Dots will do precisely the same thing.
This gives us definite proof of our statement, made in a previous
paragraph, that color area in your paintings has much to do with
color appearances and so is mighty important.
In view of this fact that fine brush marks ( lines, dashes, dots
of even the brightest colors will be optically blended when viewed
colors

the

stripes,

COLOR MIXING AND MATCHING

67

from a normal distance, opposing colors fading away amazingly,

don't, when painting, intermingle a lot of little brush marks of
bright complementary hues and expect them to exhibit chromatic
brilliancy. You may, however, obtain l)y such means unusually
vibrant tones, and if you juxtapose Inrush marks of analogous
colors you will often create lively, scintillating effects. We mentioned earlier that the "pointillistic" method of the French Impressionists was leased on this very use of myriad small spots of
varying hues generally analogous but sometimes complementary
(

placed in close proximity.

Incidentall), a

prmt

main reason why

it

is

satisfactory color reproductions of

areas which are

large

enough

next to impossible to

some paintings

in the original to

is

that

be effective are

so greatly reduced in reproduction that, like the stripes of Ex18, they lose their chromatic power. Illustrators have
learned that, when painting for reduction, it is necessary to keep
color areas large and simple somewhat posterlike.
Where Does This Leave Us? By way of summary, three
facts which stand out from all of this recent discussion are that
(1) large areas of opposite colors, juxtaposed, tend to intensify
each other; (2) myriad small areas of opposite colors, similarly
juxtaposed, are blended by the eye into neutral tone, each color
tending to annihilate its opposite; and (3) opposite colors when
mixed together also tend to neutralize or annihilate each other.

ercise

Color Arrangements, Illusion, Activity

judging colors, matching them one against
before \ ou a dozen or more squares or
circles of colored paper, each an inch or so in size, could you pickout by eye (without changing their relati\e positions) two or
H()\A'

GOOD ARE YOU

If I were

another?

at

to

h\\-

more which might actually be absolutely identical in hue? Could

\ou do this no matter what the hue of their background, and
regardless of their arrangement on this background? If so, \'0u
are exceptional. Few^ people can correctly judge colors in

arrangements; nature gi\es us many

EXERCISE 19: Color Arrangements But

all

optical illusions.
test the

thing for your-

As in Fig. 25, place side b}' side two fairly large sheets of
paper ( at least five or six inches square ) one of them light yellow
and the other of dark but intense blue. On these, lay two small
inch ) squares or other con\-enient shapes of bright
( one
self.

green paper. So arranged, the green against the dark blue will
seem lighter than before and slight!}- yellowish, while the green
against the light }-ellow will appear darker and slight!}- bluegreen. (Lay transparent tissue paper o\-er the wliole and tlie
contrast will be even more pronounced; it is sometimes liard to
beheve that the two green squares are actual!}- of identical liue.

FIG.

2o

68

COLOR ARRANGEMENTS, ILLUSION, ACTIVITY

69

Not only will the two small green areas differ in apparent value
and hue, but the yellow, eontrasted with the green and blue, may
appear slightly toward orange and blue, eontrasted with the yellow and green, a bit purple. In short, a few sueh experiments
will demonstrate elearly that colors are infiuencccl in hue by adjacent colors, each tinting its neighbor with its own complement.

The experimenter, using papers

he prefers)

of other eolors

(or areas of

hues on a dark
ground which is not complementary will appear weaker than on
one which is complementary; light colors on a light ground which
is not complementary will seem weaker than on a complementary
ground; a bright color against a dull color of the same hue will
further deaden the dull color; when a bright color is used against
a dull color the contrast will be strongest when the latter is complementary; light colors on light grounds (not complementary)
can be greatly strengthened if bounded by narrow bands of black
or complementary colors; and dark colors on dark grounds (not
complementary) can be strengthened if similarly bounded by
white or light colors.
Just how does all of this affect the painter when he goes forth
to interpret nature's hues? Not much, actually. But because he
has learned how tricky nature can be, he realizes the truth of our
claim, on an earlier page, that any rules of color harmony any
paint,

if

will also learn that dark

hope of learning to paint by rote is out of the question. Also,

he will not be surprised by the way in which some of his colors
seem to vary in appearance under different conditions. He will
understand that not only do colors vary according to their location in relation to other colors, but, as we saw previously, they
also vary according to area. We might sum this up by saying that
colors are not always what they seem to be. A given color in one
size and placing may look amazingly different from the identical
hue in another size and placing. This is true both in nature and
in painting.

Color Activity

Regardless of size or arrangement, areas of

color differ greatly in their affective

colors can best

be described

and attentive

value.

Some

as active, lively, restless, insistent,

bold, expanding, or advancing; others seem passive,

negative, subdued, timid, submissive, reserved, contracting, or
retreating. Some suggest warmth and others coolness; some impositive,

press us as heavy and inert

and others

as light

and animated. The

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

70

student should cultivate the habit of sizing up diflerent colors

hich he sees about him, noting their characteristics and his reactions to them. When it comes to painting, the discrimination
which this practice develops will help him choose those colors
best fitted to his mood and purpose a matter of great importance.
Warm and Cool Colors Of these various characteristics, some
seem particularly significant or are sufficiently tangible to be
\\

understood easily and put to practical use. That certain colors

seem warm and others cool is a thing of which advantage can
often be taken. Hues of the red, orange, and yellow group are
the ones considered warm; they suggest flame, blood, and sunshine and are especially appropriate
effects are sought.

Hues which

when

bright, stimulating

are blue, or analogous to blue,

mind cool water and ice and

the sky of winter and are at their best (there are exceptions, of
course) for purposes requiring restraint and subordination.
are thought of as cool; they bring to

Advancing and Retreating Colors Cool colors also suggest

distance or expansion and are, therefore, often called "retreating"
colors,

while

we wish

warm

colors, contrarily, are classed as "advancing."

make areas seem spacious we give

preference to cool colors; in the foreground, or where we wish
attention concentrated, we use warm ones. As warm colors generally are associated with light, so cool colors suggest shadow
another important fact that we apply when painting.
Of the various advancing colors, red and orange, under most
conditions, are considered to have the greatest force. Advertisers
use them, particularly the red, as a means of gaining maximum
If

to paint distance or

The

employs them particularly to emphasize a

when he wishes. Yellow is an exceptionally
strong color under some conditions (some give it the highest
rating), but usually has less power than red and orange. It carries
well and has compelling force against dark or complementary
backgrounds (light yellow against black has unusual power to
attract) or if bordered or accented with dark, but is relatively
weak if contrasted with light tints or white. (Here we are again
reminded of the importance of color arrangement.)
Retreating colors, though carrying well as dark spots, often
show weakness of hue if viewed from a distance. Greens and
violets stand at the halfway point between heat and cold, as they
contain both warm and cool colors, and so vary proportionately
attention.

artist

portion of his subject

COLOR ARRANGEMENTS, ILLUSION, ACTIVITY

71

advance or recede. Yellow-greens, and violets

leaning strongly towards red, tend to advance and have considerable power to attract; blue-greens and blue- violets tend to recede
and have less compelling force.
ill

their abilities to

This has given us a strong hint that the carrying or attractive

of colors depends not alone on hue, but also on value and
intensity. A gray-red, for example, though it may attract as a dark
spot, will have little force compared with the same red when not
neutralized. This will be plainly evident if slips of paper of these
colors are placed across the room.
We have seen that the activity of colors depends to no small
extent on background. Distance, too, plays an important part in
color strength. If one looks down a long city street with brick
buildings on either side he will generally observe that the reds
of the brickwork appear more and more dull or indistinct as they
go into the distance, particularly if the atmosphere is a bit hazy;
a blue or purplish hue will gradually take the place of the red as
extreme distance is approached. In other words, warm tones
usually appear cooler in proportion to their distance from the eye.
To some extent this is true of all colors. Cool colors do not always
seem to retreat, by the way; certain vivid hues, viewed near-by,
appear particularly vigorous and emphatic, especially if against
a complementary background. I recently noticed, near at hand,
a bright blue automobile which, contrasted with brown and red
buildings, seemed extremely conspicuous. As it drove into the
distance, its color softened progressively.
As a practical application of advancing and receding hues, when
painting landscapes or marines it is customarily well to use your
brightest colors in the foreground, and duller and duller colors as
you work into the distance. This is not only because bright colors
are more advancing than dull colors, but it is also in line with the
basic rule that all hues in nature, whether dull or l:)right, tend to
be veiled in mist and atmospheric impurities in proportion to
their distance from the spectator.
Not only do colors show such activity as we have mentioned,
but they have the power of stimulating a wide variety of emotional reactions. Such matters have been so al^ly treated in Sargent's The Enjoyment ami Use of Color ( Scribner's ) Weinberg's
Color in Everyday Life (Dodd, Mead), and Luckiesh's The
Language of Color ( Dodd, Mead ) that we shall make no attempt

power

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

72
to

discuss them,

tor

present out of print,

altliough
tlie\

these l)ooks

are

apparently at

or substitutes, can be found in

most

art hinaries.

The Luckiesh

])ook

to read at this time;

would be an
it

excellent one for the student

touches on color in mythology, nature,

and the theater. There are illuminating chapters on symbolism, explaining the significance of
individual hues. There are also chapters on nomenclature, psychoph>'siology of color, color preference, the affective and attentive \alue of colors, etc. Finally come helpful statements on
esthetics, harmony, and the like. Sargent's and Weinberg's books,
for that matter, go into many of these same things.
EXERCISE 20: Further Color Experiments What we have
literature, painting, religion,

offered here is by no means expected to clarify wholly the entire

many-faceted subject of color. It is included mainly to show what
a complex thing color is, and to emphasize the need for serious
study and experimentation on the part of the earnest student.
Read the previous text once more and perform such exercises as
occur to you. But don't hope to master the whole thing at one

time!

There's one encouraging thing: one can often paint successfully

and many artists do ) with little knowledge of the reasons behind
such matters as we have been discussing. And many so-called
"experts" on color can't paint at all! Don't feel, in other words,
that you must de\^ote days and days to color study before trying
your hand at actual representative painting. Pitch in and paint.
But observe color and think about it often. Gradually your color
knowledge will grow.
(

8
Color Schemes Which You

Can Use

WE ARE A BIT PREMATURE ill offering the

you may feel that you will have enough

paragraphs heto worry ahout

low, for
in making your first paintings without endeavoring to obtain harmonious color effects. So turn at once to Chapter 9 if you feel so
inclined. Yet these present suggestions seem so fitting a corollary
to what we have already said that we can think of no more
logical time to present them. At least they may serve to inspire
the beginning painter to observe color more keenly and to think
more often along color lines.
There Are No Rules From our foregoing discussions and
from your experiments we hope that you are by now convinced
that there can be no rules to guarantee the artist a successful color
scheme for a painting. You have learned that such a scheme depends not alone on the selection of hues which in themselves are
harmonious, but also on the relative size of the areas in which
they are used, as well as the arrangement of these areas.
If no teacher can tell you precisely how to obtain good color
schemes and no teacher can possibly you have the hope that
nature will prove a safe guide. If so, you may be somewhat disappointed. Nature, to be sure, gives you many beautiful schemes
to serve as an inspiration and, to some extent, as a guide. Yet, if
you try to copy one by one, as precisely as you can, the hues
which nature sets before you so attractively, you will quite possibly produce either discords of hue or, more likely, schemes so
dull and commonplace as to prove uninteresting. This is parth'
because nature's colors are living colors (perhaps bathed in
brilliant light or modified by mist, smoke, and the like) while
yours are merely pigments, so that no matter how accurately
you think you are matching each one of nature's hues as you
paint, your final result is almost certain to lack much of the
luminosity, the vibration, the subtle nuances, the chromatic richness and unity of the model before you. (Eventually you will

PERHAPS

73

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

74
learn to go after

])ig itiipiessions

of natural color, not a

matching

of each hue.
If

by the novice

paintings

fail in

any one general chromatic

worked over, or done with so timid

a brush, that they become lifeless and static too muddy and
gray. Or, because the artist senses this fault and endeavors to
rectify or avoid it as he works, perhaps by applying pure color
just as it comes from the tube, his results may grow too garish
and extravagant, one hue clashing with another. Either of these
respect,

that they are so

it is

extreme conditions should be avoided.

obviously of great importance. An othei^wise poor
painting which is superior in color often wins acclaim while an
othei*wise good painting, poor in color, usually ranks as a failure.
Some of the best paintings, regardless of size, subject matter or
technical handling, appeal to us largely for their color excellence
their esthetically satisfying choice and disposition of hues.
Often such colors are close to nature but often not and this
doesn't seem to matter so long as the spectator finds the result
pleasing to his eye.

Yet color

But,

if

is

there are no

man-made

rules,

and

if

nature

is

not an

how is the painter to master color so as to produce

schemes? This is not easy to answer. Some beginners
seldom have trouble with color; they are born with a color
sense that others can acquire only after long study if at all.
Most beginners gain mastery gradually, mainly through trial and
infallible guide,

satisfactory

error.

One way

"borrow" proven schemes from the paintings of

nothing wrong in this provided you employ them
naturally instead of trying to force them into use. You can also
adapt schemes from such things as colored prints, rugs, wallpapers, upholstery and drapery materials. The student is wise
who makes notes of attractive color schemes everywhere he sees
them, doing quick color sketches from paintings in the museums
and galleries, clipping color reproductions from magazines, experimenting with his paints in an endeavor to find hues which go
well together. Often a color scheme, borrowed from nature, can
later be adapted to different subject matter, also from nature. A
group of flowers, for instance, might provide the color scheme
for an entire landscape painting. In short, the artist considers it
is

others; there

to

is

COLOR SCHEMES

\\

HICH YOU CAX USE

his ridit to rearransie or

75

otherwise alter nature

colorings

it

it

purpose or fancy.
Most color schemes tall \\ ithin one or another of the following
categories. UnfortunateK, ho\\e\er, it is not eas\' with words
alone to describe these different schemes. In the author's book.
Color in Sketching and Rendering [Reinhold], such descriptions
are not onh" more complete, but color reproductions of selected
paintings exemplify them all a big help.
suits his

Black The simplest scheme

one \alue and intensit\- in
conjunction with white, gra\\ or black (,and, sometimes, with
siher or gold \ Such a scheme is seldom used b\- the painter: it is
more commonh- found in decoration or design. (A t>pical illustration is the booklet printed with black ink on white paper, with
initials or decorations of one tone of some other hue. ^

One Color

makes use

witJ} WJiite. Crraij or

of a single color of onl\-

The Monochromatic Scheme

The

simplest

scheme which the

hkeh' to emplo\' is an extension of the abo\e: it consists of any desired values and intensities of a single hue. used
with or without white, gra\' or black. A good illustration would
be a painting done on white paper or canxas with but one color
sepia, for example the \alues perhaps ranging from light
tints to dark shades, v Such \ ariations are sometimes referred to
as "self-tones.
As onl\- one color is used hence the temi "monochromatic '\ there is no chance for an inharmonious color result.
That monoclii"omatic schemes can be effecti\e is proxed by the
fact that all but colored photographs are in monochrome usualh'
black or brown.
painter

is

'

The Modified MonocJiromatic ScJjc me Seldom is the painter

with a stricth- monochromatic treatment. In order to
gain slightb' more \ariety he often adds subtle suggestions of
other colors, thus obtaining b\- economical means an impression
satisfied

of a satisfying opulence of hue. Occasionalh", small touches of

bright colors are used in a painting

which

othersvise

is

mono-

chromatic. For example, most of the can\as might be co\ered

with varying tones of gray-blue (as in a night scene), small
accents being added of complementar\- orange (lights in the
windows, perhaps ^ In a further extension of this t\ pe of scheme,
the eflFect would be generall\- monochromatic, but the dominant
.

hue would be subtly supported by suggestions

of

analogous

WATERCOLOR PAINTING StEP-BY-STEP

hues, the whole then being intensified through the use of small
(possibly bright) complementary accents.
Auak)<i,()us Schemes Inasmuch as strictly monochromatic
schemes are rare in the work of the painter, his main interest will
be in various types of more colorful schemes. The simplest of
these is the analogous or related scheme already discussed (on
page 61 ) in connection with our color wheel. It will be recalled
that this scheme is made up of colors which are adjoining or
adjacent in the spectrum, and hence on the color wheel. Orange,
yellow, and yellow-green, for example, form an analogous scheme,

for they all contain the

common

factor, yellow.

me

repeat that it is well to keep such a color wheel at hand,

for it shows at a glance w^hat color groups are analogous. If we
start with yellow ( we might similarly begin with red or blue ) we
note that yellow-orange and yellow-green, consisting largely of
yellow, are particularly close in relationship. These three form
a "close" analogy, and so are almost certain to be harmonious. If
we reach out to include orange and green, each of which contains
some yellow, this entire five-hue group is also analogous and
usually a safe combination.
can also often include red-orange
and blue-green with reasonable safety ( for each possesses a slight
yellow content ) The more of the circle w^e include, however, the
more varied the elements w^hich must be harmonized, so typical
analogous schemes seldom take in more that a third of the circle,
centering around one of the primary colors, red, yellow, and blue.

Let

We

Such schemes are among the

safest

and

surest at the

artist's

command.
if you want to obtain haniionious color, limit
few hues showing a clear indication of mutual relashould perhaps warn you, however, that even this

In other words,
yourself to a
tionship.
is

We

no absolute guarantee of

success.

recently noticed a

florist's

delivery truck of pale violet parked beside a huge sun-bathed

trailer truck of red-orange. The common factor of red was not

enough

to relate the

two hues

pleasingly; the delicate violet

was

But

this

entirely out of keeping with the vigor of the red-orange.

is

exceptional.

With Dominant Hue The very unification of close harmony

which makes analogous schemes pleasing can at times make them
monotonous. To convert them into something more interesting,
it is often well to place emphasis on some one hue of an analogous

COLOR SCHEMES WHICH YOU CAN USE

group

in

member

other words, to

that a

make

hue can be made

77

hue dominant. Always redominate l:)ecause of its large

this

to

dark \alue (against hghter hues),

darker hues ) or its intensity.
area,

its

its

light value (against

With Complementary Accents As we saw

in Chapter 6,
most successful analogous schemes are enlixened by
the introduction of rather small but sometimes intense complementary accents. Such accents, particularly if brilliant, often have
a power out of all proportion to their size. A single touch of color
complementar)' to the dominant hue of an analogous scheme can

many

of the

give surprising

life

to the whole.

Complementary Schemes It is but a step from this use of

complementary accents to completeh' complementar}' schemes,
sometimes known as "harmonies of contrast." Under this heading
we can include an\- pleasing schemes which conspicuously introduce opposite colors. The majorit)- of color schemes used in painting are to some extent contrasting, the contrast generalh' being
de\eloped through the use of complements.
Despite the fact that colors which we term complements are
wholh" unlike in most respects, it should alwa\'s be remembered,
ne\'ertheless, that a definite relationship exists betw^een them.
Green and red, for instance, while in most respects as unlike as
any two colors could possibb^ be, are subtly related, as the word
"complement" implies. When properK* handled, complements can
result in some of our most pleasing color harmonies. As a matter
of fact, a majority of people seem to prefer hamionies of contrast
to harmonies of analog}'. Some of the finest paintings, chromatically, contain all the leading colors in balanced pairs. Nature,
too, is profuse with complementary^ schemes.

We

must learn to control our contrasts, however, or we may get,

instead of harmou}', chaos. Generally speaking, never base a color
scheme on complementary

colors

in

equal areas and

full strength.

made of alternating wide stripes of intense orange and

complementar}' blue would compel attention, l:)ut it could scarcely
be called harmonious! But we ha\e pre\iousl}' seen that we can
employ complements to advantage in unequal areas or intensities. We know that a large red area and a small green area often
look well together, as does a brilliant red area contrasted with a
dull green area; and vice versa.
dress

78

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

EXERCISE 21: After-images To interrupt for a minute, did you

play around with after-images? They are fascinating! They
prove, among other things, the truth of what we have just said
about complements being subtly related.
But test them for yourself; it will take but a second. Place (or
paint ) a small area of intense green an inch will do in the
middle of a sheet of white paper. Lay it in bright light and stare
at it fixedly for half a minute. Now shift the eye quickly to the
center of another white sheet. Almost at once wait for it a
light pinkish "ghost" will appear, stay for a few seconds and then
gradually fade away. That ghost is a pale tint of the true complement of that particular green. Try other colors and find this ghost
of the complement of each. You can even stare at several adjacent
spots of different color simultaneously, and then see on another
sheet the ghost complement of all of them.
In performing such an experiment, by the way, you will doubtless be struck by an interesting phenomenon. As you stare fixedly
at an area of any given color you will soon note that by gradual
degrees it grows duller and duller before your very eyes. It is
being neutralized (as the eye temporarily becomes tired) by its
own complement! Perhaps as you stare you can see this complementary tint "bleeding" along the edges of the color area. And
you can transfer it at will to another paper by merely shifting
your glance.
Near and Split Complements Returning to our main thought,
in harmonies of a complementary nature the eye does not demand
that exact complements be used. This would be diflficult, even if
desirable. Fortunately, complements which are only approximate
or "near" seem more pleasing, many times, than those which are
absolute. The term "near complements" is self-explanatory; violet
is the true complement of yellow, while blue-violet and red-violet
are both near complements of yellow. We sometimes speak of
these in their relationship, one to the other, as "split" complements, as they are split or separated by the true complement,
ev^er

violet.

Triads If we base a color scheme on a color and its split

complem.ents, or on hues mixed from them, we can obtain a fairly
wide range of hues, but none of them can be brighter than the
color itself and the two split complements in their full intensity.
Sometimes such a range proves too limited, so in place of these

COLOR SCHEMES WHICH YOU CAN USE

79

complements, which are closely related to the complement ituse other split complements, each a step further removed.
In the twehe-color wheel on page 61, if yellow should he taken
as a hue to dominate a color scheme, and the split complements
red-violet and blue-violet (alone or in mixture) should prove too
inadequate to hold their own, red and blue might be substituted,
giving us a "triad" harmony. Yet there we are, of course, in a
danger zone for, although some mixtures obtained from triads
can be very rich and beautiful ( we have seen again and again that
practically all colors can be mixed from the triad composed of
red, yellow, and blue), other mixtures can be far from harmonious as each primary strives to dominate the other two. To get
effective results, therefore, one hue of the triad is usually selected
to dominate the scheme, and the other two are mixed together,
or with the first, or with white or black, or some other color so as
to render them less potent.
One of the most certain ways of preventing rivalry among the
basic colors of a triad is to select one of the three to dominate,
and then to "veil" (by means of a thin wash) or neutralize the
other two with it.
A Play-Safe Method For the beginner, incidentally, there is
Split

self,

we

a "play-safe" type of

harmony which

gives

him reasonably

satis-

factory chromatic balance simply and quickly; he merely dis-

some of each of his leading hues all over the canvas,

blending a bit of "this" into a bit of "that" throughout the whole,
thus weaving a sort of allover pattern of color. Thus no one color
is vigorous enough in hue, intensity, or area, to clash with any
tributes

other.

Very Complicated Don't expect to grasp from this all( and undoubtedly confusing ) printed word more than a
vague notion of the intricacies of color harmony. Some painters
have concentrated on color harmony for a lifetime and entire
books have been devoted to it. May I stress again that my main
purpose is merely to get you thinking about color, so that you
will develop as you go along a more critical color sense, plus
an ever-increasing facility in harmonizing the various hues at
It's

too-brief

your command?
EXERCISE 22: Color Schemes Make some small color sketches
to illustrate the types of schemes discussed above, or hunt up
pictorial illustrations of each in books or magazines.

9
Still

Life: Painting the Single Object

we have now looked into a good

which one should know something about if he hopes

IN THESE WATERc:oLOR "lessons"

many

things

become at all successful as a watercolorist painting materials;

methods of their use; tests for opacity, resistance, and permanency, mixing and matching of colors; color application; value
scales; use of the color wheel; color phenomena; color schemes,
to

etc. So, at last,

we

are ready to get

down

to our principal busi-

ness of painting pictures.

Obviously the initial move in making a

painting is to find a suitable subject to paint. It is generally agreed
that, at the start, it is best to choose something extremely simple.

Choice of Subject

Still-life objects dishes, household utensils, fruit, vegetables

have much in their favor and for a number of reasons. First of
all, one can usually paint them at full size (or nearly so); therefore, he is free from such problems as arise when he has to shrink
a tree or mountain to fit his paper. Again, still-life objects, as
customarily posed indoors, show little change in lighting from
minute to minute, while outdoor subjects alter in appearance
constantly, both in the shapes of their light, shade, and shadow
areas (because of the continuous shifting of the sun), and in the
colors, which, under different conditions of light and atmosphere,
give surprisingly varied impressions as the day goes on. One can
work indoors with greater comfort, too, free from the vagaries of
weather, not to mention possible molestations by cows, mosquitoes, and inquisitive people.
Value of Still Life Perhaps the greatest advantage in working from such everyday objects as dishes, books or vegetables, is
that from these simple and fully familiar things one can most
easily master fundamentals, applicable to all sorts of subjects, no
matter how large or complex. It has been said that if one can
learn to paint well such geometric solids as the sphere, cylinder,
cube, prism, and pyramid, he can paint anything and to a large

80

81

STILL LIFE: PAIXTIXG TIIE SINGLE OBJECT

example, are, in basic shape,

abnost in\ariably nothing but combinations of cubes, prisms and
pyramids; domes are hemispherical (like half of a ball or orange);
even trees, clouds, and a hundred other apparenth' complex things
will often, on close examination, be seen to be basicalK- much like
balls, eggs, or other equalK simple objects. Still life not onh gixes
one in\aluable lessons in form, but can teach him to render a
extent this

is

true. Buildings, for

multitude of different

alues, colors,

and

textures.

In short, if the beginner can be made to realize how man\- steps

he will ultimateh' sa\e if he is content for awhile to do simple
objects, well within his capacit)', he will gladly postpone attempts
at the far more difficult though perhaps more stimulating and
alluring landscape, animal, and figure subjects.

Vary Your Subjects In order to accomplish all this to greatest

advantage, vary your choice of objects for different paintings.
Select some which are rough, some smooth; some dull, some
shin\'; some light, some dark; some rounded, some flat. Often it is
well to combine se\ eral objects in a single picture, perhaps choosing things so different that each has a marked characteristic
which you will try to record successfulh*. One of the constant jobs
of the artist is to catch the individualit)' of each subject the
qualit)' or characteristic which noticeably distinguishes it from
other subjects.
But before attempting

complete still-life picture it

our skill and \our brushes in the
rendering of a simple object wdthout considering background,
foreground, and the interrelation of objects with enxironment.
As to skill, those who have never painted will ha\e to be rather
patient because only through much experimentation will the
brush consent to do what the eye and the hand command. Watercolor has been called a "tricky" medium, and not without much
justification. The beginner will have his problems in making it
beha\ e. The washes will dry too quickly, giving hard edges where
they do not belong; or it will dry so slowl\- that other washes,
adjacent or o\'erlaid, will run and blotch in the most aggra\ ating
manner. We have to learn a great man}- ways of watercolor before
control of the medium is achieved. But e\en the mistakes and the
failures are fun when we realize that e\'er\- effort teaches us what
not to do next time.

may be

profitable to

tr}'

to paint a

out

WATERCOl.OK FAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

82

Now
object,

the Ix^ginner might select some simple and interesting

something hnlk) like the \iise of our demonstration for

first excMcises; and, to make the lesson as simple as possible, suppose we work in monotone instead of color, using either ivory
black or lamp black or, if )'ou prefer, Vandyke brow^n. The black
is really simplest and serves the purpose of our exercise perfectly.

monotone we eliminate the problem of color and

can concentrate wholly upon the handling of our washes. We
can learn how the medium is handled just as well as though we

By working

in

w^ere painting in full color.

We

will begin (Fig. 26) by w^ashing a rather light tone over

the area of the jar except for the high light, the light side of
the neck, and the opening. In this first lay-in we do not attempt

much in the w^ay

gray we make the

of modeling, except that

by

a dilution of the

lighted side considerably lighter. Although the

high light will not be pure white in the finished state (Fig. 30),
it is well to leave it w^hite at the beginning. We treat the pear in
a similar manner.
In Fig. 27, w^e begin to model the form. This looks very harsh
and impromising. As a matter of fact, our painting was arrested
at this point to emphasize the fundamental conditions of light,
shadow, and reflected light upon a rounded object. The darkest
shadowy as is demonstrated in Fig. 33, page 91, does not extend
to the contour of the shaded side; light reflected from adjacent
objects illuminate the shaded side more or less, depending upon
the strength of such reflections. When the light comes from some
very light object the reflection is most pronounced. However,
there is always some reflection to lighten the shaded side near
the object's contour. This may not be obvious, but if the artist
neglects to recognize this essential condition the object will lack
the appearance of roundness.
In Fig. 28, as intermediate gray washes are applied on either
side of that dark shadow band, the modeling of the jar begins to
develop. Don't be disturbed w^hen edges of the washes show
abruptly as they do in these early stages; as successive washes
are overlaid, the edges wall disappear to a considerable extent.
However, it is not our aim to "polish" the watercolor painting,
obliterate all edges, and give the rendering a photographic effect.
Note that in our final stage ( Fig. 30 ) some of the edges of washes
remain as a desirable aspect of the painting.

STILL LIFE: PAINTING

FIG.

83

THE SINGLE OBJEGT

26

FIG.

FIG.

28

27

84

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

FIG.

29

In Fig. 29

we have developed

the

modehng

further and have

added a secondary high Hght in the shaded side. Such reflected

high hghts often occur and they add considerable interest. That
light was picked out of the solid tone with a small flat bristle
brush slightly moistened with water. The brush must not be too
wet or it will make a blob. Of course this high light might have
been taken out of the dark shadow mass in stage two (Fig. 27),
but that would have been more difficult. In this state we start
the shadow of the vase and pear on the ground and begin to
develop the jar's mouth.
In Fig. 30, the final stage, we have tried to pull things together, adding washes here and there, darkening the shadow on

FIG.

30

STILL LIFE: PAINTING

THE SINGLE OBJECT

85

the ground and finishing the rendering of the nioutli of the jar.
covered the high hght with a hght gray tone to bring it in
proper vahie it is ob\ious (in Fig. 29) that it should not ])e

We

the reflected high light has been made more

lightening
it in one corner, picking out the light
by
with that small bristle brush. The bristle brush also came in hand\'
for accenting that light on the shoulder where it meets the dark
white. Note

how

interesting

shadow. Note how the edges of the shadow of the jar on the
ground have been softened except close to the jar where we want
a shai-ply accented shadow edge.
We have not talked about the pear but the development stages
show^ how light and reflected light apply just as in the jar.
EXERCISE 21 Still Life in Wash Tr)- this sort of thing for
yourself. Don't be satisfied with but one or two such studies;
make many. To gain the greatest advantage from this work \ou
will want to vary your objects as earlier directed, choosing some
hght and some dark, some flat and some round, some rough and
some smooth. Do a shiny glass object, and next a battered felt
hat. We can't emphasize too often that this sort of \ ariet\' can
prepare you, better than you may realize at the time, for your
larger and more colorful subjects to follow still-life groups,
landscapes or figures, for example.
As you paint continue to ask yourself, "In m\ painting, am I
getting this feeling of roundness that the objects reveal this
three-dimensional quality? In short, do my objects seem to come
forward in space as they should, or do they look flat? Have I
caught their sense of weight and solidity? Am I indicating their
texture convincingly?"
You can best judge these things by placing your painting back
beside the objects frequently for direct comparison. Then stand
away and examine the whole thing critically and without bias.
:

Work

After you have executed a number

of these slowly-arrived-at paintings such as may result from
Exercise 21, try some others in each of which you set a time limit,

EXERCISE 22: Speed

work

you can, attempting to record the

any sla\ish effort to produce a
facsimile of the subject before \'ou. Thus you will learn to "loosen
up," to paint in a rapid, but nevertheless relaxed manner.
One good approach is to attempt in this speedy fashion some
or at least

as rapidly as

essentials reasonably well without

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

86
of the

CM)

lahoriousK".

same subjects wliich

Theu couipare results.

)()ii

have previously rendered

Don't be deliberately careless or sloppy in

mean

all ot this

don't

you snap through each job as honestly as you

can in a limited period, you will find that your work will automaticalh take on at least something of the free, dashing qualities
that.

But

if

generally considered desirable in watercolor work.

There

one particnlar advantage in all of this quick work. It

you as nothing else can for your later work outdoors,

is

will train

or for painting animals or people. Nature's effects are ephemeral,

changing so rapidly that when eventually you paint in the open

you will discover that there is no time to linger over refinements
of handling. As to people, they may hold a pose for a short time
but that's all, while animals, unless asleep, are almost never still.
Therefore, the artist

who

lacks the facility to record his subjects

rapidly will always be under a handicap.

It's

a very good practice, for a while at least, to alternate the

of painstaking studies and quick impressions. In the

making

studies you will observe deliberately, comparing carefully every

portion of both your subject and your painting. You will draw
meticulously. You will make corrections. You may even do over

some passages repeatedly. In the impressions, on the contrary,

you will let your subconscious take over; you will paint, paint,
paint as fast and furiously as you can, trying with little conscious
effort to

catch the larger aspects of your subject.

EXERCISE 23 Memory Work The greater the number, and the

more accurate the pictorial images you can tuck away in your
mind of persons, places, and things, the better. Many an experienced artist, if entirely cut off from fresh subject matter, could
paint successful pictures for years by combining on paper or
canvas the mental impressions which he had already filed during
a lifetime of keen observation. Highly important is the fact that
every artist, as he works, relies not wholly on the subject matter
before him, but in part on his mental impressions of similar
matter. Thus, he can convincingly add, modify or subtract at will
from his subject of the moment.
:

The

most beginning artists is the poverty

mental pictures of even their everyday
surroundings are concerned. You think you know what a wheelgreatest weakness of

of their

minds

so far as

STILL LIFE: PAINTING

barrow looks

draw

THE SINGLE OBJECT

87

(without reference to it) you can

recognizahle portrait of it, \ou don't. Test \our-

like hut. unless

at least a

on a dozen sucli things. C>an \ ou draw from memory alone,

even a passable outline sketch of \our own easy chair, \our
tele\ision set, \our neighbors front door^ Can \ou do \our
mailbox, \our front steps, the main masses of the house across
the street? ProbabK not unless \ ou ha\ e been especialK' interested
in such appearances. So, realizing this, try to store up mental
impressions. This is an art which \ou can \ er\- profitabh' cultixate
during \our spare time. \\'h\' not tr\- to do from memory- some
painting \ou ha\e recenth- completed? Or attempt from memorysubject matter with which you should, through long association,
be familiar?
self

10
Still

Life:

Composition and Color

AFTER YOUR FIRST EXERCISES painting single objects you will

naturalh- want to set up groups of objects to make something
more of a picture. You will then encounter the problem of composition, or arrangement.

As a t\ pical first approach, choose several small objects three

do niceh" which differ somewhat in size, shape, color, and
texture. Place these where they can easily be seen a table top

ill

is

common

the

place.

Whereas the painter

in oils often stands at

working indoors, especially if his subject matter is small, sometimes prefers to sit. Not infrequently he
leans one edge of his drawing board ( or watercolor block ) against
the near edge of the table supporting his subject matter, with the
other edge in his lap. This gives his paper about the right pitch
so that he can view it easily (otherwise his drawing might de\elop distortion) and apply his paint without danger of its
running off.
an

easel, the watercolorist

better, perhaps,

the practice of using either a watercolor

easel, with the top adjusted to a nearly horizontal position, or an
extra stand not the one holding the objects to be painted on
Still

is

which he can block up

his board to the right slant. This same

stand can hold one's watercolors, mixing dishes, etc., or another
can be provided. These accouterments should always be placed
in the same relative positions, if time-saving working habits are
to be formed.

Shadow Box A shadow box, like that shown in Fig. 31, is

commonly used. It is effective in isolating the group from the
room and giving interesting shadow effects.
Now you are ready to start making > our first simple picture.
Keeping in mind what we have said about composition, if you
wish

be successful you can advantageously experifew minutes with the arrangements of the component
objects which comprise your subject. Just as you pose your figures

ment

this picture to

for a

88

STILL life: composition

AND COLOR

89

FIG. 31.

Objects against background

against a suitable background in

making a snapshot, so \ou do

Co\er the supporting table top

now with \our selected objects.

with cardboard or plain cloth ( patterns are usually disconcerting
in such early work) and place more cardboard or cloth \-ertically
behind the objects to hide an>thing distracting, and at the same
time to proxide the desired contrast. In order to set oflF the subject matter effectively, it is seldom ad\isable to make this background white or of preciseK* the same color as \our objects.
Instead, it should preferably be gra\", dull brown, or of some
other rather neutral color. Or, if the objects are dull, the backing
can perhaps be more colorful.

FIG. 32.

Rearrange your objects

WATEHCOLOH PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

90

View Finder A little gadget eaii be made in a jiffy which may

prove of great help in selecting or arranging subject matter.
Through the center of a cardboard, about post card size, cut an
opening measuring an inch by an inch and a quarter. (The exact
size doesn't matter, but the proportion should be that of the
t\ pical painting. ) Sitting or standing in your painting position,
hold this card upright as close to your face as necessary and,
peeking through the aperture with one eye closed, use it to select
(and arrange) your subject matter exactly as you would use the
view finder of a camera. What you see through the opening, in
short, is what you will include in your picture. When so viewed,
do your selected objects form a satisfactory picture? Try them in
another arrangement and then another, using the finder each
time. Don't be satisfied until you have the best possible composition. Take your time. You may want to substitute one object for
another, or experiment with a background of different color. ( See
Fig. 32.)

Lighting When thus preparing subject matter indoors, one

is fortunate in having much more control of the amount and
direction of the light illuminating his subject than when working
outdoors.

Seldom should he place

his objects

or

his

paper

in

direct

window) for this can prove very

Nor should he have light coming from several sources

sunlight (as from a door or

confusing.

(whether windows, doors, or lamps), as this will produce a comshadows falling in different directions, one series overlapping another. Even a single window may
produce more light or light of more varied direction than is
desirable, so frequently the artist covers part of such a window
perhaps the lower sash with a curtain or cardboard shield.
Daylight indoors is, of course, quite different from artificial
light or from direct sunlight outdoors, being as a rule far more
soft and diffused, often causing extremelv pleasing, harmonious
effects. The resultant shadows are generally soft-edged whereas,
when the lisjht is direct, shadows are sharp and clean-cut. When
you paint, therefore, you should give considerable thought to the
existing kind of illumination, the tones it reveals, and particularly

plication of crosslights, with

the

shadow edges. ( See Fig. 30.

The experienced

Reflectors

of this matter of lighting.

He

artist

has learned the importance

realizes that shades

and shadows

STILL LIFE: COMPOSITION

AND COLOR

91

must be distributed or arranged

In fact, tlie arrangement of the
largely
determined by the shapes and
objects is, in many cases,
\alues of light, shade and shadow areas, and the character of
shadow edges. Occasionally, in order to arrive at the most perfect
adjustment of these elements, one sets up cardboards to catch
light and reflect it onto his o]:)jects, much as a photographer might
do in portrait work. Obviously, the cardboard or cloth which
forms the background of the objects is something of a reflector,
arc elements of composition unci

just as effectively as the objects.

too, throwing light onto certain surfaces. If such reflectors are of

colored material, they, of course, modify the color effect of the
entire grouping.
Such reflected light can play a great part in the difficult art
of givmg objects a three-dimensional character (see Fig. 33).

Colored

reflections,

through distribution of hue, contribute to the

harmony of a composition.
This is enough to demonstrate that, while you surely can't be
expected to become expert in still-life composition at your very
color

first

life

attempt, you can at least be made to realize that good stillpaintings don't just happen they are skillfully planned.

Light areas are carefully contrasted with dark areas; one color
is set off by another. Controlled shade and shadow
tend to integrate the whole, weaving it into a pleasing pattern.

or one texture

If

several objects are combined, each

the others, and the whole.

is

selected to

complement

can prove especially bad in a group

of objects to have two of equal interest, each fighting for supremacy. Usually one should dominate the composition.
It

f^ntKttil^^^^

V
FIG.

33

92

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

O
Horizontal objects suggest a horizontal picture

Vertical

objects

often

suggest

is the mass that counts rather

than the individual object

an

It

upright picture
Fig. 34.

There

should be a definite relationship

between the shape of the paper chosen ( or of the painting made
upon it) and the entire mass of the grouped objects, vertically
massed objects often calling for a vertical picture while horizontal object arrangements are better expressed by a horizontal
Picture Proportion

picture.

See Fig. 34.

Paper Not until your set-up suits you reasonably well should
you select an appropriate sheet of watercolor paper. For best
results you will stretch or mount this as earlier directed. The
choice of paper will depend in part on the textures of the objects
to be pictured, rough paper often being more appropriate than
smooth for rough- textured objects. There is, however, no set rule
and some watercolorists do all their work on one kind and surface
of paper.

Drawing
color paper

Now comes the construction drawing on the water the delineation of the objects in correct proportion.

In this book we take it for granted that the reader

reasonably adept at this. If not, he should brush up on
a fundamental of

all pictorial

is

already

it,

for

it is

delineation. Full instructions are

STILL LIFE: COMPOSITION

AND COLOR

93

given in the author's Pencil Drawing Step-by-Step (Reinhold)

and in his Freehand Drawing Self-Taught (Harper).
As a rule, this la\out is done in pencil a medium grade such
as HB is good (much depending on the roughness of the surface).
Try to get the main proportions as accurate as you can, but don't
add e\er\' tri\'ial detail. Draw lightly so as not to injure the paper.
( In doing this work, constanth^ view the objects from exactly the
same point. Otherwise, being so close to them, if you shift your
e\ e even a few inches the proportions will change very noticeably).

Analysis of Subject With the subject matter selected, arranged with reasonable satisfaction, and blocked out lightly on
the paper, \'ou should next ask \-ourself such questions as: what
is the lightest area? The darkest? Where are the strongest contrasts of light

What

and dark?

Do

the tones grade or are they uniform?

The softest? What of the surfaces

are the sharpest edges?

are they shinv', dull, smooth, rough?

And how about

color?

Preliminary Sketches; Fidl-Size Studies Much time will often

be saved and better results insured if, before starting to paint
\'our final picture, \'0u make a preliminar\- study or two in color
(if you propose to use color) or black and white. Such studies
needn't measure more than three inches or so in greatest dimension. Much of your anahtical thinking can be done as you sketch,
so that when you tackle the far larger and often formidable
blank areas penciled out for the finished painting your procedure
will already be well planned.
You may find that, for a while at least, it will pay you to make
even larger preliminary studies. Many artists do a careful study
at full size, either in black and white or in color, for every finished painting.
Artistic License Usually in your early paintings you are attempting to learn all that \'0u can about nature's appearances.
For the time being, therefore, \'ou become a sort of camera, drawing and painting the objects before you with much of the fidelity
(though without the slick finish) of a good photograph in color.
When \'our painting is finished it should give a conxincingly
realistic impression of \ our subject.
If, however, in making the preliminary sketches of final painting, you feel that it would be better to alter the shape of some
object or make it larger or smaller in the interest of better

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

94

composition, that is \ oiir privilege. You may also want

omit or suppress certain details which seem disturbing, or to
add others of \ our own invention or borrowed from similar sub-

all-aroiiiul

to

When

it comes to coloring, you may similarly feel

improve the final result by modifying some of the
colors which your objects or background reveal, or by adding
colors of your own choice. Again this is your right.
Oil Versus Watercolor In applying your watercolor paints
you will need to forget any knowledge you may possess of the
application of oil paints, for watercolors are used in quite a
different manner. In oil you can paint over an area almost as
many times as you wish, adding color, scraping it off, changing
the effect again and again until at last you are satisfied. In watercolor, on the other hand, if you are to arrive at the crisp, fresh
sort of result usually expected of the watercolor medium, you
will generally have to work far more directly, with few changes.
Direct Method Try to develop the ability to paint any given
area with a single wash (flat or graded as the subject requires)
exactly right in both value and hue, then calling that area finished.
In other words, keep in mind that if you can immediately put the
right color in the right place, success will be assured! Of course
it isn't that easy, especially in view of the fact that most work in

ject matter.

that >'ou can

watercolor lightens as it dries so that it often proves necessary

to go over an area more than once to bring it to the desired tone.
Often, too, it is essential to add details on top of the original
wash or washes.
Indirect Method A method more within the capacity of the
average beginner in that it enables him to build up any given
effect more gradually; keeping it constantly under better control
is first to apply comparatively light tints of the desired hues to
all parts of the painting, next adding other washes here and there
on top of this foundation, going over them several times if necessary until at last each portion is developed to the desired strength.
Such results are almost certain to appear somewhat muddy and
worked over unless care is taken to use the more water-resistant
paints for the foundation application. Here is where the exercises
recommended in Chapter 3 will prove their worth.
Sometimes a muddy looking tone can be made to seem more
crisp and transparent by adding on top a few quick, clean-cut
strokes of darker tone. Again, a muddy tone can be veiled to

STILL LIFE: COMPOSITION

95

wash (or a few wide brush

opaque paint such as cerulean blue or Naples
drying on top, can greatly improve the effect.

advantage by a
strokes

AND COLOR

final application of a

of a slightly

yellow. This,

Sandpapering Still another expedient which can be employed

(when the paper is rough) to overcome muddy or overworked
results though it should be used but rarely and with great discriminationis to sandpaper cautiously the faulty area (when
thoroughly dr\ ) until little lights break through. Sometimes the
lights or whites thus exposed will be too conspicuous and, therefore, will call for a final tint of appropriate hue applied over them
to render

them

less so.

Scrub Method

Though

the following "scrub method" is not

method of watercolor

the orthodox and most generally approved

painting, in skillful hands

can produce excellent results. Also

it can often be used to restore paintings which otherwise are
beyond salvation. In this method, color is first applied quite freely
and in considerable strength throughout the entire picture. When
dry, a sponge or soft brush, drenched with water, is used all over
the painting to soften and remove much of the paint, blending the
rest. When the soft foundation tones thus created have completely dried, crisp washes and brush strokes are added. Sometimes thin, pale washes over such scrubbed areas will give them
it

a pleasing character.

Certain colors will so dye the paper that a sponge or soft brush
them sufficiently. In such a case, a bristle brush
Caution
must be exercised in all this scrub work
may be used.
not to soften and injure the surface of the paper.
will not lighten

Combined Methods Few pictures are painted wholly by any

one of these methods. The direct method has been pointed to as
our ideal, for it is capable of producing the spontaneous effects
the sparkling, crisp, lively effects which have brought to the
watercolor medium much of its popularity. The beginner is urged
to use this method as his fundamental approach. If he fails to
arrive at the desired result, he can then do some touching up via
the indirect method. If his painting grows worse until it looks
just about hopeless, he might find it advisable to turn to the scrub
method, washing it down or a part of it and then restoring
it. Sometimes soap is added to the water and the painting is practically washed from the paper as a preliminary to repainting.

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

96

As to large light areas and high lights, whieh in oil painting

would usually be rendered with white (or very light) paint, it is
customary in any of the above watercolor methods to leave the
paper white or only lightly tinted. (In the scrub method, high
lights are often blotted off after they have been scrubbed with a
brush of suitable size. ) In other words, opaque white paint is
used onh' sparingly if at all, the original tone of the support playing a far more important part in watercolor work than in oil.
Occasionally and then often as a last resort a few small high
lights or other finishing touches are added at the end with some
such opaque paint as Chinese white, clear or tinted to suit. Try to
avoid such opaque touches, however, as they often seem disturbingly conspicuous and inharmonious. Also, with any excessive
use of opaque color, your work will fall under the heading of
gouache or tempera painting. There is nothing wrong with these
media, but they are quite unlike the true or so-called "transparent" watercolor the customary type and are not our subject at the

moment.

EXERCISE 24: Still Li/^ Carry out for yourself such exercises
as this chapter suggests, and as are further discussed and demonstrated in the following chapter. Don't be impatient! Work out
every step thoroughly.
Still Life in Color Probably very few of the objects which
you will choose, even for the wash studies of the previous discussion, will be pure white or black. Some will show at least
subtle indications of color. Soon you may decide to represent
these colors, using paints of similar hue. In this way you can
sneak up on color by degrees, learning that value and hue are so
interrelated that they must be treated as one.
EXERCISE 25: Full CoZor Eventually you will accept nature's
challenge to turn to full color, working first from still-life objects
of various hues.

Here you have a new problem of selection and composition, for

you intend to follow quite carefully the colors before you
and if your painting is to be esthetically satisfying from a chromatic standpoint the objects themselves should be harmonious,
with the colors pleasingly distributed. As earlier mentioned, often
the background can advantageously be in color, though if it is to
hold its place as a background its hues should usually be neutral
if

or subdued.

STILL LIFE COMPOSITION

:

AND COLOR

97

your problem thus to choose objects and

])ackground sufficiently harmonious to serve as a color guide to
be quite closely followed, you are not bound by the colors before
you. If, as you paint, some part of your subject seems chromatically out of harmony with the rest, don't hesitate to change it.
Make adjustments here and there until your whole painting seems
harmonious. After all, this painting will be judged by its final
effect when seen away from the objects on which it is based, not
for the degree of fidelity with which it reproduces the faults as
well as the virtues of these objects. In short, never forget that
you are an artist, not a color camera.

While

it

simplifies

We

have already had quite a bit to say about

reflectors and reflections, indicating that both values and hues of
objects are modified by the values and hues of other near-by
objects. We repeat that the beginner seldom realizes to what
degree one surface in a still-life group ( or anywhere else, for that
matter) reflects both color and light onto other surfaces. He has
quite possibly heard of reflected light but not of reflected color.
Yet, when he thinks about it, he at least knows that shiny objects
are like mirrors in that they pick up colors ( as well as light ) from
other objects, while simultaneously throwing color (and light)
onto other objects. What is not always so clear to him is that even
dull objects function in exactly the same way, though of course
Reflections

to a less conspicuous degree.

All of these reflected colors,

whether from (or on) bright or

which tie com-

dull surfaces, are principal harmonizing factors

positions consisting of several objects together colorwise.

The

discerning artist constantly takes advantage of this factor by distributing his hues throughout his composition according to
nature's plan. At times he may even somewhat exaggerate these
reflected tones which nature tosses about so freely.

The

way to understand all this is through

we repeat our advice to study objects

best

vation. So

personal obserin

both normal

indoor light and in sunshine. Hold up sheets of colored cardboard

as reflectors, shifting their positions repeatedly,

color in different directions.

can modify the appearance of

flected colors

fall.

You

throwing their

what an amazing extent you

the surfaces on which these re-

Note

to

will find that the stronger the light striking

these reflectors, the brighter will be the colors reflected.

WATERCX)LOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

98

my

suggestion that you necessarily use such reflectors

with a setup for a painting ]:)ut, rather,
momentarily as a means of dramatizing for your own information
the extent to whicli o])jects and backgrounds reflect colors one to
It is

not

pcM inanentl)' in coiniection

when one or more colored

can advantageously be kept in place throughout the
entire development of a painting, if they can make your color
schemes chromatically more harmonious or stimulating.
Textures During our discussion to this point we have several
times mentioned the word "texture" in referring to the visible
another. There are times, however,

reflectors

Some surfaces
Wood, stone, tree

surface quality of diverse types of subject matter.

are rough,

some smooth,

trunks, cloth, water

to varying degree.

everything

which we see

individual surface characteristics. It

to represent these textures well as

their forms, values or colors.

many

is
it

fully as
is

in nature has its

important to learn

to picture successfully

One could advantageously spend

days in learning to interpret them.

EXERCISE 26 Texture Representation It might be well to take
a little time off in an effort to portray some, at least, of these many
textures. And as you later go on with your regular work, never
neglect this important phase of pictorial representation.
:

11

Now Let's Paint Outdoors

E\'EN

THOUGH INDOOR WORK

cHiect froiii

Still life,

flowers or

what
some

ha\e you, can teach man>' a \aliiable lesson and result in

fine paintings, it must be admitted that at times most of us ha\e
a strong desire to paint in the open. Let's take a look, therefore,

few basic problems. You will need all the suggestions \ ou

can get, for \ou will soon disco\er that work in the open is quite
different from work indoors: you will find \ourself exposed to a
at a

wholh'

new

set of

Equipment

mon

problems.

When

\ou head outdoors, don't make the com-

mistake of loading \ourself with too

much

paraphernalia!

hke the majorit}' of aquarellists, \ou do \"our work with your

paper in an almost horizontal position, \ ou can manage without
an easel, though a lightweight one is always a great con\-enience.
If you sit, a folding stool will serve you well. Don't forget to take
plent\- of water unless \ou are certain to be near a supph'. Jacob
Getlar Smith, in his book Watercolor Painting for the Beginner
(Watson-Guptill^, recommends keeping paints and brushes in a
metal box such as is sold for household tools. This can also contain \our water, water cups, pencils, erasers, and paint rag.
Choosing Your Subject Don't spend all day hunting for something to paint. Too man\- students search and search for the
perfect read\-made picture just waiting to be transfened to
paper. \\'hile a trul\- outstanding painting often shows unusual
If,

subject matter or, at least, a fresh

mood

or aspect of

it.

some

of

the greatest masterpieces e\er painted picture the simple e\er}"da\' tilings

known

to

all.

But \ou are not entireh' limited b\- \our subject. We ha\e
repeatedl}- emphasized that it is \our prerogati\e as a painter to
take as many liberties with subject matter as \ou wish, and in
this wa\' translate the mere hint of a picture into something of
worth. If your subject is too complex, \ ou can simplify it: if too
large, you can shrink it or omit part of it. You wiU be wise,
99

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

100

though, to hniit your early attempts to relatively small subjects.

If these are at sonu^ distance, so much the better; you will then
see them reduced to their simplest shapes and forms, their minor
details, such as individual leaves or blades of grass, unimportant.
View Finder Nothing will help you more in judging whether
or not a subject is suitable than to study it through a view finder
such as we described in Chapter 10. One hint on subject selection
may prove useful: the easiest subjects to do are those having
well-defined areas of color and tone.

FIG.

35

Walk around any prospective subject so as to

from many angles. Every subject has at least one ideal
point from which to paint it. If this point is a shady spot where
you can work in comfort you are in luck. Don't paint with your
paper in the sun or you can't judge what you do.
We should not leave the impression that there is but one suitable viewpoint for a subject. Often there are several sometimes
many. As a simple illustration of this we refer to the accompanying photograph made by the author in his home state, Maine.
(Fig. 35.) Fifty people could easily have found angles from
which at least some of these pictorial elements could be painted
Station Point

view

it

to advantage.

NOW LET S PAINT OUTDOORS

101

Direction of Light Most subjects appear to l^est advantage

the sun's rays slant considerably, as in early morning or
late afternoon. Masses of light and shadow are then well-defined
and attractive in shape. The sun travels rapidly, though, so don't

when

expect your light and shadow masses to remain static; they won't.
Analysis Once you have settled yourself before a promising
subject ( with your equipment within reach ) study it analytically
just as you did your still-life objects. Ask yourself questions as to
its size, shape, color, textures, etc. You must determine upon its
,

r.4-

FIG.

most essential elements

36a

the factors which

make

it

intriguing

to you.

Preliminary Sketches
color paper,

it

will

Before

pay you

to

draw on your waterwork out a plan of attack by

starting to

or two small sketches ^^thumbnails'' such as we

discussed in connection with still life. In these, you can decide
what to put in your final picture, what to leave out, what to
emphasize, and what to subordinate. If you wish to move certain
elements about, do so. Unless color was the leading factor which
caused you to pick your subject in which case you will doubtless make your preliminaries in watercolor pencil or charcoal

making one

will

be your

logical

medium.

Figs.

36A and 36B show

typical

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

02

thumbnails, in pencil, for possible later development in watercolor.

To

illustrate,

show two pencil sketches (reproduced

at exact

photographed at the time. In the

first sketch the arrangement has not been radically changed. But
note that the building in the foreground has been reduced in size
and that the "lean-to" covered with dark building paper has been
eliminated because its shape is awkward and its color unintersize of originals) of a subject

esting.

FIG.

36b

Sketch 2 is from a position considerably to the right of the point

from which the photograph was taken. This, in my opinion, is a
better composition. I considered yet another view at the left of
the camera's position, but it seemed so unpromising that I did
not even try it out in a quick thumbnail.
Procedure With your campaign thus mapped, you are ready
to sketch your subject in pencil on your large paper. With the
sketching completed, there are now two common ways of proceeding with the rendering. You can creep up on your subject by

by applying light tints which will hint at things

to follow. Then, gradually, you will add stronger colors, some
here and some there, until eventually a satisfactory result is built
up. Or and remember that this will produce fresher, more
degrees, starting

xow

let's paint

103

outdoors

spontaneous results \ ou can tn' to appK' each wash or brush

stroke with finaht\\ coming at \our first attempt just as close as
possible to your preconcei\ed effect for that area. Thus you can
work more rapidh", getting a good start before nature's ephemeral
effects drasticalK change. You will also achie\e something of that
crisp fresh character for which as we earlier pointed out
watercolor paintings are so often admired. In either procedure,
remember that colors usualK" appear lighter when dr\ than when
applied.

White Paper

Alwa\

keep

in

mind

that, unlike the oil painter,

the watercolorist often lea\es small areas of his painting surface

bare. This is in part a matter of choice for such areas cause life

and sparkle and in part because such separations of plain paper

must often l^e left between washes to pre\ent still-wet areas from
running together.
Turning of Paper Since washes thus tend to merge and in
order to keep his hands out of moist areas the aquarellist frequenth' turns or tips his paper to the most con\-enient position for
his task at the moment. He ma\', for instance run a sk\- wash
from horizon to zenith, with his paper inxerted.
This \iewing of his painting from e\er\- angle has a bonus \"irtue; it rexeals faults and so tends toward a better final result.
Drying To artists who use much water. dr\ing though it
takes but a few minutes seems annoyingh' slow. The>' sometimes speed dr\ing up b\- adding a bit of alcohol to their water:
a

little

added

gl\-cerine will retard dr\ ing.

hair dryer can be used to stimulate dr\ing.

(Indoors, a fan or

The wetter one works, the flatter he is forced to keep his

paper; the more washes he must run, the more his paper will
buckle.

It

humid

may

fonii so

many

ridges

and

alle\s

especially on

that

the pigment particles slide from the ridges

into the \alle\s so that, e\en if the paper finalh' comes flat when
drw e\idence of the buckling will still be visible.
The thicker one's paper, the less it will warp. Buckling can be

da\-

axoided entirely if one paints only on the so-called "mounted"

papers (boards), but these are heavier to carry and more expensive. The next best surface is obtained by "stretching" (see
Chapters 1 and 2).
Two at Once \ot infrequently a painter keeps two watercolor
paintings under wa\' simultaneously, working on one while the

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

104
other

drying. Both ina\ he of the

is

same

of different proportions or color schemes.

subject,

though often

Or he may,

for the

second painting, choose another near-by subject.

There

is

an extra advantage

in this:

when he

painting after working on the other, he

is

turns back to one

better able to detect

its

determine what to do next. The change of subject mathas given his eyes new critical powers.

faults or
ter

Painting Because watercolor washes diy slowly and

tend to buckle the paper (and hence slow one's work) some
watercolorists manage with very few of them, simply staining
areas of their paper without enough liquid in the brush to form
puddles. In other words, they "draw" their paintings by working
"D/7/

in a

'

somewhat

linear

manner. Try

this:

with a

flat

brush of red

sable an inch or so in width, cover large areas very quickly with

strokes just touching or slightly overlapping. These will dry almost instantly. By turning or twisting the brush, you will find a
wide variety of strokes possible. Small brushes may similarly be
used for more limited areas. As a rule, though, lean toward the
big, especially if time is at a premium.

As we saw when discussing materials, these

particularly practical
subjects, as a single

when doing

flat

brushes are

street scenes or architectural

wide stroke can sometimes represent the en-

area of a roof, a door or a window shutter. A wide brush can

be dipped into two or more colors at one time; these will blend
effectively as the strokes are made.
tire

may

also be dabbed or patted on, usually with the point

round brush. Results ideal for some purposes can thus
be obtained, the little color areas being closely juxtaposed or even
superimposed in places. (For more detailed information along
these lines refer again to Chapter 3.)

Colors

or side of a

Speed Most watercolors are completed far more quickly than

oils. An oil can be successfully worked over hour after hour until
a high standard of perfection

is

reached, while a watercolor,

if it

doesn't "arrive" in an hour or two, can often be classed as a

failure, for once it loses its crispness and freshness few people
would consider it attractive.
Repairs Whereas an oil painting can be scraped, painted over

or

otherwise brought

stage, there

sometimes

successfully
isn't

too

through any discouraging

that can be done for a

much

NOW let's paint outdoors

105

watercolor that has become muddy, over-worked, or

is

otherwise

displeasing in effect.
It's

ing

however, and occasionally an astonishresults from comparatively simple means.

always worth a

improvement

try,

may

turn to some of the opaque watercolor

or to casein, proceeding with the
faulty watercolor work as a foundation to be entirely, or nearly
covered with the new medium. Yet less drastic remedies will
sometimes answer. It pays to try a thorough sponging off (even
with soap) of any offending areas so that the paper becomes
practicalh' white as a new foundation (when diy) for regular
watercolor. Again, disappointing areas ma\' be worked over with
Painters at this point

paints

gouache or tempera

a bristle brush such as

is

used in

oil

painting, the pigment so

loosened being sopped

at least in part with a rag, cleansing tissues, or blotting paper. A little fresh brushwork over such
a treated area often creates a pleasing final result.
Sandpapering or scraping with a razor blade, may occasionally
be effectively done, especially if the paper is rough.
Analysis Whichever of the several above procedures you follow^ for making a painting, if you keep the painting rather flat, be
sure to set it up into normal viewing position at least every halfhour or so in order to gain a true impression of its appearance.
Stand back from it. Compare it with the subject. Also, view it b\itself so as to judge how good a painting it is growing to be.
Know When to Quit Many a watercolor painting which at
the end of a half -hour or hour is coming beautifully, catching the
spirit of the time and place, is later mined by one's continued
effort to improve it. There's a lot of sense to that old saying that
it takes two to paint a picture one to do the actual painting
and the other to hit him over the head when he has carried the
work exacth^ far enough.
EXERCISE 27: Comparative Work There is no limit to the
number of paintings you may wish to make at this time. Save
them all; even the poorest ones may serve well later as guides
for studio work. And the main thing just now is to learn all you
can. You can't help learning, even when you are producing your
most disappointing pictures.
Many novices, on their first attempts at outdoor painting, become wholly discouraged. This is not surprising for in a sense
they are not unlike a young pianist or violinist who, having had

up

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

106
the

chill

c)l

clciiicntar)

face-to-face with

work

exercises,

now

for the first time conies

calling for professional skill in interpreta-

You mustn't give up when success is quite possibly just

around the corner. But it won't come in a day or a week or a
month. If the mastery of painting were that easy, everyone would
do it. Don't look for miracles. No book, and no teacher, can perform them for you. Progress will come through holding your own
brush, mixing your own colors, and painting your own pictures.
tion.

Part II

DEMONSTRATIONS BY
PROFESSIONAL WATERCOLORISTS
Norman Kent
Ted Kautzky

Herb Olsen
Ralph Avery

Samuel Kamen

Norman Kent Paints a Landscape

THE FORM AND PATTERN

of willow ticcs liavc

landscapists for centuries.

seasons and under

all

all

The

been

color of the foliage

conditions of lighting.

is

a delight to

attractive in

The

lost-and-

found presence of the sturdy trunks and branches detected

through the screen of feathery leaf compels the painter to careful
study.

After several days of sketching and painting in the neighborhood of Seeley Creek, Pennsylvania, I came to the subject of
Willow Bank. It was a late afternoon at the end of August. I had
formed a strong attachment for the willow trees I had drawn
during the morning. First I made a quick pencil drawing similar
to the one reproduced. Next I set up my easel and painted a
15 X 20-inch watercolor in about an hour. But even before taking
it

home

my

first

to look at it in indoor light, I knew

impression of this peaceful place.

it

did not represent

Determined to make amends for my failure, I went back the

following day after a critical appraisal of my first picture. But
now the light was very different. An overcast sky threatened rain,
and where before I had been confronted with a pattern of strong
hght and shade, now I found more subtle tone and simplified
form. In a way it was a more challenging thing to paint. Even as
I began blocking in the main lines of composition I felt grateful
for the previous day's labor. It had provided me with a familiarity
of the meandering creek, the form of the bank, and the bulk of
the willow trees.

My

paper was a sheet of 300-pound rough-surfaced stock. For

preliminary lines I used a nubbin of charcoal. I find charcoal
excellent for this purpose since its lines can be changed so quickly
and it does not invite a detailed rendering especially on rough
paper.
I have often witnessed a watercolorist spending the better part
of an hour carefully plotting a hard pencil drawing on his paper

my

108

Preliminary carbon pencil drawing, 9 x 12 inches

onh' to find when he was read}' to paint that the Hght effects
which had attracted him to the subject in the first place had
vanished.

It's

much

better to set

down

rapidly the major space

and general fomis and then begin to paint.

alwa\s difficult for an artist to reconstruct the various steps
he has gone through in producing a particular painting. But several things I remember quite clearly about Willow Bank. The first
thing I did was to mix a generous wash of dark green to establish
the color density of that mass of trees to the left on the far bank.
This was applied and smaller patches of the same wash were
repeated on the right side. While these washes were wet I dried
my brush and softened edges here and there.
Now the foreground needed an undenvash of warm earth color
to establish its relation to the general tone. Then the barn in the
middle distance was painted with a thin wash with the end of m\'
large sable brush. Next I dealt with the water plane. A neutral
gray wash was applied and allowed to dr\' before the reflections
were added.
di\-isions
It's

NORM AX KENT PAINTS A LANDSCAPE

'

111

the process ahead) described I had been careful not to

white paper, for without them the close\alued patterns would ha\ e been merged together and form
destroyed. One such patch of white paper pro\ided the inspira-

In

all

lose the little accents of

tion for the

It

became

little

red-roofed house to be seen on the right side.

which assists the eye in mo\ing

a compositional de\ ice

through the entire design.

At this point in the painting about fort\- minutes had elapsed.
The paper was fairh' well co\ ered. After a few minutes rest, I

began pulling the whole picture together, closing up unwanted

exits and adding the strong dark accents of tree trunks and
branches. Certain passages, now dry, were dampened with a cloth
and the color "lifted." This may be seen in the foliage and in the
reflections to the right.

The outdoor painting was now complete. Later, after stud\ing

the result in a trial mat and under glass, a few minor changes were
effected by additions and some modifications of color and tone.
For tools, I use a large red-sable brush and usualh' paint on a
watercolor easel. My paint box is a heav\' metal aftair with six
generous niLxing trays and eighteen wells for pigment. \\'hen
open it measures 11 x 12 inches. \Miile I am presenth' using
sheets of 300-pound imported stock, rough textured, I ha\ e also
used 140-pound paper in pads, both hot-pressed and cold-pressed
varieties.

\Miile
I

prefer to paint out-of-doors directh' from the subject,

find that I

in

my

am

amount of watercolor painting

Under these conditions I tr\- to select

able to do an equal

studio from sketches.

sketches with marked contrasts of light and shade, a\oiding closevalued subjects like Willow Bank which require intimate association to

do

well.

How Ted Katitzky Painted a Watercolor

TED KAUTZKY (1896-1953) was not only one of our top watercolor
painters hut for many years he also majored in pencil rendering.
In the latter medium, later discussed in this article, he developed
a personal and powerful style which can aptly be called pencil
painting. In 1952 we asked Ted to write about his watercolor
work and what follows immediately are his own words.
"For years I have been studying trees, sketching and painting

them in all seasons and all weather.

"The willow, seen in the watercolor reproduced

one of
my favorite trees. And the most intimately familiar because of
the old willow road that winds its way to my summer studio on
the rocky ledges of Land's End, Cape Ann, on the Massachusetts
here,

is

coast.

had admired yes, and sketched there old

had not been the subject of a watercolor until one misty summer's day when, trudging along in the
rain, I was wholly captivated by the mood of the wet country
road, glistening with puddles which reflected the dark foreground
trees. The hazy atmosphere translated the receding trees and the
background into a perfect sequence of simplified values. The
road had never before revealed itself in quite that mood and I
had to hurry home to paint it.
"Of course

willows

many

times, but they

"As is my custom when painting indoors, I made several

7 X 10-inch pencil sketches for studies for my composition. The
final study in pencil is shown here with the watercolor. This, it
will be seen, is more than a 'rough.' In my pencil studies I make
all important decisions and definitely establish the picture's pattern and its values. When I take up my brush to paint, all of my
creative thinking is concentrated on color and on technical considerations.

"In all my years of painting in all mediums, I have found that

the success of the picture depends largely upon my study in pre-

112

Composition study for icatercolor

many pamters make only the

every one has his own way.
"Before starting to paint I give considerable thought to the
order of painting, whether it is more practical to start with the
lightest values or with the darkest. In painting Old Willow Road
the foreground trees were laid in first with direct strokes, as dark
as possible without losing the transparency of the color; then, in
the following order, the middle ground willows, background,
field, road and finally the sky. I left patches of paper for the very
liminary sketches.

most casual of

know

'roughs'

that

but

lightest values.

"This picture was painted with a very limited palette burnt

umber, raw sienna, French ultramarine blue and Hooker's green
#2. The paper was a medium rough full sheet (22 x 30 inches)
with an off-white warm tint which seemed especially suited to
this subject. While this subject required but few colors, I always
have the following for use as needed orange vermilion, cadmium
orange, cadmium yellow, aureolin yellow, lemon yellow, cobalt
blue, French ultramarine, Winsor blue, alizarin crimson, burnt
:

sienna, burnt umber, raw sienna, raw umber, Hooker's green #2,
Davy's gray and Payne's gray.

This is an analysis of the compositional structure the two heavy lines

form a triangle off center. The dotted line indicates the importance of
the direction of the corner of background trees. The perspective lines
of the road accentuate the sense of depth.

the value organization: 1. The darkest tone for

the intermediate value for middle distant trees;
3. the lightest value for distant buildings and foliage. A very simple
tonal plan.
TJiis (lidi^ram indicates

foreground

trees;

2.

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

116

hdxc lour brushes: a small and a medium-size pointed sable;

and a one-inch square flat ox hair."
Now for a word about the compositional drawing which was
made b) Kautzk)' as a study for the watercolor and is typical of
the powerful pencil rendering by this talented and versatile artist.
In his book Pencil Broadsides Kautzky recommends the use of
two grades of graphite pencils, 2B and 3B, on a good quality of
kid-finish bristol. He stresses the importance of experimenting
with various surfaces of paper until the most compatible one is
found. The kind of paper really determines the hardness of pencil
used. On a very smooth surface the softer pencils will be needed;
on a paper with considerable tooth, harder leads will produce
quite dark tones.
Said Kautzky, "A sharp knife and a sandpaper block are important. The sandpaper block is as necessary as the pencil because
"1

and

a half-inch

it is

the

means

of giving the lead exactly the right point for pro-

ducing broad smooth strokes. After the wood has been whittled
away to expose about a quarter of an inch of the lead, the lead
is rubbed at an angle on the sandpaper block to produce a flat
wedge point. Broad strokes are made with the flat side of this
wedge held evenly against the paper. The width of strokes will

depend upon the angle at which the point is sharpened. Note that
the surface of the lead held against the paper will be oval-shaped
since it is a section cut by a plane intersecting a cyKnder. This oval
shape allows great flexibility in producing a greater variety of
strokes than could be had with a square lead."
Kautzky, however, frequently used square leads for bold broad
areas graphite sticks about one-quarter-inch square which come
in various degrees of hardness. These were employed freely on
the sketch here reproduced, on the foreground tree trunk. The
middle distance and the distance were done with the 2B and 3B
leads.

Kautzky revealed a trick for securing a washlike tone with these

graphite sticks. After covering an area with direct strokes of the
graphite he rolled up a kneaded eraser into a cylindrical form

and

over the tone to pick up the graphite particles that

ride on the paper's surface. This leaves only the graphite that has
bitten into the paper. The result is a very smooth tone.
rolled

it

Herb Olsen Paints Out-of-doors

THE SETTING FOR THIS PAINTING is puielv imaginative. The composition resulting from seeing a group of people standing on a hill
silhouetted against the sky. The grouping seemed to lend itself to
a more dramatic situation. I could visualize such a group looking
seaward, waiting expectantly for an ill-fated ship to bring

home

their loved ones.

In painting this picture I used the small quiet puddle in the

foreground as a contrast to the feeling of the vast ocean with its
foreboding perils. The ominous sky, with the cone-shaped cloud
gives the picture an added feeling of unrest. The broken debris
in the foreground suggests the title, The Wreck.
Before starting the painting I made a few abstractions in pencil.
The composition then established in my mind, I drew the picture.
With the drawing completed, the following steps were used in
the execution of the painting
Step 1. I wet the sky area with a sponge and, while wet,
using a 2-inch brush, painted lemon yellow over the entire sky
area, then Payne's gray on the left top. The cloud was then
painted with Payne's gray, mauve and yellow ochre, blended, and
then allowed to dry. Lemon yellow and cobalt blue were used
for the water. The puddle in the foreground has the same colors
but, since it reflects the zenith, leans more toward the blue, or
cooler tone.

Step 2. The green area of the hill is Rembrandt green and

Hooker's green. The lower section of the hill (clay bank) was
painted with Indian red, cadmium orange, and yellow ochre all
mixed on the paper. In this instance I used the paper for my
palette. On the rock area at the right side of the painting, I used
cobalt blue, Hooker's green, burnt umber and yellow ochre. The
beach area is yellow ochre blended with Indian red and cobalt
blue.

Step

3.

The darker

effects in the

117

green area were achieved

CO

a.

CJD

Co

'^ 'o

120

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

using sepia, Rembrandt green, and burnt sienna. For the

darker effects in the chiy area of the hill, sej^ia, Indian red and
burnt sienna were used. A note of blue on the rock in the left
foreground was washed on when dry. The reflection in the water
is Payne's gray. The rocky bank on the right was painted with
Payne's gray, burnt umber, and cobalt blue and then allowed to
dry. The debris in the water was painted with sepia, Antwerp
blue, and burnt sienna the same was used for the posts in the
upper left corner retaining the lights. These can be scratched
out with a razor blade.
Step 4. The figures were added last using yellow ochre, Indian red and burnt umber. The clay bank was softened by a wash
of burnt sienna and cobalt blue. A touch of mauve and yellow
ochre was added to the cloud.
l)y

Ralph Avery Describes His Still-Life Painting

SELECTION OF SUBJECT A bowl of pconies has been selected for
our still-life subject. The large handsome flower forms seem to
lend themselves to simple color masses that are challenging to the
vvatercolor medium. This is mentioned because in choosing our

and knowing that we are

to paint in a rather broad way,

sympathetic subject. Of course, any kind
of flowers can be painted and we should experiment with all of
them. For this purpose, however, we are avoiding flowers that are
small or that do not form into masses easily or that depend upon

subject

we may

as well select a

and details for their effect. Such a subject might better

be drawn with a pen or pencil or made into an etching.

tiny petals

One

of several preliminary drawings

The

creative part of any painting beobserve the various possibilities as to

composition. Such questions as looking with the light or against

Looking

at the Subject

gins as soon as

we

start to

121

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WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

124

the light; high eye level or low eye level; the over-all shape
horizontal or vertical. These are all points to be considered early
in our plans before selecting the best viewpoint with the aid of
prcHniiiuu) rough sketches. Selecting the best one of the roughs
is often the deciding factor in the final success or failure of the
painting. This being done, the procedure
large the selected

rough but rather

to use

not slavishly to en-

is
it

as a starting point in

building the painting, reserving the right to change our thinking

as we go along and allow for the unexpected happenings that are
characteristic of the watercolor medium.

General Procedure in Watercolor Painting

Edges

are so important in watercolor that we try to anticipate, well in advance

of the finished effect, which edges are to be soft or blended and
which are to be hard or sharp. Wherever soft edges are needed,
the paper may be dampened with sponge or brush in those areas
only, being careful to leave dry paper where sharp separations of
color are needed. As the dampened areas begin to dry, and before
completely dry, strokes of color can then be added for accents or
emphasis, leaving a sort of semihard effect in their edges.

Painting Step-by-Step

Starting on a piece of

Whatman illusmedium

tration board, size 16" x 20", with a soft pencil or piece of

main areas to be painted were sketched in. As rough

might appear to be and with little or no details indicated, important decisions were made at this time. The big areas
were settled. If these areas do not satisfy, then it is better to get
a fresh start rather than to regret later that we did not do so. I
would emphasize here that this drawing should not be carried
into details or we might be tempted simply to make a colored
drawing instead of a full-bodied painting. The underlying masses
of color were now added to the outline composition. The darkest
note was established by indicating the dark bowl. The middle
values produced by the yellow and green background drapery
were now brushed in, and with some of the flower sections left
charcoal, the
as this step

as

white paper,

painting. If this

we estabhshed the important patterns of the

much was well done, the effect might be some-

thing like a Japanese print.

The next logical step was to add modeling, to give a threedimensional look to the flat masses, such as a general shadow
tone on the drapery and flowers. How quickly the white flowers

RALPH AVERY STELL-LIFE PAINTING

125

warm

gray wash of the shadow

were given to the red peonies,
a little dampening of the portions to be worked on was used to
insure softness of edges where we wanted them. It is well to remember that at this stage in our painting it was now a success or
failure. The final darks were added that gave completeness to all
the forms. At this stage we were drawing more carefully with the
brush as the petals of the flowers were observed. In other words,
no amount of finishing touches and details will redeem a faulty
basic pattern with poorly rendered areas. Every stage of a painting should be interesting to look at. A miserable effect when the
painting is half done hardly ever develops into a brilliant final
take on form merely adding the

portions. Before additional touches

performance.

Samuel Kamen Discusses His Creative Methods

OTHER ARTISTS I am Sensitive to the visual aspects of life.
of these are more beautiful and moving than others. I try
anah'ze what it is that makes for this extra measure of beauty,

LIKE

Some
to

my

then use

on a

still

discoveries in the re-creation of the natural world

higher level of beauty. In this

free of the vagaries of

process

Almost

way

become

increasingly

chance beauty offered by nature. This

call "design."
all

representational subject matter can be

What an

embodied

in

from nature as his material is a

matter of individual preference detemiined by his personality
and his understanding of life. If his predilections are shared by
many others there is a strong bond of communication.
Representation and design are the two main compartments of
the visual arts; they are the extremes encompassing the gamut of
possibilities which run from pure representation to the abstract
and the nonobjective. Ocean s Edge, the picture reproduced here
rich design.

artist selects

in color, falls into the categor)' of "design representation." It

is

not a literal transcript of a single, whole scene experience; rather,

it is the essence of many visual experiences carefully selected and
heightened through the power of design. I attempted to extract
from the natural world those aspects that have stirred my emotions: a storm passing swiftly through a sunny day, dramatizing
the blue sea, green-covered dunes, shadowed cliffs and sunlight
breaking through to illuminate olive-colored foliage.
All the parts are like, but not exactly like, the originals; some
parts have been excluded, others retained, modified and added
to, changed in position, shape and color for the purpose of creating a new visual synthesis of heightened emotion exceeding that
of the original visual experience. No doubt a greater talent could

have done more

in this direction, as

might

I at

a later stage in

my development.
This painting, as usual, was done entirely from

126

memory

in

my

WATERCOLOR PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

128

Thus far 1 ha\e rarely made a watereolor from life although I have painted a great deal in oil from both indoor and
outdoor subjects. This watereolor required about three hours for
completion. But, as often happens, I felt dissatisfied with the
result w ithout knowing just what the trouble was. So I put it aside
and brought it out months later for the fresh look which revealed
the faults. I am a believer in drawing and painting from memory.
Tliis way of working reveals the areas of my ignorance. Then I go
back to nature, observe more closely and fill in the gaps.
studio.

work on a
makes it

that

tilting

drawing board or on an outdoor

tilting easel

possible to control the washes. I soak rough-sur-

faced watereolor paper (114 lb.) in a tub of water. After the

excess water has run off and the paper has been blotted, I fasten
the paper to a somewhat larger drawing board with paper tape
and allow it to dry stretched before painting on it.

My usual practice

in "designed representation"

is

as follows

by making a composition in line and pattern embodying the

subject matter; then I compose it in values, based on this linepattern organization. After that I compose in color, integrating
color with the already determined line, pattern and value design.
start

I like to experiment at each stage. For instance, after having

determined a satisfying line, pattern and value design, I shift the
values around but retain the line and pattern with only slight
necessary modification. At times I begin with a pure design and
then convert it into a still life or landscape, retaining the basic
unchanged design organization. On the other hand I may complete a composition of designed representation, then convert it
completely into a pure design devoid of any representational

element.

As one's experience and mastery increase, it is possible to compose from the very beginning in line, pattern, value and color,
integrating all simultaneously rather than by separate stages. I
learn from the small to the large; I create from the large to the
small.
It has been my practice to compose from imagination many
hundreds of black-and-white compositions in wash landscape,
still life, figure and pure design themes. I usually do these in small
size. Working small in the initial stages seems to eliminate barriers

to the free flow of the creative process.

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