Location to Studio‍

 

On the Splashing Paint DVD you will see how this demonstration was done in the studio based on a small watercolor sketch and a number of drawings and photographs of the area. Things were shifted, omitted and distorted, details from the surroundings were included and the angle of view was widened. My concern was not to faithfully reproduce what I first saw, but to recreate the atmosphere of the laneway based on fragments of the environment. The lesson here is: it's the atmosphere of painting that matters, not the faithful documentation of the location.

Tips

• Paper Size
  In this demonstration I have used a full sheet of Arches 300gsm (140lbs) hot pressed paper to bring out the details and linear quality of the ink lines. Cold pressed paper would also work well and if you feel more comfortable working on a smaller sheet, choose a 1/4 sheet

• Balancing detail
  To keep attention at the centre of interest, detail was concentrated here. To avoid confusion the top right and bottom left corners were left empty to act as areas of relief. Keep this in mind as you work on your painting.

• Applying Gouache
  When you arrive at the point where the blue gouache mixture is applied, be sure to mix easily enough to cover the area to be painted. Apply it flatly and evenly and once it’s on don’t touch it. It will dry to a flat matt finish, but if it is adjusted after it dries streaks will appear.
   

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