Watercolor Painting: A Comprehensive Approach to Mastering the Medium by Tom Hoffmann Read Free Book Online Page B

still white paper. To help keep the whole picture tied together, block in the entire image with a first layer early in the process. I confess this is where I most often fail to follow my own advice, since I can’t resist seeing how the part I’m painting right now will look with the next layer on. One problem with jumping ahead, though, is that I am making choices about color, value, and amount of detail based on proximity to white paper, which is not what will be there once I finish the first layer. Plus, if I complete each segment of a painting before moving to the next area, the finished picture will be a collection of separate little paintings on the same page.
    I try to work the whole page one layer at a time, not putting a second layer anywhere until I’ve put the first layer everywhere. This is not an absolute rule. It is not even always possible. But the idea is to keep the shapes all working together. For instance, in thephotograph opposite, the blue of the sky could not go under the warm colors of the walls, and even the palest pink of the door trim would compromise the purity of the blue. Since neither one would work as a preliminary wash for the entire page, I had no choice with this painting but to work shape by shape.
    There are three critical questions that you should ask yourself before you paint each layer. I will pose these questions in turn as we watch a segment of a painting come to full realization. The first: Is there a way to paint the entire shape with a wash that can underlie everything that will come later?
    Blocking in each of the major shapes with its lightest tone leaves the door open to adding middle-value forms later and then applying darks, as needed. It is usually easy enough to tell which of the colors in a major shape will be the best for an overall first layer. Start by looking for the lightest tone. For instance, in the image far right, could you paint the whole shape the lightest pink that shows on the left-facing surfaces of the door trim? If you decided that the light pink could safely underlie everything else on that wall (doorway, blue letters, peach wall, shadows), you are ready to prepare the supply of paint. Be sure to mix up a little more of the first layer color than you think you need, so you won’t run out in the middle of applying the wash.
    Before the first layer goes on, however, there is a second question to consider: Is there anything I need to paint around? If there are areas within a big shape that must remain lighter than the overall first wash, they need to be reserved. Similarly, if there are areas that would be polluted by the color of the first wash, they must also be reserved, even if they are not lighter. You might be concerned, for example, that the pale green blocks of stone on the left would not turn out green if the pale pink were under them. If you are unsure about the effect your choices will have on future layers, try the color progression on your practice paper. In this case, the pink is so light I am sure it can safely underlie even the pale green. When you know what needs to be reserved you are ready to apply the first layer.
    How carefully the initial layer needs to be applied depends on several variables: First, your style. Is it casual or painstaking? Second, your subject. Is it an old, stained stucco wall or a brand-new house? Third, subsequent layers. How much of the first layer will be visible after all the other layers have been applied? And fourth, the areas that need to be reserved. How complex are the parts that cannot receive the overall layer? Thinking and seeing in layers is, in a sense, simply following the path of least resistance. Putting darker, more specific strokes on top of broad, light washes is the easiest way to build a painting, and with watercolor, the easy way is the right way.
    Once the first layer is painted, ask yourself: Is there anything I should do while this layer is still wet? In many situations, you may want to vary