Page 23 - The Decorative Painter Spring 2018

WATERCOLOR
GET RID OF MR. EVIL
Being in the right mindset is the most important thing of all! Once you’ve chosen your spot, RELAX. That inner critic (I call him Mr. Evil) is always there, but don’t listen to him. Remember that a journal is more about the artist (that’s you) than the scene. If we wanted an exact copy we’d use a camera. Instead, a journal or sketchbook allows us to capture our own unique personal responses to a scene, to put our own ideas into it. Don’t be afraid to make changes. The way you draw your lines, make your shapes and the colors you choose are all personal choices. They are the first steps to finding your own unique style!
SET A BOUNDARY
Zoom in on one particular element that catches your eye, then draw a box on your journal page and fill it with that item. You’ll be forced to crop the scene in order to keep the sketch inside the lines.
DRAW WITH AUTHORITY
When you draw with a pen, you mean business. You can’t erase the marks but that’s the idea. If your line goes awry simply put in another one where you think it should be. Keep going. No one will know you never meant to put that original line there in the first place. If you draw as though you meant to do it that way, everyone will think you did. My secret, and it works.
MISTAKES ARE GONNA HAPPEN– WORK WITH THEM
It’s a given that mistakes are going to happen. Do your- self a favor and learn to recognize them for what they are – opportunities. Here is a little trick I use. After my pen drawing is complete, I apply washes of color. Sometimes I like what I’ve done, but when I don’t I use the errors to my advantage. When the washes are dry, I use my pen to draw around each problem area, for example, a wash that has oozed outside the line or a blossom where two washes have run together. This way neither the drawing nor the washes have to be perfect; line holds the piece together – and adds some interesting texture as well.
NEVER GIVE UP
If a page doesn’t turn out as you hoped, keep working to resolve the problems. It’s amazing how much you can learn if you stick with it. Remember, your journal is your own private place for exploration and experimentation. There are no rules; anything goes.
Living and working with other artists in inspirational settings, breathing the same air as Van Gogh and Gauguin are reasons enough to give a journey workshop a try. But the magic of sketching on location isn’t limited to grand or exotic places. No matter the location that inspired it, the best part is opening to a page of your sketchbook and you’re right back there in the moment of that day. Very nice indeed!
❝
DECORATIVEPAINTERS.ORG
The Decorative Painter • ISSUE NO. 2, 2016 21
I cannot tell you how happy I am to have taken up drawing again. I’ve been thinking of it, but I always considered the thing impossible and beyond my reach.❞
—Vincent Van Gogh