Page 26 - The Decorative Painter Spring 2018

WATERCOLOR
BUILDING SIENA
There was a time when paint- ing buildings made me cringe. Take a look at this photo of beauti- ful Siena, Italy. Fantastic to look at, but do I want to paint it? Yes! It’s not so bad. Here’s one of my favor- ite tips for when you find yourself in this situation.
When I’m on location I make things as easy as possible for my- self. I want to get the ‘feeling’ of the place, not every window and gum wrapper. In this case, I draw a big rectangle on my page in which I’m going to draw the city. Then I pencil in a grid. (See Step-by-Steps)
STEP-BY-STEP
BUILDINGS
STEP 1: DRAW A GRID
STEP 2: BUILD YOUR CITY
Once you have the grid on your page, you can begin to fit the buildings into the grid. Notice that I have made them ‘my own’. They are not exactly like the original scene. I have used the scene to give me ideas about where to place them, but that’s it. I then use only the grid to build the city, fitting the buildings in-between the gridlines. Some buildings go in-between the grid lines and then those lines help me keep roof lines and sides of buildings in perspective. Easy!
Note: You can also begin to put in detail such items as roof tiles, windows, and doors with your pen.
24 The Decorative Painter
• ISSUE NO. 2, 2016
DECORATIVEPAINTERS.ORG