Colour and Line in Watercolour

221 Pages·2016·27.68 MB·English

by  Glen Scouller

Glen Scouller
Boat and Fishing Paraphernalia, Hastings
Watercolour, Berol Karismacolor water-soluble pencil, oil
pastels, Waterford NOT paper, 71 x 53 cm (28 x 21 in.)
Collection of the artist
The Conversation, Falacho, Portugal
Watercolour, Berol Karismacolor water-soluble pencil, white oil
pastel, Waterford NOT paper, 23 x 42 cm (9 x 16½ in.) Private
collection
Glen Scouller
Contents
Small Boat, Sicily
Paolo Olbi handmade, leather-bound watercolour sketchbook,
watercolour, white oil pastel, water soluble pencil 23 x 30 cm (9
x 12 in.) Collection of the artist
1 INTRODUCTION
The discipline of working from life
Sources of inspiration
2 TOOLS AND MATERIALS
Basic tools, papers and surfaces
Outdoor equipment
3 METHODS AND TECHNIQUES
Discovering and exploring watercolour
Mixed media
Demonstration: Still Life with Blue Background
Demonstration: Self-Portrait with Still Life
4 SKETCHBOOKS
Book and paper choice
Which is best for me?
5 PAINTING OUTDOORS
Hot climates
Bad weather
Demonstration: Octopus Boats, Santa Luzia, Algarve,
Portugal
6 COLOUR AND LIGHT
Creating light
Saturated colour
7 FAVOURITE THEMES
What is a suitable subject?
Boats and boatyards
Still life
Landscape and urban landscape
Demonstration: Red Table and Jugs
Windows
Figures
Animals
Farms and villages
8 WORKING IN THE STUDIO
Still life
Portraits
Glossary
Index
Introduction
The Church, Mexilhoeira Grande, Algarve, Portugal
Watercolour, pencil and oil pastels, Waterford 300 gsm NOT
paper 53 x 71 cm (21 x 28 in.) Private collection
A strange thing happens when I can’t get far enough back from
my subject, and this beautiful old Portuguese church, with its
trees stripped of their leaves in winter, is a typical example. The
verticals appear to be distorted as if seen through a fish-eye
lens. This is not something I do consciously: it just seems to
happen naturally in my attempt to ‘fit’ everything I want into
happen naturally in my attempt to ‘fit’ everything I want into
the picture, but I rather like the dynamic effect it has on the
composition.
Watercolour is a swim in the metaphysics of life... a
mirror of one’s own character. Let it be unpredictable
and colourful.
Anonymous
The mere mention of watercolours to some
contemporary artists is often met with a reaction of
derision and disdain: in their eyes, the medium is in the
bracket of the ‘hobby artist’ or ‘Sunday painter’. This is
despite the fact that the use of watercolour was firmly
established in British painting history by eighteenth-
century and nineteenth-century English artists such as
Turner (1775–1851), Cotman (1782–1842), Sandby
(1731–1809) and their contemporaries. The rise of
watercolour painting was also tied to a growing
acceptance in Britain of ‘landscape’ as an appropriate
subject for painting. The use of watercolours by these
pioneering artists had a truly liberating effect on the
nature of art for future generations. Artists now had a
medium that was easily transportable, and there was
no need to carry around easels, canvases or other
heavy equipment. They were no longer tied to creating
art within the four walls of a studio: the whole world
opened up as a studio.
The Spongeware Jug
Watercolour, Waterford 300 gsm NOT paper 53 x 71 cm (21 x
28 in.)
Private collection This is an example of an early watercolour
where the sumptuous colour and pattern made by the objects’
grouping was what charmed me. There is no under-drawing
involved: here I simply relied on all my senses and got straight
into the colour washes and mark-making, firstly with a large
mop brush. Then, with a smaller brush, I added dots of pattern
where they appeared on the jug and various bits of exotic fruit.
By its very nature, watercolour can be a fickle,
infuriating and elusive medium, where mistakes are
difficult to remedy and the applied colour sometimes
appears to have a mind of its own. This, however, is
one of the things I like about watercolour – its