Watercolor on the Move: Practical Plein Air

Weekend Workshop | This program is completed

1501 10th Ave East Seattle, WA 98102 United States

TBD

All Levels

7/20/2019-7/21/2019

9:30 AM-4:30 PM PDT on Sun Sat

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$215.00

$193.50

$10.00

Bring more freshness – and challenge – to your work through painting outdoors from life! From Thomas Moran to David Hockney, exhibits that pairs the artists’ large studio paintings with their preparatory studies, highlight the vibrancy of the plein air studies. They may be smaller, less grandiose and less accurate—but plein air studies are more direct, personal and free. Plein air painting is something to practice regularly. You will start out indoors with some distraction-free basic exercises before moving on to the wide world of outdoor paining, weather permitting.

  • 1. Paper: I like 140 lb archival (100% cotton or rag) watercolor papers with a cold press or rough finish, such as Arches, Fabriano, Saunders-Waterford, Kilimanjaro. I like Canson’s Moulin du Roy but there aren’t any local retailers. I’ve been known to paint on gessoed or synthetic paper too but I keep coming back to traditional watercolor papers as offering the most flexibility.. I rarely work larger than quarter sheet outdoors: 11” x 15.” And we’ll do some exercises on smaller pieces first. I can’t stress enough: despite their stated equivalence, the same papers in block form have a much less forgiving surface and I recommend against the blocks.
  • 2. Brushes: A minimum basic set of a #8 round, a one-inch flat, and a rigger or other fine pointing brush if you are purchasing new; or whatever you are used to and already have. Watercolor brushes are traditionally much softer than acrylic or oil brushes. Holding a lot of paint and keeping a good point (for rounds) are the important qualities. If this is your first experience with watercolor, don’t buy expensive sable brushes right away. Even though many people swear by them, I’m hard on equipment and find soft synthetics to be just fine.
  • 3. Paints: A basic set of colors. “Professional” or “artists” watercolors in tubes are almost always more intense than pans; I use only tube colors which I squeeze into a folding portable palette for easier transport (see below). Bring what you have if you already have watercolors; it’s not a requirement to go out and get all new paints. Here is my basic color set; I try to have both a cool and warm version of each basic color, as well as a good mix of transparent/opaque/staining pigments. Every manufacturer’s paints are different; I mix them up a lot. I generally like Daniel Smith, Schminke, Holbein and Winsor & Newton. I’ve developed a personal addiction to some particular hues, but again, bring what you have.
  • Hue: Cool Versions and Warm Versions
  • Yellows Hue: Cool Version: Aureolin (transparent);
  • Warm Version: Cadmium Yellow (opaque) Quinacrodone Gold (stain) Raw Sienna (more opaque than transparent)*
  • Reds, Pinks, Oranges Hues:
  • Cool Version: Permanent Alizarin Crimson or Carmine (stains) Ruby Red, Opera, Quinacrodone Magenta (stains) Potters Pink (transparents);
  • Warm Version: Cadmium Red (opaque) Permanent Orange (opaque) Quinacrodone Sienna (stain) Rose Madder (transparent)
  • Blues Hues:
  • Cool Version: Indigo/Phthalo Blue (stain) Cerulean Blue (Dan Smith’s is opaque) Manganese Blue Hue (transparent);
  • Warm Version: Ultramarine (opaque) Royal, Indanthrone or Schminke’s Delft Blue (stains) Cobalt Blue (opaque)
  • Greens Hue
  • Cool Version: Phthalo Green (stain) Cascade Green (Dan Smith) Viridian (transparent);
  • Warm Version: Sap Green, Serpentine Green (stain) Hookers Green or Terre Verte (transparent) Green Gold (Dan Smith)
  • Earth Pigments Hue:
  • Cool Version: Raw Umber (opaque);
  • Warm Version: Burnt Sienna (most are transparent, but Dan Smith’s is opaque).
  • I’ve italicized the ones that are most important to me. You can get away with only 6 basic colors if necessary: and cool version of each primary, e.g. a warm red and a cool red, a warm blue and a cool blue, a warm yellow and a cool yellow. I don’t use much black myself; I usually mix blacks and greys from two complements, though Payne’s grey is a handy shortcut for many rock tones. I find an opaque white and a few other colors, such as Dan Smith’s Cascade Green, Windsor & Newton’s Lavender, handy and interesting but not essential.
  • Depending on what kind of paints you have, you will want a palette for squeezing out and storing gobs of paint from the tubes, that way you don’t have to carry them around for every trip. The lightweight plastic ones with divided buckets around the sides are perfectly fine. If you bring a portable easel, make sure your palette will fit on its shelf within easy reach.
  • 4. A painting set up: that is, either a portable easel that you will stand at or some way to sit and paint. I paint better standing at one; mine works with a camera tripod. However, on many trips I sit on the ground on a foam pad or a low folding chair, so a portable easel is not a requirement. Some people also bring a folding stool or chair if they don’t like to stand. Not all our locations will have benches. I like to stand, as my painting arm is freer, but I have also seen people sit in folding chairs with an easel in front of them, or sit on a low beach chair with a board across their laps. When I’m painting out in the wilderness far from a car, I sit on the ground but on an insulated pad. Whatever you choose, if you’re going to sit, bring something to sit on.
  • 5. Miscellaneous:
  • 1. 1-2 water containers for painting with. I have (2) 12-oz plastic beer cups that fit my plein air easel tray. A small spray bottle is nice for wet paint effects for and juicing up dried-out paint pans.
  • 2. A notebook for notes and value sketches
  • 3. Pencils for making preliminary drawings. I use a good old 2B most of the time
  • 4. Pencil sharpener
  • 5. Kneaded or white vinyl eraser
  • 6. A board to paint on that’s just a bit larger than your paper. I don’t stretch the paper, I use bulldog clips to hold it on to the board. I have and use both special watercolor boards that fit on my plein air easel and pieces of gator board, sintra board or foam core covered with adhesive mylar.
  • 7. Rags for clean-up and painting. I like to cut up old T shirts. I throw them in the washer with my dark laundry when they get too dirty and have used some for years.
  • 8. After some initial exercises we will go paint outside (“plein air”) if the weather permits. If not, I will have photos of some locations or you can bring your own.
  • 9. A camera is handy but not a requirement.
  • 6. Something to pack all this in: I use a backpack but many people use small wheeled shopping carts. Besides getting to site, it’s handy to be able to walk around a site for a few minutes at first, decided what you want to paint. And this is much