Tag Archives: Charles Reid

Color Maps

What is it about grouping colors together that is so enticing? Have you ever left a paint store with only the color chips you came in for? Neither have I.

This is a pretty cramped area to work in so I am planning to expand into another part of my studio. While I didn’t buy any new paints (see below), I did order a new porcelain palette. This old one that I’ve previously used with textile paints is versatile, yet I wanted something with a larger flat area for mixing. After a bit of research, I ended up ordering a rectangular porcelain sushi plate rather than a formal palette. Not only will it fit my work area better, but it doesn’t have paint wells, which were the often-mentioned caveat in review after review of various palettes.

A big part of my attraction to watercolor is the transparent layering of hues, as well as the flow and interaction between them. Pair that appeal with a love for the colors and forms of plants and you have a near perfect recipe for endless exploration.

Showell Fruit and Veg Portraits

Over the years I’ve collected a number of books of painted flora, the vast majority in watercolor. This week I’ve been re-reading Billy Showell’s 2009 book Watercolour Fruit & Vegetable Portraits. Her botanical studies are strikingly accurate while retaining a sense of informality. It’s a given that anyone who writes such a book will spend the first chapter or so going over their chosen materials. Often I’m inclined to skim those sections and move on, but Showell goes a lot deeper than most in discussing her palette, particularly regarding primaries. It’s important information.

I wish I’d thought to do this earlier, but I realized with a bit more of one color or another I could add a sidebar to a swatch to give an indication of it’s range, leaning warm or cool.

For instance, she mentions that there doesn’t seem to be a single paint that is a true primary, so she will mix a cool and a warm version of a color (e.g. Cadmium yellow pale and Cadmium lemon) in order to get as close as possible to a near perfect primary. As you can imagine, this is key info for mixing greens, the mainstay of plant portrayal.

I was impressed with the range of greens I could get and with the added depth in them as the two colors of a given mixture settled somewhat separately as they dried. Genuine Serpentine, in the lower right corner, is the only green straight from the tube.

Before adding any of the colors she recommends to those I already have, I figured I’d see how my current palette stacks up. Not bad, as it turns out. In fact, the range of secondaries I can get from the various primaries I have on hand is pretty impressive. And that doesn’t begin to take into account the full range of color that is possible from any mixture of two colors, depending on how you adjust the percentage of each.
It also turns out that making these little swatches is incredibly relaxing in it’s own right. Give it a try.

The oranges, on the other hand, weren’t quite as varied.

Another watercolorist I’ve long admired and look to for guidance is Charles Reid. His work, unlike Showell’s, is loose and spontaneous, such that it truly celebrates the unique qualities of the medium. He is also a master of the lost and found edge, but that is another discussion.

As I work on my stitched garden paintings this summer, I hope to find a happy medium somewhere between Showell’s skill for description and Reid’s expressiveness. Figuring out how to incorporate each stitched house form, while capitalizing on both those aspects, creates an unexpected bridge between the two.
And while I’m practicing, I will be happily lost in color.

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I finished the puzzle piece mentioned last post and sent it off to the We Are All Connected Art Project. While scrolling through to see the latest pieces added, it was a happy shock to discover that Ai Weiwei had also contributed. My guess is that’s the first and last time I will have any overlap with him, but I’ll take it!

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Watch for more details about this upcoming exhibit in my next post, 2 weeks from now.

Hidden Messages: Old and New at the Chandler Gallery in Randolph, VT • July 10 – September 5, 2021

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Three artists who often share their lovely dye and watercolor swatch work on Instagram are Mirjam Gielen @mirjamtextiles, Rachel Kahn @vermontknitter and Paul Wang @paulwang_sg

3 Jalapeños

I’ve been seeking a change from the black and white of ink drawings — perhaps inspired by all the late season color in the garden? …but also knowing I’ve let watercolor sketching slide for a while. I have mountains to scale in learning about color and before I will feel comfortable; to say it’s humbling is an understatement. Yet the pure beauty of transparent color is irresistible and, for the moment anyway, I’m enjoying having such a steep challenge to sink my teeth into.

What I think I appreciate most is the aspect of walking the very thin line between an illusion of control and recognition that, especially at this early point, results are more reliant upon serendipity than skill. Right now I would say I’m at 25% control, 75% serendipity – and that may be overly generous. But I trust with time and practice I can begin to see the numbers move in the opposite direction.

Charles Reid continues to be my go-to guide. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my mother-in-law for introducing me to his work years ago.
What living artist has taught you the most?

These 3 sketches were from yesterday. I learn a lot through repetition and variation. And it’s interesting to see how my feelings about each has changed with a bit of distance and a good night’s sleep. Converting to black and white in Photoshop is also a good learning tool.

While the washes were drying I did the Shibori stitching for 3 small new pieces. Stay tuned for the dyeing results next week.

Education in Motion

If I had to list the most endearing aspect of my treadmill, it’s that it eliminates any guilt surrounding watching art videos first thing on a weekday morning. I’ve seen enlightening and inspiring documentaries and learned from numerous skilled teachers while jogging away — definitely the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down. A few of my favorites are listed below.

©2017 Elizabeth Fram Even though this pen has a “fine” nib, it is much thicker than I prefer. I struggle with its boldness, missing the nuance of a finer line while trying to keep each shape from appearing too “cartoon-y”

It’s interesting that I seem to have a hard time maintaining attention with prolonged video instruction if I’m just sitting, but if I’m moving I’m totally captivated. (There has to be some sort of scientific study on that subject). Anyway, even better, anything art-related tends to take the pain and boredom out of my running-to-nowhere workout, making it unexpectedly anticipation-worthy .

One of my holiday requests this year was Charles Reid’s English Watercolour Sketchbook DVD (thank you Stu!). If you’re not familiar with Reid, check him out. His work is loose, yet masterful; I am in awe of both his drawing skills and his use of color. I’ve learned a lot from his books, but nothing quite compares to watching over someone’s shoulder as they work. He articulates what he’s doing, as he’s doing it, with just enough repetition that core ideas sink in and stay.

Reid repeatedly drills home the idea of creating lost and found edges within a work, stressing the importance of continually moving back and forth between the subject and the background in order to find and make connections and escape routes throughout the piece as you progress. It has been one of the most valuable tips ever, and one that I try to keep in the back of my mind at all times.

Necessity has provided me with a fertile learning ground to practice and find fresh solutions to this principle. I have a new sketchbook with paper that, while smooth to the touch, has a tooth that wreaks havoc on the tips of the .01 Micron pens that have been my go-to tool for several years. To get around the problem, I’m using my Lamy Safari fountain pen which isn’t bothered by the rough surface. However, it makes a much wider line that, while great for playing with marks and pattern, has put me back to square-one in figuring out how I can manipulate it to achieve values and find ways to create the breaks and overlaps that Reid advocates, while simultaneously maintaining a sense of form.

For now, it’s a bit of a steep learning curve. I know I need to keep at it in order to make progress, when it would be so much easier to revert to my comfortable old pens on familiar paper. But, just like the darned treadmill, if I commit to it and find a way to keep it interesting, I know the rewards will be worth it in the end.

*A few suggestions:

Painter – Caio Fonseca
American Masters series from PBS
Assorted Craftsy art courses, especially those by Marc Taro Holmes, Shari Blaukopf, and Stephanie Bowers
Sabra – Vermont printmaker Sabra Field