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David Statter on light, people

& patterns

Colour-mixing tipsfrom Hazel Soan

Coloured pencilscome of age

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24 www.painters-online.co.ukJune 2013

There is no point having light justbuzzing through the universe, lighthas got to hit something for us to see

it. Its wavelengths have to be reflected,refracted or transmitted back by materialthings for us to see the glorious range ofreds, oranges, yellows, greens, violets andblues. When a surface absorbs all thelovely energetic colours of light andtransmits none back it appears as black –that which holds on to all the colours ofthe rainbow has no apparent colour, yet isthe sum of all colours.Black is not a colour for which the

watercolour medium is particularly wellknown but its glorious pigments canrender the most delicious blacksimaginable. The secret with such a strongcolour is to paint it bravely and boldly, as Ihave done in OK Corrall, Tombstone,Arizona (right). The first wash is always thefreshest, especially with a colour that bydefault tends to the opaque. Unlike the colours of light that mix

together to make white, in the materialkingdom the colours of pigment mixtogether to make black. As each colour isadded, the resulting mix gets darker andtends towards black. So black is the sumof all colours and the ability to mix itguides the artist’s choice of pigments in apainting – black is therefore the linchpinof an artist’s palette.

Mixing blackTo mix black an artist needs all threeprimary hues, a yellow, a red and a blue.The fullest range of secondary and tertiaryhues, however, is only possible if the threeprimaries mix together to reach trueblack. In practice these primary huesactually make dark greys and brownsrather than true black because thepigments closest to the pure primary hues(those that cannot be mixed from othercolours) are opaque, and each thereforeblocks out the other. A true black can onlybe found when the three primary coloursare transparent; in this case each colourplays a crucial part in subtractingwavelengths from white light, in whateverorder they are mixed. Early in the 20th century, Winsor &

Newton made a new transparent yellowand a new transparent blue. In watercolour

Hazel Soan mixes transparent, clean blacks andmakes full use of them in her watercolour paintings

BLACK–the ultimate colour

Regent Street, watercolour on Khadi paper,13�12in (33�30.5cm).Indigo, cadmium red, light red and yellowochre, the colours used in this painting, areall opaque or semi-opaque colours madewith as few pigments as possible. Theyremain transparent because they were putdown in a single layer of virtually neatcolour, and appear colourful because thepalette is limited

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Practical

the names were Winsor lemon and Winsorblue. Then a transparent red was needed.In the 1950s, thanks to the motorindustry’s need for lightfast paint on cars,Winsor & Newton developed their ownstable carbon red, quinacridone rose.Nervous that the complex name wouldhinder sales, they called it permanentrose, but with the rise in the use of

RIGHTOK Corrall, Tombstone, Arizona, watercolouron Khadi paper, 22�30in (56�76cm). Deep velvet blacks can be achieved with a mixof concentrated indigo and sepia. The figuresof Doc Holliday and the Brothers Earp werefirst shaped with diluted indigo before addingthe intense black wet-in-wet

BELOWKing of the Kalahari, watercolour on Khadipaper, 30�22in (76�65cm).The black mane of the Kalahari lion isunique to the region. Here the yummy blackis mixed from three transparent coloursused in the painting: burnt sienna, Prussianblue, and Winsor violet, and appears as atrue black in relation to the rest of thepainting

‘When a surface absorbs all the lovely energetic colours of light and transmits none

back it appears as black’

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10 www.painters-online.co.ukJune 2013

Painter and illustrator David Statter is initiallydrawn to a subject by the effect of the light, andthe patterns he sees in it, as Susie Hodge discovers

MASTERC LASS

Ican't remember a time in my life when Ididn't want to draw and paint,’ saysLancashire-born David Statter. David's

paintings focus on the effects of light,including reflections, illusions, dissolvinglines and forms and conflictingperspectives. ‘My paintings are always areaction to something I have seen.Although the effects of light can be themain attraction, there is always a strongabstract element in them. The initialattraction is a repeating pattern of shapewithin a strong vertical, horizontal ordiagonal framework’.He builds his pictures with glazes and

First attractionsother techniques. ‘I prefer using oils,’ hesays. ‘I start each painting with thin glazes,using a mix of 50/50 glaze medium andturps to achieve a matt finish. Often, Idraw into the glaze by wiping the paintoff with a tissue or cotton bud for finedetail. In the last few years, I have beenexperimenting with making my ownsurfaces using gesso on board and havefound a hard gesso that can be sanded toa very smooth finish. This helps with mywiping process, but has its own problems.Being non-absorbent the paint does notpenetrate the surface and is easilydamaged. I'm experimenting with various

Bull Point No 1, North Devon, acrylic on canvas, 24�353⁄4in (61�91cm)

David Statter

‘

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varnishes. I've also experimented withdrawing on the gesso with Inktensepencils to achieve the luminous effect Iwant, but they also wipe off easily andneed protecting with glazes.‘I use a mixture of Inktense pencils and

watercolour in the studio for preparatorysketches and Pentel water brushes whensketching outside, but also use differentsized pigment liners, which are easier tocarry with a small sketchbook. I workoutside when I can. I like to sketch withwatercolour and also take photographsfor reference. I use 8�6in (20.5�15cm)Daler-Rowney boards, or my own gessoboards for acrylic colour sketches. UsingPhotoshop I can cut and paste to try outdifferent compositions and zoom in andout to check on any details that interestme. I have so many ideas that I like to tryout as a drawing first before committingmyself to a painting.’

Energy and vitalityFor the last three years, David has beenworking on a series of paintings ofLondon's Canary Wharf. He goes there atleast once a week and uses his sketchbookor camera to record his impressions.‘Looking down on the workers, I am struckby the vitality of the place (above). Peoplemove like starlings in formation – both

Canary WharfEscalators, acrylic oncanvas, 161⁄2�201⁄2in(42�52cm)

The Listener, SpeakersCorner, acrylic on canvasboard, 181⁄4�141⁄4in(46�36cm)

t

t

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have different properties such as levelsof transparency, permanence, staining orgranulation. Some artists prefer to havea whole range of colours whilst othersuse a limited palette.

I like to think that if forced to choosejust three colours I could still mix close tomost colours that I need. The threeprimary colours to aim for are yellow,cyan and magenta (NOT red, whichalready contains some yellow, so whenmixed with blue will not make a brightpurple but rather a brownish-purple). It isan interesting exercise to take these threecolours (which will have different namesaccording to which make of paints youuse) and see if you can match the coloursof a selection of flowers, fruit or leaves. So,for example, if you can’t get the rightgreen by mixing different levels of theblue and yellow then the only otherprimary colour that you can add is atouch of the magenta. Or, if you are tryingto mix a burnt orange and can’t find theright colour with just the magenta and

M

worth a try if you anticipate it takingseveral attempts to get the drawingcorrect.� White gouache Watercolourists tendto avoid white paint as it goes againstthe transparent qualities of thewatercolour – if you want a paler coloursimply water it down. However, whitegouache can be useful for painting tinyhairs or for the bloom on grapes orplums (right).� Bright subjects If you are paintingrose hips or bright flowers such asnasturtiums (page 33) or red poppies, aninitial layer of yellow will help give yourpainting the glow that you are after.Using darker reds then purples as yourshadow colours will also help to keepthe clean, bright appeal of the subject.� Colour mixing The mind-bogglingrange of colours and makes ofwatercolour on the market makes itquite difficult to recommend the basics.Some artists use pans whilst othersprefer tubes. Also watercolour paints

Exercise 1: ArtichokeIf you work out a stage-by-stage strategybefore you start any painting the projectwill not seem so daunting. Remember toposition your subject so that it is lit fromone side (as if over one shoulder). In thisway you will get highlights and shadowsthat will help to show its form.

Begin by drawing out your subject indetail on a piece of inexpensive paper(Figure 1). Then transfer the main shapeon to your watercolour paper. Wet thiswhole shape then dab or brush in colouruntil it starts to look three-dimensional. Iaimed to make the whole artichoke lookround with my first layers of watercolour(Figure 2). The same approach could beused for a pineapple or multi-petalledflower such as a peony or a rose. Allowto dry and repeat if necessary. If you arepainting a rose or similar flower, yourfirst stage may be a flat unifying wash ofthe palest petal colour.

When the first layers are completelydry, draw in the individual segments orpetals and work on each of these,darkening the shadow areas andbrushing in markings if appropriate(Figure 3). If you use wet-in-wettechniques for this, wet one segment ata time and drop in the colour.Remember not to work on adjacentareas or the colour will run from onedamp area to another, spoiling theeffect. Finish by using dry brushtechniques to add detail, sharpen edgesand emphasise any surface texture.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Artichoke, watercolour,7�51⁄4in(18�13cm)

Grapes, watercolour,41⁄4�21⁄4in (11�7cm)

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