DEMONSTRATIONS
Click on image of your choice for demonstration.
Memories of Gas Street Basin Textures and dark shadows.
The Lock-keeper A study of moving water.
Hawkesbury Junction Study of a shiny surface.
If you find these demonstrations, or the notes on paper and pigments etc., useful, plese could you set up a link to this page so that others may also find the page. Thanks. http://www.garthallan.co.uk/demonstration.htm
Woodpulp paper. e.g. Bockingford, Langton. These have a hard
surface. Watercolours do not penetrate the paper, which means
that liftable pigments will lift very easily. Therefore not
suitable for a technique requiring building up of washes unless
considerable care is used with the choice of pigment plus a
soft brush and not reworking whilst wet. It has a strong
surface and will withstand considerable abuse with a rubber.
Rag Papers.
e.g. Whatmans, Bloxworth, Waterfords, Winsor and
Newton Artists Paper are made from pure cotton buds. A soft
absorbent paper, which tends to become more adsorbent, the
rougher the paper. Pigments will stain into the paper, making
them difficult to lift, and mistakes cannot easily be
rectified. The advantage is that techniques requiring washes to
be built up in layers can be used without much fear of lifting.
It is very soft and will mark easily with a rubber causing
subsequent washes to possibly have blemishes, so care must be
taken with initial pencil work. It has a very white finish
giving you the maximum possible tonal range.
Sizing. To reduce the adsorbancy of paper it is sized. Size may be
gelatine (smelly like Arches) or one of various resins. Internal
size is added to the pulp, external sizing is added afterwards
to the paper. The tooth of the paper or it's ability to take
the paint from the brush depends on the size, as does its
adsorbancy. The size will also slightly affect certain colours.
2. METHOD OF MANUFACTURE
Mould
Paper is made from a "soup" of cellulose which has been created
from woodpulp or from rag. This "soup" is called paper Stock.
To make mould paper a sieve with a very fine wire mesh, a
"Mould", is dipped into the Stock. It is carefully pulled from
the stock, drained and dried, when the dried stock can be
lifted from the sieve as paper.
A full size sheet of Mould paper can always be identified by
the deckle edge, where the Stock faded out at the edge of the
mould.
Machine made
The machine paper making process was invented by Foudrinier.
The mould is replaced by a continuous wire mesh run. Stock is
poured onto the mesh, then it passes over vacuum chambers which
suck out the moisture. The wet paper is lifted from the mesh
and run round hot rolls to dry it. Machine made paper therefore
starts as a continuous strip which has to be guillotined.
Machine made paper always has guillotined edges.
Wireside
The side of the paper which rested on the wire can be
identified by faint wire marks. With some papers the wire side
has the same characteristics as the top side. Some papers have
a very pronounced wire mark which may not be to your liking.
With other papers, particularly rag, the wire side has many
little craters where the water drained away. These craters will
fill with paint, giving finished painting a dull matt finish.
Watermark
To identify the paper there is sometimes a watermark. It will
only appear once on a full imperial sheet. When the paper is
held up to the light if the watermark is right reading you are
looking at the top side of the paper. If you buy Imperial
sheets, mark the back before you cut the paper so that you will
know which side is which on all the sheets after they have been
cut.
Grain
Machine made paper drags the paper fibres in the machine
direction creating a pronounced grain direction. Mould papers
on the other hand do not have a defined grain direction.
3. PARER/PIGMENT INTERACTION
Using a rubber
Because the surface of a rag paper can so easily be
damaged, avoid using a rubber. Transfer the finished
drawing to the paper with a carbon or graphite paper. If you must rub out use
a "putty" rubber, and dab it onto the surface so that its
sticky nature pulls the pencil mark off, rather than
rubbing it out.
Scratching Highlights.
With a very sharp scalpel clean highlights can be scraped
into the hard surface of a woodpulp paper when the
painting is bone dry. The technique will not work cleanly
with softer Rag Papers.
Archival Quality
Some Papers have not been made from stable materials, or
buffered to prevent colour deterioration. Such papers will
go brown and brittle with age, and will affect some
colours. If you want your work to last make sure that you
use an archival quality of paper. i.e. it has a neutral
ph, and a buffering of Calcium Carbonate.
Care of papers.
Papers can be damaged very easily. Scuffing or knocks will
damage the surface so that subsequent washes become
uneven.
Storage
Papers can also be contaminated by the atmosphere,
particularly the cotton papers. Protect your papers by
keeping them carefully wrapped in a polythene bag, or shut
in the book in which they came.
The contamination can also affect the paper while it is
exposed on your easel if you take several days over the
work. The paper can become unevenly adsorbent, making
very uneven applications of colour, though they tend to
even up as they dry.
To be safe keep the works covered all the time when not in
use. Storing flat in a plastic bag will protect them whilst also
helping to keep them flat for framing.
Pigment Behaviour
Pigments will behave in a different way on the different types of paper described here.
Lifting colour. In general the liftability of pigments depends on the pigment
on the type of paper and the sizing. The artist needs a paper on which it
is possible to place washes on top of washes without danger of disturbing the underneath
wash and creating a muddy finish,
lifting, but on which pigments can be lifted to make corrections with a bit of effort.
It also depends on the type of pigment.
Staining pigments. Difficult to remove on most types of Cotton Paper, but some reduction can be made on woodpulp
Liftable Pigments.
Usually can be totally removed on Woodpulp,
but only partially on Cotton papers. The artist needs to experiment to find the paper which meets his preferred techiques. The student should carry out tests on different papers to learn about the different paper behaviours.
These tests are explained in pigments. Never paint on a paper without knowing what is it,
and make notes of the different effects occuring with the different papers as a learning aid.
Granulation. This will occur more on smooth HP papers than the rougher types.
Non compatability. This must also be mentioned. Some pigments do not like certain papers,
for example Winsor Blue and Whatmans NOT seem to dislike each other and leave fine pricks of white creating a very dead looking sky.
4. My Personal Choice of Paper
For a smooth paper I prefer Whatman's HP. It is a delicate paper which must be handled with care as the surface can be easily bruised.
Sometimes it is a bit dry, giving a hard edge to a wash while it is still being laid. To prevent this I usually dampening the paper to kill the dryness.
Laid flat, with a very wet wash of granualting pigments can give very pronounced granulation.
For NOT surfaces I prefer Winsor and Newton NOT.
(Whatman's I have discarded because of the problem with Pthalocyanine blue pigment which I feel is essential for clear skies.)
The pigments are well adhered to the surface, but are fairly easily lifted to make alterations.
Care has to be taken with the first wash as it tends to cauliflower if ponds are allowed to form.
Keep the board sloping, or pre-stretch the paper.
Copyright Garth Allan 1990
WATERCOLOUR MATERIALS - PIGMENTS
Copyright Garth Allan 1990
CONTENTS
1. Pigment Names
2. Pigment Characteristics
3. Testing Pigments
4. Pigment Categories
5. Pigment Labelling
6. Pigment Additatives
7. My Personal Choices.
1. PIGMENTS NAMES
Early Artists struggled to make their own pigments using the
materials which were available to them. Many of them were
completely unsuitable as we can see as we look at their
paintings today where there have clearly been colour changes
and fading.
Pigments were given very romantic sounding names, and it is
perhaps for that reason that they are still available today.
Van Dyke Brown, Rose Madder etc.
Many new pigments have become available to overcome these
disadvantages, and in choosing a pallette the artist should not
be enticed by the romantic names, but should buy pigments which
will have the characteristics that the artist needs.
2. PIGMENT CHARACTERISTICS
Transparency
Whilst all watercolours will allow show-through, some are
entirely transparent, whilst some, when used heavily,
will leave a trace of colour showing over a black wash.
They are known as opaque or semi-opaque.
Transparent colours should be used for skies, water and
for other transparent situations.
Opaque or Semi-Opaque colours should be used to give a
more solid feeling to trees, buildings and foreground.
Texture
Some pigments when applied very wet and heavily, will dry
following the texture of the paper. The heavy particles
actually sink into the hollows in the paper leaving a
darker mark. This effect is particularly noticeable with these pigments on a HP paper.
Mixtures of textured pigments can make very pronounced
texture effects.
Textured pigments are ideal for the texture of a tree, or
shadows on a white wall. They should be avoided for
transparent situations like sky or water.
Some pigments do not get on well together and produce
strong texture pattern when they are mixed together. This
can occur with pigments which alone do not produce
texture. Such a combination is Winsor Blue and Cadmium
Red.
Liftability
The liftability of a pigment depends both on the pigment
and the paper. For example a pigment cannot be totally
lifted back to white paper on Whatmans, but Ultra Marine
on Bockingford can be totally removed.
Stains Some pigments soak into the paper and make a stain
which can only be lightly removed with difficulty.
Stains are liquid colours.
Liftable colours generally come from finely ground
pigments, earths etc., which are glued on the surface of
the paper rather than soaking into it.
Use of Liftable Colours
Sketches can be lightly drawn in watercolour using a
liftable colour which can be corrected and will totally
disappear when painted over.
Mistakes can be lifted with liftable colours.
Highlights can be lifted out at the end with liftable
colours.
Heavy Backgrounds can be painted in, and totally lifted
using liftable colours.
Use of Stains
First Washes of a watercolour as they can be painted over
with no fear of the colour lifting. Highly liftable
colours such as Ultra Marine and Yellow Ochre should be
used only with great care for the first wash as they will
damage very easily and can produce mud if they are
disturbed by a subsequent wash.
Permanence
Some colours are fugitive to light and really should not be
used. The colour can be tested by covering half a sample, then
leaving the sample exposed in a sunny window for six months.
Manufacturers Colour Charts indicate permanence, though as
there is no standard for testing their result do not totally
agree.
Bleeding
Some colours, particularly the Cadmium Reds will bleed if another
colour is run against them. These colours must therefore be
applied towards the end of the painting process, so once they
have dried water will not come near them again.
Good pigment manufacturers supply a chart identifying each of these characteristics
for each of their pigments.
If your local art shop cannot provide these leaflets try telephoning the manufacturers' technical department.
Alteratively buy a copy of "The Wilcox Guilde to the Finest watercolours" by Micheal Wilcox, ISBN 0 89134 409 8. Most manufacturers' pigments are listed.
3. TESTING PIGMENTS
Make a really strong mixture of pigment, almost as thick as mud. Apply this mixture a test paper as a wash, diluting the pond as you go to creat a graduated wash.
When really bone dry (use a hair dryer) try lifting a thin line of paint using a flat brush. If it lifts cleanly you have a pigment that will lift on that particular paper.
If it leaves various degrees of stain, then you have a stain.
Try making a mask of pscrap paper, amd using a NATURAL sponge, try washing the exposed portion of pigment away. Again this will give you a measure of liftability.
Try a wash of clean water round the edge of the first wash. If it bleeds, then that pigment should be kept to the end of the painting process.
4. PIGMENT CATEGORIES
Pigments can be classified into different families according to
their origin.
Earth Colours
These originate as clays or rocks and are named after their
places of origin, Sienna, Umber, Rosso di Pozzuoli, Ochre.
Some of them are heated (calcined) to create a darker variety,
hence Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber.
They are finely ground to make into paint, but nevertheless
they tend to be particles which will not stain the paper and as
a result can generally be fully lifted. In some case, like
Yellow Ochre, they will lift extremely easily.
They are absolutely permanent, the ancient cave paintings used
these materials and the colours are still there to see.
The roasting process tends to create different shades, so on
the cheaper ranges some manufacturers mix a dark and a light
roast to give the right colour. Unfortunately the colours will
separate when painting wet washes giving you an effect that you
might or might not want!
They are all opaque or semi-opaque colours.
Blacks
These are made by collecting the soot from a burning material.
Lamp Black from burning lamp oil, Ivory Black by burning ivory,
though now a days the ivory has been replaced with bones.
Many artists do not have black in their palette as you can
create more variety within your blacks by mixing
complementaries.
Lakes
Vegetable and Animal materials have in the past produced many
colours. In their natural form they are dyes, and often lack
much strength and tend to migrate into adjacent colours, so
they are precipitated onto some sort of inert material. This
sometimes means that the inert material will lift but that
there may still be a weaker underlying stain. Examples are
Crimson Lake, made from Cochineal beetles blood, Madder made
from the roots of the Madder plant. They are often not
permanent colours. The word lake is not always included in the
title, such as Indigo, Saffron, Indian Yellow.
Many of the pigments are not permanent and much work has been
done to replace these pigments with organic permanent colours.
Inorganic
These are chemically produced substances that belong to the
inorganic branch of chemistry, they do not contain the element
carbon.
Examples are Vermilion produced by burning mercury in sulphur
to produce a black residue which is finely ground to produce
the colour.
Other examples are Prussian Blue, (Ferric Ferrocyanide).
Chrome Yellow (Lead Chromate).
Viridian (Hydrated Chromium Oxide).
Cobalt (Cobalt aluminate)
Cadmium Red (Cadmium sulphoselenide).
Being all totally different chemicals they will all have
different properties. Some of them (Cadmium colours for
example) are highly stable and lightfast.
Synthetic compounds. (Organic)
These are chemically produced substances that belong to the
organic branch of chemistry, they contain the element carbon.
In general they have all been developed since the discovery of
Mauvine by Perkins in 1856. The prime interest being to replace
some of the disadvantages of the earlier pigments.
They are often complex chemicals, coming in different families,
such as Azos, Arylamides, Naphols etc. Within the families
there are numerous subtle changes which affect the pigments
properties.
5. PIGMENT LABELLING
There is a move by the ASTMS committee to establish a common
practice in labelling so soon we should begin to see:-
Common names - used for the name of the principal
pigment, where such a name exits.
Hues - Where substitute materials are being used the word
Hue used to indicate that the material is not what the
label says even though it looks and might behave that way.
Under the Hue name should appear the common name of the
substitute pigment being used.
Trade Names - Where manufacturer's use Trade names, the
common name should appear under the Trade name.
Mixtures - where mixtures are used the common names of all
the pigments should be listed.
Many new paints being offered are in fact mixtures of other
pigments. e.g. Paynes Grey. Using the basic colours rather than
the mixtures will give much more variety to your painting, mean
carrying less tubes, and therefore less chance of tubes drying
out.
Some mixtures are of totally unsuitable pigments, e.g. Rowneys
Brown Pink, a mixture of a yellow dye and insoluble earth
pigment. It goes on as lovely brown colour, but the brown will
lift to leave the naked yellow stain producing very
unpredictable effects.
Another disadvantage of using mixtures, is that they are
tertiary colours and therefore by definition can only produce
further tertiary colours reducing the artists ability to find
bright clean colours in the pallette.
It is recommended that the artist selects pure pigments and
avoids mixtures.
6. PIGMENT ADDITATIVES.
Normal Additatives
Gum Arabic. Watercolour Pigments are bound together with a
material called Gum Arabic, though in practice has nothing to
do with Arabia. It comes from the Accaccia Tree and is normally
produced in Senegal!
It is water soluble, and always remains soluble Thus pigment
made of Gum Arabic can be dissolved no matter how hard they
have become. Because of the solubility of the gum Arabic, they
will tend to dissolve if they are re-wetted on the paper.
Where pigments have gone hard, if they are Artists Quality, the
gum Arabic can be softened by wetting them the night before
they are required.
Dextrine This is a sugar which is partially soluble in water.
It is cheaper than Gum Arabic, and it is therefore used as the
main binding agent in the cheaper students colours. When
Dextrine really goes hard it is impossible to dissolve, so that
the occasional use of students colours can be false economy as
they become to hard to use before they are used up. Artists
Colours are always made with Gum Arabic.
Glycerine This material is hygroscopic, it absorbs moisture
from the air. It is added into the pigment mixture to help to
keep the mixture moist. Where pigments are in daily use they
may become too soft through the action of the glycerine, and if
this happens the box should be left open to dry off a bit over
night.
Oxgall This is a wetting agent, which helps to spread he
pigment evenly on the paper.
Extenders Some pigments are very expensive, so in cheaper
ranges of paints, the colour is made to go further by adding
extenders. The common one is chalk. Where extenders have been
added it is impossible to a true deep colour as the white
extender is reducing the strength of the colour. In very cheap
paints the pigments almost have a pastel appearance as so much
extended has been added.
Student (and children's) Colours
These are often heavily filled with extenders and should be avoided by the serious artist for
that reason.
Other Additatives
Honey Honey is highly hygroscopic. A drop of honey on hard
pigment will soften the paint overnight, or keep it moist if
they are going to be left for a period.
Ox Gall. A few drops can be added to the pond of colour to help
the colour to spread more evenly if the paper seems to be
slightly rejecting the water. It is often needed when making
watercolour wash lines on Mounts Card.
Flour Wet in wet watercolour sometimes runs too much. Adding
some flour will thicken the paint and reduce this tendency. I am not sure if there would be long term discoleration or risk of bacterial growth. Not used it myself.
Acrylic Gel Medium Acrylic is a dispersion of plastic in water.
When the water dries a chemical action takes place and the
pigment becomes trapped in a permanent layer. A few drops added
to a pond for the early washes to make sure that they do not
subsequently lift. Usefull for holding white colouds in place while they dry. It also seems to increase granulation. Added
to a pond of "tree mix" it will slow the drying and tend to create a
granulated texture perfect for the foliage.
Salt. Sprinkling various salts, (table, diswasher, bath etc,
into a wet wash can create usefull textures. The surface must
be flat, and not moved until dry.
7. My Personal Choices
Stains
Winsor Blue
Permanent Magenta
Viridian
Granulating
Ultramarine
Burnt Sienna
Cobalt Blue Light (Maimeri)
Cadmium red
Other Colours
Raw Sienna
Raw Umber
Burnt Umber
Transparent yellow (Winsor and Newton)
Indian Yellow
WATERCOLOUR MATERIALS - BRUSHES AND SUNDRIES
Copyright Garth Allan 1990
CONTENTS
1. Desireable Brush Characteristics
2. Types of Hair
3. Brush Shapes
4. Masking Fluid
1. DESIREABLE BRUSH CHARACTERISTICS
It must hold a lot of water so that the colour does not run out
whilst painting a wash.
It needs to have a good point to paint around tricky shapes,
but a compromise is to use two brushes, keeping a small size 1
for those intricate shapes.
It must be soft so that finished washes are not disturbed when
the brush lays a subsequent wash over the top.
It must have a reasonable spring so that it keeps its shape
whilst painting and does not collapse away from the paper.
2. TYPES OF HAIR
Sable.
Expensive as it comes from the tail of the Asiatic Mink,
(sometimes known as Red Sable or Kolinsky). Claimed to make the
very best Watercolour brushes as it has a good spring keeping a
point for working around intricate shapes within the wash, and
holds a lot of water. The points wear fairly quickly so they
should be used with care when picking up colour.
Squirrel.
A soft hair which lacks the spring of Sable but it is used in
cheaper brushes and can give reasonable results.
Ox Hair.
Taken from the cows ear. Holds an incredible amount of liquid.
Very soft, which means that the brush cannot be shaped easily,
but because it is so soft makes an ideal wash brush for laying
over another wash. Cannot be pointed to paint around a shape so
it must be used in conjunction with a pointed brush.
Man made fibres, Draylon, Nylon etc.
There are several ranges of these brushes. They are very poor
at holding a volume of water, and as they wear they develop
"hooks" which have to be removed with a scalpel and good
eyesight. The fibre is fairly tough hair, which can tend to
scratch when laying over a previous wash spoiling the
transparency of the two washes, but ideal for lifting liftable
watercolours. Not really suitable for watercolour work.
3. BRUSH SHAPES
Rounds -
A round ferrule which will produce a point. Comes in size range
000 to 12. The tiny ones do not carry enough liquid for
watercolour, so the smallest we need is probably a size 1. A
size 6 or 7 or 8 is a good general purpose brush. The 12 in
sable makes a wonderful wash brush, but the price is very high.
French Mops
A fraction of the cost of a 12 sable, but will do almost the
same job. Tremendous carrying power, but with no point. (A wash
could be applied using two brushes, a mop and a good pointed
small sable.) They are very soft and can be used to lay over a
previous wash with little danger of damaging the underneath
wash. They also can be used to give ragged edges for clouds
etc. They are reasonably priced.
Flats or ONE STROKE Brushes
These are flat brushes which come to a knife edge rather than a
point. Very useful for taking washes up to straight lines,
houses, telegraph poles etc. Also helpful for generating
textures where the texture has a line to it, Shiplap boarding,
brick work, water. Needs to be used with care side-ways as so
many fibres touching the wash underneath may leave an unwanted
mark.
They come in sizes from 3/16ths to bigger than an inch. A small
one is very useful for painting windows and shimmering
reflections. The 1/2 inch size is a good general purpose brush.
Wash brushes
Made from Ox Hair, in a flat about 2 inches width. A very
useful inexpensive tool.
Hakes.
Introduced to the country from South East Asia by Ron Ranson. A
flat brush, 2 inches wide, made from goat hair. They hold an
enormous volume of liquid, (almost too much), they can be
shaped to paint around areas. The hairs are very soft and can
be pushed into any shape that you want. In that way they can
be distorted to produce random shapes for trees and grass. They
need very big mixing ponds and big tubes of paint to use as
they hold a very large volume of paint. Ron Ranson uses a large
baker's tray to mix sufficient paint.
Chinese Brushes.
Bamboo handled and made from pony tail. They come in different
sizes, and two types, bushy and very long and thin. They hold a
lot of paint. The pointed ones are amazingly flexible adjusting
from thick to extremely fine in one stroke. Useful for rigging
and branches (provided you do not succumb to making them
sinuous).
Fans
A brush where the bristles are splayed into a fan shape.
Intended for oil painters and known as hair brushes, but very
useful for the watercolourist for grass etc. They come in a
variety of materials, natural and man made, which will create
slightly different effects.
Riggers
Traditionally used for painting rigging on marine views in oil.
Essential to be made of sable for watercolour work.
Mapping Pens, Ruling Springs.
Not really a brush, but very useful for drawing fine lines.
Watercolour will work quite well in a mapping pen, particularly
the stains.
Sources
I buy all my brushes now by mail order from A B S Brushes Their brushes are reasonably priced and good quality. Their catalogue is a delight to look through!
WATERCOLOUR MATERIALS - MASKING FLUID and RUBBERS
Copyright Garth Allan 1990
4. MASKING FLUID or DRAWING GUM
Masking Fluid A rubber solution which will resist pigments and which can
then be rubbed away to reveal pure white paper.
It works well on a hard surface wood pulp paper like Bockingford. It does not work so well on
softer cotton papers as it soaks into the paper and cannot so easily be
rubbed off without tearing. The best technique seems to be to
rub the masking fluid away with a ball of paper tissue, or a rolling a ball of half dried sticky gum over the dried fluid. (The bit that collects round the cap!). Cannot
be removed at all from rough papers.
It is a treacly liquid, difficult to use as it comes out of the
pot, but it can be diluted with water, about half and half
seems to be a good mixture. Diluted it will work well
producing fine lines which can be applied with a mapping pen,
brush, or ruling pen (spring bow). The bow is useful since
there is no danger of ruining a brush, the pen can be easily
used. Don't use it as a rule, but holding it like a brush to
get a variety of marks.
Colour the fluid whilst it is being diluted by adding some
liftable pigment, (Ultramarine), which will enables one to see
where the fluid has been placed.
Drawing Gum(Pebeo) This is similar to masking fluid. It was developed for working on fabrics.
It is easier to use than masking fluid,
and can be pulled from cotton papers (HP, NOT) with little risk of tearing. Now days I always use it in preference to Masking Fluid.
Do add paint to the white mark left by the masking fluid to
soften the harshness a little, and to disguise the characteristic marks of the fluid.
5. PUTTY RUBBERS
The different manufacturer's putty rubbers vary considerably. Some work well others are almost useless for watercolour work. To use they are kneaded in the hand until they become sticky, then
they are 'dabbed' on the paper, and they seem to pull graphite or light pencil marks away almost as a result of their stickyness rather than by rubbing the surface away.
Because they are kneadable they can be shaped to a point, a very useful feature.
I personnaly prefer the Faber Castell Kneadable Putty Rubber, which I find a delight to use though it is very difficult to find supplies. A suggestion which I picked up from another web site - use Blue Tack. Following the suggestion I have found that it behaves in a similar way to the difficult to get Faber Castell putty rubbers. Perhaps the problem is solved!
