23 Years Already?

When I was 18,  the thought of a 20 year career in the military seemed like an eternity.  Although I never made a career of it, at that time 20 years seemed  to be so long.  Today, as I look back, it seems the 23 years of teaching in one school is like a vapor.  Wow!  It all went so fast.  A lot of things seem to change almost daily. The attitudes regarding painting and teaching in many schools seems to have swapped sound foundation for flashy contrivance.

I am old enough to have known some of the so-called greats. They all had one universal tenet.  They stressed the importance of  learning to draw. While some come to it more easily than others;  it is still a skill to be honed. Don’t misunderstand;  learning about design and understanding color are also extremely important.  However, drawing is the bridge between that vision in your soul and being able to share a bit of it with others.   The most frustrating thing is to have a wonderful vision and lack the physical ability to bring it out to share.

A Tribute to My Students:

My classes for Spring 2014 are over and grades are posted.  Many of my students are headed home for summer or to various locations for work and/or relaxation.  I want to take a moment to feature some of those who have done outstanding work.  Not every student in the class is featured.  Unfortunately not every watercolor got photographed.  These works are the result of approximately 14 weeks of class, meeting formally twice each week for about 2 1/2 hours per session. Also most of the students featured are sophomores. For every student this was their first class in watercolor.  The teaching model I use is based upon a time tested approach.  I’m not interested in producing clones.  Rather, I’m interested in producing energetic, dedicated students who aren’t afraid to take basic principles and develop their personal strengths. Toward this end I spend the first two weeks of the beginning semester demonstrating basic principles.  I  work on small easy to execute projects that may take up 30 minutes of the class period;  sometimes longer depending upon the students’ grasp. The students watch and listen. Then they take the rest of the time doing the exercises while I am available for comment and critique. After about two weeks they begin developing their own works.  Many work on quarter sheet sizes at first. They often get the best results using a 140 lb. (300 gsm.) 14″ x 17″ D’arches cold press watercolor block. Some use individual sheets but at this stage most find the block to be very convenient.

For additional instruction, I show examples of personal paintings in progress that are usually stapled to a  plywood board to prevent ripples.  In the very beginning a number of students find it more convenient to use the block since it is lighter and often easier than carrying a stretched paper to class. Regardless, they all get the drill about the proper use of a cold water soak to allow the sheet to become pliable (al dente) enough to attach to a board.

Introducing some of my students from the Spring 2014 class:

Once again I want to stress that none of these students have had any previous watercolor  experience.  I am very pleased with their progress and I hope this spotlight will help to encourage all the members of the class to continue working with the medium. They have given me a great retirement gift because  they performed so well and were so eager to learn. Thanks so much.

Trevelyn Campbell:

                                                                                      Little Brother,  18″ x 26″ image 140lb. D’Arches

A Friend,  20″ x 28″image, 140lb. cold press D’Arches

Trevelyn enjoys working from actual models and like most younger students often uses her Smart phone to take reference photos as well. Back in the studio she likes to create a light pencil grid on her watercolor paper and develop her drawing from study sketches and the images she has captured on her phone or camera.

Kyle DeMarco:

                                                                                                     Tree Frog,  9″ x 12″ approx. Image

Kyle demonstrated a great deal of progress in this class. Unfortunately I was not able to get more examples of his work. During Spring Break Kyle had an opportunity to really work on his watercolor technique.  Things began to make sense and click for him. I look forward to seeing more of his work.  He produced a number of promising watercolors.

Emily Elder:

         Still Life,  12″ x 14″  Image, 140lb. D’Arches                       Still Life,  12″ x 12″ image,   140lb. Kilamanjaro

Figure Study, 16″ x 14″ 140lb. Kilamanjaro

Emily enjoys a wide variety of subjects and has demonstrated an ability to work with powerful darks as well as soft neutrals.  As many of you will know getting clean washes in very dark passages is often a tremendous challenge for a beginning watercolor student.  Emily does it well. I have encouraged her to work more from personal observation/ life.  I think she will do well.

Ann Martin Foley:

                                                                                 Tree,  12″ x 9″ Image , 140lb. cold press D’Arches

Deer, 12″ x 14″ Image, 140lb. cold press Kilamanjaro

Ann produced some very striking floral pieces as well as these two works.  Unfortunately no images were available for this publication.  Like many in the class, Ann is a Graphic Design major and makes good use of negative space in her work.  The young fawn is a good example.

Grace Guffin:                                                                                           Chief, 15″ x 16″ Image, 140lb. Kilamanjaro

Grace’s Barn, 17″ x 14″ 140 lb. D’Arches watercolor block

Grace likes to work with subjects she knows.  I’ve entitled the barn as Grace’s Barn. She may not like that but it was her first watercolor.  It was inspired by the brief snow storm we had and classes were cancelled. The barn is near her home and served as a perfect inspiration.   Chief is a close up portrait of her dog.  It was painted on Kilamanjaro watercolor paper. The original displays a lot of subtle yellow and grey tones as well as some strong dark passages.

Lindsey Hall:

                                                   Bear,  14″ x 10″,  140lb. cold press D’Arches

 Drunken Elephant,  17″ x 14″ cold press D’Arches

                                                                  Celestial Horse, 20″ x 15″ 140lb cold press Kilamanjaro

Lindsey enjoys painting animals and in some cases incorporating elements of the constellation. Drunken Elephant was inspired by an article she saw depicting wild elephants gorging on fermented berries and getting falling down drunk.  Seems even elephants have a taste for the fermented fruit of the vine!    Lindsey spent a great deal of time on an intricate study of Russian architecture in anticipation of her summer work in a Russian orphanage. She was successful in selling some of her paintings to help pay her expenses.

Merrell McQueen:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Portrait, 18″ x 24″ approx.

Merrell does excellent work. Unfortunately the exposure on these two images do not do justice to her painting skill.  Rather than leave them out I have chosen to show them. The actual colors are very vibrant and fresh. The portrait of her brother is far more vibrant than the image we see here.   While it is never professionally advisable to show images that one must explain I made the decision to show what was available rather than leave her out. If I am able to get better shots I’ll swap them out.

Melissa Montgomery:

                                                                                         Moose, 24″ x 18″  140 lb. cold press

Melissa is also a Graphic Design major.   As I recall this was one of her first major attempts in class.  I hope she will continue to work on watercolor in spite of her heavy Graphic Design schedule.

Jasmine Wallace:

                                                                                         Sunset on the Gulf,  14″ x 11″ 140 cold press

Jasmine has exhibited a lot of energy and a lot of talent. Her use of strong dark passages is not something one regularly sees in a beginning watercolor painter. However, she handled it well.

Summation:

I can think of no better way to say farewell to the Samford School of the Arts than to spotlight a number of my students. To all of you who helped make this last class a success;  I thank you.  I look forward in the coming years of seeing more of your work as you mature. I take pride in the fact that you all exhibited such a high degree of proficiency in one short semester.

FOOT NOTE:

About Stretching;

Honestly, the word makes me nervous when I talk to students. I’ll explain.  My career began as an oil painter.  We cut our own stretcher strips and we STRETCHED our own canvas.  Many of you know the drill. In that case one physically stretches the canvas in order to have a taut surface.  With watercolor paper we merely allow it to shrink after we carefully attach it to either a plywood board or gator board.  As the paper dries it contracts naturally and if we have been faithful to carefully and gently blot the air bubbles out and straighten the paper; we get a nice smooth surface. The canvas is pretty tough. The paper is very vulnerable when it is wet and it scars easily. So caution is the watch word unless you don’t mind bruised surfaces.

How to Prepare Papers:

I hope the people at Ruscombe Mill will not take offense if I quote them directly regarding this matter. They are the makers of extremely fine hand made watercolor paper.

The finished paper will almost always not be flat due to the nature of the drying and sizing process. The surface finish may also be exaggerated: this problem is overcome by stretching the paper before starting to work on it.  This process will render the surface flat with the appropriate texture and minimize any tendency for the sheet to buckle when washes are applied.  

The paper should be soaked in cold water for between 5 to 15 minutes according to its weight.  (Sponging the surface is not recommended since it may damage the size and does not produce an even moisture.) Holding the paper by the corners, allow the surface water to drain and lay the sheet on a flat board.  It should be secured by strips of pre-wetted, gummed tape, about 2 inches wide across ( all around the edges of the paper so that the sheet is firmly attached to the board) the paper and the board. The gummed tape should be  firmly pressed to ensure that it is securely glued to all edges of the sheet and the board. The paper must be allowed to dry naturally and slowly: heavier weights may require 48 hours to dry and in no case should the drying process be accelerated.

Properly executed you will then have a drum-tight, tough surfaced, flat sheet of the correct surface texture which  will encourage smooth brush work.The toughness of these papers will support the lifting off of washes as well as other techniques such as scratching and scrubbing.

-Ruscombe Mill Instruction Sheet.

Good Advice:

I make some alterations to this directive in that I prefer to staple my soaked paper to a board.  There are times when I have a work framed with all of the deckles showing. Often the staple holes are either not noticed or they add to the irregularity of the sheet.  My purpose for including the above directions is because they can apply to almost any watercolor sheet. Unfortunately some sheets will still buckle AFTER the dried, finished work has been removed from the board.  This is a new challenge.

ABOUT PAPER:

In an earlier post I commented on the problems with some D’Arches sheets and the performance of Kilamanjaro.  Now that all of the testing is done;  I can say the class consensus was unanimous.  ALL pf my students preferred Kilamanjaro.  Even when they painted on it without stretching, it did not ripple to a large degree.  If you paint you know most of us have an independent streak.

To that end when teacher says you must prepare your paper  there will be those independent souls who have to test it for themselves. I don’t begrudge them that spirit!  I want them to be able to stand on their own.

Textbook used in class:

Mastering Glazing Techniques in Watercolor, Vol 1 by Dr. Don Rankin available at http://www.createspace.com/3657628

Study on line with Don Rankin:

Now you can study the basics of watercolor glazing on your schedule at your own pace.  The video tutorials reflect the basic lessons found in the book.

https://www.udemy.com/mastering-glazing-techniques-in-watercolor

The Antique Shop: a remastered classic of a full watercolor demo available at :http://www.createspace.com/350893

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