With this post, I will conclude my exploration of Gail Speckmann’s three approaches to wet-in-wet watercolor. (The previous two were “working on saturated paper” and “painting by sections”.)
She calls the third approach “painterly”, since it is all about expressing oneself through one’s brushstrokes–though with an option to fix things if they go wrong: she suggests putting one’s strokes down in dilute paint, and then charging in extra, more concentrated paint, but only if the marks turn out well. Otherwise, they can be blotted out and, once the paper dries, attempted again.
So, in a way, one is still painting in sections, just with less careful planning and more expression. And more speed: she mentions that this approach works well in plein air, and for quick studies before attempting a more time-consuming painting.
Some of the many tips she gives in this section:
- Because the painting process should move quickly and with confidence, this approach can benefit from some colour/mark testing ahead of time. A quick value study can help fix the structure before improvisation happens.
- Too many small, varied brushstrokes can give a busy appearance, especially when layered. So, it is best to keep the strokes as large as possible while expressing a shape, and to balance complex, detailed sections with calmer ones.
- One should lay in the largest areas first, to set up the colour scheme and values. (Hey, Logan found some very similar advice in Jean Dobie’s book!)
- As in the section-by-section approach, one can indicate the values by laying down a sketch using a range of dilute colours. Of course, one will then have to duplicate the painterly marks with clear water before charging in strong colours. (Nope, not doing that. I don’t have the dexterity to duplicate my strokes! Plus, I thought the point of this approach was to be quick and spontaneous.)
- It is best to use non-straining paints for the darkest colours, so you can erase them if they go wrong. (This method really has a lot of escape options, doesn’t it? Anyway, here we come, Ultramarine!)
- More complex shapes (blossom clusters, foliage, window panes) can be portrayed using smaller strokes that are then joined up with water to give a single shape. (I have already noticed that making such shapes a bit disjoint is far more effective than painting a single blob. But I struggle with the execution…)
- To make sure the charging happens before the wet sections dry, it might be helpful to keep around a few pre-loaded paintbrushes. Also, siince this approach is all about the marks made, using a variety of brushes can be helpful!
- Once the main painting is dry, a few final touches can be made with a few calligraphic marks. Note that they will tend to be very attention-grabbing! One might also want to tone down some of the white spaces that remain between brushstrokes, with a light glaze.
That should be enough. Let’s go! While the author does, as always, include some practice exercises, I was not excited by them (they mostly involve charging in paint and connecting shapes, things I do all the time), I will be, once again, attempting a painting; a mountain scene. Not in plein air, although I did paint that same view in plein air.
Spoiler alert: things will not go as planned. For starters, after declaring that I would not be indicating values with a colour-coded underpainting, guess what is the first thing I did?
Once that was dry, I started painting by pre-wetting sectors… But then forgot that this is what I was doing and continued pretty much wet-in-dry until I was done. At least I was fast.
I decided to try again, using another mountain view!
So, final thoughts… I have many. Let’s go with the top three:
- It is a bit odd of me to claim I rarely use the wet-in-wet technique, because I clearly do it all the time, especially when starting a painting. I charge colours into each other and connect shapes all the time! Most of my skies are wet-in-wet: I prewet the “sky area” with a very light wash, then charge/brush in more colour from the top.
- In spite of my inability to follow the techniques described, I found the book extremely interesting and inspiring. Gail is very good at explaining what she does and why; the tips I have included here are only a small subset of what she shares. There is a lot more, especially about composition as it related to watercolour. (There is also a lot more content than just these three approaches! For example, she does describe her palette… where she restricts herself to about thirty colours, clearly with some difficulty. It makes a nice change from split primaries and similar.)
- I will definitely be revisiting these techniques, especially the “soaked paper” one, which is still tricky for me. Maybe I will do a follow-up post in a few months.