Feb 20

Feb 20 My Watercolor “Style” vs Traditionalist Watercolor

My “style” for the watercolor paintings I do is evolving, but I’m finally getting a better idea of the look I’m working towards. I came to this realization after taking a few watercolor classes and being exposed to what I’m calling “traditional watercolor” paintings. Whereas my work is influenced by urban sketchers others are influenced, I believe, by the approach traditional studio and plein air watercolor artists have used for hundreds of years. From what I see, most if not all watercolor painters working in the traditional approach paint on paper 9” x 12” or larger and use sketchbooks only to test ideas or collect small drawings and/or paintings of scenes they want to paint larger in their studios. For me the sketchbook is the final version of a scene I sketch and paint. I have little intention of making larger paintings unless it is a house commission.

I didn’t actually start working with watercolor until mid-August of last year. I had been focused on getting better at drawing portraits and then objects around me with graphite, i.e., pencils. Then I got interested in adding ink to my sketches. By August I had pretty much stopped doing portraits and focused mainly on simply getting better at sketching and inking my sketches. I learned of the “urban sketching movement” and that fascinated me. Urban sketchers, however, all seemed to add watercolor to their on-location pen and ink sketches of buildings and street scenes, so I decided I needed to learn how to do that too.

I approached this challenge as I approach most: I started to teach myself by reading blogs and watching YouTube videos. I joined Facebook groups dedicated to watercolor painting, read, and asked questions. Finally, in late Fall I took a watercolor class offered through our local Academy Center of the Arts. That helped move me forward. In January, I signed up for another watercolor class with a different instructor. Now I’m taking a second class from the same instructor and with five students who took the class in January. The instructor sends us a photo of a scene we are to sketch in pencil and bring to class. At the beginning of class, she demonstrates how she would paint the scene. We, then, each do our paintings and share them at the end of class.

The fascinating thing to me is how differently each of us paints the same scene! And in each case my painting is dramatically different from those of my classmates. And this is where I see the distinction between what I’m calling traditional watercolor and urban sketching watercolor as I’m practicing it. Most of us do a light pencil sketch before painting. However, not all of my classmates seem to do that and jump right in with watercolor to define the forms in the scene. The pencil-first folks add watercolor to their light sketch and build from there. These two approaches are what I consider “traditional.” I, on the other hand, pencil in the general forms of the scene and try to avoid adding too much detail. I then ink my sketch using a fine nib fountain pen. I follow my pencil lines but may ignore some and change how I originally thought something looked. I add details and some shading with my ink. Then I add watercolor. This is how many urban sketchers work on-location, but not all. Some do go right to watercolor or they skip the pencil and make their initial sketch with a pen then add watercolor. Others will paint a scene first and then go back in with a pen when the paint has dried.

There is no right way! Every approach is valid. One simply has to decide which approach works best for the desired outcome. I, personally, love seeing the ink in a painting, though I love the work of others who have used no ink. A case in point is how one of my classmates, who has given me permission to use photos of her paintings, did three of our assignments compared to how I did them. Deborah Burt Navarro (“Debby”) is an accomplished and prolific artist. With a degree in English, work experience as a graphic illustrator, and having raised five children, Debby has now turned her attention to reviving her artistic creativity. She is on Facebook and Instagram (@the_original_little_debbie). Check out more about her background on her web site. I have added her name to her paintings. The others are mine.