Colander Glow

Colander Glow, image 14" X 20", framed 22" X 28"

Last August, 2009, this painting was purchased at the Art Market Gallery in downtown Knoxville. The buyer is Sarah Smith of Maryville. A few days ago I received an email asking for a bio to accompany the painting.

I have learned that Sarah Smith is presenting a gift to the new Pellissippi State Library in Maryville. My painting is included in that gift. It is meant to hang in the new library. I feel very honored that a painting of mine has been chosen to be part of such a generous gift.

Observing Laurin McCrackin

The Knoxville Watercolor Society sponsored a three- day workshop with Laurin McCracken at the Fountain City Art Center May 19, 20. 21. I had only one of those days available. I was allowed to observe on May 20th. Laurin McCrackin does beautiful, infinitely detailed paintings of crystal and silver. His workshop was planned as carefully as he plans his paintings. He generously supplied many handouts of his procedure. The images on this blog were scanned from those handouts.

Laurin arranges his still life compositions in a darkened room with one light source, a 150 watt daylight bulb.

This is the image of the still life. A slide of this image is projected onto watercolor paper and traced.

After tracing the shapes, more detail is drawn. Laurin believes that the more information in the drawing, the better the painting.

Drafting tape, 3M or Pearl, is used to protect the teapot while painting the background.

Masking fluid is used for small detail. Laurin uses a Masque pen. He stresses the importance of cleaning all tools immediately. He suggests using a small needle and thread with three knots to pull through the very small applicator points to remove all traces of masking fluid. All tape and fluid is removed as quickly as possible.

In this picture the background has been painted, the tape has been removed, teapot detail has been added with fluid masking, and the fruit and tablecloth have been painted.

The gray of the bowl is a mix of blue and light red. Start with the lightest gray. Details will be a darker gray.

Masking fluid has been removed. Note the hard edge where the fluid had been.

Laurin uses Winsor-Newton series seven brushes, "0" - "1" for fine detail. He advises to always "point the brush" after loading it with paint and water. Touch the tip to a paper towel.

I am closing with one of my favorite McCracken paintings, Pear and Artichoke. I like the composition and simple pear and lemon forms against the detail of the cut artichoke. I also enjoy the reflected light of the table cloth on the pear and the shadow of the lemon that falls over the edge of the table.

George James Demo

George James is a California artist known for his amazing paintings on the synthetic paper, Yupo. The Tennessee Watercolor Society was fortunate to be able to schedule him to judge the 32nd Biennial Exhibition in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A week before the opening of the exhibit and just prior to his week-long workshop he gave a demonstration of his approach to working on the challenging surface of Yupo.

Pencil should not be used, because it cannot be erased without ruining the surface of the Yupo. George uses a Derwent watercolor pencil to make a few marks to define his composition. The watercolor pencil can be removed with water. It is necessary to use more pigment than water when applying paint to Yupo. George began with a flat brush, making strokes that did not overlap. Overlapping causes the paint to lift. He put in a cerulean mix at the top and sides, saving white areas at the top for clouds and changing the blue to a light green toward the bottom. A walnut-colored mix in the center will become the ground and sides of houses in a tropical village. Whites were saved to become the roof tops of the houses.

A brayer is used to roll over and smooth the paint areas. After each area is painted, it is dried with a hair dryer or heat gun. Drying the paint will allow additional layers of paint to be added without lifting the previous layer. If a fresh addition of paint is too deep a value, it can be partially lightened by laying a non-perfumed tissue over it. The use of tissues allows a good variation of values.

In the above photo light and dark greens
have been added to create foliage and a darker walnut hue has created the sides of the houses. Each addition of pigment is carefully dried before proceeding.
Islands have been added in the background and clouds have been defined.

Finishing touches can be seen in the roof detail. the clouds, and the activity in the bay. Notice that the closest island has been given form by varied layers of pigment. When George is satisfied that the painting is finished, he uses a Krylon spray to fix the pigments.

Without protection the entire painting could be washed clean. This demo was an introduction to working with Yupo. There is so much more to the paintings of George James. He has mastered a very challenging product that resists the application of watercolor. The generous sharing of his approach gives me courage to try using the piece of Yupo I have been ignoring for at least two years. The 32nd Biennial Exhibition of the Tennessee Watercolor Society that George James juried is a beautiful show. I am very proud to be a member and to have an opportunity to observe and listen to George James.