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 Professional artist, Anne Olwin, brings you some of her best art lessons, tips and tricks of the trade.
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Watercolor on Textured Clayboard
Ready to marry an interesting surface with luscious color?
 Every artist searches for the right combination of tools and materials that perfectly expresses the creative idea. My paint, surface and brush choices profoundly affect my finished artwork as well as help or hinder the process. That is why I choose the best products I can find for my work.
Ok, so you are ready to try a dynamic, unique painting surface. Coupled with professional-quality watercolors, you may find an exciting duo that turns serious work into fun play.
Whether animals, florals or portraits, I often begin my paintings with a grisaille drawing, a detailed pencil drawing that serves as the foundational value work for the piece. Textured Clayboard accepts the pencil beautifully. The board allows a wide range of values drawn with a 2B pencil. It also erases easily where changes must be made.
Over the drawing, I begin glazing layers of luminous colors. The working characteristics of the clayboard make precision painting effortless. Crisp clean edges appear with ease. Luminous color dances across the surface when applied wet into wet. Fine details are possible with the flick of a brush. Dense darks build up quickly with juicy layers of rich transparent washes.
And best of all, I can lift color in a snap to create highlights or to change the painting entirely. A damp flat brush drawn along a ruler yields a lovely, light edge. Free-handing a line or arc while manipulating the brush brings a graceful stem or blade of grass into view. For larger areas, light scrubbings make short work of paint removal.
Special tips for working on Textured Clayboard with Watercolors:
· Juicy, saturated mixes create intense, exciting washes of luminous color that stays sparkling when it dries.
· Allow under-layers to dry thoroughly before glazing.
· For a smooth look to glazed washes, avoid excessive manipulating of the paint on the board.
· Soften edges easily with a damp filbert brush.
· Use damp brushes to quickly lift color.
· Apply a thin wash of transparent color to create a glow in lifted areas.
· Finish the piece with a light coating of spray varnish to frame without glass.
The Process:
1. My initial step is a grisaille drawing made with a 2B artist-quality graphite pencil.
2. Next, I under-paint with a two-inch flat brush. After covering the entire surface of the board with a generous amount of water, I drop in initial color where I would like it. This is allowed to dry, observing blossom areas. These can be removed or softened as it dries by lifting hard edges with a damp (not wet) brush.
3. I begin laying in stronger color over the background area to separate the cheek from the background and establish other dark areas using a one-inch flat brush.
4. With various flats and a filbert, I begin modeling the form of the face.
5. Finally, I continue
modeling the form until I reach the degree of finish I desire.
Master artist, Anne Olwin's artwork and writing have appeared in Watercolor Magic Magazine, National Gardening Magazine, and various other publications. Most recently, Creativity Press has published her Quick Reference Guides for artists.
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