by Wendon Blake
Dried Flower Still Life by Arthur J. Barbour: Step Two
The top flower head is painted by the same wet-in-wet method, and then Barbour attacks the cockscombs. Cadmium red light is introduced into the moist paper, and thalo crimson is fed into the cadmium red. A mixture of black India ink and thalo crimson is added for the darker tones. A natural sponge is used for strippling, along with brush and ink, on the now semi-wet areas to complete the ragged, soft feeling of the cockscombs.
Dried Flower Still Life by Arthur J. Barbour: Step Three
The remaining cockscombs are completed as described in step two. Surprisingly, this wealth of detail has been painted entirely wet-in-wet. By flooding the paper with clear water and carefully observing drying time, the artist has judged when to introduce his colors on the painting surface. In the beginning, color is introduced onto a fairly wet surface, and is inclined to spread. As the surface begins to dry, more color is introduced, and it is more inclined to stay put. In a more advanced stage of drying, the paper receives more precise notes that define edges and details. Although the wetness of the paper softens every touch of the brush and gives a faintly blurred quality to each stroke, the flowers are rendered with great accuracy and completeness. The function of the wet paper technique, here, is to integrate the texture of the painting without destroying detail. This extraordinary control is rare in a painting executed by the wet paper method. Acrylic makes this control possible because the paper can be allowed to dry, and can then be rewetted and repainted many times without dissolving underlying layers of paint.
Dried Flower Still Life by Arthur J. Barbour: Step Four
A sponge dipped in burnt sienna is used for stippling in the weeds—Queen Anne’s lace. Now, when all the details are dry, the paper is again flooded with clear water and a mixture of raw sienna and water covers it entirely, except for important light areas of the design. Into this wet background, raw umber, raw sienna, and cobalt blue are flooded to create the final tone. As the wet background color settles into the texture of the paper and forms a granular effect, the rest of the still life is painted in with brush, sponge, ink, and color—the strokes blurring only slightly because the background wash is now almost set.
Dried Flower Still Life by Arthur J. Barbour: Step Five
When the paper is completely dry once again, the lower part of the picture is wetted down and flooded with colors in the same way as the background. As the pigment begins to settle and the paper becomes semi-wet, leaves and shadows are added to strengthen the design; the colors are supported with black India ink. A knife blade is used to scrape out a jagged white weed stem, which is then lightly tinted. A touch of opaque color is added to the feather tops. Dried Flower Still Life is on 300 lb. rough Arches paper, 29½“x21½”. (Collection Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wullen; photographs courtesy Special Papers, Inc.)
DEMONSTRATION 5: OPAQUE COLOR
The White House by Henry Gasser: Step One
The elaborate composition is roughly indicated with a charcoal pencil. Because there are so many architectural elements, the artist includes a fair amount of detail in this preliminary drawing on the painting surface. Although the lines are free and sketchy, Gasser makes certain that every window is in place, that the buildings are in correct perspective, and that even cast shadows (like that of the central figure) are placed where they’ll appear in the final painting. Note the compositional importance of the telephone pole to the left of the center of the pictorial design. Gasser isn’t concerned about the possibility that these dark lines will dominate the final painting, since there will be enough opaque tones to obliterate the charcoal lines when the picture is completed.
The White House by Henry Gasser: Step Two
Over the charcoal line drawing, the artist paints a monochrome wash of bluish gray to indicate areas of light, half tone, and shadow. The wash is acrylic diluted to the consistency of transparent watercolor. At this stage, the artist doesn’t focus on color or texture, but only on form. His idea is to establish the three dimensional shapes of the buildings, as revealed by the pattern of light and shade. Notice that the wash is applied quite roughly, with flecks of white paper striking through and establishing a lively, informal texture throughout the picture. Like the charcoal lines, this will also disappear as the paint is built up more opaquely in later stages.
The White House by Henry Gasser: Step Three
Now Gasser begins to apply opaque paint and the dark areas receive their full color. The picture ceases to be a transparent watercolor, and begins to take on the full weight and depth of an oil painting. The color is applied roughly with bold brushwork, and it is diluted with much less water than the original washes. Note how the heavy texture of the paint on the shadow side of the house already begins to take on the feel of the crumbling wall itself. The combination of thick paint and rough paper gives much of the painting a drybrush quality. The full tonal range of the painting is established here, from the darkest darks to the sunstruck lights. There’s still no detail; the windows, for example, are just dabs of color, and nearly all the charcoal lines have disappeared under the heavy paint.
The White House by Henry Gasser: Step Four
Now the entire painting surface is covered with opaque and semi-opaque color, still applied in a rough manner, with no emphasis on detail. Having established the full range of tone in the preceding stage, concentrating on the darkest darks and the lightest lights, Gasser now focuses on the various middle tones, such as the row of houses to the left. The middle tones of the distant hills are also further developed, as is the weedy patch of land to the extreme right foreground. The artist still makes no attempt to sharpen edges or refine detail. The picture is kept in a rough state, retaining the spontaneity of the artist’s first impressions. The refinement of shapes and textures is left for the very end in order not to lose the initial vitality of the brushwork.
The White House by Henry Gasser: Step Five
Now Gasser pulls the entire painting together. The shapes of all the buildings are sharpened and detail is introduced in windows, fences, porches, doorways, and foliage. All the original rough strokes are still there, but they’ve been overlaid with more precise strokes to indicate edges of light and dark, cracks in masonry, window shades, mullions, and all the tiny touches that give reality to the picture. Certain areas have been built up in an impasto technique to give them even further texture. Note the heavy drybrush texture of the weedy patch in the lower right hand corner, where the paint has been applied thickly. In general, the light areas tend to be thicker and more opaque than the shadow areas, which are treated more transparently. The telephone wires, by the way, are scratched in with a decisive stroke of a razor blade. The White House is on cold pressed watercolor paper, glued to a 20”x28” board.
