Lesson 63 Sports Action Compositions

In this lesson we considered figures in action. We first thought of them as shapes and placed them in a rectangle or square to create an exciting layout. We began with a series of 7 minute studies. In each we sketched a silhouette of the figure and laid out a rectangle around it which would surround the shape in an interesting way. Here are some on Lynn's studies.

Some of the figures are positive shapes, darker than the background, and some are negative shapes, lighter than the background. Next we chose one design to work into a more finished painting. Here are a few.
Jan has a bold figure shape connected to the left edge.

Dan has two figures skating slightly off center.

Nancy worked on another skier, this time connected to the right hand edge.

Lesson 62 Water Ripples and Sparkles

This lesson was designed to experiment with various ways to depict water ripples and sun sparkles. We tried lifting, dry brush, scraping and using various brush strokes and mask. The idea was to let each person find a technique which worked well with his or her style. Here are a few of the larger exercises.

Carrie used large bold brush strokes to mimic the way she treated the clouds and hills.


Bev used a lifting technique to suggest ripples in the lower section.

Celine dragged a dry brush to create the skips behind the reeds which read as sun sparkles.

Jean worked with a combination of brush work, lifting and scraping to create a variety of water effects in her landscape.

Lesson 61 Liftiing Out Flower Shapes

I think sometimes watercolorists rely too much on mask when dealing with light shapes, so for this lesson we explored possibilities of lifting paint off both wet and dry paper. We used flowers and weeds for subjects and lifted with paper towels, stiff brushes, sponges, stencils and credit cards. First we experimented with small studies. For the larger work, we laid in a dark wash combining several colors which completely covered the paper. The challenge was to work from this medium dark value back to the lighter shapes by lifting paint out using these various means. Here are some of the results.

Alice used paper towels and a brush to lift off the soft flower shapes and the vase.


Emily focused in on the blossoms, lifting out the petals and center shapes.


Adelheid was able to lift almost back to white with the paints she used.


Lois lifted very delicate lines and shapes off of her initial wash.

Lesson 60 Candy Compositions

For this lesson we brought in Valentine's Day candy to set up arrangements using six different compositional formats. Everyone did six small studies and some went on to complete a larger painting based on one of the sketches. Here are examples of the six formats.

Lynn arranged her candy to connect with all four edges for a cruciform layout.



Linda worked with a horizontal bar idea. I like the formal arrangement of hearts with the loose painting style.


This is Carol's small study of a 'division of space' composition.

Below is Nancy's small study of a circular arrangement. Each candy leads to the next. (This one and the last, Carol's, are rotated 90 degrees. Blogspot would not let me load them in the correct orientation)


Rita included her hand in a vignetted design.


Finally, this is Teresa's painting using an 's' curve composition.