The Watercolorist's Guide to Painting Skies

Előszó

Introduction
What sets the mood of a landscape painting? The answer isn't simple, because many things matter—a painting's composition, color scheme, and execution, for a start. But more than any other single factor, how the sky is rendered determines a painting's impact.
Picture a pond surrounded by lush summer foliage, drenched in pure, hot summer air; above the water, a strong, clear blue sky shines down on the scene. Now imagine the same setting, at the same time of year, but instead of a clear blue sky, there is an approaching storm. The blue sky has turned to gray, clouds are gathering, and the rush of warm greens and blues on the ground gives way to cool tones. Nothing physical has happened to the water, grass, or trees, yet everything is somehow very different.
Despite their importance in landscape painting, skies aren't always given much attention by beginning watercolorists. Instead of concentrating on atmospheric conditions—things like clouds or haze—beginners tend to belabor every concrete thing they see; they concentrate on trees, flowers, the ground, or even on buildings and animals.
Why is it that the sky is so often taken for granted? Mostly because people look at it in a preconceived way. On a bright, clear day, for example, you may be tempted to lay in a flat blue wash to indicate the sky. Yet even the clearest and bluest of skies usually changes in warmth or value as it nears the horizon. Using a subtle graded wash instead of a flat blue one will give your painting extra impact.
Or consider clouds. Think about the way they are so often handled. In painting after painting,
you see rows of pure white shapes parading across the paper. But clouds aren't always white; in fact, they rarely are. Instead, their color is usually a rich blend of blues, grays, reds, or even yellows.
The lessons in this book will help you get rid of any preconceived notions you have about skies. As you watch how the subjects are interpreted, you'll learn how to analyze the colors found in nature. More than that, you'll discover effective ways to deal with the extraordinary ways that light and atmosphere so often interact.
WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR This volume is geared toward the intermediate painter—someone who is familiar with basic water-color techniques. But even if you are a beginner, you'll find the book's problem-and-solution format a big help as you start to master the art of painting in wa-tercolor. Spend a little time becoming familiar with the vocabulary we use and, more important, learn how to handle a brush and paints, then try your hand at some of the lessons.
No matter what your level of expertise, this book will do more than simply teach you "how to" paint skies. As you work through the lessons, you'll discover how to analyze real problems you encounter in landscape painting and you'll learn practical ways to unravel their difficulties. Once you've found a logical way to begin a painting, you'll see that it's often easy to work through to its end.
HOW THIS BOOK IS ORGANIZED This book contains fifty lessons. Each concentrates on a concrete problem that you are likely to encounter when you begin to paint skies. First the challenges that each situation presents are ana-
lyzed; then a working procedure is outlined.
You'll find that many ofthe Situations have more than one problem, and you'll see, too, that most have more than one possible solution. As you read through the lessons, you'll come to understand how and why decisions are made as an actual painting is executed.
Each lesson explains all the steps of the painting process, clearly pointing out what is done and how it is accomplished. Many of the lessons have step-by-step demonstrations that make it easy for you to understand how the painting evolved.
Supplementary assignments run through the book, either elaborating on a point covered in the lesson or branching out in a new direction. All of the lessons are designed to get you involved with painting in watercolor and in taking you beyond the limits of the illustrated demonstrations.
Feel free to turn to any lesson; they need not be read in particular order. However, since some of the assignments are based on lessons, it may be helpful to read the corresponding lesson before you tackle an assignment.
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHS Unlike many painting books, this volume includes the actual photographs the artist worked from as he executed his works. These photographs are an invaluable aid in understanding how to translate the world around you into effective paintings. Spend a little time looking at the photograph and the finished painting before you read the lesson, and you'll start to understand how the artist interpreted what he saw. Vissza

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THE WATERCOLORIST'S GUIDE TO PAINTING
SKIES
More than any other single factor, the sky sets the mood of a landscape painting. Yet the sky is too often taken for granted because we look at it in a preconceived way.
This book contains 50 lessons designed to help you get rid of any preconceived ideas you have about skies. Each lesson concentrates on a problem that you are likely to encounter when you begin to paint. First the challenges of each situation are analyzed, then a working procedure outlined. You'll find that many of the situations present more than one problem, and you'll see too that most have more than one possible solution.
As you read through the lessons, you'll come to understand how and why decisions are made as an actual painting is executed. Fifteen of the lessons are. illustrated by step-by-step demonstrations to show you how a painting evolved, and in many lessons, close-ups of details enhance your understanding of the painting process.
Unlike many painting books, this volume includes the actual photographs the artist worked from. These superb photographs can help you discover new subject matter and new ways of composing your paintings. As a bonus, supplementary assignments run through the book, either elaborating on a point covered in the lesson or inviting you to branch out in a new direction.
No matter what your level of expertise, this book will do more than simply teach you "how to" paint skies. As you work through the lessons, you'll discover how to analyze real problems you encounter in landscape painting and you'll learn practical ways to unravel their difficulties. Once you've found a logical way to begin a painting, you'll see that it's often easy to work through to its end.
There's no one way to paint a sky; in fact, there are hundreds, even thousands, of approaches that work. Use the solutions offered in this book as a point of departure for your own interpretations. As you gain confidence, you'll no doubt discover the endless challenge of rendering the sky in watercolor. Vissza