Loosening up Exercises

If you only paint occasionally it can seem as though you are starting right back at square one each time you start a new project. Here are a few tips to help you Sunday Painters loosen up:

• If possible, set up a collection of several vases and containers of daisies (white ones) like I did for my class. If you can leave them up for the week, you will be able to do spontaneous sketches whenever the opportunity presents itself, instead of starting all over again.
• Use opaque containers at this time, to concentrate on the mass or "cloud" of flowers".
• Always start with a few loosening up sketches first.
• Simplify. Create masses rather than a tedious collection of individual shapes
• Practice direct brushwork, pre-wetting the background and "dropping in" additional color/value to create loosely suggested foliage and flowers.
• Stay aware that you are practicing by using charcoal when you draw. See my examples above.
• Keep it loose when adding color, too. Use a large flat brush and limit your brush strokes. 

Preliminary sketches

Books by Philip Jamison listed on Amazon 

In his book, "Capturing Nature in Watercolor", Jamison salutes the artists that influenced him, including Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, Odilon Redon, Andrew Wyeth and especially watercolorist W. Emerton Heitland, who was his teacher and mentor in high school. Capturing Nature in Watercolor, generously illustrated with Jamison's paintings, contains information on studio materials and demonstrations of the artist's working methods.

The second book, Making Your Paintings Work (Watson-Guptill, 1987), provides more details on his paintings and pencil drawings. 

Since we are covering composition in my weekly classes, I thought Jamison would be a great example of one who does a considerable amount of preparatory drawing and planning in his watercolor still life's of daisies. 

Classroom set up and demonstrations of 10 to 15 minute loosening up sketches.