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Painting in France, May 2019

Painting in France, May 2019

Join me on an artistic journey of creative expression! 

I am teaching a watercolor painting and art journaling workshop in Provence, France, May 10 – 17, 2019.  

Registration is now open.  If you book now you will receive an early-bird discount. Experience the magic of Provence:  cypresses and olive groves, scents of wild thyme and lavender, medieval villages perched on hilltops, and a countryside rich with bright, crimson-red poppies – all a feast for your senses.  

 

Watercolor Journaling, Part 4

Watercolor Journaling, Part 4

  • Whitespace is a thing of beauty.  When I first started painting, I was told to cover every square inch of the paper with paint.  Now I realize that was not the best advice.  Not placing color on every square inch of your paper leaves some places for things to sparkle—just like the sunlight! Your white paper is your “white paint” so you always want to save some light!
  • Wherever the paper is wet you can bet things are going to spread.  Color will travel when the paper is wet, even slightly damp.  Use this to your advantage!  And learn when to stop.  There comes a time when the paper has started to be drier than your brush.  This is when it is time to set your brush down and go make yourself some tea 🙂
  • Even when a paper appears dry, it may be damp enough for colors to not stay put which can cause color to feather out. Paper that feels “cool” to the top of your index finger still has moisture in it, so if you want that color to stay exactly in its place, let the paper dry until it feels the same temp as areas that have not been wetted at all before applying color.
Painting in Provence, France and Italy, plein air painting, art journal, mixed-media
Watercolor Journaling, Part 3

Watercolor Journaling, Part 3

“Am I done?”  “How do I know if I am done?”  These are good questions that we all ask ourselves.  The answer is “Are you happy with your painting?”  Take a break, close your journal.  Later, take a fresh look at your painting.  Does it need a little something else?  Is it lacking a “je ne sais quoi?”  This is when I enhance my paintings with pen and ink.  This adds dimension and compliments the watercolor.  There are several ways to go about adding pen and ink to a painting.  The drawing can be drawn first with ink and then painted over with washes of color.  I prefer to paint my watercolor painting first then add my ink lines. 

Take a close look at this painting from my watercolor art journal.  You will see how I added pen and ink to the little French hilltop village. 
Would you like to come paint with me in Provence, France?  I am teaching a watercolor painting and mixed-media workshop May 10-17, 2019!  Registration is now open and the workshop is limited to 12 people.  For more information, visit French Escape

Here are more examples of how I add pen and ink to painting in my journals:

.

Watercolor Journaling, Part 2

Watercolor Journaling, Part 2

In my last post, Watercolor Journaling, Part 1, I wrote, “It is all about timing and developing a feel for how much water is in the paint, on the brush, and on the paper.  The water on the paper is continually drying as you are painting unless you are adding more and more water.  Don’t do that!  Try to add less and less water as the paint dries.  See what happens!”  I am hoping that you practiced this and are beginning to see how the relationship between the paper drying, the amount of water in your brush, and the amount of water in your watercolor paint.  It is all so fun to play and discover the subtleties of watercolors! 

More tips for watercolor journaling:
1.      Continue to build up layers and layers of watercolor paint, letting each layer dry before painting the next.  Another word for this is glazing.  Applying a glaze on top of the same color darkens the value. The more glazes you add, the darker the value will become. 
2.     You can also glaze with a different color than what you started with.  Play with glazing the same colors over each other or choose a different color.
3.     Continue painting with glazes until you are done. 
Example of glazing colors on top of each other

 Hint:  Don’t spend a lot of time fussing over the part you are glazing.  This will start to dissolve the dried layers underneath and will cause the layers to mix, creating mud, instead of laying on top of each other.  

Painting in Orvieto, Italy, Ristorante, Cafe
Watercolor Journaling, Part 1

Watercolor Journaling, Part 1

Watercolor painting sometimes get a bad rap.  “It is hard.”  “My paintings are muddy.”  “I can’t control the paint.”  Things run and go in unexpected areas with colors mingling in seemingly uncontrollable ways.  That is why I tell my students to put miles on your brushes.  It is all about timing and developing a feel for how much water is in the paint, on the brush, and on the paper.  The water on the paper is continually drying as you are painting unless you are adding more and more water.  Don’t do that!  Try to add less and less water as the paint dries.  See what happens!
I want to share with you how I use watercolors in my journals…. 
1.     First draw lightly with a pencil.  Draw simple shapes and just the outline of the subject.  This is called a contour drawing.  You don’t need all small details at this time.  And I say draw lightly because the graphite can make your painting muddy!

2.     Paint a light colorful wash with several colors.  One of my favorite combinations is cobalt blue, permanent rose and new gamboge or a similar yellow.  Let this dry. 

Hint – if you have trouble getting a beautiful wash and end up with streaks and hard edges you are not using enough water with your paint.  Try painting your colorful wash on wet paper – prewet the paper with clear, clean water. 

3.     Pick areas of your painting that need to be darken.  Paint these areas with another layer of paint.  Work light to dark in stages and steps.   

Check back for more tips!
Loosen UP – Warm UP

Loosen UP – Warm UP

Are you in a rut?  Do you need some inspiration to get started painting?  Here is a simple, fun painting exercise to get you started.  The best part about this exercise is that you don’t need a lot of preplanned ideas.  I often find that I just want to play around with color and not have the stress of producing a painting.  These fun little abstract paintings can end up as a cover for your journal!

I did this warm up exercise using mostly warm colors.  You will need your watercolor paints, watercolor brushes and a Gold Leaf Pen.
Start by drawing big shapes in your journal or on a small piece of Arches 140 lb watercolor paper with the gold leaf pen.  I drew my initials JN.  Make sure you go off the page here and there.

 Then add smaller shapes within your large shapes.

 Pick a color scheme warm or cool.  I chose a warm palette so I painted all my shapes with yellows, oranges, reds and combinations of these colors. The gold leaf pen lines will act as a resist to the paint.

This is my final page in my watercolor journal
Watercolor art painting workshops
Painting Workshop in Provence, France 2019!

Painting Workshop in Provence, France 2019!

Here is some information about my

Painting Workshop in Provence, France 2019!

I am so excited to tell you about this fun painting workshop in May 2019!  Check out details at French Escape

Watercolor Workshop

You will learn to incorporate watercolor and mixed-media techniques as we spend on a magical time together.  In this watercolor workshops, we will explore the area, rich with sights, sounds, and colors.  This is all wonderful inspiration for developing your artistic eye. Our host will be frenchescapade.com. They will provide many delicious meals cooked by a French chef and transportation to painting sites. We will stay in a charming hotel with a little river meandering through the garden.  There is an outside swimming pool, a hot tub, and a riverside terrace bar all surrounded by impressive mountains. This workshop is available for all levels, beginners and experienced artists are all invited to come along on this delightful trip!

 

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Artist Jacqueline Newbold enjoys painting life in color!  Her color-filled watercolor paintings capture a moment in time.  She loves to paint the sunlight on red poppies, the glow of a Tuscan village perched on a mountaintop, and the brilliance of a dramatic Oregon Cascade Mountain sunset.  Jacqueline loves to share her passion for watercolor painting and mixed-media art journaling by teaching in her Art in My Heart private studio, the Art Unraveled Art Retreats in Phoenix, the Art & Soul Retreats in Portland, Oregon, France, and Italy.  She teaches private watercolor lessons, classes, and workshops in her private art studio in Bend, Oregon.

A Well Rounded Watercolor Palette

A Well Rounded Watercolor Palette

THE COLORS ON MY PALETTE
Here is a list of the watercolors that always seem to be on my palette.  I often have other colors that I call my “guest colors” that come and go but the ones listed below are my favorite. 
COLOR
BRAND
NOTES
SUBSTITUTE COLOR
Lemon Yellow
D.S.
Good cool yellow
Hansa Yellow Med. 
Phthalo Yellow Green
D.S.
Bright spring green
Cadmium Green Pale
Rich Green Gold
D.S.
Mix with blues and yellows for greenery
Phthalo Green YS
D.S.
Phthalo Turquoise
D.S.
Great for making darks
Cobalt Blue Teal
D.S.
Good “Pop” color
Cerulean
D.S. or W.N.
Manganese Blue/ good for skies & foliage
Cobalt Blue
W.N. or D.S.
Good for skies
Phthalo Blue RS
D.S.
Great for making darks and adding to foliage
French Ultramarine
D.S. or W.N.
The warmest blue
Carbazole Violet
D.S.
Good for adding to shadows
Cobalt Violet Deep
Quinacridone Violet
D.S. or W.N.
Good shadow color
Permanent Magenta
Permanent Rose
W.N.
Quinacridone Rose/ good for flowers
Permanent Red
D.S. or W.N.
True red
Winsor Red
Permanent Orange
D.S.
Good for flowers
Quinacridone Burnt Orange
D.S.
Good earth tone
Quinacridone Gold
D.S.
Stone wall, mixes well to make greens
New Gamboge
D.S.
Indian Yellow
D.S. = Daniel Smith; W.N. = Winsor Newton