The 6-stroke watercolor
Because timing is everything
I shook in my boots seeing this beautiful series of 6-stroke watercolors, on artist Ohn Mar Win’s Instagram feed a few weeks back (you can catch her actual technique in her Skillshare class here). I liked, unliked, liked again, Favorited, commented, did everything to keep it in my internal hard-drive (aka my brain). If watercolor is the choreographed dance between paper, paint, water and you, then this was a rehearsal alright. The secret of watercolor is accepting the passage of time and acting while you can. Much like in the Japanese art movement Sumi-e, it was an accumulation of the right brush, the right paper, the practiced movement, the right timing and the right amount of practice.
One of the great things about being a teacher is thinking “hmmm, I must find a way to teach this!” I needed to give this exercise a try. What was the goal? Paint 5 different landscapes with only 6 colors and 6 strokes. Ideally I would understand when a layer was dry enough to add its neighbor without the colors merging and going crazy on the paper. I’m not one for calculation and precise variables (I’m an artist afterall), but the goal was to see how time affected the final product.
See the 5 different tests above. On the upper-left, you’ll see that the colors merged together in a wet-on-wet free for all. To the right, I let each layer dry 1 minute before adding the next, hoping that the colors would blend seamlessly where they met. I had a little bit more control when each layer dried 2 minutes (on the upper-right), but I suprisingly had some water spots. For the final two, I trusted my intuition and really observed the wetness of each layer before adding the next. Painting each horizontal line, I noticed that that edges tend to dry quicker than where the water pools often in the middle. This is a good time to add the neighboring section without pulling in the color from the previous layer. Looking back at the 5 landscapes, I prefer the intuitive two because I had more control really trusting the process.
And then I thought, how could this technique be applied to a still life?
Try it out for yourself. If you only have 6 colors and 6 strokes, how will you loosen up enough to execute this? You may want to use a bigger brush to cover more surface area. Be sure to still save the white space you need for highlights. You’ll have to think about blocking forms instead of getting lost in the details. Do you want certain sections of the still life to merge or not? How can you be sure to time it out so you don’t get any bleeding?
What were my biggest takeaways from this? Less is more! Find simplicity in adding less layers. Be cognicant of how you are going to execute a painting before you begin will hopefully lead to more reliable results. There’s no one-size-fits-all way of dosing out watercolor, but this exercise will challenge you to act in the moment.
EXERCISE du JOUR / 6-STROKE LANDSCAPES
STEP 1: Give yourself permission to fail! It’s not a bad thing. This is more about engaging directly with the passing of time required to understand watercolor on a more profound level. Think of this more like quantity instead of quality. These are more about the journey than the destination so give yourself some grace.
STEP 2: Active your watercolor paints and select 6 colors. You may want to use a larger brush for this exercise. Take out enough watercolor paper to create 6-10 mini landscapes.
STEP 3: Either freehand a landscape or look up some reference images if need be. The goal is the be loose and gestural.
STEP 4: Paint the first line of color and ask yourself if you will be painting directly next to it to pull out the color or come back later. Feel free to set a timer if need be. Before adding the touching layer, hold the previous layer to the light to see if the water is pooling, damp or wet. Do you want to bleed to colors together? Then add the next layer asap.
STEP 5: Ask yourself how you did! Yes this exercise states the obvious once again “watercolor is difficult!”. But practising this exercise regularly will fine tune how movement is particularly important in your watercolor practise.
SOS! Made a terrible mistake? Either dab it up quickly with a clean paper towel or just accept that it’s a part of the process.
Stay inspired, dear reader. And don’t drink the watercolor water. -jkw
TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT! Stop by the opening of our group show this evening “Paris est Une Fete” at the Un Jour Une Illustration Gallery in Paris. I’ll be in attendance along with many other international illustrators. Visiting Paris this summer? It will be on until August 10th. 4 Rue de Franche Comté, 75003 Paris
Oooh I love this idea!