News and Musings of artist Teri Starkweather

         Last night I did a demo for the Southbay Watercolor Society. I started out by talking about how I transfer a drawing to the watercolor paper. I use an Artograph LED300 digital projector to transfer a detailed drawing from a photo that I took to paint from. I use a 2H pencil to do the drawing. If there are a lot of details and I want to be sure to get it right, I will include those details in my pencil drawing. In areas where there will be little detail, a simple outline will suffice.

In this photo I am using an Escoda#20 Nicolas Simmons brush. I like using it for larger areas because it holds lots of paint and also has a fine point for detail. I demonstrated a wet into wet technique by painting a petal of a flower with Permanent Rose and dropping in other colors such as Rose Madder and Cobalt Violet for shading the petal and rendering its form.

Next I talked about mixing darks and shared that I never use plain Black. I always use colors to make my darks because the end result is richer. This time I used Paynes Grey, Viridian, and Cobalt Violet. I also put a little Sap Green into some areas already wet with my original dark. The secret to making a painting come alive is to vary your washes, so that the color is not all the same everywhere in the wash. I also suggested to the group that if you want unity in your painting, you should put traces of your center of interest color throughout the painting. The color should be most intense in your center of interest, but softer variations of that color should be present elsewhere.

I also talked about using mostly transparent colors because they let the white of the paper shine through. It is important in a watercolor painting to keep the white paper clean while working and if you use transparent colors, you will have a more vibrant and glowing painting. But be sure to include dark values as well. The contrast between the darks and the lights will make a dynamic statement and you won't end up with a washed out painting that is all middle values.

Here is my demo. I will finish the rest of the painting later. I might spend around 30 hours on a painting this size.

Transparent Colors: Rose Madder Genuine, Aureolin, Cobalt Blue, Viridian, Burnt Sienna

Staining Transparent Colors: Alizarin Crimson, Winsor Blue, Winsor Green

Opaque Colors: Indian Red, Cerulean Blue, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow, French Ultrmarine Blue

Mixing Darks:

1. Ultramarine Blue, Alizarin Crimson

2. Pthalo Blue, Alizarin Crimson, Burnt Sienna

3. Viridian or Sap green, Cad. Red

4. Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber

I use a Robert E. Wood palette with individual wells for traveleing and at home in the studio I use a large ceramic palette with individual wells and plenty of flat space for mixing. I paint on 300 lb or 500 lb Arches paper.

My paints: Windsor Newton or M.Graham watercolors: Rose Madder Genuine, Aureolin, Cobalt Blue, Viridian, Burnt Sienna, Sap Green, Cad. Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Raw Umber, Cad. Red, French Ultramrine Blue, Cerulean Blue, Paynes Grey, Sepia, Neutral Tint.