Watercolor Painting gwith Helen Wheatley

Abstract watercolor painting with hand made stencils

Supplies• Yupo paper or watercolor paper (18” x 24” or larger) –medium weight• Primary color water color paints thinned in spray bottles (red, yellow and 

bl d hit ) D k t l d di till d t d dblue, and white)‐ Doak watercolors and distilled water recommended • 3” flat paint brush with soft bristles• Contact paper (colored recommended)• Glass weights (used for floral arrangements)• Webbing (Halloween spider webs)• ScissorsScissors• Bamboo Skewers• Poster board or scraps of Yupo (for stencils)

C l d il th di• Colored pencil or other medium• Gold acrylic paint• Sponge brayer (to apply gold paint)• Push pins• Newspaper

Lesson Objectives: (see separate file for student version of rubric)

Students will study Orphism and how artists work with abstract shapes and color to create interesting designs. (see Scholastic Art Magazine Franz Marc Working with Color.

Students will create an abstract composition including:•an animal, car, flower, buildings, person, shape, etc. – repeated in different angles or poses (use reference pictures) in an asymmetrical composition.•intersect planes of colors for a more dynamic composition to create a sense of depth•intersect planes of colors for a more dynamic composition to create a sense of depth. Overlap subject matter to create a greater sense of depth and create more interest.•Utilize the principles – repetition and contrast to create a dynamic composition. The more repetition the better (more interesting/complex). Use a diagonal sense of movement and create the focal point using the Golden Mean.•Choose and use a bright, dramatic, expressive palette that communicates the mood of your theme. See color theory below. Do Not use Black, mix it with a color. Complementary colors are more dramatic.p y•Neatly paint the composition blending colors appropriately. Use at least one gradient. Animals and shapes are rendered accurately.•Details such as shading, patterns, or contours are added to create a more Fantastic or S l t h Th ti i t l i i t d Th i t b t tSurreal atmosphere. The entire picture plane is painted. The images are not so abstract that they are indecipherable.

ORPHISM in the visual arts, an artistic t d d i d f C bi t i ti th ttrend derived from Cubist painting that gave priority to colour. The movement was named in 1912 by the French poet Guillaume Apollinaire.p

Apollinaire regarded the colourful Cubist-inspired paintings of Robert Delaunay asinspired paintings of Robert Delaunay as initiating a new style that brought musical qualities to painting. He named this style Orphism in reference to Orpheus, the legendary poet and singer of ancient Greek mythology, who was a popular symbol of the ideal, mystically inspired artist Other painters working in this styleartist. Other painters working in this style included Fernand Léger, Francis Picabia, and Marcel Duchamp.

DEFINITIONS

Orphism - A style of painting related to Cubism sometimes called Orphic CubismOrphism - A style of painting related to Cubism, sometimes called Orphic Cubism, that employed overlapping planes of bright, contrasting colors. Generally very abstract and colorful.

Surrealist - works can have a realistic, though irrational style, precisely describing dreamlike fantasies. These artists were partly inspired by Symbolism or could have a more abstract style.

Cubism - The subject matter is broken up, analyzed, and reassembled in an abstracted form. Sometimes as if the image is seen over time moving.

Ab t t E i i A i ti t i hi h ti t t i ll li dAbstract Expressionism - A painting movement in which artists typically applied paint rapidly, and with force to their huge canvases in an effort to show feelings and emotions.

Abstract Art - Imagery which departs from representational accuracy, to a variable range of possible degrees.

Symbolism An art movement which rejected the purely visual realism of theSymbolism - An art movement which rejected the purely visual realism of the Impressionists, and the rationality of the Industrial Age, in order to depict the symbols of ideas.

•Place push pins into board at the edges of the Yupo paper (not in the paper) at irregular intervals.•Stretch a small amount of webbing across the paper from pin to ping p p p p•Using a large (2” to 3”) soft, paint brush to apply water over the entire surface.  The water will keep the spider webbing attached to the paper. The more water the more the water colors will bleed but avoid puddles.

Spray yellow water color paint first .

Spray blue paint next.  Watch it bleed with the yellow to create green.Use blue sparingly so that there will be space for red.

Spray red in areas overlapping the blue and the yellow is some areas dto create green and orange.

If white areas are desired spray less water color.

HELPFUL HINT:

After using spray bottles turn them upside down in aAfter using spray bottles turn them upside down in a container of water so the nozzle doesn’t clog.

When completely finished using spray bottles take the spra mechanisms off and p t the stra portion in cleanspray mechanisms off and put the straw portion in clean water and pump until clear water sprays out.

Stretch the spider webbing across with bamboo skewers while waterStretch the spider webbing across with bamboo skewers while water color paint is still wet to create more interesting areas.

When spraying colors allow the primary colors to blend to create secondary colors but avoid creating browns.

Let the paper dry in the sun then take the spider webbing off of theLet the paper dry in the sun then take the spider webbing off of the paper.

Let the paper dry in the sun then take the spider webbing off of the paper. Apply stencils cut out of contact paper

Cut shapes out of contact paper and apply to dry paper. 

Note: Use colored contact paper instead of clear so that it is easier to see once you apply it over the painted paper. Complex shapes take more time.

Roll thinned down acrylic paint over entire surface with a sponge roller

Peal the contact paper shapes off of the paper using a bamboo skewer.

Peal off contact paper forms to reveal beautiful colors.  Use colored pencils or other medium to create more depth in the composition

Cut out shapes out of scraps of Yupo paper or poster board and place on dried paper.

Weight down shapes with glass beads.

After laying down all of the stencils for creating an interesting composition lightly spray white watercolor paint over entire picture plane.

Spray enough white paint to accent the shapes without loosing the underlying colors.

Remove stencils to reveal  the finished piece.  Use colored pencils to add depth or contrast to the white areas.

Create stencils that express something about yourself.

Variation: Before starting this process use black china pencils to create a resists then follow the steps for painting.

Develop areas with thicker lines to add emphasisDevelop areas with thicker lines to add emphasis.

This was the quietest class I have ever attended, everyone was working so diligently.