I want to present you an interesting article by Russian and Soviet artist Anna Ostroumova-Lebedeva. It is interesting, as in this small essay from the small technical details, small tricks of the artistic "kitchen" begins to appear a portrait of a violent, expressive Master.
A. Ostroumova-Lebedeva
Material and technique of watercolor
I was fascinated by pure watercolor, that is, painting without whitewash, where the role of white paper is done. Gouache and tempera have more corps technique, and it is not so interesting for me. It seemed to me that the pure watercolor has more bright, transparent colors and a freer wide swab. And I liked in her that watercolor does not tolerate many alterations (at the same time, its main drawback): the paper is easy, as the French say, "tired" and already ceases to give pure light and bright, transparent tones. Therefore, the artist needs a lot of concentration and before starting to work a completely clear idea of what he wants and how he should fulfill his plans. Trying to master and understand the technique, the craft of watercolor painting, I carefully studied the material and its tools, that is, paint, paper and brush. I did not forget about the insistent demands of my teacher Whistler - to study craft in art. Many times I did all sorts of combinations of colors. Some of them, having combined, gave a sediment or dingy tones. Such connections, clearly, had to be avoided.
Paper plays a crucial role in watercolor painting. It is white for colors or, better to say, light. Keeping the paper fresh and clean, you need to be very careful and cautious about the bright places of watercolor.
Strongly glued paper does not take paint well. And on maloprokleennoy smears of paint blur, knocking down the pattern and shape.
A good brush should contain a large amount of colored water and at the same time end in a thin, correct point. Just one hair. Having in hand such a brush full of painted water, the tip of her can draw a thin, distinct, often bizarre figure. Then, suddenly pressing it lightly, pour out on the paper all the amount of light-flowing paint. After that, if the brush is good, it straightens and immediately collects all the hairs into a sharp, elastic and regular tip.
What a pleasure, how fascinating it is to have such a brush! Obedient, but with a certain character: strong and resilient. At the same time, we must ensure that we do not fall under its influence and do not go about it. This can often happen with a shallow brush. Not being able to capture a large amount of paint and do broad brush strokes, or, better to say, the bays, you involuntarily begin to tinker and lose the opportunity to easily and freely work on large plans, generalizing the little things.
The paper position is important during operation. With the fluidity of watercolor paint, its slope plays a big role. Sometimes the paper has to be placed horizontally, sometimes tilted in the opposite direction, that is, the bottom edge of the picture is to be raised. Or tilt sideways. Depends on the progress of work and the desire of the artist - where he wants to send more paint.
In general, the technique of watercolor is difficult, but also very exciting. It requires the artist and concentration, and speed. It is clearer and lighter in it than in oil painting, the artist's temperament is reflected. Its main drawback is (I have already said this) that watercolor can not be produced for a long time and persistently due to its fast fatigue of paper. In oil painting you can endlessly rewrite and change your picture. In the watercolor, you can not do this. I had to learn faster to grasp the shape and color of the object, to discard all the random and unnecessary details. The beauty and attractiveness of watercolor painting is the ease and swiftness of the brushstroke, the rapid running of the brush, the transparency and the brightness of the colors. Watercolor can not work calmly, methodically, without hurrying - this is not typical for it.
Watercolor I especially appreciated while traveling. It is much more convenient than oil painting, as it dries quickly. In addition, the drawings that I made in the set were covered in a light watercolor tone, so that the glue that is always contained in the paper, under the influence of water, would expand and attach pencil strokes to the paper.
But, despite the increased work of watercolor, I could not do a thing with a picturesque, colorful task. Developing equipment, I mercilessly destroyed much, not showing anyone, because things turned out earned, stale. Beating without end, but it's nothing: I loved to overcome difficulties.
I must say that the paper has a property of swelling, expanding and falsifying, of course, it is impossible to impose colors on it in such a state, since they will flock to the folds of it. It follows that the paper should be stretched. There are several ways to do this. I'll tell you about those that I used.
All the paper with the drawing already done, I strongly soaked a sponge, full of water, and waited for the paper in a few minutes to start swelling and falsit. Then, without losing a minute, you often need to puncture the wet paper with the buttons to the cardboard or board, on which it should be stretched. The drawback of this technique is that the paper, when dry and shrinking, almost bursts around each button. But you can not be afraid of this if you take a picture of a slightly larger size for the picture than is required.
Another way is to wet all the paper with a pattern so that the edges of the paper are less wetted than the middle of it. Do not prevent the edges from gently stretching out their hands and immediately, turning them away, spread them with glue and glue them to the board or cardboard. Or else, instead of gluing the edges, take a narrow strip of paper, smeared with glue, and glue it so that it lies on the watercolor paper and at the same time on the board or on the cardboard.
I finished the finished watercolor on bristol or cardboard. This was done in order to protect watercolors from all sorts of accidents, bends, tears, stains from fingers. This operation was rather complicated. First, on the left side of Bristol pasted the same size paper as watercolor. Therefore, all the watercolor greased with liquid glue, and gently applied to the other side of Bristol, trying to make it lay without the slightest folds. After that, covering it with a clean sheet of paper, rolled with a roller, trying to drive it from the center to the edge of the watercolor to squeeze out the remaining air bubbles from under the watercolor. After letting the watercolor dry out a little, put it under a smooth press and kept it to dry. This watercolor never warps, since the paper on the left side of Bristol served as an opposition.
For these pastings, I always used sturgeon glue, which I bought with thin plates and prepared myself: first I cut it in small pieces, covered it with a small amount of water, let it get wet for a while. When he swelled, he added water and warmed it all on the fire, stirring with a pinch, trying to keep all precipitation in it, and not letting it boil.
For all the years of my work, I have not noticed that this glue gave any trouble in the form of spots, yellowing of paper, especially in its bright places. I somehow always wanted to protect my offspring from the accidents of life, and so I tried to stick watercolors on.
The best position for them is to be in folders, but I'm talking about those watercolors that leave their creator and fall into the life whirlpool.
For watercolors, the most dangerous enemy is sunlight. Paints, illuminated by ultraviolet rays, gradually turn pale and, finally, completely fade. Even a simple light, without the sun, and he acts badly on her.
Also, watercolor, lit by electric light, suffers from it, especially if it is not far from the light source. From this it follows that when spring and summer come with bright sunlight, it is necessary to cover watercolors with dark curtains or completely remove from the walls.
Still very harmful to watercolors dust, which is worn in the air, especially when the crevices between the frame and the cardboard behind the watercolor are not sealed with a piece of paper. This only partly saves it from dust, as there is still the possibility of air to penetrate between the glass and watercolor. Of course, the best way would be to glue the glass with a narrow strip of paper, but this measure has inconvenience: for example, when moving watercolors on exhibitions, when the glass is packed separately from it.
Still, I must say that the glass very much protects watercolor from fading and any damage.
When I worked from nature with watercolor, I took a folding high chair, besides cardboard or a large album. Then something like an easy music stand on which I could put the top edge of the album, while its lower edge lay on my lap. The third device that I carried with me was a low round table with three legs out and, if necessary, screwing. I put a mug with water, a palette with paints, brushes and everything necessary for work.
This was my exit with full ammunition.
Furnished in such a way convenient and comfortable, when no one disturbed me, mostly curious people, I brought my work to the end.
But very often I could not work peacefully, especially in cities abroad. Then I resorted to the next technique, changing the whole nature of the work. I did a thorough, detailed drawing, with a pencil, for example a landscape, denoting architectural forms, tree plans, perspective prospects, contours of shadow spots. Then, considering the painted landscape, I marked on it the darkest places of the same strength, whether it be trees, buildings or mountains, and in these places put a figure in the figure. Then the next, lighter, identical tones - and put the figure 2. Next , the subjects are even lighter, I marked the number 3, and reached the brightest places in the landscape, and this was the 5th or 6th issue. We obtained a scheme of gradations of the strength of tones from dark to light.
In addition, in order to remember the shade of some color, I wrote in some places with the words "greenish-blue, lemon-yellow, bluish", etc.
Returning home, I carefully examined the figures that gave me a gradation of tones, read the inscriptions, trying to remember everything I had seen, then wiped out the pencil tracks and records and, internally collecting the entire image of the seen, as in focus, began confidently, from memory, to represent it, and so real, as if I saw nature in front of me.
And I thought that half, and maybe more, of my watercolors was made in this way.
It is necessary to say in general that with each new work I differently approached nature, wishing to express in it the character and the most essential. Therefore, I had different receptions.
Now I will tell you about my other method of work: I planned what I wanted to portray, and carefully and truly conveyed what I saw before me. Working in pencil and colors in detail, in detail, I tried to closely and honestly recreate nature. In this way, a realistic sketch from nature came to the end, on which I expected to create a great finished thing.
I sketched the drawing, relying on my sketch, I started to work, but unexpectedly for myself I left it and did watercolor in tones, and in a manner not similar to my realistic sketch. And creating a thing so far from it, I felt that I was creating an artistic truth, moving away from the truth of the transmitted nature.
And which truth was higher?
Is it true of the accurately transmitted nature or the truth of the artist-artist, that is, the artistic truth?
Which one is higher, I still have not decided.
Therefore, it is very difficult to prescribe rules or methods how to make a finished watercolor, because the depicted nature is a new and interesting task for the artist every time.
For example, I have a large watercolor in 1932, which was started and completely finished without any etude and without nature, only from memory. And it makes an impression quite realistic.
Art historians, and often artists themselves, are eager to put watercolor on a white paper mat. These white spots, in my opinion, completely kill the painting. Compared with white paper, painting, of course, always seems dull and deaf, and what a sense in a white matting, I could never understand.
If the watercolor has the form of a tinted picture, then the passepartout will not help it, but if it meets all the requirements of real high-grade painting, why should it be crucified on a white paper field, thereby destroying it.
AA Rylov told me more than once: "Watercolor should be in texture, light and transparent and a small size."