COMPOSITION PRACTICE #2, PART 1

    Practice Skill 4 reviews painting sky, water, ground, and includes a large rock. Layer washes, broad stroke, wax resist, water drops, and detail painting will be covered in this experience. Again, painting by area will avoid unwanted color runs. Let's begin.

    A 12x18 drawing or watercolor paper has a ground line placed in the middle of the paper in the right half section. A low mountain is sketched above it. A large rock projects from the left side and downward into the foreground. A pathway makes an angular stretch from right corner and out the left side. A tree stump is placed in the left foreground. Let's get movin'!

    The entire sky is completed in one layer. Four light hues are mixed: gray, blue, blue /green, and purple. The sky area is dampened, and all colors are floated into the wet area, freely allowing them to blend. The area closest to the ground line is kept light. Allow to set a few minutes. Then clear water is dropped from a brush in scattered areas to force the color outwards. A paper napkin can be used to lift color here and there for lighter values. This area is completed, but you are free to continue with other layers if you wish.

    Three different areas are begun here. First, the path. Light values of brown/gray and brown/purple and brown black are mixed. The brown gray is painted in most of the path way. The brown/purple is touched at bottom right, center and upper left. It mixes with the base layer. A small brush picks up the brown/purple and outlines right edges and touches the right bottom area.

   The next area is a small ground patch parallel to the path and painted above it. Light values of gray/brown, yellow/green and a touch of the rock orange mix can be painted along the narrow strip, allowing the colors to flow. The green areas will house small plant life at a later point.

   We leave that to dry and move over to the tree stump. A warm yellow/brown, red/brown and brown/gray are mixed. The yellow brown is painted on the top, and base roots. The brown/gray is painted in the root crevices and right top. The red/brown defines the top edge and root shapes.

   By now, the sky area is drier. If not, touch it lightly with a paper towel. Using the brown/purple blend from area 2, brush in a wash in the mountain area. With a fine brush a dark color can outline the outside curve partially or totally. A few more areas to start!

   With the sky fairly dry we can begin the layer for the large rock. When you want to paint an area adjacent to one still wet, you can proceed without running colors together by leaving a fine paper outline between them. It is filled in later.

   The rock is displayed in light, sun bleached colors: pale yellow/gray/brown, light orange/yellow/brown and light gray. The yellow/gray/brown is the initial wash, painted over most of the rock leaving some open areas. The light gray mix is painted in horizontal strokes suggesting future cracks. The orange mix warms up the surface area blending in with the yellow one under the gray strokes. They most likely will flow together in some places creating new mixtures of their own.

    Hooray! We're about halfway finished with just two new areas to begin. PART 2 will continue presenting the next 2 areas to be developed, followed by Part 3 which completes the painting.