This workshop is designed for students who have some experience and watercolor supplies and would like a review of watercolor fundamentals and how to paint luminous skin tones in portraits.
Here is a summary list:
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- 1 or 2 sheets of 22×30” watercolor paper, Arches 140lb Cold Press recommended, We will rip them down to 1/4 sheets or less so blocks are fine. Not Strathmore 300!
- Brushes to include soft, medium-large watercolor rounds #12 or #10. Also smaller brushes or ones with a fine point will be used for details. If you work with flat brushes that is fine.
- Bring watercolor paints in your covered palette. (1 warm and 1 cool of each Yellow, Red, and Blue) absolute minimum. See below for other examples.
- One – 1pt or larger water containers (Preferably plastic to avoid breakage)
- Pencil
- Large soft white or kneaded eraser, not a pink pearl
- Sponge: a small inexpensive grocery store sponge or old terry cloth rag
- Small spritzer bottle for water. See travel sections at Target, Walgreen’s etc.
- Paper towel: Viva brand is recommended for its strength.
- 12×16” Support board: Some waterproof surface to paint on (some will be available for use)
- Note pad: to take notes
- Sketch pad optional
- Camera optional
- Brush carrier, canvas or bamboo (protects brushes tips) optional
- There is a chance you might get watercolors on your cloths. Wear something appropriate.
More Details
Paper
I suggest: Arches brand or equal, 140-lb (140 pound/300GSM) Cold Press, either bright white or natural (no significant difference), 22” x 30” sheet. $10-$14/sheet. You can also buy Arches brand paper in tablets. One or two of the large sheets will be good. We will rip these large sheets into smaller sizes. Avoid Strathmore 300 watercolor paper (yellow cover tablets). It is very difficult to get desired results with this paper (more on that when we are together).
Brushes
Use brushes only designated for watercolor. They are softer and made to hold water.
Sizes and shapes recommended:
We will use a #12 or #10 round a lot. Bigger is better for bigger areas! These will run about $10 – $20 (not readily available in Duluth). Avoid the inexpensive, student brushes!! Don’t waste your money. We will use other size brushes as needed, #10, #6, #0, ½” flat and 1” flat. In the workshop you may try mine or others willing to share their brushes to see if you like them before you buy. Suggested brands: Robert Simmons Sienna, Jack Richeson Series 9000, Robert Simmons White Sable (synthetic) and many more in that price range.
Watercolor Paint
You will see a big difference in price for watercolor paints. The less expensive paints are student grade paints. They have less pigment and more filler. The problem with using these paints in portraits is the skin won’t look luminous, it will look chalky or muddy! Common student brands include Cotman Series by Windsor & Newton, Grumbacher Academy Watercolors, and Van Gogh. Others brands include Yarka, and Prang, etc. Bring what you have and I’ll show you the difference and if you are serious you will eventually want to replace student grade with Professional grade paints which are more than double the price. Pro Brands include Windsor & Newton Professional (most available in Duluth), M. Graham, Daniel Smith, Holbine, and many more (available at online stores). You will find both grades of paints in tubes and pans or cakes. Both are good to use.
Recommended Colors:
I suggest starting with ONE warm and ONE cool of each primary color (Yellow, Red, and Blue). We will discuss Warm and Cool if this is not clear.
(*)These are my go to for Flesh and my favorites used in my portraits. Nothing here is absolute. Bring your colors and we can see what colors can be substituted. If you need additional paint you can purchase more after the first night. These are some example colors.
- Cool Yellow (yellow with a hint of green): Aurolin or a Lemon Yellow
- Warm Yellow (hint of orange): New Gamboge or *WN Yellow Deep or Indian Yellow
- Cool Red (touch of violet): Permanent Alizarin Crimson
- Warm Red (touch of orange): Vermilion Red, *Scarlet Lake or *Cadmium Red
- Cool Blue (touch of green): Antwerp, or Prussian Blue
- Warm Blue: *WN Windsor Blue (red shade), French Ultramarine Blue or Cobalt Blue
Other optional colors you might already have and will buy eventually:
Dark Orange: *Burnt Sienna and *WN Brown Madder
Darker Yellow (more neutral): *Raw Sienna or Yellow Ocher or *Quin Gold
Dark Cool Blue (touch of green): Indigo or Paynes Gray
Light Cool Blue: *WN Manganese or Cerulean
Brown: Burnt Umber or Raw Umber
Green: Viridian green or Sap green or Hookers Green
Near Black: Neutral Tint or Indigo or Payne’s grey
I also am experimenting with some violets: *DS Quin Magenta is my current choice.
Palette If you don’t have a covered palette, I use a John Pike palette.
There are many types of acceptable palettes. Make sure your palette has a fairly large mixing area and a cover. Most good ones have 20-30 paint wells around the sides.
Where to buy your art supplies
Most of these items are all available locally at Michael’s, UMD bookstore, Hobby Lobby, and Pineapple Arts in downtown Duluth. In the Twin Cities, try Wet Paint, Blick and others.
There are many online resources for art supplies:
Cheap Joes.com Daniel Smith Dick Blick Jerry’s Artarama
Amazon has some supplies, especially paper pads and blocks, and their prices are competitive.