Watercolor Artist - Winter 2024 - Watercolor Artist

FIGURAL (FUN)DAMENTALS — 9 TIPS TO ADD LIFE TO A SCENE
ARTISTSNETWORK.COM
Seeing
Eye to I
6 Artists on the
Creative Potential
of a Self-Portrait
PAINTING
PEOPLE
How to Enhance
Emotional Power
in Portraiture
A Wintry Mix
6 Secrets for Capturing
Snow in a Landscape WINTER 2024
Contents WINTER 2024
Features
14
EVERYDAY GRACE
The interplay of nuance,
color and line brings subjects
to life in Pam Wenger’s
heartfelt paintings.
BY MCKENZIE GRAHAM
22
EMOTIONAL POWER
30
Joanna Barnum pushes
expressive portraiture to
its limits by using layered
media in dramatic fashion.
BY JOHN A. PARKS
30
THE STORY IN SNOW
38 48
ME, MYSELF AND I THE ART
The surroundings in Looking both into the mirror OF IMPLIED DETAIL
Christine Misencik-Bunn’s and within themselves, six Antonio Darden embraces
paintings support the narrative artists plumb the depths of a less-is-more approach
for the figures at center stage. self-portraiture for meaning. to portray complex subjects.
BY STEFANIE LAUFERSWEILER BY ANNE HEVENER BY JOHN EISCHEID
ArtistsNetwork.com 1
Columns
3 EDITOR’S NOTE
Facing one’s self
BY ANNE HEVENER
4 HAPPENINGS
Watercolor USA and more
BY CHRISTINA RICHARDS
8 ANATOMY OF
A PAINTING
Honoré Daumier acquaints
us with a trio of art lovers.
BY JERRY N. WEISS
10 BURNING
QUESTION
What should you know when
painting a snowscape?
54 WATERCOLOR
ESSENTIALS
Try these foolproof tips for
populating your paintings.
BY HAZEL SOAN
54
60 CREATIVITY WORKSHOP
Add deeper meaning to your
works with symbols.
BY KATHLEEN CONOVER
64 BRIGHT IDEAS
“Barge” your way through
the French countryside.
BY STEPHEN HARBY
ON THE COVER
72 OPEN BOOK Figural Fundamentals 54
Learn how working en plein air
adds warmth to a snow scene. Seeing Eye to I 38
BY POPPY BALSER Painting People 14
Wintry Mix 10
Get Social Aiden (watercolor on paper, 22x15)
by Christine Misencik-Bunn
@ARTISTSNETWORK
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2 Watercolor artist | WINTER 2024

Editor’s Note
I
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Anne Hevener
t has been said that every
SENIOR EDITOR Beth Williams
work of art is a self-portrait.
An artist reaches inside their MANAGING EDITOR Christina Richards
own well of experience, and this DESIGNER Joan Moyers
informs creative expression. As
artist Richard Schmid put it: BUSINESS
“Your paintings always reveal more about you than DIRECTOR OF CONTENT, FINE ART Doreen Manning
about your subject.” That said, is there not something
about painting one’s own likeness that requires a some- AD SALES MANAGER Stephanie Rubin
970-223-3676, ext. 10027; srubin@goldenpeakmedia.com
what different level of self-inquiry? And a bit more
creative courage perhaps? These were a few of the ques- MEDIA SALES COORDINATOR Vicky Koss
tions I put to the six artists featured in the article, “Me, 800-726-9966; vkoss@goldenpeakmedia.com
Myself and I” (page 38). Their discussion of the topic is

powerful and insightful, but also persuasive. Why paint
a self-portrait? For starters, your model is available
24/7—no fee required. This point was the main reason CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Jeffrey Litvack
that Van Gogh painted no less than 35 self-portraits.
CHIEF SALES OFFICER Farrell McManus
But more than that, a self-portrait offers the opportu-
nity to capture a specific moment in one’s life and to CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER Kate Lee Butler
paint with emotional honestly.
CHIEF INTEGRATION OFFICER Nicole Woods
For some artists, the practice can also be creatively
liberating. A self-portrait, says Myrna Wacknov, “gives CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER Kim Greenlee
you total freedom to play with your own image, to do
VP, STRATEGY Andrew Flowers
whatever you want without the worry over whether
someone is going to like it.” That potential for creative NEWSSTAND SALES Ron Murray
rmurray@npsmediagroup.com
“ Art is coming face to

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Barnum (page 22) has also made good use of. In her
efforts to introduce experimental elements into her CUSTOMER SERVICE
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Happenings
Break (watercolor on paper, 36x60)
/ MAKING A SPLASH /
Stephen Zhang
For the third time in the last five his father, Defu Zhang, and later the Art Olympia, in Japan. His work is
years, Stephen Zhang has taken late professor Rob Erdle. Currently sought after by private collectors, and
the top prize in the Springfield Art an assistant professor in communi- his paintings have been exhibited at
Museum’s Watercolor USA annual cation design at the University of the US Embassy in Equatorial Guinea.
juried exhibition. Zhang, from Plano, North Texas, Zhang has served as a A total of 366 entries were sub-
Texas, received the Kenneth M. Shuck creative director for companies such mitted to Watercolor USA. Juror
Memorial Award for his entry, Break. as Fossil and Filson, as well as Lodge Keiko Tanabe selected 70 works by
Two of the artist’s other artworks, 26 Branding Agency. 70 artists, representing 25 states,
Hidden and Mindspace, received the Zhang’s watermedia works have for inclusion in the exhibition. She
exhibition’s top awards in 2021 and appeared in numerous fine art pub- was struck by Zhang’s painting, in
2019, respectively. lications, and the artist has won particular, stating: “When I see works
Born in China, Zhang graduated awards from several prestigious art like this that were made with such
from Luxun Academy of Fine Arts. He organizations and juried exhibitions, confident brush marks and brilliant
received his MFA from the University including the Signature Watermedia layers of cumulative colors, I know it
of North Texas. Zhang has been International Exhibition, Transparent is a testament to the artist’s years of
painting in watercolor for more than Watercolor Society of America, the training and dedication to this chal-
30 years, first under the tutelage of Chinese National Art Exhibition and lenging medium.”

New + Notable
/ ON THE SHELVES /
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Happenings
/ WATERCOLOR WORLD /
Into The Light

HARVARD ART MUSEUMS RECENTLY HOSTED
AN EXHIBITION OF ITS COLLECTION OF
AMERICAN WATERCOLOR PAINTINGS,
SPANNING MORE THAN A CENTURY.
“Into the Light” presented 100 compelling

and rarely seen watercolors by both well-
known and historically underrepresented
American artists. Selected from the Harvard
Art Museums’ deep and diverse holdings, and
built over 100 years with the purpose of study-
ing and supporting contemporary practice, the
collection embodies the museums’ long-term
engagement with the art of the present. For
generations of American artists, watercolor
was a medium of innovation and experimen-
tation, a challenging form of expression that
allowed practitioners to let loose their imagi-
nation and reflect on process and perception. Returning Fishing Boats (1883; transparent and opaque watercolor over
While the visual vocabulary of American graphite on off-white wove paper, 16⅛x2415⁄16) by Winslow Homer
watercolors changed dramatically over the HARVARD ART MUSEUMS/FOGG MUSEUM, ANONYMOUS GIFT HOMER. 1939.233
century—from vibrant floral still lifes and

radiant summer landscapes to surrealistic
fantasies and immersive abstract works—the
medium’s unique ability to capture light fasci-
nated artists throughout.
Often regarded as a quintessential American
medium, watercolor has proven its capacity
to render the full range of the American expe-
rience, including moments of adversity. In
fact, as artists increasingly looked inward and
away from European models, many encoun-
tered unsettling and disorienting moments
of unrest in the United States that inspired
new aesthetic and conceptual approaches to
watercolor. Expanding the canon and including
many new acquisitions on view for the first
time, the exhibition offered inspiration to
enrich today’s watermedia practitioners. The
unique challenges and rewards of watercolor
were highlighted throughout—with the help
of historical materials, discussions of tech-
nique and close-looking exercises that revealed
the creativity and inventiveness of the works
of art on display. Staged across three adja-
cent galleries, the exhibition, which closed on A Bridle Path in Tahiti (1900; transparent and opaque watercolor over
September 3rd, presented works by roughly 50 graphite on off-white wove paper mounted on hardboard, 18⅞x20⅜)
artists, including John La Farge (1835–1910), by John La Farge
Winslow Homer (1836–1910) and John Marin HARVARD ART MUSEUMS/FOGG MUSEUM, GIFT OF EDWARD D. BETTENS TO THE LOUISE E. BETTENS
(1870–1953). WA FUND. 1917.4

PAINTING IN Paradise with RICHARD STEPHENS
THE STUDIOS OF KEY WEST “Lighten up, Loosen Up”

WWW.TSKW.ORG / 305-296-0458 January 21-23, 2024
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Anatomy of a Painting
In a Picture
Gallery
HONORÉ DAUMIER depicts art lovers
and invites us to join them.
By Jerry N. Weiss
N o artist made drawing look

easier than Honoré Daumier
(French, 1808–79), from
whose pencil the human condi-
tion seemed to emerge effortlessly.
Art Lovers (ca 1863; gray and
black wash, charcoal, and
graphite with watercolor on
cream laid paper, 10 5⁄16x7⅝)
by Honoré Daumier
Daumier was born in Marseille and CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART,
DUDLEY P. ALLEN FUND, 1927.208
accompanied his family to Paris when
he was 8 years old. There he took
a series of jobs in his youth to help
his family, and subsequently studied
first with Alexandre Lenoir, then at
the Académie Suisse. He was awarded a pension, and his
Soon Daumier was drawing edi- dear friend, artist Camille Corot
torial cartoons that provoked the (French, 1796–1875), bought him
French establishment and, in 1832, a house in the country.
he was sentenced to prison for “incit- Among the subjects Daumier
ing to hatred and contempt of the treated sympathetically was that of
government and insulting the king.” art connoisseurs and collectors. In
His lithograph, Rue Transnonain, a series of drawings, watercolors and
15 April 1834, is an expression of out- oils dating from the 1860s, aficiona-
rage that rivals the fury often seen in dos are seen thumbing through print
the works of painter Francisco Goya portfolios, visiting shops and artists’
(Spanish, 1746–1828). studios, and admiring private collec-
Political critique was just one tions. Art Lovers depicts three men
aspect of Daumier’s genius. He scrutinizing work in a public gallery.
published a multitude of cartoons— It appears so seemingly free in
sometimes harshly satirical, other execution that we may overlook
times affectionate—observing the the mastery with which watercolor,
behavior of all strata of Parisian soci- graphite and charcoal have been
ety. He also sculpted caricatures of combined to create this slice of 19th-
public servants and painted mostly century life in Paris. As we pause to
for his own pleasure. Though his out- study Art Lovers, we join the trio
put was prodigious, he never achieved in the admiration of art. WA
financial success.
Late in life, the French government Jerry N. Weiss is a contributing writer
offered Daumier several official hon- for fine art magazines. He teaches at the
ors, which he declined on principle. Art Students League of New York.

The primary figures of Art Lovers
have long intrigued me. Three
men are seen in profile studying
artworks in a gallery, their faces
in shadow. One figure, hat held
behind his back, stands upright.
He’s flanked by two men, each
leaning forward to better observe
drawings or prints. Daumier
arranged the connoisseurs so
that their postures form an im-
plied sequential movement, from
standing to crouching. Each of
the men are seen in various stages
of engagement with art.
Daumier often used wash and

watercolor to supplement his
drawings in pencil, charcoal or
pen. In Art Lovers, he used all three
media, with watercolor likely added
at the end to provide chromatic
accents. Touches of red or sienna
were placed on the pictures and
frames. This ensures that our
attention moves from the viewers
to the works, which remain forever
obscured from our view.
The foreground figure, composed

of the darkest values, possesses a
tremendous solidity. His presence
is startlingly vivid for two reasons:
Daumier understood the human
figure and its movement, and he
knew how light played over its
forms. He was so familiar with
his subject that he could suggest
age, status and personality with
a minimum of detail.
Daumier used value contrasts to

create impressions of depth and
movement. The three art lovers,
their black hats acting as power-
ful punctuation marks, take their
dominant places in a strongly lit
foreground. In the space beyond,
we can discern a vaguely lit corner
of the gallery, with unresolved
figures and nebulous artworks
on a far wall.
Burning Question
What’s important to know

when painting a snowy
landscape in watercolor?
Careful observation
helps Jessica L. Bryant
capture the nuances
of snow in wintry land-
scapes like Snow at
the Farm (watercolor
on paper, 11x15).
Rick Surowicz offers

an up-close look at
the season’s delights
in his piece, Tangled
(watercolor on
paper, 22x30).
Rick Surowicz
Quiet fallen snow blanketing a field and farmhouse is an inviting subject, but don’t
overlook opportunities to have fun exploring winter up close. A vine-wrapped fence
post or the scrub along a frozen creek can be exciting, too. These subjects provide
a chance to zoom in and let nature’s textures shine. Because I like to work with
watercolor transparently, I must carefully plan to preserve my light-valued textures.

Jessica L. Bryant
The subtle nuances of snow can be decep-
tive, so I’m careful not to trust a quick
glance while painting. It’s important to
see accurately and not unintentionally
deviate from the reference. I find that it
enhances my odds for capturing mood
and atmosphere when I take the time to
really look and understand the nature of
the shapes, values and transitions/edges.
This includes knowing what shape each
value makes before shifting into another
value shape and recognizing the nature of
the transition (whether abrupt or gradual).
Capturing those subtle value changes can
really help the snow come to life.
Stephen
Quiller
A coating of snow simplifies the
landscape. By removing much of
the detail that many painters strug-
gle with, it makes it easier to see
a scene abstractly. When painting
snow, tune your eye to see the vari-
ety of color, which changes along
with the atmospheric conditions
and the time of day.
In strong diagonal light, with an
indentation in the snow—like the
tracks of animals or cross-country
skis—look for what’s called retreat-
ing light (the light as it moves away
from the sun), highlight (where the In Fox & Crow (acrylic on Aquabord,
sun directly hits the angle of the 36x48), Stephen Quiller demonstrates
the vast potential for color and vibrancy
snow), retreating shadow (as the in snow scenes.
snow moves into the indentation)
and the depth of shadow (at the
darkest and deepest part of the
indentation).
Bill Vrscak
For me, it’s the power of pure
white paper in a watercolor. I’m
an inner-city boy, and I like to
paint the urban scene. When
painting winter in the city, I often
take a graphic approach. I orga-
nize my composition to surround
the subject matter with flat white
shapes that represent snow.
I try to avoid breaking up those
larger shapes too much, because
they serve two functions:
Pictorially, they represent what
the painting is about—winter. At
the same time, they serve graph-
ically as containment devices
that surround the subject matter
and lead the viewer through the
important parts of the painting. When designing a winter composition, such
It may be less photorealistic but as Going Down Vista (watercolor on
paper, 18x24), Bill Vrscak is thinking about
can be very effective. the large shapes of white.
.
Jerry Smith
Snow scenes are spectacular in all
phases of nature, from gray and sub-
dued to dazzling bright. Snow, as a form
of water, has the potential of being well
represented in watercolor. Regardless of
style, snow must appear cold and wet
in a painting to appear believable. With
this in mind, top considerations include:
the need for a balance of soft and hard
edges; an awareness that all the colors
in the spectrum are contained in snow;
and an effective use of highlights and
shadows to direct movement toward Jerry Smith puts all his compositional tools to work to dazzling effect in
the composition’s focal point. Narrows Bridge (watercolor on paper, 11x28).

Brienne Brown uses shifts in color temperature to
create a sense of depth, as seen in Soft Sounds
of Snow (watercolor on paper, 10x12). Brienne
M. Brown
Remember that snow is not
white. There are many colors in
the light and shadow shapes. I
always tint the white areas either
warm or cool, so I can create
form and depth with color tem-
perature shifts. This is useful no
matter the medium. When paint-
ing in oil, I never use titanium
white straight from the tube; I
tint the paint with small dabs of
color. When working in water-
color, tinting the white paper
has the same effect. I start by
painting shadows, but go back
afterward with a glaze to tint the
remaining white.
Everyday Grace
Evelyn at the Window (watercolor on paper, 14x20)
SPONTANEITY OF COLOR AND POSE

CONTRAST WITH PAM WENGER’S
MASTERY OF DRAWING TO CREATE
W atching a ballet, the audience sees a story
depicted with movement. To see beauty in
a dancer’s performance is expected, but to see
beauty in everyday movement—that’s a rare gift. That’s
Pam Wenger. While the artist enjoys painting dancers,
PORTRAITS FULL OF LIFE. many of her paintings are done with models moving their
bodies in the most common of ways: tying a pair of shoes,
by McKenzie Graham placing a hair tie, reading a newspaper. The actions are
familiar, but through Wenger’s eyes, we see a performance.
Despite her love for spontaneity, the artist does enjoy
a scheduled photo shoot, but it often goes awry in the
most Wenger of ways. The subject in her portrait Gaia
(opposite, bottom), for example, is a friend of the artist.
She sat through a series of poses during a photo shoot but,

in the end, the chosen pose wasn’t one of
the planned references. The model was
just getting ready for the next pose when
Wenger saw an opportunity for a paint-
ing. “I was drawn to the casual grace of
her gesture,” says the artist. “The drastic
crop of her hands and arm were simply
out of necessity since that’s how I’d taken
the photo, but I was happy with the neg-
ative spaces that her arms created, and it
gave me a chance to let the background
pattern work as part of the composition.”
Wenger seems almost exasperated,
noting that she rarely has an idea that
works out the way she expected—and
yet, it’s a process that works to her
advantage. She once hired a former stu-
dent who also happened to be a dancer.
He went through a variety of poses as she
took reference photos, guiding him with
requests for subtle pose changes. At one
point, in between poses, he bent down to Morning Routine (watercolor on paper, 14x19)
tie his shoes—that was the moment that
most spoke to Wenger, and the one she
depicted in her painting. “I’m still work-
ing on my technique for capturing an
intentional pose,” she explains. “I rarely
have a particular pose in mind—usually
the model’s movement and mood help me
determine what happens there. Painting
from photos allows me to try and capture
these brief moments, which isn’t possible
when a person has to sit and hold a pose
or expression for any length of time.”
PUBLIC EXPRESSION
Now that smart phone cameras have
advanced, Wenger can take reference
photos wherever and with whomever
she feels inspired. This includes a world
of strangers moving about their lives in
interesting (and iPhone-ready) ways. Of
course, these movements are all of the
spontaneous variety. “Most of the time,
I’m on high alert for an interesting face,
pose or expression, so I keep my phone at
the ready,” she says. “It’s hard to explain
what motivates me to paint a particular
face. There’s some magical connection
that happens when you see certain peo- Gaia (watercolor on paper, 17x18)
ple. I love to catch people in a moment
when they’re unaware of the camera.”
When Wenger takes photos using her
iPhone, she does it with the “live” set-
ting turned on. This means that, instead
of a still photo, the phone captures 1½
seconds of video. The artist can then edit
and choose the exact moment within the
video she wants to use for her reference.
Occasionally a subject “in the wild” will notice
Wenger at work, and the artist will apologize and
offer an explanation. She finds most people are
obliging. “I’ve actually tried holding my camera at
waist level when I’m walking down the street,” she
says, “but that’s resulted in more shots of midsec-
tions than faces.”
IN THE BACKGROUND
Sometimes these interludes with a stranger
capture an intimate sense of time and place, as
was the case with the subject in Morning Routine
(page 15). “This was one of those candid photo
references that had an obvious story to tell,” says
Wenger. She took it inside a café, in a small town
in Spain. Initially the artist had been more inter-
ested in the subject’s dog, resting at his feet, but
gradually she came to feel that the man’s intense
gaze told the real story—the instinctive kind of
pivot that makes Wenger’s portraits feel soulful.
“I thought the tile behind him was the perfect
backdrop,” she says, “so I decided to be pretty lit-
eral with the background.”

While the background is true to the scene, the artist took liberties with the
tile colors, subtly incorporating them into the subject’s skin, hair and leather
jacket. The effect is to make it seem as if the subject has always been there—a
sculptural presence in the community. “I did talk to the gentleman after snap-
ping some references, and I wish I’d gotten his contact information so I could
show him the painting,” says Wenger.
The artist’s backgrounds are often like full paintings in miniature, blocked
sections, even when they’re the real backgrounds from the references. It’s not
a coincidence that Wenger was drawn to the repeating tiles in Morning Routine.
And in Evelyn at the Window (page 14) and At the Barre (page 18), we once again
see strong horizontal and vertical lines with blocked neutrals in between.
FINDING PATTERNS
Even in the paintings where Wenger creates her own background, the same
themes emerge. “Gaia was originally intended to be just a regular floral pattern
across the whole surface,” she says. But as the artist was testing the waters with
various patterns in the Procreate app, she accidentally created the blocked pat-
tern behind the figure. “I just found patterns that worked together and pieced
my ‘quilt’ out of them digitally,” she explains.
Wenger says that deciding on a background is often a challenge, but her
pre-planning stage in Procreate is helpful. “Sometimes it feels obvious to me
that the background needs to reflect the actual situation and surroundings in
order to tell the story I want to tell,” she says. “More often than not, though,
I think the figure needs to be pulled out from the surroundings and given even
more prominence in the composition through the use of background color
washes or patterns.”
Dress Up (opposite) is one such painting, in which the background clearly ele-
vates and supports the figure. The geometric design and limited palette put the
figure and organic shapes in stark relief. “I knew I wanted flowers as part of the
composition,” says Wenger, “and freesias symbolize innocence, but I thought
the fleshtones of the model and light color of the dog could be washed out by
the orange background I envisioned for the flowers.” The “black” color in the
middle provides the solution, although it’s actually a combination of alizarin
crimson and phthalo green.
SPOTS OF COLOR
ABOVE Wenger’s surprising use of color is omnipresent in all her paintings, as she likes
Amaryllis (watercolor on paper, 15x25) to apply what she calls “arbitrary color” onto the mid-tone areas of her figures’
OPPOSITE faces, much like two of her early creative influences, Ted Nuttall and Charles
Dress Up (watercolor on paper, 20x19) Reid. Nuttall helped her devise her signature portrait palette (burnt sienna,
alizarin crimson, vermilion, Winsor yellow deep, Hooker’s green and peacock
blue), although she has since added quinacridone magenta, quinacridone coral
and quinacridone violet.
“I absolutely love seeing colors in a face that aren’t typically thought of as
fleshtones,” says Wenger, although she laughs remembering an early occasion
when she tried to find a tube of “flesh color.” It wasn’t long after that moment
that she realized her assumptions about watercolor in general—that it would be
easier and cheaper than oil—were wrong. Thankfully it was about the same time
that she became hooked on “the versatility and unique effects that are possible
only with watercolor.”
SOLID FOUNDATION
The irony of Wenger’s comfort and familiarity with color is her origin story.
Before she became a full-time artist, she was a teacher, making art in her free
time and without any formal training. “I did a lot of drawing, mostly portraits,”
she says. “I wasn’t comfortable with using color.” It’s hard to imagine, but her
years without color, the years of drawing, would become the foundation for her
colorful portraits and set the tone for her detailed underdrawings, which she
creates for each and every painting.
RIGHT
Reverence
(watercolor on paper, 14x28)
BELOW
Before the Dance
BOTTOM
At the Barre
“I rarely have a
particular pose in
mind—usually the
model’s movement
and mood help me
determine what
happens there.”
—PAM WENGER

“I feel that my drawing has to be solid,” she says. “When watercolor painting experience rather late in life, because
I’m confident with my drawing, it gives me more freedom it has given me a renewed sense of direction and purpose
to be expressive with my brushstrokes. It has also been my in this new chapter.”
experience that I’m not going to fix a bad drawing with any Take a walk through Wenger’s creative process in the
part of my painting process, so spending more time on this painting demonstration on the next pages.
part of the activity is a worthy investment for me.”
Although there are myriad ways to put line to paper— McKenzie Graham (mckenziegrahamwrites.com) is a
tracing paper, gridding, projecting—Wenger cautions Cincinnati-based fine art writer and editor.
against taking too many shortcuts. “You really need to
think through your drawing and refine it,” she says, and
warns against drawings without character. “Traced lines Meet the Artist
can look like coloring books.” She instructs her students Pam Wenger (pamwenger.com)
who use these methods to go back in and use an eraser to specializes in watercolor portraiture.
lighten some areas and darken others. “I often pick out She’s a Signature Member of the
some of the lines that attracted me to my reference in the American Watercolor Society,
first place and emphasize those.” Transparent Watercolor Society,
The artist has come a long way since her black-and- Baltimore Watercolor Society and
Pennsylvania Watercolor Society.
white beginnings, but she’s grateful for her start and the She also serves on the Board of the
path she took to get here. “One of the things that excites Pennsylvania Watercolor Society
me most about this art journey of mine is that I know I’ll and has won awards in many shows.
never figure it out,” she says. “There’s always a new chal- Wenger is an experienced former educator and has been
lenge or new problem to solve. I don’t regret starting my hosting workshops in person and online since 2017.
demo
Painting Dark Artist’s Toolkit

DANIEL SMITH WATERCOLORS
• alizarin crimson
to Light • cobalt blue

• quinacridone coral
• quinacridone magenta
Follow along as Pam Wenger HOLBEIN WATERCOLORS

highlights the key steps involved • burnt sienna
• Hooker’s green
in bringing a portrait to life. • peacock blue
• vermilion
WINSOR & NEWTON WATERCOLORS

• Winsor yellow deep
SURFACE
• watercolor paper, 12x9
Step 1 Step 2
I started by making an accurate, detailed drawing. Then I painted the I added arbitrary colors to the mid-tone areas. I painted over some areas
darkest value shapes with a mixture of burnt sienna and alizarin crimson. that already had burnt sienna, but also looked for places where the
(In this case, I squinted my eyes to better see these shapes, but converting brighter colors (Hooker’s green, peacock blue and quinacridone magenta)
the reference photo to black and white can also be helpful.) Next, I used could stand alone. I painted the eyes and added some cobalt blue to the
burnt sienna for the mid-tone shapes. whites to tone them down.

Final Step
To finish Josie (watercolor on paper, 12x9), I painted the fleshtones mostly with vermilion mixed with Winsor yellow deep. The
fleshtones are the lightest paint values, but I also made sure to leave some of the white of the paper. I painted strokes of the
fleshtones over some of the arbitrary colors if I felt they needed to be toned down a bit. Finally, I added quinacridone coral on
the subject’s cheeks, forehead, chin and nose for an added glow. WA
Find full-length demonstrations of Wenger’s quick-study portraits on her YouTube channel at youtube.com/user/pwenger32/videos.
USING MASKING FLUID, OVERLAYS AND WASHES,
JOANNA BARNUM DELVES INTO THE REALMS
OF MULTIFACETED FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
AND COLORFUL VISUAL DRAMA.
by John A. Parks
J oanna Barnum paints in a bold, direct style that delights in the drama of
high-contrast light and embraces a profusion of playful, provocative and
sometimes serious imagery. Strong drawing, clear forms and vivid color
combine with free paint handling to create a lively, atmospheric world.
EXPRESSIVE
PORTRAITURE
Although Barnum was successful
with her commissioned portrait
Trained as an illustrator, Barnum was initially drawn to the domains of business, she believed that she
fantasy and horror, but broadened her interests to include portraiture and the could bring more to her work than
natural world. Recently she has produced a set of powerful images incorporating faithfully interpreting clients’
multiple views of faces shown with expressions that convey extreme emotions. photos. “Around the same time,
It’s a breakthrough made possible by the active use of masking fluid to facilitate I was teaching watercolor to adults
multilayered imagery and dramatic overlays of brushstrokes and washes. “I’ve at a senior center,” she recalls. “One
always enjoyed painting the portrait and figure,” says the artist. “When I was of my students asked about mask-
first out of art school, one of the methods I pursued for making a living was ing fluid. Previously, I hadn’t used
painting commissioned portraits, because I really enjoy the face as a subject it much. My few attempts with it
and am good at capturing likenesses.” as a college student resulted in
A decade ago, Barnum joined the world of watercolor communities via the a bottle that quickly solidified
Baltimore Watercolor Society, her region’s organization. “Participating in its into a block of
exhibitions gave me the motivation to start creating portrait paintings as per- rubber cement.” Rift (watercolor
sonal pieces that weren’t for clients,” she notes. For the sake of on paper, 22x15)

her student, she purchased a fresh bottle
and worked on some demo swatches that
involved random strokes of masking fluid.
“I wasn’t trying to do anything specific with
it,” she says. “I just put down a big, rough
brushstroke with a cheap bristle brush to
demonstrate how it worked.”
Barnum was immediately captivated by the
results. “Something about the negative shape
of that brushy masking fluid stroke was so
exciting to me,” she says. “I loved how it was
the negative shape of a positive brushstroke.
It seemed like an interesting way to add exper-
imental elements to a portrait painting—or
maybe even an opportunity to insert additional
imagery—and I started exploring that through
portraiture.”
Barnum’s experiments quickly led her toward
a more complex rendering of the human pres-
ence than simply presenting appearance and
likeness. “The layered and spliced portraits
seemed like an opportunity to explore contrast-
ing expressions and emotions,” she says. One
of the first pieces she completed was Rift (page
23), a self-portrait that overlays two versions
of her face—one calm, the other fraught and
angry. The viewer understands that feelings and
emotions aren’t always reflected on the face;
a serene expression may conceal an anguished
state of mind. “I’m someone who doesn’t handle
conflict well or show a lot of outward negative
emotion,” says the artist, “so I’ve found explor-
ing stronger, louder emotions in my portrait
paintings to be extremely cathartic.”
EXPLORING THE PROCESS

Barnum begins her paintings with a photo
shoot, using either herself or her friends as
the model. Once back in the painting studio,
the artist uses Photoshop to explore ways of
Beautiful Bones composing and layering the images she has
(watercolor on paper, photographed. “I move things around, flipping
22x15) back and forth on different layers, to try to get a
sense of how the pieces will relate and combine,”
she says. “I also try to leave room in the process
for accidents and discovery, so it’s not necessar-
ily planned 100 percent.”
Once she’s satisfied with the composition,
The Biggest Challenge Barnum moves to her sheet of watercolor paper,
transferring the drawing via a rough tracing
using graphite paper and then refining it. “For
“I’m an impatient painter, and I love to just jump in and figure the painting, I’ll begin with one ‘layer’ of the
things out,” Barnum says. “I love immediacy, but I’ve found that
my results are usually better if I slow down enough to do some image first,” she says. “If it’s a painting that
quick value studies and color swatches before finalizing my color combines two different faces, I choose one face
palette. When I skip these steps, I often regret it. The challenge to start with as a pencil drawing.”
is to slow down and do a little more preliminary work—even To preserve the area for the second face,
though I don’t find that part to be as much fun.” Barnum blocks out the shape in masking fluid.
“I use big, rough brushes to lay down the mask-
ing,” she says. “I want brushy texture and energy

The Three Faces of a Poet
The Poet Is a Funnel is Barnum’s multilayered portrait of Grace Cavalieri, Poet Laureate
of Maryland, in which the artist depicts the poet’s face in three different expressions.
Photos of the painting in progress show that the artist masked out broad sections and
then worked on the faces one by one. The painterly edges she creates with the masking fluid
allow the images to melt into one another.
“The title of the painting is something I heard Cavalieri say as a way of describing the role
of the poet as a funnel for experiences and feelings,” Barnum says. “I related to that as
a painter. The leaves on the top right are nature imagery, a visual for being in the world.”
The images above depict the masking and

painting process Barnum employs to enable
the images to merge into one another.
The Poet Is a Funnel (right; watercolor on

paper, 30x22) was an Art Renewal Center
Finalist in Imaginative Realism in 2021 and
appeared in the 2021 National Watercolor
Society and 2022 American Watercolor
Society exhibitions. It received the Carl
Folke Sahlin medal at the latter show.
to the shapes. Sometimes I’ll add
spatters and drips.”
If the area she’s masking is large,
she’ll often use a section of stick-on
plastic frisket and then paint a rough,
painterly edge around it in masking
fluid to ensure that the fluid seals the
edge. “After the masking fluid is dry,
I completely paint the first image, and
then I remove the masking fluid and
any frisket,” Barnum says. “I add my
drawing for the second image into the
blank spaces, then paint that second
image and try to resolve the piece
as a whole.”
FOCUSING
ON THE FACE(S)
Barnum’s approach to rendering the
head begins with a cool color wash
placed throughout the shadow area.
This is usually a blue, although it
varies based on the particular limited
palette for each painting. In The Poet
Is a Funnel (page 25), for example,
Barnum used Payne’s gray. Over the
cool shadow, the artist builds washes
of warmer color, recreating the depth
and subtle color activity experienced
when looking into shadows.
“As a student, I learned about the
necessity for cool tones, not just
warm tones, within the flesh,” she
says. “When I switched from opaque
media to watercolor during art school,
I’d sometimes ‘make mud’ trying to
add a lot of different colors to skin
tones all at once. Isolating the cool
shadows into their own layer was
something I settled into through
trial and error.”
Barnum usually paints these cool
tones first, as she finds it’s a good
way to start to understand the overall
value structure of the piece imme-
diately. It also helps set them back Breach (watercolor
under the surface of the skin. She of light. “I’m also always looking for slight color variations on paper, 22x15)
notes that it’s important not to within skin on the same subject or between different
accidentally turn that layer into a full- subjects,” Barnum says. “I want to see where the skin has
value underpainting in blue, because more intense red or pink, where it’s more yellow, and the
it would overwhelm and muddy the variety of cool colors to be found—blue, green and purple,”
finished painting. as seen in Within/Without (opposite).
In areas of the face that are fully
illuminated, the artist uses more PORTRAITS AND BEYOND
saturated warm In other works, Barnum uses her command of portrait-
colors—yellows, ure to convey more general ideas about facial expression
oranges and and emotional states. In Anguish (page 28), for instance,
Within/Without
(watercolor on pinks—to create a number of the faces, each with a woeful expression,
paper, 22x15) a dramatic sense dissolves into a violet netherworld of soft edges and
Anguish (watercolor on
paper, 28x22)
Meet the Artist
Joanna Barnum (joannabarnum. overlayed color. Above them a single image of a serene face gazes upward
com) was born in Greenwich, Ct., toward a brilliant yellow sky. “I didn’t have a definitive plan about what
and raised in White Plains, N.Y. was going to be happening,” says the artist. “I just knew that I wanted
She graduated from the Maryland a writhing mass.”
Institute College of Art with a degree
in illustration and has since pursued To create the images, Barnum photographed a group of dancers she knows
a career as an illustrator, fine artist who happily threw themselves into the theater of expressing anguish. Once
and teacher. Her work has garnered she began to collage the images, Barnum discovered that one face gazed
many awards, including the Carl Folk upward, looking hopeful. “She seemed to be about to escape or transcend,”
Sahlin Medal in the American Water- the artist says.
color Society International Exhibition. Beyond her portraits, Barnum’s work encompasses a broad range of subject
In 2016 she was a member of a small
group of artists invited to create work matter. A series of nature images, in which she pairs animals and flowers, cre-
inspired by the James Webb Space ates a delightful suite of pictures that the artist sells as prints on her website.
Telescope for an exhibition at NASA A long-standing fascination with Halloween—and horror, in general—also
Goddard Space Flight Center. She’s has inspired many images in her portfolio. Another series of works involved
a Signature Member of the American overlaying images of people with skeletons, as in Beautiful Bones (page 24),
Watercolor Society and the National in which the image of a vibrant Black woman is overlaid with a view of her
Watercolor Society, and served on
the board of the Baltimore Watercolor skeleton rendered in an otherworldly green. “Usually skulls and skeletons
Society for nearly a decade. She have a sort of memento mori connotation, a reminder of death,” the artist says.
makes her home with her husband, “But here I wanted something more hopeful. This is the skeleton as a strong
Mike, in Harford County, Md. backbone, an image of inner strength.”

COMBINING TWO WORLDS
One of the intriguing features of Barnum’s work is the way it straddles the
worlds of illustration and fine art as she does both commissioned and gallery
work. “I think of myself as the same artist regardless of what I’m doing,” she
says. “I try not to separate the identities or bodies of work too much. Whether
I’m working for a client or for myself, I try to express a specific feeling or idea
to the viewer, but with a client, there’s a lot more mutual planning to arrive
at the finished piece.”
Barnum’s fascination with making powerful imagery began early in life.
“I grew up loving fantasy and mythology, and this is what pushed me toward
majoring in illustration in art school,” she says. “All of the contemporary fantasy
work I saw was in the context of illustration rather than fine art. And while
I had a lot of great art teachers in grade school, I do think there was sometimes
a bias against work that was seen as too illustrative; it wasn’t considered serious
fine art. I wanted to study in a program where that kind of subject matter would
be accepted.”
She studied illustration at the Maryland Institute College of Art , where she
eventually embraced watercolor as her primary medium. “Ironically, when I first
got out of art school, I struggled in the illustration field because I found that the
medium and style I was working in was not ‘on trend’ in the genres I wanted to
work in,” she recalls.
“After a lot of trial and error, I found that ignoring what I thought was the
‘right’ style or subject to pursue as either a fine artist or illustrator—and really
honing my own voice and interests as an artist—has led to the greatest success
and happiness. I started making and marketing the work that meant the most
to me, and eventually found both collectors and clients interested in what I do.”
CONNECTING TO A WIDE AUDIENCE

As well as a highly developed skill set in drawing and rendering, Barnum’s
Masque of the Red Death (watercolor on
training has given her another advantage. “I believe that the foundation pro- paper, 40x22)
vided by an illustration program has made me a little more comfortable with
the business aspects of making a living as an artist when it comes to finding
ways to market my own work,” she says. Barnum maintains an active website
that features a shop for selling original art, prints and other collectibles, includ-
ing game mats, pins and scarves. She also has a lively social media presence.
One of her more spectacular and resonant images, Masque of the Red Death “The layered and spliced
(right), was made as a live-stream demo on Instagram Live in 2020 at the
beginning of the global pandemic. “I hadn’t been getting much work done, and portraits seemed like an
I wanted to do something really big and expressive,” the artist says. “I painted opportunity to explore
it with big brushes using a lot of spattering and dripping.” Barnum notes that
she wasn’t initially thinking of working on a pandemic-related theme, but contrasting expressions
realized the image had become, in sorts, a telling of the story of people in
a pandemic, almost medieval in its sense of the closeness of death and general
and emotions.”
fearfulness. “It ended up being a really popular image,” she says. —JOANNA BARNUM
Certainly, Barnum’s command of visual drama and her choices of universally
recognizable imagery allow her to connect with a wide audience. “A collector once
told me that one of my angry, scary paintings helped her relate to her own anger
in a healthier way,” she says. “I want other people to feel less alone, to think,
‘Oh, me, too, yes, I’ve felt that,’ when they see one of my paintings.” WA
John A. Parks is a painter, a writer and a member of the faculty at the School
of Visual Arts, in New York City.
THE STORY IN SNOW Determined (watercolor on paper,
IN CHRISTINE MISENCIK-BUNN’S PAINTINGS, 14x22) sums up the mindset of
Misencik-Bunn’s daughter, Britney,
THE ENVIRONMENT SURROUNDING THE SUBJECTS as she battles the aftereffects of
breast cancer.
SPEAKS ABOUT THEIR CURRENT SITUATION, BUT
TELLS EVEN MORE ABOUT WHO THEY REALLY ARE.
by Stefanie Laufersweiler
T heirs was the only car in sight on the secluded country road they’d been driv-
ing when Chris Misencik-Bunn and her adult daughter decided to pull over and
get out. The day was blustery and bitterly cold, and snow blanketed everything.
“Britney was always an active skier and swimmer,” Misencik-Bunn says of her youngest
child. “She wants to be doing what she used to do.”
Wrapped in a heavy cape, Britney began walking, and the artist started snapping
Full Circle (watercolor, 15x21¾) is one
photos. “She wanted to walk outside and breathe in the cold air,” Misencik-Bunn says.
of four paintings Misencik-Bunn created
“Walking against the wind and up a hill seemed an impossible task at first, but with that portray different aspects of her
each step, she gained her stride.” Determined (above), the watercolor painting that daughter’s life-altering cancer journey.
encapsulates that day, is about Britney’s determination “to thrive, to live a normal life “The setting sun casts a beautiful
and to not let her breast cancer battle define her,” she says. orange-yellow glow across the snow
and onto Britney’s face, representing
At 46, Britney is now 18 years past her initial cancer diagnosis, but in the last three a new purpose, a new life,” says the
years, she has dealt with punishing aftereffects of chemotherapy, including heart and artist. “Behind her, the tire tracks create
kidney failure and occasional seizures. “She might get up, and everything will be fine, a circle connecting the stages of her
and then all of a sudden, she’ll have a seizure,” Misencik-Bunn says. “She has broken illness and recovery. Her faith and hope
brought eventual healing.”
a lot of bones.” The two now live together in the village of Fredericktown, Ohio.

PAINTING THE foot down, and where the light falls chemo, the heart failure, everything.”
COMPLEXITY OF SNOW on that.” The first thing she notices Those seemingly endless lines had
Living in the Midwest, Misencik-Bunn are the colors and the reflections of accumulated in the snowy field over
is used to brutal winters, and the the objects around it. “If I have a blue time, offering a different look and
snow that falls each season serves sock or boot on, for example, it will feel than fresh snow. “When snow
as more than mere scenery in her make bluish reflections.” first falls, it’s different, it’s fluffier,”
artwork—it’s an element that helps The snowy tire tracks in Full Circle Misencik-Bunn says. “That was snow
her say something meaningful about (below)—the last of four paintings that had already been on the ground
her subject. “People tell me that they about Britney’s journey from cancer for a while. What was white on top
like my work because they want to patient to cancer survivor—proved was darker in the underlayers.”
know the story behind it,” the artist to be “insanely” challenging for the The time of day affected the tracks’
says. “To them, it’s always telling a artist. Painting them was a labor of appearance, too. “It was an evening
story, which it is.” love—an effort that felt all the more painting, and I was always returning
To tackle a subject as multifaceted meaningful given what the image sig- to the scene to observe them anew,”
as snow requires study. Getting close nified for her daughter, who is shown she says.
enough to snow to fully experience standing in a snowy cornfield, staring
it, Misencik-Bunn says, offers infor- into a brilliant sunset. “Full Circle was LETTING COLOR
mation and insight that reference the end of everything,” Misencik- TAKE CONTROL
photos alone cannot. “I go outdoors Bunn says. “The lines that the farmer Whether she’s painting snow, sand
and observe it, especially tracks and plowed in the snow represented all or skin, Misencik-Bunn approaches
how snow looks when you put your that Britney had gone through: the each subject as a sculptor would, in
“On this particular day, the snow was
especially deep, and the farmer was bringing a “Cézanne-ish” way. “Everything is in terms of planes,” she
out bales of hay to feed the cows,” says says. Every stroke I make is like a puzzle piece. So, when
Misencik-Bunn of this Ohio farm that she visits I’m painting every plane of the face or hand, it must come
often. Mast Farm—Winter (watercolor, 15x20)
records “that brutally cold day in January.” together like a puzzle.” She paints with just water first,
using a damp ½-inch flat brush to begin laying down form.
Once the paper has been moistened in this somewhat con-
trolled manner, she adds a very light mix of cadmium red
light and raw sienna. “I again ‘sculpt’ everything, always
thinking of the armature or structure underneath,” she
says. “I may add a little alizarin crimson or quinacridone
rose in another layer, but I’m talking very light.”
Misencik-Bunn then builds dimensions with darker
color. “Where areas of the face recede, you have to add
a cool color,” she says, “so I’lI add a bit of ultramarine blue
to my skin color mixture, sometimes cobalt, so that I can
start pushing those areas back.” Her color choices are intu-
itive (“impulsive,” she jokes), but usually involve a lot of
complements. “I’m told that I don’t create the same flesh
tones as other artists, but that’s because I just figured it
out myself,” she says.
Constantly minding the structure below the surface,
Misencik-Bunn follows form as she builds her subject but
eschews meticulous layering of color. “I’m not a good

controller,” she says. “Allowing the watercolor to
move around on the paper is very exciting to me. My
challenge is knowing when to step in and add some
definition.”
She usually lays in darks with a thick mix of ultra-
marine blue followed by a mixture of perylene maroon, “ I WANT TO SEE DEPTH,
burnt sienna and Hooker’s green. “I dampen the paper
where I want the darks to go, then I drop in the blue,” WHAT’S INSIDE A PERSON.
she says. “With another brush, I carefully tap in the
second mix and allow the colors to mingle. If I need to I HAVE TO ‘FEEL’ THAT
create an edge, I can drop in more color. To soften an
edge, I spray on water or lightly blot out an area with PERSON AND THEIR
toilet tissue.”
She paints her subject’s hair in sections, saving sun- SURROUNDINGS DOWN
lit strands with masking fluid that she applies with a
nib pen. “I don’t wet the entire area at once and apply
TO MY SOUL. OTHERWISE,
overall color,” the artist says. “I might wet part of it and IT’S JUST A LIKENESS.”
use two or three colors.” She uses a glazing technique to
adjust any area of a painting that needs to be warmer or —CHRIS MISENCIK-BUNN
cooler. “I apply one color at a time, letting it dry before
adding another, then repeat the process,” she says.
LEANING INTO MISTAKES

Misencik-Bunn has learned to embrace mistakes,
which she says she makes often. The artist admits to
being a bit “sloppy” when she paints, partially due to
a tear in her rotator cuff that ultimately needs surgery
but that she eases with exercises, for now.
Misencik-Bunn says Last Mile … Almost
She’s quick to rattle off several of the mistakes that Home (watercolor on paper, 15x29)
she has made and learned from, such as the glow of the encapsulates several themes. “It shows
setting sun in Full Circle. “I had some other color on my my daughter, bravely navigating her path-
brush, and it dripped onto that sunset,” she says. “I was way toward healing,” the artist explains.
trying to blot it ever so carefully, spraying a square of “It demonstrates a coping mechanism I use—
painting—to walk through life’s challenges.
toilet paper and then laying it on. I revived the sunset And, it offers hope to the viewer who may be
by scrubbing it with a toothbrush.” experiencing similar pain and uncertainty.”
Precision brushwork is also not her style. “Little brushes PERSONAL POINTS OF VIEW
feel confining,” she notes. Instead, the artist opts to use When Misencik-Bunn chooses a point of view for
large, aged brushes—which she sometimes tapes to the a figural painting, it has as much to do with the
end of a stick to provide greater distance from the paper individual’s personality as it does the compositional
and looseness in the application—so she can cover large needs. “I see things naturally and don’t necessarily think
areas quickly. ‘perspective,’ ” she says. “I’m not very good at perspec-
Working on 140-lb. cold-pressed paper and scrubbing tive, so I ‘cheat’ a lot. In college, I used to draw a scene
out mistakes has taught Misencik-Bunn just how much and then I’d place a cut-out ‘box’ around it to find my
her paper can handle. “In Distancing [below], for example, composition.”
the first seagull I painted in the sky was wrong, and you What sets Misencik-Bunn’s portrayals of people apart
can still see a faint impression of it if you look closely,” from those of other artists is her interest in the individu-
she says. “I researched seagulls and knew its wings had als she’s painting—a crucial element in her work. “That’s
to be bigger, so it was all about scrubbing it out and doing the thing that drives me to want to paint them,” the artist
a better job with it.” She drew another seagull on tracing says. “I want to see depth, what’s inside a person. I have to
paper and experimented with its placement on the ground. ‘feel’ that person and their surroundings down to my soul.
“I wanted this one to look toward Britney, to get the viewer Otherwise, it’s just a likeness.”
to go right back to her. I found the perfect place for him,
because where his eye was, there was a spot of unpainted Stefanie Laufersweiler is a Cincinnati-based freelance writer
white paper.” and editor who has been writing about art and artists for years.
“This is Britney on a hot, sunny day at the Jersey Shore, isolated from the
crowd of beachgoers and the chaos of the boardwalk,” says Misencik-
Bunn of Distancing (watercolor on paper, 22x29). “Squawking seagulls
were busy stealing food from unsuspecting snackers. I wanted to cap-
ture a bird’s-eye view of the packed shore, with all its colorful umbrellas,
tents and chairs. Britney, placed in the foreground away from the crowd,
offers a sense of contemplation as she stares off into the ocean.”

Meet the Artist
After earning a bachelor’s of fine arts degree
from Miami University, in Ohio, Chris Misencik-Bunn
(chrismisencikbunn.com) began her career as
a designer for American Greeting Cards. Soon after,
she earned her master’s degree in education and
realized her greatest joy was teaching in public schools,
which she did for 30 years. A self-taught watercolor artist,
she has been painting and entering competitions since
2011. She’s a Signature Member of the National Watercolor
Society, American Watercolor Society, Pennsylvania
Watercolor Society (Sylvan Grouse) and Ohio Watercolor
Society, and holds Master Status in the Transparent
Watercolor Society of America and Watercolor West.
Remember Me (watercolor on paper, 28½x21) is the final painting Misencik- Gladys (watercolor on paper, 19x15) came about when Misencik-Bunn
Bunn completed of her late husband, Jim. “He was a game warden, and was delivering Christmas trees to nearby nursing homes. “I saw Gladys,
we had these marvelous trees around our home,” she says, so the location who was so excited to receive a candy cane,” says the artist. “I started
reflects Jim’s outdoors profession. “I thought he was so dynamic, which thinking about that and took a lot of pictures of her. I came home and
is why I used this perspective.” In May 2012, one week after beginning the talked to the painting all the time as I worked on it, saying ‘I’m going to
painting, the artist broke her pelvis and was away from their home for almost make you beautiful.’ When I was working, it was like I understood that
five weeks while recovering. A few weeks after she returned, Jim passed away Gladys was lonely; no one came to see her, and she just wanted any-
from cancer. That September, she began work on the painting again. “It was thing, something. That’s how I approach each subject.”
all I had to feel his presence,” she says. “It was like being with him.”
demo
Course-Correcting a Close-Up
Not every painting goes as planned, but Chris Misencik-Bunn
confidently proves there’s always the opportunity to fix it along the way.
Reference Photo Step 1

S Step 2
My granddaughter, Emmerson, and I had I draw the image onto the paper. Using a nib I add gamboge in the hair as an undercoat.
a conversation about feelings and struggles pen, I apply masking fluid to stray strands of Using complementary colors, with ultramarine
one day last winter. Immediately after, I asked her hair that will remain white. I add color to the blue being dominant, I paint her hair.
to pose outdoors. I took photos until I got sky and trees. I dampen the paper and apply a I mix an orange for the blanket and try com-
the perfect one. mix of cadmium red light and raw sienna. After binations of Winsor green and alizarin crimson.
applying two layers of paint, I work on the eyes; For highlights, I tape around the area to be
they’ll dictate the painting’s color scheme. lifted, then remove color using a magic eraser.
Step 3 Step 4 Step 5

I scrub out the Winsor green using a dampened I crop an inch off the top of the image so the To push the hand into the blanket, I add fuzzy
toothbrush and a stiff oil brush. I spray the hand isn’t dead center, then add more detail to texture using a dry ¼-inch flat brush. I add more
paper and drop in ultramarine blue, followed by the fingers. I surround Emmerson with snow to hair on the right side to guide the viewer’s eye
a mix of perylene maroon and burnt sienna. create a feeling of protection and isolation. around the hand and up to the face.

Finall Step
F S
I add details, including a wash of gamboge to highlight some areas.
What could have ended in disaster because of my initial frustrations
with the centrally placed hand and the blanket color eventually came
to a satisfying end in Hold On (watercolor on paper, 28x21). WA
Me, Myself and I By Anne Hevener
ALI CAVANAUGH
REFLECTING INWARD
Ali Cavanaugh (alicavanaugh.com) says
that most of the painting she did in her
teens and 20s was self-portraiture. “I’ve
always painted the figure,” she says, “and
at that time in my life, it was easiest to
paint myself.” Ease and accessibility is a
common motivator for many self-portraits,
but there’s usually more to it than that, as
Cavanaugh explains. “It was a great way
to explore emotions and concepts as I was
figuring out my artistic voice.”
When the artist became a mother, her
daughter quickly became the center point of
her work. This emotional content, however,
still involved self-discovery. “Motherhood,
for me, was healing,” Cavanaugh says. “I was
abandoned by my father at a young age and
was able to work through this trauma in
a healthy way by reliving childhood through
a sincere connection with my daughter.” By
seeing the world anew through the eyes of
her child, Cavanaugh was inspired to slow
down and feel each moment more deeply.
Most of her creative work involves this
kind of looking inward. “I work out all of
the knots in my life through my paintings,”
she says. “My work for over 30 years has
consistently been introspective in nature;
I’m either working out trauma in search of
healing, or simply sharing my observations
of perceived beauty.”
When Cavanaugh set out to paint The
Tired Multi-tasker (right), it had been at
least 20 years since she’d painted a self-
portrait. “When I took an honest look
in the mirror, I was struck by how tired Cavanaugh painted The Tired Multi-tasker (watercolor, 10x8) on panel, which she prefers to
I looked and began to reflect on that,” she paper. “I like the rigid nature of a panel surface,” she says, “which allows for a push and pull
of the paint.”
says. “I wanted to capture a sincere portrait
of what I really looked like—puffy eyes and
messy braids included.”
GOOD ADVICE
Your first question should always be: What’s the inspiration or motivation behind this
painting? Ask yourself what it is you’re trying to portray. Is it about an emotion? Are
you telling a story? From there, figure out what can be used to support your concept.
THE SELF-PORTRAIT IS A VENERABLE PRACTICE IN THE HISTORY OF
ART. AND YET, IT’S A GENRE THAT MANY ARTISTS—EVEN PORTRAIT
ARTISTS—OFTEN OVERLOOK. YOU MAY WANT TO DUST OFF YOUR
LOOKING GLASS, BECAUSE THESE SIX ARTISTS MAKE A STRONG
CASE FOR THE CREATIVE POTENTIAL OF THE SUBJECT.
ALICIA FARRIS
THE LOOK ON MY FACE
Although Alicia Farris (afarris.com) is
well-known for figurative work, she has
painted few self-portraits. Still, she is fas-
cinated by the genre and regularly points
students to the examples of Van Gogh,
which illustrate how color, composition,
texture and contrast can impact the mood
of a subject. “Each of his self-portraits
could be considered a mirror to how he
was feeling at that time,” she says.
Whatever the subject, Farris endeav-
ors to bring emotional power to her
depiction. “My personality is evident in
everything I paint,” she says. When the
subject is herself, however, she does find
the experience a bit more intimidating.
“When I created Skepticism [left],
I decided to focus on a particular mood
and develop the story from there,” she
says. “I wanted to study and be honest
about the shapes in my face that resulted
from aging facial muscles.” As someone
well practiced in the art of observation,
Farris found it only natural to depict her
face exactly as she saw it—rather than
how she hoped others might see it.
The artist created the painting in 2021,
mid-pandemic, when the public health
situation continued to shift daily, and fear
and skepticism were everyday encounters.
“Painting one of my emotional reactions
to what was happening seemed therapeu-
tic in a way,” Farris says.
The required soul-searching for a
self-portrait, she believes, can be artisti-
Farris painted Skepticism (watercolor on paper 14x10) as a way to study the muscular cally useful. “There’s so much to gain by
structure of the face, particularly as affected by various emotions. “My own face seemed giving ourselves a creative look inside,”
the logical choice for the experiment,” she says.
she says. “An artist’s gift is being able to
see things in a unique way. Giving our
audience a view of our own reflection,
though sometimes intimidating, can be
intensely gratifying.”
QUICK TIP
After several failed attempts to take a selfie, I found that taking a photo of my
reflection in the mirror offered a better perspective.
KATHLEEN S. GILES
THE SUBJECT OF SELF
Kathleen S. Giles (kgilesstudio.com) intends for her
work to capture a moment in time. “I strive to draw
the viewer into a visual narrative, one that creates
an emotional response,” she says. From time to
time, the best model for the story she wants to tell
is herself. Giles’ first self-portrait, By the Fountain
(bottom left), was inspired by a scene that she and
her husband happened upon while vacationing in
Canada. “When I saw the sunlit scene, with the
beautiful water and greenery, I immediately wanted
to capture it for a future painting,” she says. “Since
I’ve always loved painting figures, I decided to jump
into the scene myself.”
The painting was meant to be a challenge. “It
was more about honing my craft than having any
particular meaning,” Giles says. In that sense,
the figure could have been anyone. These days,
however, Giles’ work is more directly connected
to her life. “Rather than stumbling upon a scene,
Giles says a big challenge for Vanity (watercolor on paper, 19x30) was getting the I rely more on ideas,” she says. It might be a word
photo reference, which ended up taking three days. “I finally realized that I could or phrase that resonates or a reflection on her
see the camera face of my cell phone in the mirror, which helped immensely for the
placement of my hands,” she says. “Once I saw the drama created by having my current stage in life. Whatever the inspiration,
hand touch the hand of my reflection, I was very excited.” she may spend significant time—a period of
months or even years—visualizing the painting
in her mind’s eye before ever putting brush to
paper. Both Vanity (top left) and Life Is Planning
Your Next Move (opposite) were outcomes of these
more personal contemplations.
In Vanity, Giles is addressing our culture’s (and
her own) fixation on youth and the money that
goes into all the efforts to look young. “I finally
warmed to this idea of a woman looking in the
mirror, searching for her younger self,” she says.
The artist says she initially had some hesitation
about using herself as a subject—worried that
some people would consider it vain. “It took cour-
age to paint myself in this way. Someone once
told me, though, that people will talk about me no
matter what I do, so I might as well do what feels
right for me.”
For Giles, this means occasionally sharing this
more personal side of herself, and her efforts have
not gone unrewarded. Vanity was given the First
Place Purchase Award in the National Watercolor
Society’s juried exhibition, in 2019. “I’m glad I
didn’t let fear of what others might say limit me
creatively,” she says.
By the Fountain (transparent watercolor on paper, 22x30)

Life Is Planning
QUICK TIP Your Next Move
(watercolor on
When trying to get a likeness, I find it’s helpful to paint with the paper paper, 21x22)
placed vertically, so I’m looking at it straight on. Laying the paper flat
on a table, I’ve discovered, can create distortion in the features.
MARIO A. ROBINSON
REAL-LIFE STORIES
The art of Mario A. Robinson (marioarobinson.com) is grounded in the Realist
tradition and—like famous American Realist Thomas Eakins (one of Robinson’s
favorites) and other practitioners in the movement—sometimes he turns that
unfiltered lens on himself. “The genre of self-portraiture has become increas-
ingly interesting to me,” he says. Self-Portrait With Yellow Hat (opposite),
painted in 2010, was an early attempt at capturing his own likeness. “My
mother, who had recently had an aneurysm, needed my assistance over a period
of about five months,” he says. “As I was pivoting back into a normal routine,
I caught my reflection in a mirror and noticed I’d grown a beard for the first
time in my life. Instinctively, I took a photo and began the process of capturing
BELOW RIGHT
When set indoors, as in
the noticeable traces of stress in my expression.”
Self-Portrait (watercolor In this way, Robinson thinks of the self-portrait as something of a cathartic
on paper, 14x14), Robinson tool—allowing artists to mark impactful periods in their lives. “I can view my life
generally utilizes a single through the lens of my self-portraits and be transported back to the place and
mirror “to check in with my time in which the work was created,” he says. It’s not a case where the remem-
likeness,” he says.
brance is romanticized. “I believe strongly in offering an unvarnished view of my
BELOW life,” he says.
If the setting is outdoors, It’s an approach that the artist takes to his figurative work as well, which often
as in Sandy’s Wake features family members and friends. “As I work with my subjects, I can often feel
(watercolor on paper,
14x20), Robinson relies on
the weight of the human condition,” he says. “We’ve experienced a gamut of emo-
photographic references tions, which range from lighthearted to downright depressing.” Robinson realizes
for his portrait, but works that while he can empathize in these moments, he can’t internalize another
on-site to paint the person’s feelings as deeply as his own. It’s why he believes self-portraiture is
environment. unmatched for expressing sheer emotional honesty.

Self-Portrait With Yellow Hat
GOOD ADVICE
My advice to artists embarking on a self-portrait would
be to enter the experience with a level of vulnerability
that may challenge your comfort zone. It’s basically
sharing a page out of your diary.
MICHAEL HOLTER
WORKING WITH A FAMILIAR FACE
Michael Holter (michaelholter.com) has long been fascinated by portraiture and,
during his years as an art student, he found the self-portrait a practical choice.
“In the absence of a live model, I turned to my own likeness—the ever-present
model,” he says. It was a period of experimentation for the artist, during which
he explored various techniques. As a result, Holter understands the learning
power in the practice, noting that self-portraiture provides artists an opportunity
to delve into the intricacies of facial anatomy. “There’s a certain familiarity that
comes with painting one’s own face,” he says, “an opportunity to study, correct
and practice the subtleties of human head structure. Even the simple morning
ritual of tidying up my beard’s edges while shaving makes me think through the
shape and structure of the face.”
In terms of process, for portraits, Holter generally relies on photos for refer-
ence. When works combine self-portraiture with elements of still life, his first
step is to determine a setup that will satisfy in terms of design, while also advanc-
ing his narrative idea. For Keeping Myself in Check (below), for instance, he first
arranged a table with the chessboard and other props. “I carefully positioned
them to achieve a composition I liked,” he says. “Then, taking on the role of pho-
tographer, I captured multiple shots using the timer on my camera. This involved
several attempts and a lot of rushing back and forth until I got the desired shot.”
Once the images were loaded onto his computer, he meticulously sorted
through them to find one that captured his interest and then cropped the image
to suit his needs. Next, he used a projector to transfer the image onto his paper
as a preliminary drawing. “This initial drawing merely serves as the framework for
the portrait,” Holter
says, “encompassing
the primary facial
features and offering
some indications of
the clothing.”
In the paint-
ing phase, Holter
brought in vibrant
color, often choosing
to deviate from the
actual skin tone.
“Skin tones can
appear dull and life-
less when directly
replicated,” he says.
“Instead, I prefer
to utilize a range of
color spanning from
yellow to violet—
only occasionally
incorporating cool
colors.”

GOOD ADVICE
Using a careful application
of brushstrokes to build
facial character is not unlike
the process of sculpting.
Each stroke contributes
to the form, depth and
coloration of the surface,
and adds layers of
dimension—unique to
watercolor.
ABOVE
It’s Greek to Me (watercolor on paper, 16x13)
is a recent work in a style of portraiture that
Holter currently pursues. “The composition
adopts a close-cropped, intimate approach,
focusing the viewer’s attention primarily on
the facial features, with less regard for other
elements,” he says.
RIGHT
In this recent self-portrait, Talk to the Hand
(watercolor on paper, 14x12), the artist uses
compositional angles, foreshortening of the
hand and a brush in action to offer clues to
the subject’s identity.
OPPOSITE
Holter’s conceptual self-portrait, Keeping
Myself in Check (watercolor on paper,
21½x21½), incorporates various still-life objects.
“With a touch of playful irony, it features chess
pieces alongside checked clothing and fabric,”
he says.
MYRNA WACKNOV
A CHANCE TO EXPLORE
Myrna Wacknov (myrnawacknov.com) began her exploration of self-portraiture
in 2009, in response to a class she was teaching. “The lesson was on the head and
hands,” she says. “The genre didn’t particularly intrigue me until I started doing it.
Now it’s a part of my regular practice.”
Wacknov doesn’t really change her creative attitude when the subject is herself.
“My self-portraiture isn’t really about me,” she says. “I’m always looking for inter-
esting ways to create expression or expressive faces.” When, for example, she chose
to spend a year focusing on ways of working with an underlying grid in her artwork,
and incorporating collage, drawing and line elements into her paintings, she chose
self-portraiture as the vehicle for that exploration.
Another time, she challenged herself to create a drawing a day—and she chose
herself as the subject. “By drawing my image every day, I soon got bored and started
to look for different tools to draw with—and different ways to pose. It became
a way to explore,” she says. “I discovered I loved drawing with a stick for making
a more interesting line.” Wacknov ended up publishing a book, Drawn to the Mirror,
featuring all the work she did that year.
Wacknov recommends that every artist create at least one self-portrait some
time. “I’ve found it very liberating,” she says. “It gives you total freedom to play
with your own image and do whatever you want without the worry over whether
someone is going to like it. You don’t have to stress about getting a likeness; it
doesn’t really matter. Plus, you’re available 24/7. Anytime you want to create
a new image, you can.”
The artist finds that the practice has the additional benefit of helping her come
to grips with the inevitable process of aging. “After a while, you actually like getting
a new line or wrinkle—something new to paint or draw!” she says. WA
For Rejection
(watercolor, 18x20),
Wacknov painted on
gessoed paper, a
surface that allows
for easy lifting, when
needed. Although
she uses photos
almost exclusively as
her reference for her
portraits, Wacknov
doesn’t want her
paintings to simply
be mere copies.
“I look serious in my
self-portraits,
because I don’t like
teeth to show in
a smiling pose,” she
says. “Photographic
portraiture is a better
venue for that.”

In Looking Back (watercolor and gesso, 14x16), the artist used gesso
through stencils in the background. Her ongoing interest in textural and
color experimentation and distortion are visible. “I’m not looking for
a particular expression, just something expressive,” Wacknov says.
“I’ll label it afterward.”
GOOD ADVICE
Just jump in there and try it. Don’t worry about what you’re
going to end up with. Start with a good image to work
from, and keep an open mind and a willing spirit. Think
of it as an opportunity to play around, have fun and
explore different ideas.
The Art of
Implied Detail
ANTONIO DARDEN CHALLENGES HIMSELF TO TELL
STORIES USING DASHES, DOTS AND SPATTERS,
A LIMITED PALETTE, AND AN EVER-INQUISITIVE MIND.
by John Eischeid
T he city of Venice has attracted artists for centuries. The atmosphere,

history and beautiful architecture can be like a siren’s call for painters.
For watercolorist Antonio Darden, the “Floating City” has provided
inspiration for a number of paintings. While the Santa Fe artist may be more
accustomed to the wide, open landscape of the American Southwest, he was
SCENES FROM CUBA
Darden has used implied detail to
capture the character of timeworn
buildings in other parts of the world,
too. Two of his favorites were inspired
drawn to the city’s famous canals—the deep, narrow waterways that create by scenes in Cuba. They feature the
an urban canyon, of sorts. In Venice Canal Chaos (page 51), he takes up the flat face of a building with a woman
challenge. A bright sky in the background and colorful reflections in the doing laundry on a balcony in one
water create a sense of optimism. The piece is one of many in which the artist and taking a water break in the other.
explores distance as both a compositional tool and a metaphor. Based on photographs the artist took
on a trip to the island, they’re aptly
KEEPING IT SIMPLE titled Before Agua (page 50) and Agua
In addition to the piece showcasing a popular slice of Venice, Darden explored (opposite).
and painted lesser-known, but no less enchanting, off-the-beaten-path scenes. “When I was in Cuba, I stayed
Above the city’s alleyways, residents still string their clothes out to air dry. The across the street from the building
collective effort creates a cascading patchwork of garments flowing above the where an elderly woman was often
streets. The effect is not unlike The Gates, a series of fabric curtains strung up out on the balcony, hunched over,”
in Central Park in 2005 by the powerhouse artistic duo Christo and Jeanne- Darden says. “I noticed that she was
Claude. “In my ‘Venice Laundry’ series [see Venice Laundry XI, page 51], I truly doing laundry while sitting out on her
love the simplicity,” Darden says. “The perspective of the Venice neighborhood balcony, which was located beneath
alleys, with laundry hanging from above, is just implied detail. It’s not a lot of another balcony, both of which appear
detail at all, especially on the sides of the doors. It’s just a couple of lines, and about to crumble.” Darden says that
a dash here and a dash there.” after he took the initial photo of her,
The fact that there are no people in the dimly lit scenes—“rarely would you she took a drink from a blue water
see anyone walk underneath drying knickers”—lends a mysterious air to the bottle, and he snapped another photo,
paintings. “Instead of having those alleys lit,” Darden continues, “I decided to which resulted in Agua. He wasn’t able
darken them and go to the very end of the alley where there was light hitting to paint Before Agua immediately, as
in the background. It gives the scenes a different feel.” he found it difficult to tell her story.

Agua (watercolor on paper, 30x22)
Before Agua It tells a story of hardship that Darden felt viewers might not fully comprehend with-
(watercolor
out having visited the country. “If you’ve been there, you know what it’s like for a lot
on paper, 21x21)
of the people,” he notes. “I understood what it was, and I wanted to tell that story in
Before Agua.” Part of that story rests in the building, and its sense of age and disrepair.
The artist captured the impression with his less-is-more approach. “When you look at
the painting, it looks detailed,” he says, “but when you get up close to it, it’s actually
just dashes and dots.”
ADDING A LITTLE CHAOS

Although Darden aims for simplicity in his approach, there are times when he resorts
to more extreme measures to enliven his paintings. “I know when my work is garbage
and when it isn’t,” he notes. In such cases, one of his go-to solutions is to give the
lackluster work a good thrashing with a wet paintbrush.
Darden recalls that an earlier version of Venice Canal Chaos, initially titled Venice
Canal, didn’t seem to catch viewers’ eyes. “People would walk into my studio and walk
over to it and then walk away, and I’d watch to see what was going on. Why wasn’t the
painting coming to life for them? I couldn’t figure it out. Finally, I just thought, ‘You
know what? Let’s just spatter paint all over this. If it’s get ruined, it doesn’t matter.

it doesn’t matter. The painting is
dead.’ When I was done, I couldn’t
believe it. I thought, ‘Wow, that was
fun!’ ” The multicolored spatters
added an energy to the painting,
which sold with the updated title of
Venice Canal Chaos.
Sometimes, an artist just needs to
be a willing to try something—to take
a risk. “I created something fresh on
top of an OK-visually piece; some-
thing that offered much more depth
and told more of a story,” he says.
PAINTING 30 IN 30
Darden says a lot of his work is done
with the goal of helping him explore,
learn and improve. To that end, he
creates 200 to 300 paintings annually,
many of which never see the light of
day. “When I start a piece and it’s not
working out, I’ll still finish it, just so
I can figure out how to save it—or
to determine what made it unsal-
vageable,” he says. “I’ll go so far as to Venice Canal
frame it, mat it and look at it to ask, Chaos
‘What did I fail to do? Why isn’t it (watercolor on
coming to life?’” paper, 21x14)
One of Darden’s favorite practices
for exploration is referred to as “30 Venice Laundry
in 30”—the challenge to create 30 X1 (watercolor
on paper, 22x15)
paintings in 30 days, with a maximum
time limit of 30 minutes spent on
each. “I truly love 30 in 30—to get
out of my head and paint 30 paintings
in 30 days in 30 minutes or less on
12x9-inch sheets of paper,” he says.
“It’s the most fabulous thing that
I can do. It’s such a great challenge
and a tool for study. When the timer
goes off, the brush goes down. That’s
often when I catch myself in some
detail that wouldn’t have mattered to
anyone, because no one’s going to see
that detail in the first place.”
As an example, he cites Balcony,
Study (page 53). “I got a little wrapped
up in painting an iron balcony,” the
artist explains. “I was trying to ‘spell
out’ what kind of rust was on the
surface. I finished the painting, but
it was a no-good piece. That’s when
I realized that—if I’m going to do
this and people really want to see
it—I’ve got to imply the rust and let
viewers ‘fill it in’ with whatever old
balcony they remember from their
own past.”
A Restrained Approach
Darden, always eager to embrace a creative challenge, made the
deliberate decision to use just four colors and employ minimal
brushstrokes when painting the intricate waterscape, Oak Creek
(watercolor on paper, 15½x14). The inset image provides a glimpse
into his process, in which he tackled sections from right to left.
Dive deeper into the story behind this painting (opposite) and
how it served as inspiration to other artists.

“When I start a piece and
it’s not working out, I’ll still
finish it, just so I can figure
out how to save it—or to
determine what I did that
made it unsalvageable.”
—ANTONIO DARDEN
HARNESSING A
LIMITED PALETTE
In Oak Creek (opposite), Darden
also makes use of implied detail on
a vastly different subject—rocks
and pebbles. What appears to be a
creek bed is reduced to blobs and
brushstrokes upon close inspection,
although that wasn’t the intent of
the piece.
Instead, the artist sought to chal-
lenge himself in a different way than
usual—by limiting not just his brush-
strokes, but also his color palette.
“I challenged myself to use only
Daniel Smith red, yellow, blue and
quinacridone sienna and a single
brush—a No. 4 Escoda paintbrush,”
he says. “That’s all I used for the piece,
which is why it was a breakthrough
piece for me.”
He continues, “So many artists say,
‘I’m going to limit my palette to six
colors.’ I thought, ‘Well, I’m going
to up you one. I’m going to lower
it down to four,’ ” he says. “It was
Balcony, Study
a really fun piece. I shared the prog- (watercolor on paper,
ress as I painted it on Facebook. 12x9)
There are a lot of artists who have Meet the Artist
visited my studio and thanked me for
showing them what I was doing and Born and raised in Northern California, Antonio Darden
(antoniodardenstudio.com) moved to New Mexico in 1995,
challenging them to play along with where he discovered a newfound love for atmosphere,
their own limited palette.” color and light. With no formal art training, he enrolled
His advice to them—and other in Santa Fe Community College, completing beginning
watercolor artists? “Pay attention to art classes that were needed to enroll in and complete
the values along the way, with the color theory and advanced color theory and design
color choice; it all works.” And, let the coursework. Darden is a local, national and international
viewers fill in the gaps so they’re fully award-winning artist, and his art can be found in private
collections in Germany, England, Canada, Italy, Mexico and throughout the
engaged in what they see. WA United States. He’s a Signature Member of the American Watercolor Society,
National Watercolor Society, New Mexico Watercolor Society, Watercolor
John Eischeid is a New York City-based Society of Alabama and Western Federation of Watercolor Societies. He lives,
freelance arts writer and editor. works and teaches in Santa Fe.
Watercolor Essentials
Figuratively
Speaking
Putting people in a scene can be tricky.
These pointers will help you make your
figures simple, but credible.
By Hazel Soan
I ncluding people in your paintings

can add to the narrative and provide
an injection of life that turns an
ordinary piece into something spe-
cial. Painting people, however, comes
with some challenges. The moment
you include figures in a painting, they
become the first thing the viewer
notices. If the figures are credible,
they add life; if not, they can’t be
ignored (and may even irritate). The
following considerations will help
you populate your paintings with less
angst and more confidence.
PLACEMENT
Since figures—regardless of size—
tend to become the subject, they
need to own their space. They
should look like they belong in the
painting rather than as an add-on or
afterthought. Take care to position
your figures in a compositionally
sound arrangement. Make them
lively and plausible, not static
and wooden.
SPEED, NOT HASTE

People move, so to paint figures
from life, you must apply paint to
paper quickly. Concentration is
The wet-into-wet blending for

the clothing in Forward Thinking
(watercolor on paper, 22x17) suggests
motion within each figure and among
the group. I doubt there’s a single
defined edge between any of the shirts,
sleeves, slacks, skirts, arms and legs.

The figures in
Rain in St. Mark’s
Square II
(watercolor on
paper, 12x12) are
darker than the
background. The
setting was
painted first, then
the figures were
painted on top
with their upper
halves set against
a lighter
background, while
their feet merge
with their
reflections.
essential. A blob can define a head, and a torso. Then lift the brush up so the tip just
fragmented brushstroke may suggest a leg. touches the paper to create thin, linear marks
Watercolor is made for speedy application, for arms and legs, pressing down slightly at
and since paint can be applied directly with the joints to suggest elbows and knees.
the brush in a fast-and-fresh manner, there’s
no need to draw first—especially when the CONFIDENT BRUSHWORK
figures are small and lack detail. In fact, The brush is a versatile instrument and makes
direct watercolor sketches are often more attractive marks on the paper, so let it work for
lively when they’re not guided by a pencil. you. Allow it to dance on the paper as you paint.
Hold the handle at its thickest part above the
THE RIGHT BRUSH ferrule, so it can twist and twirl freely between
You’ll usually start with the head, so choose your fingertips. Trust the brush to make lively
a brush that enables you to make an oval marks and resist the temptation to correct your
mark by simply pressing the tip onto the brushstrokes for the sake of accuracy.
paper. I’ve found that a No. 6, 8 or 10 round
or reservoir brush suits this task perfectly. DRYBRUSHING
Alter the pressure on the brush to broaden or Dry brushstrokes leave attractive, ragged edges,
narrow the stroke. For example, press down ideal for suggesting movement in limbs and
lightly for the head, and a little harder for the clothing. A rough paper will enhance this effect.
Watercolor Essentials
Notice how
‘inaccurately’
the figures in
Verona Figures I
(watercolor on
paper, 3x8) are
painted, and yet
they appear lively
and plausible, as
if engaged in
conversations
and activities.
Pose & Proportion

All that’s needed to suggest a figure in a painting is an oval blob above a
rectangle that divides into two or narrows to a V shape. It’s simple to suggest
people because we’re so familiar with the shapes. Keep heads small and oval
rather than round, shoulders broad, arms active or linked to the torso, and
legs apart or merged in a V shape. One foot shown higher than the other
suggests a walking motion. From a side view, a triangular space opens up
between the legs when the pace is extended, and beneath the knees as the
legs cross. From the front or back, feet are an extension of the leg and need
only be indicated in the side view.
Dry brushstrokes aren’t actually done pleasing ambiguity. Allow shirts and calves of bent legs. Make use of
with dry paint—they just require pants to bleed into each other at the the background color to bring out
much less water than needed for lay- waist, and sleeves to merge with arms highlights and contrasts in tone.
ing a wash. If you find it difficult to and hands. Shadows beneath hems
assess the right mix for delivering will be suggested by default, as legs LESS IS MORE
a dry brushstroke, load the brush in merge with skirts and shorts. Even though it might seem daunting
the palette and then absorb excess at first, painting figures into a scene
water from the heel of the brush HIGHLIGHTS is a lot of fun. You’ll soon realize how
with a paper towel. (Be careful not to As people move, the folds and creases little is required to establish their
remove paint from the tip and body.) of clothing catch the light, creating presence—and how much they can
As you lay the drier paint, hold the zigzag patterns of light and shade. enliven a watercolor. Figures in a set-
brush at a lower angle, so that the In watercolor, the white of the paper ting don’t need to be too detailed. The
paint will be delivered from the side represents the light, so highlights mere suggestion of people invites the
and heel of the brush rather than just are represented by untouched white viewer to engage with the composi-
the tip. paper. The effect of bright light falling tion. Just one or two credible figures
on the figure is created by leaving sliv- can carry a whole crowd—the rest can
BLENDING WET-INTO-WET ers and lozenges of untouched white be a bunch of blobby implications.
By adding color wet-into-wet, move- paper within the clothing color or on
ment is implied in the figure, which the topside of upward-facing limbs. Hazel Soan (allsoanup.com) is a British
adds liveliness. Try to lay paint in The light represented should be artist who works out of studios based
a timely fashion so that the wet paint consistent, with highlights showing in London and Cape Town. She also
on the limbs merges with the added only on those sides that face the light. enjoys traveling to paint on location in
wet color for clothing. The paint will Light from overhead appears on hats, countries all over the world.
bleed into the wet color, creating a folded limbs, arches of feet and the

Note the fragmented
edges of the figures’
legs in London
Rising (watercolor
on paper, 8x11). I’m
right-handed, so
the tip of my brush
on the paper tends
to face left. As I lift
pressure off the heel
of the brush, the
broken edge falls on
the right-hand side
of the stroke that
describes the limbs.
The inclusion of
a figure immediately
transformed Dawn
Lifts the Blues
(watercolor on
paper, 10x11) from
a sketch about
Venetian gondolas
to a painting about
the gondolier.
Turn the
page for
a demo.
demo
Practicing People
Now it’s time to turn theory into practice. Go to a mall, park, Artist’s Toolkit
beach or sporting event and get busy sketching. Choose • Watercolor paper
figures in the middle distance who are standing or moving • Watercolor paints in your
toward or away from you rather than across your line of vision. palette of choice
This will provide more time for you to grasp the pose. Begin by • No. 6 or 8 reservoir or
working in monochrome, then move into full color. mop brush
Stage 1
Allow the brush to dance on the paper, loosely suggesting the pose with the head and limbs. Leave out the torso. When clothing is dark, you can paint the whole
pose with the skin color. Be ready to add clothing color immediately (see stage 2). Create your figures with lively brushstrokes, taking note of the light and shade.
For highlighted hats and shoulders, make a pencil mark to remind yourself where to bring in the background.
Stage 2
Add the clothing color, joining the limbs to the torso in the figures with lighter clothing than their respective skin color. Encourage the added color
to merge wet-into-wet. If the whole figure pose has been painted in the skin tone, an opaque color––like the cadmium red used for the girl’s dress
above––will overcome the flesh tint to brighten the hue. Adding a touch of background color will bring out the highlights on hats and shoulders.

Stage 3
Now you’re ready to place people within a setting. Plan a simple composition; I chose a beach scene. Paint the figures first and, if needed, use light pencil
marks to remind yourself where highlights will show up bright against the background. Bring the background coloring in around the figures. Contrast
the values by painting lighter tones on the shaded side of the figures and darker tones against the lit side.
Final Stage
To complete Battling the Breeze (watercolor on paper, 7x11), I added more description into the rocks, ensuring that the dark values in the rock crevices
weren’t as deep as the blacks in the figures. I also tinted the highlights on the rocks to make them less bright than the highlights on the figures, ensuring
they come forward in the composition. WA
Creativity Workshop
Peace Offering
(watermedia, 22x30)
is a medium-value-
dominant painting
that’s part of my
“Searching” series.
The horse sym-
bolizes journey;
the bird serves as
a messenger; the
dragonfly is a
reminder of life’s
fragility; and the
origami crane is
often interpreted as
a prayer for peace.
Deeper Meaning
Find inspiration and add interest to your paintings with symbols.
By Kathleen Conover
I’m always telling the students in represent life. In my floral paintings, and often feels like hard work, but
my art classes, “Your images with I often include the bud or bulb, the working this way holds my interest
personal meaning are your symbols.” full bloom, the dead flower and the much longer and provides me with
Discovering that personal meaning seed pods to represent the cycle of the greatest creative satisfaction.
and, ultimately, your own symbols, life, death and rebirth. In this way, Over my 40-year career as a full-
is a journey to the heart. The work a simple flower painting becomes time artist, I’ve produced a diverse
requires some soul-searching, but it’s more meaningful and, for me, is number of series: “Contemplation
a journey that’s well worth the time. much more interesting to paint. of Flight,” “Dragonfly Legends,”
Symbolism, in its simplest form, “Journey Horse” and “Life Cycles,”
is the use of an object or image to rep- EMBRACING SYMBOLISM plus my ongoing “Industrial
resent something else. This allows an When there’s a deeper layer of Evolution” and “Frozen Crystal”
artist to express an idea differently or meaning in my work, I’m inspired series. One of my more recent series
with a significance beyond its literal and motivated to paint an extended is called “Searching.” It has mean-
meaning. Flowers, for instance, have series. A series involves more ingful imagery that hearkens back
been used symbolically for centuries thought, insight and planning than to those previous series, yet it also
by both visual and literary artists to a one-off painting. It’s more complex speaks of the more recent upset of

our “normal” lives and the fact that recognizable imagery at all, yet still
everyone seems to be on a personal hold significant symbolic meaning.
search for something—deeper mean-
ing, love, peace, security, hope.
There’s nothing wrong with having
a little mystery in your work.
Symbol Search
• Photos and reference
I’ve used several symbols to repre- Ultimately, what’s most important materials are a great
sent my own inner search for peace, is that you find the deeper meaning source of symbols.
calm and direction, as seen in Peace in your work to feed your interest and I challenge you to look
Offering (opposite): The horse is furnish the inspiration that keeps you deeper at all of these
recognized by many cultures as rep- painting and moving forward. references. Do you have
twice as many photos of
resentative of a journey; the bird (in landscapes—specifically
much of my work) is a messenger; the This originally appeared in the December skies, water or trees? Do
origami crane is a prayer for peace. A 2020 issue of Artists Magazine. you have an obsession with
few of my works include a dragonfly flowers? Do you gravitate
as a reminder of the fragility of life. Kathleen Conover (kathleenconover.com) to people, figures and por-
Keep in mind, though, that not all traits? Or are you drawn
is a Signature Member of many national to something a little more
symbols must be shared. Some things organizations, including the American elusive, such as reflections
are deeply personal, and that’s OK. Watercolor Society, the National or shadows, patterns, num-
You also shouldn’t feel compelled Watercolor Society, the International bers or certain types of
to illustrate every detail of a chosen Society of Experimental Artists and the mark-making? The images
image. Keep it subtle if you prefer and Transparent Watercolor Society of you’re drawn to are telling
incorporate just a fragment or sugges- America. She juries exhibitions and you something.
tion of your symbol. A symbol can be teaches across the U.S., and her work
purely abstract, nonobjective, with no
• Quiet, contemplative time
has appeared in exhibitions worldwide. is needed to evaluate your
interests, concerns and
values. You have ideas and
hold deep concepts and
heartfelt beliefs; identify
these in relation to your
imagery. Maybe you have
a story to tell through your
sense of humor or your
idiosyncratic view of the
world. An avenue of ex-
pression for your unique
vision might best be voiced
through imagery that you
use symbolically.
• Writing is another way

to identify and better
understand the symbols
you’re drawn to. Spend
some time brainstorming,
journaling or writing
a poem to explore your
thoughts. Try writing
(and drawing) with your
non-dominant hand. Both
activities help you connect
to the creative side of
your brain and may help
you tap into a new way of
seeing or thinking for your
art-making.
Charting My Destiny (watermedia, 22x30) is part of my “Industrial Evolution” series, and
it’s an expression of the challenge of change: We have no more control over our destiny
than a blindfolded raven or an open-hulled boat as the winds of time blow us forward.
Turn the page
for a demo.
demo
Searching
for Zen
Step 1
S Step
S 2
I wanted to create a minimum of three finished paintings, each with I worked on a painting with a dark-value dominance;
a dark-, medium- or light-value dominance. Once I determined the my final value plan can be seen in the right corner of the
imagery, I tried different shape relationships and rendered copious paper. I began by painting random textures and colors
value studies. This lineup of about 20 value studies is typical when before I even contemplated a subject.
I start a series. I drew each 3x4-inch sketch on tracing paper using
gray Prismacolor felt markers. Then I condensed them to a few final
plans of simplified shapes. This allowed for decision-making along
the way, letting the painting have a say in how it developed.
Step 3
S S
Step
t 4
I chose a plan for my light-value dominant painting—the I started on a more aggressive underpainting of color and texture for the light-
fifth in the series. I specifically aimed for a more painterly value dominant painting. Here you can see the beginning of my freehand
handling of my work as I progressed. chalk drawing (which disappears completely as I paint) and charcoal
(which becomes black pigment as I paint).

Step 5 Step 6
Developing my paintings in transparent layers, I loosely I sharpened the contrast and detail as I layered the
established the dark shapes first. Subsequently, I used paint. There are many layers in my painting process,
my “gesso juice” (2 parts white gesso, 1 part matte medium always revealing remnants of what’s beneath.
and 1 part water) to water down the pigment as I painted See the completed painting below. WA
layers (like veils) in the shapes that were to be light.
Searching for Zen

(watermedia, 22x30)
is another in my
“Searching” series;
it features an origami
bird and a living bird
in its symbolism.
Bright Ideas
Barging Through Burgundy

Six days along the Canal du Nivernais, in France, combines leisurely travel
with slowly changing, picturesque scenery—perfect for the plein air painter.
By Stephen Harby
M uch is made in today’s fast-

paced world of the desire to
reduce speed. For plein air
artists, the choice to carefully record
with our hands and eyes in lieu of (or
in addition to) snapping a picture is
a strong vote for slowing down. The
good news is that, even in the Jet Age,
it’s possible to spend six days traveling
fewer than 30 miles on a restored cargo
barge, or peniche, on one of France’s
most historic and picturesque canals.
It’s a journey that could be made in less
than an hour by car.
The Canal du Nivernais, deep in the
wine region of Burgundy, connects
the medium-sized cathedral town of
Auxerre with the decidedly smaller
town of Clamecy, and a journey along
this segment is possible in either
direction from May through October.
I traveled it on board the Luciole,
a restored cargo barge originally
launched in 1926, when the extensive
canal network in France was used to
move cargo such as grain and coal. The
earliest of these canals dates from the
time of King Henry IV, in the late 16th
century, when travel by road was diffi-
cult, but canals continued to be used,
transporting bulk goods well into the
20th century.
Luciole was discovered by its current
owners and refitted in 1966 as a hotel
barge—the first of its kind—with eight
comfortable but compact cabins. By day
Cruising on the Vermenton Canal

(graphite and watercolor on paper,
13x9½) shows a branch canal off the
Canal du Nivernais that leads to a small
harbor beside the charming town of
Vermenton. This studio watercolor is
based on a quick study I made during
my canal travels.

she travels slowly along the Canal du
Nivernais and the River Yonne, which SKETCHING METHOD 1:
runs beside it. The river descends on
its course, producing rapids, falls and PURELY WATERCOLOR
shallows not suitable for navigation;
however, the canal is flat and of con-
sistent depth, made possible by locks,
which accommodate elevation differ-
ences. We traversed 32 of them.
With stops for going through the
locks—pauses to let the water flow in
or out to raise or lower the vessel—it’s
possible to walk along the canal faster
than the barge progresses, and a fleet of
electrical-assist bikes enables journeys
further afield. Stops along the way allow
passengers to visit nearby cathedrals,
chateaux or wineries; Chablis is but one
of the famous wine-producing towns
on the route. For the painter, opportu-
nities abound to capture spontaneous
vignettes as the vessel moves through
constantly changing scenery, as well as
to create more sustained works at one
of the many stops.
Traveling the Canal du Nivernais Four-sketch series
(watercolor on paper, each 3¼x4½)
offers one of the most lovely and varied
landscapes in France. While lacking Even when traveling on a slow-moving barge, one must work quickly to
the drama of the Alps or the coastal create watercolor sketches. Before starting my four-sketch series, I had
regions, there’s a subtly layered order already taped off four panels on a cold-pressed mounted board and
and beauty that’s gradually revealed, had the paint mixed and ready to go. As the vessel glided past the lovely
thanks to the steady immersion this farmland turning to fall colors, there was no time to wait for paint to dry;
I either let the colors run together or strategically deployed dry, white
areas between colors.
C O N T I N U E D O N PAG E 6 8
In Beaune, a two-hour drive from the Canal du Nivernais, I painted Les Hospices de Beaune (graphite and watercolor on paper in sketchbook, 5x11¾).
Since its founding in 1443, the hospital has provided medical care to the needy. The multicolored, glazed-tile roofs are the focus of my sketch.
SKETCHING METHOD 2:
GRAPHITE AND WATERCOLOR
Sketchbook page
of quick vignettes
(graphite and
watercolor on
paper, 10x8)
Sometimes I made visual notes by

devoting a sketchbook page to small
thumbnail sketches laid out quickly in
pencil and then painted equally fast,
either with the scene before me or right
after it slid from view. The two sketches
on the left show the narrowness of the
locks—often just wide enough to let
a barge slide in with mere inches to
spare. Between locks, the canal is wide
enough to permit two barges to pass,
as seen in the sketch above. I later
developed that sketch into a separate
finished watercolor, Cruising on the
Vermenton Canal (page 64).

SKETCHING METHOD 3:
PURELY GRAPHITE
Cathedral sketch
(graphite on paper in sketchbook, 6½x5)
My canal travels ended at

the city of Auxerre. Walking
through the town in late
afternoon, a view of the Auxerre
Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-
Étienne d’Auxerre), built in
1215–1233, caught my eye. The
transept, bathed in golden
light with a backdrop of
dramatic dark clouds, rose at
the end of a narrow, inclined
lane. Spending no more than
five minutes, I captured the
composition and light values
with a soft Derwent Graphic
Pencil (see Cathedral sketch,
above). I also took a reference
photo of the Gothic tracery in
the window and portal for a
subsequent studio painting, in
watercolor. See Cathédral Saint-
Étienne, Auxerre (right).
For the studio painting, I except the lightest surfaces—the
Cathédral Saint-Étienne, Auxerre
laid down successive washes vans and the man’s shirt. The next (graphite and watercolor on paper, 13x9½)
to arrive at the simplicity and step was a cobalt and ultramarine
chromatic density required to wash used for the sky and every-
convey the dramatic lighting. thing not in direct sunlight. Then
The initial wash—made of I used dark washes to establish the
cadmium yellow and burnt hierarchy of shadows necessary to
sienna—covered everything describe forms.
C O N T I N U E D F RO M PAG E 6 5
mode of travel affords. The geolog-

ical condition of the valleys, cut by
the meandering River Yonne, is of
limestone escarpments, producing
an often precipitous topography on
both sides of the waterway. Rounding
a bend in the river may reveal a small
town perched on a hill or hugging the
side of a cliff at the water’s edge.
My strategy for capturing all of
this as the boat moved forward was to
draw, with a few lines of graphite or
gestures of paint, the major shapes,
on which I could elaborate later. From
these references in my sketchbook,
I then developed larger paintings Hotel barge Luciole
either that same day, once we were
PLAN YOUR TRIP
There are many sources of information on barge travel on any of
moored, or at home, weeks later. WA several canals in France, including the Canal du Midi, the Canal du
Bourgogne and the Canal du Nivernais. Emma James-Aldridge, the
Artist and architect Stephen Harby CEO of Hotels Afloat (hotelsafloat.com), can assist in narrowing the
(stephenharby.com) is the founder of search, choosing levels of service and making a booking. The hotel
Stephen Harby Invitational, which barge Luciole (bargeluciole.com) can be booked directly through its
organizes travel for small groups. This owner (Penny Liley) as can other full-service vessels, such as the Athos
(athosdumidi.com), which travels the Canal du Midi in the Languedoc
article originally appeared in Artists province of southern France.
Magazine, in the Voyages column.
Join Us for
Through live interactive online lessons,

Steven will mentor you step-by-step,
sharing invaluable techniques to
create stunning works. This is a unique
opportunity to learn from a seasoned
pro and enhance your skills.
See the class schedule and register at ArtistsNetwork.com

3 WAYS TO
&VMRK=øV
Landscapes To Life
WORK ON TOP OF A DRY OIL PAINTING
When finishing or making corrections to a dry oil painting, use Liquin. Apply a
thin layer, then buff off any excess the way you would when waxing a car. The
result will be a slippery cooperative surface that will work well for softening
edges or blurring forms, such as water reflections.
MAKE IT SNOW
Oil, gouache and watercolor artists often create the illusion of falling snow by
flicking paint from a toothbrush. To add snowflakes to a pastel painting, place it
on a flat surface. Use a knife to tap the pastel stick to add random dots of light Join Johannes
gray pastel throughout. Ensure they adhere to the painting by laying a piece of Vloothius each
Glassine paper on top of it before applying heavy pressure in circular motions month for live
with the heel of your palm.
stream Paint
PAINT BARE WINTER TREES Alongs!
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May 1–3, 2024, Ingram, Texas Artists Network Members: $25 per entry | 12 months: 0. Number of copies of single issue published
Andy Evansen, “A Value Approach to Non-Members: $35 per entry. Regular price: nearest to filing date: 0. 3. Free or nominal rate copies
Watercolor”. Focus will be on using value studies mailed at other Classes through the USPS. Average number
Artists Network Members: $30 per entry | Non- of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 0. Number
to identify the large shapes in a scene. “What Members: $40 per entry. Visit: artistsnetwork. of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 0. 4.
you leave out is as important as what you put com/art-competitions/best-in-show-pets Free or nominal rate distribution outside the mail. Average
in”. Demonstration will be done to reinforce the number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months:
492. Number of copies of single issue published nearest to
lessons and complete paintings together. DEADLINE: APRIL 1, 2024 filing date: 479. E. Total free or nominal rate distribution.
Contact: twsworkshops@gmail.com Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12
WATERCOLOR SOCIETY, 75 TH ANNUAL months: 520. Actual number of copies of single issue pub-
Transparent Watercolor Society NATIONAL EXHIBIT lished nearest to filing date: 479. F. Total distribution (sum
Ingram, Texas. May 1–June 30, 2024. of 15c and 15e). Average number of copies each issue during
of America $8,000 total cash awards. $2000 1st place
preceding 12 months: 29,821 . Actual number of copies
of single issue published nearest to filing date: 27,304. G.
Chicagoland, Illinois/Kenosha, Wisconsin Copies not Distributed. Average number of copies each
prize. Juror & workshop instructor: Andy
Birgit O’Connor issue during preceding 12 months: 13,580. Actual number of
Evansen (see workshop). Prospectus: copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 11,571.
June 05–07, 2024, Dynamic Flowers
June 10–12, 2024, Portraits and Figures, TexasWatercolorSociety.org H. Total (sum of 15f and 15g). Average number of copies each
issue during preceding 12 months: 43,402. Actual number of
Expressive and Loose copies of single issue published nearest to filing: 38,874. I.
Percent paid. Average percent of copies paid for the preced-
Stephen Zhang, TWSA ing 12 months: 98.3% Actual percent of copies paid for the
June 05–07, 2024, Portrait, Fast & Slow
June 10–12, 2024, Landscape, Through Mind’s Eye
See Art | Love Art | Share Art preceding 12 months: 98.2% 16. Electronic Copy Circulation:
A. Paid Electronic Copies. Average number of copies each
issue during preceding 12 months: 2,130. Actual number of
For more information, go to: www.watercolors. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 2,485.
org or contact: Carlotta, 262-945-3744 or B. Total Paid Print Copies (Line 15c) + Paid Electronic Copies
workshops@watercolors.org #myartistsnetwork (Line 16a). Average number of copies each issue during
preceding 12 months: 31,431. Actual number of copies of
single issue published nearest to filing date: 29,310. C. Total
Print Distribution (Line 15f) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line
16a). Average number of copies each issue during preceding
12 months: 31,951. Actual number of copies of single issue
published nearest to filing date: 29,789. D. Percent Paid (Both
Print & Electronic Copies) (16b divided by 16c x 100). Average
number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months:
98.4%. Actual number of copies of single issue published
nearest to filing date: 98.4%. I certify that 50% of all distrib-
uted copies (electronic and print) are paid above nominal
For the Artist, Maker & (Forever) Inspired price: Yes. Report circulation on PS Form 3526-X worksheet
17. Publication of statement of ownership will be printed in
the Winter 2024 issue of the publication. 18. Signature and
Artists Network is with you every step of your art journey. title of editor, publisher, business manager, or owner: Jeffrey
S. Litvack, Publisher. I certify that all information furnished
Come have fun with us! Come make art with us! on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone
who furnishes false or misleading information on this form
ArtistsNetwork.com or who omits material or information requested on the form
may be subject to criminal sanction and civil actions.

artist’s marketplace
Call for Entries

the Transparent Watercolor Society of America
48th Annual Exhibition
May 4 to August 4, 2024
Kenosha Public Museum, WI
OVER $25,000 in CASH AWARDS
online entries only at www.CallForEntry.org
Entry Dates
November 1, 2023-
January 31, 2024
Jurors and June

workshop
presenters:
Birgit O’Connor
Stephen Zhang, TWSA
Birgit O’Connor
June 5-7 Dynamic Flowers
June 10–12, Portraits and
Figures, Expressive and Loose
Join Artists Network Membership to access videos, Stephen Zhang

art magazines, exclusive events, and more! June 5-7 Portrait,
Fast and Slow
June 10-12 Landscape,
Through Mind’s Eye
Learn more at ARTISTSNETWORK.COM/MEMBERSHIP for more info go to www.watercolors.org
WatercolorWorkshop
Art sts network Videos & Books
folkschool.org/wa
BRASSTOWN, NORTH CAROLINA 1-800-FOLK-SCH
Don’t miss your chance

'óIQEOI to advertise in
EVX[MýYW
the next issue of
With ONLINE INSTRUCTION, BOOKS, MAGAZINES,

and an ONLINE COMMUNITY for artists just like you,
Artists Network wants to support you along every
Watercolor Bev Jozwiak’s
New Book
step of your art journey! &RQ¿GHQW
Stephanie Rubin Brushstrokes
ArtistsNetwork.com @ArtistsNetwork srubin@goldenpeakmedia.com Books & Video Clips at:
970-223-3676 WWW.ChrisUnwin.NET
Open Book
Snow & Sunlight

The studio offers convenience—and warmth—but Canadian
artist Poppy Balser’s favorite way to paint a snow scene is
“outside, on location, standing in the landscape,” she says.
“I learn a lot by directly observing how snow interacts with
sunshine and shadow.” Because the temperature needs to be
above 24 degrees Fahrenheit to work with watercolor outdoors,
there’s a limited window of opportunity. “When the conditions
are right, I go out and paint as much as I can,” Balser says. On
one occasion, the artist painted two 7x11-inch warm-up studies,
as well as a 15x22-inch plein air watercolor, The Deer Blind
(detail shown here), which shows the beautiful pattern of
sunlight on a snow-covered field. To see a video of her
plein air painting excursion, visit the artist’s YouTube
channel (@poppybalserart).

8ET-RXS=øV8EPIRX
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FIGURAL (FUN)DAMENTALS — 9 TIPS TO ADD LIFE TO A SCENE

2 Watercolor artist | WINTER 2024

Myself and I” (page 38). Their discussion of the topic is

“ Art is coming face to

face with yourself. wcaedit@ goldenpeakmedia.com

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Watercolor Artist magazine is a registered trademark of Peak Media Properties LLC.

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