The Art of Watercolour (23)

French Joël Leroy

I came late to watercolor. I discovered this technique during a visit to the Biennale de Brioude in 2009. However, my approach to drawing and painting goes back to my youth. Apprentice pastry chef, I painted decorations with chocolate. My apprenticeship master had noticed in me a certain aptitude for the artistic part of the trade and had encouraged me to take courses at the Beaux-Arts in Boulogne-sur-Mer. But a serious accident during military service put an end to my job as a pastry chef. I moved away from painting and drawing. Then I started a career in the administration of National Education. I nevertheless kept a passion for art, even without practicing, I took pleasure in browsing the exhibitions, reading books on painting. I like the impressionist period, Monet, Sargent… but my favorite is Cézanne. The moderns also attract me, Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon.

Rigour and tenacity characterize my temperament; I sometimes do the same painting several times until I get a result that suits me. I build my works by respecting as much as possible the rules of the Ancients (golden number, values…). Page 14 Joël Leroy

Sarah Wood, British watercolourist who lives in France

I love the fluidity of the washes and its transparency. This is how I became fascinated by the challenge of using watercolor to translate each of the raindrops and the way the light affects them. I began to study them in depth: it is interesting to observe how different leaves and flowers react to the rain. Some leaves don't retain water at all, leaving only dark streaks, while others retain the shape of each droplet. The flower petals, on the other hand, react differently: the drops are not as remarkable. I like to incorporate tangled backgrounds of leaves and grasses into my works. The more detailed and complicated it is, the more exciting the challenge.

My advice: never be afraid to tackle everyday issues. There is always power in the shadows and the light offered by the most ordinary of objects.

Page 17 Sarah Wood

French Didier Brot

In the risky adventure of the paths of watercolor to be invented day by day, it takes courage, imagination, requirement, perseverance and talent. There are two steep paths open to any artist engaged in this quest. That of “more”: more knowledge, more effects, more social events and relationships, more media presence, probably more success. And the other way, the one, more spiritual and austere, of “less”. At least not knowledge, quite the contrary, but outdated knowledge, less chic and gratuitous style effects and more interiority. A path also contrary to the fashion of the time and therefore at a certain distance from the legitimate need for consideration and success. But giving pride of place to independence, freedom and sincerity.

With this approach, Didier Brot creates small thematic series using a technique, a support, a colorful atmosphere. Everything for a writing limited in time and space in order to avoid being recognized, cataloged, labelled. Then he changes everything and starts a new watercolor adventure.

Singaporean Marvin Chew

I paint what I see and what I like, capturing the special mood or atmosphere of my surroundings, my daily activities, landscapes and urban scenes. I am often referred to as a “beauty director” because I transfer mundane scenes into impressionistic watercolor compositions imbued with a nostalgic feel. My inspiration comes from observing the world around me. I love to paint on the ground, where the direct confrontation with the subject and its relationship with its environment offers me abundant and interesting possibilities in terms of composition and design.

I have painted in watercolor all my life, and yet I find this technique always so stimulating and fulfilling. I like the brightness and the flexibility it allows. If it does not give too much room for error, it is not for all that a medium for perfectionists: it is almost impossible to tame its natural flow. I've spent the last ten years trying to find a way to control her and dictate my choices, but I'm beginning to realize that she should be left to "paint" herself instead. My job as an artist is only to guide her until I obtain a result in line with my conception of beauty.

Page 18 Marvin Chew

French Agnès Le Dantec, winner of the June 2016 competition

When I want density, I work in acrylic on paper or on canvas so that I can come back to it often and make many glazes. My subjects will also be more "crumbled" than in watercolor, moreover acrylics could very easily serve as a starting point for them: contrary to what one might think, watercolor is not a sketch of another thing ! As for the mixed technique, which I especially like, it allows all freedoms, which is the supreme guide of my work. I like to experiment with effects, to create new materials, as if glued or painted papers were surprising colours.

I take all the colors! The reds, oranges, Opera pink, yellow, with pleasure for the yellow of Naples (Sennelier) which, very diluted, reflects the light. In the blues, I choose ultramarine for the granulation, Prussian blue to make bright spring greens mixed with lemon yellow; cobalt and ceruleum more rarely, or else for combination, with caution because of their relative opacity.

Page 88 Agnès Le Dantec

Ross Paterson's Favorite Painting

As the sun went down, I could see that the shadow in the foreground became more and more important. Not only did it allow me to indicate the mood, but also to simplify and unify the Perhaps the most complex part was the final wash for the cool shadow, applied over the underlying warm-toned layer, in a predetermined balance of warm and cold to suggest the illusion of Sunlight Applying this mixture of ultramarine blue and a bit of permanent pink was the last step in the painting…and the most dangerous, because then I could lose everything.

To paint the stream, I applied the paint to the previously wet part: the three primers (yellow, red and blue) were applied in a balanced way to give a grey- warm blue. The water has turned bright yellow at the top, to match the reflections of the hill in the sunlight. My overall goal was to depict the gradual change in tones of the water as it darkened as it got closer to the foreground..

Page 80 Ross Paterson