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| Wendy Jelbert, Mixed Media Demo, 19/8/2008 |
| Surrounded by samples of her work, cards, brushes, videos, DVDs,
gadgets and books (all for sale) Wendy started straight into a description of
how she got inspiration by travelling, stressing the importance of sketch-books
(with maps and descriptions) and photos (including close-ups for interesting
detail). Even if the foreign weather is too hot or too wet you can still fill
your sketchbook with still-life. She had prepared her un-stretched 140lb
Langton NOT paper by trowelling in some texture paste for foreground rocks,
drawing in pencil (for guidance, specially necessary for people), applying
masking fluid (with a draughtsman's pen and splattering) and adding some detail
in both permanent ink and water-soluble sepia inks. For the inks she had used a
Pentel Brush Pen and a Rötring Art Pen. Masking fluid must have a colour
that is visible against the paper - she likes the blue - and can be kept thin
enough by adding clean water if it has started to dry up - a pen is better than
a brush. The preparation had taken her about an hour. Then the painting. She had pre-filled the pans in the paint-box with tube watercolour. She used her own design of sword-liner brush for everything from fine detail to broad washes. We saw a fairly conventional wet-into-wet start: cobalt into the top of a wetted sky; violet for distant hills; cerulean for closer hills; yellow and olive greens getting stronger as you come forward, violet shadows (and to darken the greens), yellow ochre and burnt sienna for the foreground bare earth and dead grasses. Wendy spent quite a time adding more and more colour, before and after removing the masking fluid. The brush pen and water-soluble pencils darkened in negative shapes. The water-soluble ink ran with a similar soft effect. Bits of advice kept coming. The texture paste, although sold for acrylic, still lets some watercolour stick to it. Oil pastel (wax) provides an interesting coloured resist, to which the watercolour won't stick, and it can be added even over wet paint. Fight the temptation to go back into half-dry washes - make sure everything is totally dry first - of course this is absolutely vital before you take off the masking fluid. Remember to identify your focal point and make sure that it contains the brightest and darkest areas. Use lots of different photos of people to populate, for example, your café or market scenes (and remember that backs, thighs and lower legs are normally all about the same length). One could go on. All in all it was a most interesting and satisfying evening. Sam Dauncey |
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