Transcripts
1. Introduction: Painting flowers in
their natural state can feel so intimidating
as there's so much to consider
with a myriad of unique shapes,
sizes, and textures. Of course, flowers
can be very colorful, which just adds to
that challenge. This is where studies
on toned paper can be an incredibly
helpful first step. Hi. I'm Ohn Mar. I'm a sketch book artist, illustrator for food packaging, gift wear and books. I've worked with
the BBC, YouTube, and UNICEF and I'm also the author of Go With
The Flow Painting. I'm a top teacher
here on Skillshare, and I help artists of all levels hone their skills
in watercolor by sharing my wealth
of knowledge from filling 40 sketchbooks
with landscapes, still lives, and florals. This tone paper
technique allows us to create dynamic sketches with the focus on simplification by breaking down areas
to the lightest, midtone and darkest areas. To help guide us through
the sketching process, I will provide reference
images which will allow you to experiment with a variety
of shapes and styles. Throughout the
class, I will share key decisions about
how I interpret all the different elements
from the photos that impact composition,
shape, and contrast. In addition, we will delve into the concept
of negative space, a technique where shapes are created by painting around them. This approach can add depth and dimensionality
to our sketches. Don't think you need to splash
out on loads of materials. Just brown and white ink or paint is enough and you can use any tonal paper from old envelopes or even the
inside of cardboard boxes. If you love painting flowers, I want to take you
to the next level. These type of studies
will help you refine your observational skills and knowledge of value contrast. I hope you are excited to join me in this journey
and I can't wait to see your beautiful
interpretations of flowers on toned paper.
2. Your Project: Thank you so much for
joining me for this class. I've been working on tone
paper for the last year, along with improving
my knowledge of values, especially
highlights. I think this has vastly improved my sketchbook pieces as
I'm forced to seek out areas of light and dark
and simplify them into shapes and use contrast to give the illusion of
directional light. For this class, you can use any of the high resolution reference images that I used for
the demos in this class. There is a PDF
download available called flower references
for tone paper, and this can be found
under the projects and resources tab just here on the right-hand side under
the word resources. Your project is to create one floral study on
toned paper with white and brown ink
from a reference image using the techniques I'll
demonstrate in the videos. Please include one or
more tone paper and ink study of your chosen floral plus your thoughts
on the process, and the lesson learned, and any challenges
that you faced. It's okay to be honest here. You can choose your own images, but do be sure to include your reference photo
in your project. This is important,
particularly if you would like some constructive feedback on your sketches so that I can see what you were working from. When you're ready to
upload your class project, head over to the projects and resources tab and hit the
"Create Project" button. First, gave you a
project to cover photo and a title to make
it really stand out. Here, you can add the
contents of your project, including the photos and text to reflect on the process and
what you found interesting. Once you've added your content, don't forget to hit "Publish". When you're done, you can
come back at any time to edit or even add more
photos to your project. I know it can be really scary putting your
work out in the world, particularly when
you're starting out, but I would encourage
you to be bold and share so that I can
give you feedback. Please take a good look around the project
gallery and drop a few likes and comments on some other
student projects to. Let's spread that good energy as an encouraging comment has the power to really
make someone's day. In the next video, we're going to go
through the tools and materials you'll
need for this class. When you're ready,
join me there.
3. Materials: Let's start by looking at the materials that we are
going to need for this class. Toned paper is
simply a paper that has a value other than white. Or in other words,
it's not white paper. It often comes in
different shades of gray or brown and also black. You can buy a toned
paper in many forms. I have this gray toned paper
sketchbook by Hahnemuhle, which you'll see more of later. Hahnemuhle also make
a cappuccino version. You'll have to check out
my other toned paper class if you want to see
these pages close-up. Strathmore produce a pack of different colored tone
paper like these. It's made for pastels, but you can use this for
this project as well. Also worth considering
is a pack of standard kraft paper which
you can buy really cheaply. You very likely have toned paper lying about the house
without realizing it, perhaps from packing paper or the inside of food
packaging boxes like this. If you take them apart, they come in all
shapes and shades. Very surprisingly, they are
ready-made toned paper. The great thing
is you don't have to pay any more money for these my protein bar
boxes, Amazon envelopes. I even kept this paper but
some flowers are wrapped in. I also have this
manila envelope from a few years ago that I drew
flowers on in white pen. I thought it was worth showing
you as it's quite pretty. What we're doing in this
class are mainly studies, and they are not meant to be elaborate finished
bits of artwork. You can really use
whatever scraps of tone paper you
have lying around. Also if you're new to
this way of working, if you mess up slightly, you won't feel precious
about having to throw away expensive paper. Just find another cardboard
box and take it apart. As we need to indicate
shade and highlights. This is where the inks come in. Let's start by looking at
a selection of brown inks. I start with acrylic inks. They are essentially an extremely fluid
version of acrylic paint. Acrylic ink is pigment based, and these pigments will
bond to the surface of the paper permanently when they dry and they cannot be reworked. You do have to work quite fast. Generally, acrylic ink
is more resistant to fading because of the
pigments contained within it. I've got these three acrylic
inks bite down around me. These will need to have a good shake as some of the pigment will be
stuck at the bottom. Let's see how they
look on scrap paper. This is Tara Rosa. It's quite a reddish brown, probably a little bit
too red for my liking. This one is antelope brown. It's a little bit
like nut-brown, but it's light greenish shade. This one is sepia. When I looked at it
through the bottle, It looked like a
murky dark green. But when I apply it, it's actually quite
a deep brown. These two brown inks are
by Winsor and Newton. We have nut-brown
and peat brown. Nut-brown is more of a
reddish, earthy color. This peat Brown is
more like raw sienna. It's quite a golden shade. Both of these are a lot more translucent than
the acrylic inks. Also worth mentioning is this burnt umber acrylic
ink by Liquitex. I would say it's close
to chestnut brown. It's quite warm color. If you haven't got any
inks, don't worry, just mix up some
brown Gouache until it's like a single
cream consistency. Now for the white inks, again, there are quite a few varieties out there that will give
you different results. First, I'm starting with the Kuretake a highly
opaque white ink. It is coming out quite quickly, but you can water it down. Next up is Dr. Ph. Martin's Bleedproof white ink. This is pretty thick and it's very similar
to the Kuretake. This next one is
by Daler Rowney. It's an acrylic ink. I probably should have
been washing my brush. There were still inks from the previous two versions that
were stuck on this brush. It's given a different result. This one is the
white Liquitex ink. I did wash off my
brush before trying it out and it's not as
thick as the others. If you don't have
any white inks, just mix up some white Gouache
or even white acrylic. They will work just
as well for this. Finally, you'll need
some small brushes. These are just synthetic brushes and they'll give a
really good snap. Whatever brown and
white inks you have. I strongly suggest that
you try everything out on a piece of scrap
toned paper like me. You have a good idea of the
coverage and how they behave. If you do this,
you'll probably have a much better
experience when you come to create your studies.
4. My Examples: Even before I knew I would
be creating this class, I was trying out
quite a few different approaches independently. This actually ended
up forming the basis of the demos that I'm going
to show you in this class. You are going to be seeing the experience that I've gained from several attempts and
iterations in this class. You'll have the opportunity to witness the evolution
of your own skills and techniques and gain a
deeper understanding of the learning process that can be achieved through persistence
and exploration. Some of you may have see this gray Halloween
sketchbook from my previous tone paper class. I feel the beginning of
this sketchbook with portraits I rendered just
in black and white pen. I wanted to carry
on with this theme, so I decided to make life easy by capturing simple florals. First off, we have
this, forget me not, with white ink and
Kuretake brush pen. I'm really just looking at shape to gather the
essence of the flower, and there is quite a lot of simplification
happening here. Next up are some snow drops. I did sketch these in the
early part of spring, and I was really inspired by
what I was seeing around me. These would have
been done incredibly quickly but the results
are really lovely. This particular video
was taken in Norfolk on my birthday weekend and it
was such a glorious sight. I did actually paint more
snow drops while I was there. I'll show you at the
end of this class. One of my favorites
is apple blossom, which heralds the
warmer parts of spring. They have such distinctive
buds which are so delicate, but they turn into
amazing fruit. These particular
apples are so sweet. My kids love them. Here are some really
cute little Nazi side and lily of the valley. Again, just really simple Kuretake brush pen
and ink studies. Cherry blossoms are just so charming and seeing them
always brightens up my day. These particular samples
were picked by the river. I'm not a great lover of
helly balls but I have now found a huge
appreciation of them. They still bring those
lovely spring vibes. You can see here that my strokes are getting
pretty expressive. At this stage, I felt my
sketchbook was too small for the type of exploration
I wanted to play with. Luckily, I did have loads
of brown paper lying about. I use some of the
packing paper around some parcels to try out
a few different ideas. Here, you can see in
this first example, it's some hawthorn blossom. The paper is a little bit wrinkly but it really
didn't matter. However, this cardboard envelope was really nice to work on. I have to say I was really
impressed by the results. Just by repeating the process, by using the same
reference image, you get such wonderful results. I learned so much. I carried on by looking at
flowering winter climates. I know the paper is
really wrinkly but I think it adds to the effect. It is quite a complicated image. So it meant I had to really look and simplify those
darks and lights. It's a really important
study for me. This one is a little
bit more involved. It's from a photograph I took last spring when I
was picking up sprigs of blossoming flowers as
I went on my daily walks. I still learned a lot
from these two examples, but I did feel the tonal
value of the paper on this one was a little bit pale
for us trying to achieve. Again, something like this
is really important for me to understand going forward. I can take that information
and use it at a later date. I also have another class on tone paper called toned paper, stunning and simple illustrations
in black and white. We use real-life references
of fruit, vegetables, and vase to break
down forms into their essential dark
and light areas in order to understand
the subject better. Please check out
this class if you want further examples of careful observation and using black and white pens to focus
on shapes and contrast. I'll leave a link to this
class in the description.
5. Advantages of Studies: Color is probably one of the
most attractive qualities of flowers and there are a myriad
of colors to choose from. But believe it or not, when you are trying
to depict florals, value is actually
more important than color to the design and
success of a painting. Value; the lights and darks, are the reason we do not need to see an outline
in our painting. Edges of objects are not necessarily defined by color
but by relative value. In this class, we are using tone paper to enhance
our understanding of contrast and depth for
our floral references. The tone paper itself
acts as a foundation, allowing highlights and shadows
to stand out prominently. Tone studies should not be
dismissed as a waste of time. On the contrary, they
play a crucial role in deepening your understanding of floral artwork on
multiple levels. While it may be tempting to dive directly into
the color version, rushing past the tone
study would mean missing out on significant
learning opportunities. By taking the time to
create tone paper studies, you lay the groundwork for a more comprehensive
understanding of your florals. These studies will allow
you to explore and grasp the fundamentals of form, value, and composition without
the distraction of color. They will give you
the solid foundation for capturing the
essence of the flower, their shapes, and the
interplay of light and shadow. By carefully observing and rendering the florals
on tone paper, you will develop a keen eye for the subtle nuances of
value and contrast. This heightened
awareness will greatly benefit your future color
work as you'll have a greater understanding of
the relationship between different hues and shades
and how they interact. Additionally, tone
paper studies provide an opportunity for
experimentation and planning. Since they are usually
quicker and less time consuming than
a full-color piece, you have the freedom to
try different techniques, explore different
compositions, and make adjustments without the pressure of committing to
a final outcome. This allows you to
refine your ideas, test various approaches,
and gain confidence before starting on a more
complex color version. This evolving process of
learning and refining will strengthen your artistic ability and will help you
grow as an artist. These studies really
are going to lay a solid foundation for any
potential color pieces, enabling you to approach it
with greater confidence.
6. Negative Space : Sometimes I use negative
space in my sketches as a means of defining
shape and form. As you can see, I'm filling
in the background area and behind the cherry blossoms
using a brush pen. I originally painted this
in watercolor and ink, but felt they were
lacking in depth, so I'm using this brush pen in the negative spaces
to help provide visual contrast to
the main subject, which are the cherry blossoms. During the class demos, I might start talking
about negative space. I'd like to explain a little
bit more about this term. Negative space is the area
surrounding the subject, or in other words, positive space is
the main focus, whilst the negative space
is in the background. By intentionally blocking out the background or
surrounding areas, the subject becomes more pronounced and
visually prominent. Negative space acts
as a visual frame, drawing attention to
the viewer's gaze towards that main subject, which in our case
will be florals. By paying attention
to the shapes formed by negative space
around the subject, artists can
effectively define and enhance the overall shape
and form of flowers. The interplay between
positive and negative space creates a visual dialogue
that adds depth, dimension, and visual
interest to your artwork. Using negative space allows
room for interpretation and I personally think it
prevents the artwork from feeling overcrowded
or overwhelming, and it's a really handy device
to understand how to use. I'm going to show you
a few more examples. This is a Zen Buddhist
temple in Kyoto, Japan. The reference image show
this temple in the snow. I use the line of trees
in the background to define the edge of
that roof which was covered in snow
and I think that's a really great example of
using negative space to give the sense of
the edge rather than using line because
the paper was white. Here's another great
example where I filled in the background behind this **** crow in a
really dark color to accentuate the
shape of its body. I don't know what was
in the background, but this is the
device that I use to look at his tail feathers. In this version, the verse
is really pale and against the white paper it
would have been really difficult to define, so using a very
dark Burgundy plum, I was able to give it a lot more definition
and the same again, with this glass of cherries. This still life,
I've used a really, really dark blue acrylic
marker to define the edge of this onion that's growing and also the handle of this teapot. In this one opposite, you can see the
dark blue comes in again in-between the stems and edges of these leaves
to give the impression that you can see through that
plant into the background. Finally, this example
of the thistles, I've used negative space, again, using a brush pen to give a much darker background because the leaves were a very
unusual shape and also the top of
the thistles were fluffy and I thought that was the best way to approach
these thistles. I know that's an incredible
amount of information, especially if you've never
used negative space before. But I hope the
upcoming demos will put some of these
theory into practice.
7. Flower 1: Clematis: This clematis was
actually growing in my garden and I thought it was a really pretty arrangement. You can see the light and
dark very distinctly, with the clematis
flowers themselves being incredibly light in value. The darkest areas are directly underneath those
central florals, and then as you move
out from these areas, you start to see the
shapes of a whole leaves. For this demo, I'm going to
be using curie take white ink with one of these strathmore
toned papers from the pad. I'm going to place the
largest clematis flower, that's the one on
the lower right. They all have four petals
which does make life easy, although they are not completely at a 90 degree angles
from each other. Remember, these are
organic growing things, so let's not get too
perfect early on. There are three information which are overlapping
each other, so you have to decide
which petals are at the front and which petals
go behind the others. Overlapping petals and
leaves can be really confusing and you don't have
to portray it accurately. These are only studies. You will have to make a judgment call and your
decision is absolutely fine. This slightly smaller one, although it's
slightly more pink, I'm still going to
go with white ink. Because it is just so light
compared to that background. I don't actually
think the positioning of some of these
petals are accurate, but what I'm trying to do
is look at the relationship of each petal and leaf
next to one another, so it still reads as a clematis, as if they were
growing organically. Tone studies serve as a really great
problem-solving exercise. Here we have the first layer, which is the white ink. Now we're going to
be using some of the Liquitex burnt sienna ink. I'm picking out absolutely
the darkest areas which lie between the petals
in this central area, although I'm mindful of
the vines and sections which probably fall into
the mid tone areas. Let's just look at the shapes of those darkest places first. This helps you to understand the underlying structure
and the proportions, and this will enable you to create a more accurate
representation. As I've mentioned
in other classes, it's really good idea to squint your eyes by half closing them. As you do so, you will
actually see less of the color and more of just
the lights and darks, and these are the
values of your colors. This area here-, the section that I'm working
on is actually a leaf, so I'm going to be
using negative painting to extract that shape
from the tone paper. We can make sense of what we see because we recognize its shape. I've been able to
define this edge of the leaf and this
one next to it. My technique is to outline it first and then fill in
that negative space, there are probably other
ways of doing this, but this is the process that I'm leaning into at the moment. I'm adding that stem now and the leaf that's
hovering just above it. I know it looks half finished, but I am going to come back
to it in a little bit. Tone studies really encourage the simplification
of forms and shapes. When we're working without
color distractions, you can concentrate on capturing the basic shapes and
structures of your subject. You can't hope to
capture everything, so at some point you're
going to have to decide what to include
and what to leave out, in order to give that appearance
of layering and depth. You'll notice that I am flitting or moving from area to area, and that's just my way of
trying to make up my mind, trying to work out how
everything fits together, because I can't always
see it immediately. I have realized the
stem that I've just painted in is actually
in the wrong place, and I've realized its
relationship to the petal. I'm going to have to make
a decision about this. For now, I'm going to
leave it outlined, I know there's something
not quite right, but I can't figure it
out at the moment. There's just so much
going on there right now, and I don't want to
include everything because it would
just look too busy. I'm going to have to
make adjustment call. Although, I am still
trying to convey that randomness of the leaves into weaving in the background. It's really like analyzing the
distribution of lights and dark in order to identify
those main shapes, and it will allow the viewer to comprehend what is
actually occurring here. Moving on to the stem, that you can see coming
out from the left. It's probably a little
bit heavy handed, but we are going to fill in that section with
some negative inking. For me, when I'm in doubt, I always fill in the darkest
areas first because it gives my brain to ponder what my
next step is going to be. I'm using negative and
positive space to portray the leaves of the clematis and the stems, because
they're intermingling. Even though I've
speeded up this video, you can still see that there's a fair bit of hesitancy and that is just me deciding what this next
step is going to be. I keep looking at the reference, and looking at my paper, coming up with the simplest way of portraying what I'm seeing. This line I've drawn
just on the left is actually one of the
post of my fence, and I think it will create
quite a nice border. I'm looking at the edge
of this clematis flower. I could fill it with white ink, but I think what I've
decided to do is just let the tone paper
show through instead. I think that worked
out quite well. Now we're finishing up by adding the stamens to the middle
of each clematis flower. I've decided just to use dots, because when I squint, I can't actually see very
much of what's happening, so this is the best
approximation that I can convey. But that's okay, because it's the simplification
that allows artists to quickly identify what
this part of the flower is. Just to remind you again, these are only studies. They are here to allow us
to improve our observation, depth perception,
and become more confident about
making decisions. You know I always like
to do a caring critique afterwards where we assess
what we've created. I have to say, for
my first attempt, I am really pleased with
how this has turned out. I think it gives
a good impression of those pretty pink clematis. There's a really lively
organic quality, almost like a
pattern of light of dark light running
throughout this group. The more I look at this piece, the more I observe
how light falls on different surfaces and it creates those
highlights and shadows, and that allows us
to define some of the three-dimensional forms
of those petals and leaves.
8. Flower 2: Hawthorn: These hawthorns grow everywhere
in my local neighborhood. I love seeing them
in high spring. If we do the squinting trick where we have closed our eyes, we can see the hawthorn
blossom really pop against that dark green background and also most of the
leaves themselves. Make a note of the
very darkest areas, especially where
those delicate stems which are really light in value appear in front of these dark patches
in the background. Luckily, hawthorn
blossoms and buds are pretty simple and that's what
we're going to start with. I'm actually using a paper
takeaway bag for this. Starting with the
Daler-Rowney white ink and a number 8 round brush, the white blossoms are
really simple strokes. You can either dab them on or start from the middle outwards. Remember to overlap some of the blossoms as it's
what they do naturally. It's best to concentrate
on getting the shapes of the entire clumps of blossoms together rather than trying
to paint them individually. Remember, the brain
can fill in the gaps. It can make assumptions
about what's going on. Tone studies are not intended
to be perfect replicas. Instead, they're meant
to encourage artists to observe and interpret
their subject matter. By allowing for approximate
shapes and proportions, you can focus on capturing
the essence and character of your florals rather than getting caught up in anything
too precise. This allows for more expressive and
personal interpretations of your subject matter. I think this is getting off
to a really good start. Now, we are going to go in with the Daler-Rowney
ink. This is sepia. Do remember to give
these ink bottles a little shake so the pigments are not stuck at the bottom. If I squint, that area is one of the darkest and it's directly
next to the blossom. However, as you move downwards, there are more leaves, so we're going to have
to go around them. I'm going to be adding the
leaf which is adjacent. I do think my positioning
is slightly off, but I can live with this. We can come back
to look at this. I'm now going back to fill
in another really dark area. I have noticed that the leaves
on the hawthorns are very distinctive and they're
like a three-pointed shape. This section here, you can see some of the really
delicate stems, and I'd like to
incorporate them. That means having really
steady brushwork in order for that
toned paper to show through as we're painting the negative space around
those very thin stems. I have decided to add a few more white blossoms having observed that reference
image a little bit longer. I think working this way
is like following a road, but you're not quite sure
where it's taking you but you just have to trust that you will get to the final destination. I'm now working on
this upper section, which has that tiny branch that all the sprigs seem
to be coming off. It's a good idea to add that now to serve as a point of
reference so that I can gauge where some of the
leaves are in relation to it. Now, I'm going from
dark area to dark area. Although, I have to admit
I am sometimes really confused because I can't actually figure out
what's going on. I have to work with an approximation and
just keep going back to the reference image to do really careful observation
to gain more insights. I'm sure all of you
are going to have your own interpretations
of the same image, and that's absolutely fine. I think tone paper offers
artists wider range of expressive possibilities and you can make this your own. You'll see that I'm still doing this flitting from area to area, just trying to gather
up information. Little by little, I
think I'm getting there. I tend not to linger
anywhere too long. Otherwise, I could end up overworking certain areas and I really don't want
that because this is only meant to be a study. I've decided this area
on the bottom left. I've just had to make it up because it's a little
bit blurry in the photo, but if I squint, that area is incredibly dark, so I think this is
the best solution. Tone paper studies provide an opportunity for
experimentation and refinement as we try to establish the relationship
between certain items. In this case, it's
leaves and blossoms. I always think it's a little bit like magic as you fill in the negative space and you see those leaves emerging
from that patch of paper. This area on the top left needs just a bit more definition to help this piece read better. One thing worth
mentioning here is rough studies like
these can help artists overcome their fear of making mistakes because it encourages a more relaxed and
exploratory approach which fosters a sense of
freedom and creativity. It's really embracing
the process. Now it's time to add the
little stamens in the middle, which are very delicate. I've probably been a little
bit heavy handed here. Another analogy might be filling in parts of the
map as you go along. You're trying to plot out the different parts of
this hawthorn blossom. As you gain extra information, you can fill in another part. I think the tiny areas of
the delicate stems needs a little bit more
definition because it's an important part of this
hawthorn blossom grouping. Although these tiny hawthorn
stems are incredibly small and fiddly to paint
in as negative space, they are incredibly
important in supporting the story of this bunch
of hawthorn blossom. I'm just adding that
helps to characterize the distinctive leaf shapes
that we see on hawthorns. Let's take a look at
what we've done here. Yes, it does look
a little bit rough around the edges and
it's unfinished, but that's totally acceptable. The main thing is we have
emphasized the essentials, which are the value
relationships and the overall composition. Also by intentionally leaving
certain areas unfinished, you can draw attention to
the most crucial elements that convey the essence
of your floral. This selective approach helps prioritize the essential
aspects of your work and leaving it unfinished
can serve as a visual representation
of the artistic process. It is a work in progress
and it captures a specific moment in
your creative journey. Personally, I think
this adds a sense of spontaneity and gestural
quality to my artwork. Remember, the goal of a
tone study is to capture essential elements and
serve as a learning tool. As long as you have effectively conveyed the main
aspects of your subject, leaving it somewhat unfinished
allows for interpretation. You can embrace the
unfinished aesthetic as deliberate artistic choice and explore the creative
possibilities it offers.
9. Flower 3: Mixed Bouquet: This is a lovely bouquet I put together during a
spring walk last year. We have a mixture of calamitous, bluebells, and also hawthorns. Two of these you've already
tackled before in this class. I know this bouquet looks quite intimidating but it can still
be pretty straightforward. For a start they
are all generally lighter than the background, so the petals and the
leaves should pop out. However, one area that I
do want to point out are the bluebells as
they're probably closer in value to mid-tone. I think we're going
to leave them as tone paper showing through
in the areas where they sit. This brown paper is the
back of an Amazon envelope. For this demonstration I'm
going to be using Dr. PH. Martin's bleed-proof white ink. As we did before with the
other calamitous flowers, we are going to start with
the distinctive petals. However, I have to be
mindful of the shape they create when the petals
are touching each other, especially this one on the left which is angled away from us. Please squint in order
to see the shape. Now let's add a few of
those hawthorn buds just to give some
more information to this basic framework. There is actually a third
calamitous flower on the right and the petals on this one are slightly
larger than the other two. Then there is a really
small version next to it. We're going to finish off with the hawthorn buds and
remember to fill in the shape of the mass of the buds to give an impression rather than trying to add every individual one. Now that we've got a framework
in place I think there's enough here to start adding
some of the brown ink. This is Winsor and
Newton Pete Brown. The central area here is
really confusing as it's just a mass of dark
leaves in there and I'm desperately trying to
figure out what's going on. However, we do have this distinctive Hawthorne
leaf right here at the front so I think I'm
going to add that first. It pops out because of the massive darker
leaves behind it. As my eye moves around the
paper I do realize that there are a lot of dark edges to the side of that calamitous so I'm going to add them
now because that will probably help me to
secure that position. I've decided to block in this little area
here until I figure out what is happening with all the different
relationships. In this composition I need to
figure out the relationship of the stems of the hawthorn buds and
there's so many of them. What I've done is just
give a suggestion. I haven't been able to
add every single stem. Now, this downward stroke is
actually part of my hand. Now, I've just added
some positive shapes, some basic leaf shapes, and then moving up
I revert back to negative to add more dark areas. I am having to simplify a phenomenal amount
here because there's just so many leaves
in this background. Now I'm adding the
stems of these buds. I have realized the
hawthorn blossoms are a little bit out of place. But I think once we have the bluebells they're
going to look much better. I'm not going to stress
too much about them. When beginning these bluebells, I want to add a lot of detail
but I'm trying very hard not to get caught up in all the little
separate flower heads. What I've decided to do is just outline the edges
of the bluebells. I'm trying not to be
concerned with the bulk of what's actually
happening within this area. That's why I've just
stuck to the outline. I know it looks
really odd right now and it doesn't make
much sense but what I think does help is establishing part of
that dark background. Even if it's just bushes
in the background, if you squint, it's difficult to figure out what they are
apart from this dark mass. Now that there's something
framing the bluebells, I feel a bit more
confident about adding the gaps within some of
those separate bell shapes. Now we need to establish the edges of the other side
of this bluebell group. It does look messy but I
do think it has improved dramatically in terms of how we are able to communicate
this bouquet. I can tell there's something floral happening in that space. Now let's expand
that negative space around the top half
of this bouquet. I really should have used
a bigger brush for this. Anyhow, and also adding
that patch of dark above those hawthorn buds on the right has really
given it some context. Moving back down into the
center of the bouquet again, I'm doing my usual trick
of just trying to find the darkest areas and defining those leaf shapes upon
the paper and you can see that they are emerging
nicely which is so satisfying. These leaves in particular
bat up against the blossom. I need to make sure
that they appear to be underneath this grouping and to give that illusion of depth, I'm not quite sure
if that part was quite right but
it'll do for now. I've decided that we need the last little
calamitous flower and perhaps the hint of another. While I've got my
paintbrush in my hand, I'm going to add a
few more masses of hawthorn blossom and claim
their space just there. If we concentrate on this
bunch for the time being, we can help them
along by defining the lower edge of
this group with some dark ink and then adding that leaf shape to
define another edge. This is really starting
to communicate better and this adds clarity to the composition and enhances the overall readability
of this piece. The main spatial relationships of this bouquet are in place and our gaze is being directed towards those larger
calamitous blooms. However, I'm not overly
satisfied with those bluebells. They are just too flat. I think we need to introduce a stronger contrast between
light and dark values. I'm going to take some of
that white ink and just pick out the smallest
highlights on the bluebells. They're going to be on the
very tip of the flowers. Highlights are essential for capturing the play of light on different services
and they indicate the areas that are most
directly exposed to the slight. Now it's time to go in
and create those stamens. You could probably be a
little bit lighter in touch than what you
see me doing here. I probably should have changed
my brush but never mind. These small dots really add a nice touch of contrast to draw your eye
towards the middle. I think we've done a
pretty good job here. Perhaps I could have
looked a little bit more closely at
those bluebells when they're bunched together
like this but they are incredibly complex and I didn't
want to overwhelm myself. I feel with this
piece in particular I had to be more mindful of the edges as there
were a lot of elements as in there were lots of different types of
flowers and leaves. Defining edges on tone
studies is essential for creating visual separation
and conveying depth. It's important to
establish a sense of separation and define
the boundaries between the different
shapes of leaves and flowers to communicate
the vibe of this bouquet. I want to end this video by highlighting the importance of these quick exploratory
studies as it allows artists to experiment
with different techniques, mediums, and ideas before committing to a larger,
more complex painting. I know these look incredibly messy and rough but the beauty is that we learn from
each and every one of these and our skills
can be refined. When I was an art student, we had so many quick
exploratory studies often with a very
short time limit. By creating these
smaller studies first, we can identify and resolve any potential issues
and this will prevent wasted
time and effort on larger, more
time-consuming pieces. It allows for adjustments and
refinements to be made in a more efficient manner
and ultimately lead to a more focused painting
process later down the line.
10. Final Thoughts: Thank you for taking the
time to watch my class. It's worth remembering that
even with no color at all, we were very easily able to identify what
the flowers were. This is because our brains are highly adept at recognizing and identifying objects
such as flowers based solely on the patterns
of dark and light. This comes from the
remarkable ability of our visual system to prioritize
and process contrast. I truly hope you are
able to take what you've learned from this class and
apply it in future artworks. Have fun in discovering
the shapes and your florals and I can't wait to see what unusual bits of card or packaging
you use to paint on. Please remember to upload
them in the project section. I'd love for you to leave
a review for this class as it really helps me and
your fellow students. If you want to share what you've created in this
class on Instagram, then please tag me @ohn_mar_win and use
the # ohnmyskillshare, so that I can find your amazing pieces and
share them on my feed. Now I did promise you a peek at another version of snowdrops
I painted in my sketchbook. This was started on location in sharing and park in Norfolk. This is actually
the background of my sketchbook before I
added anything else. It does look like
abstract watercolor, but what I've actually
done is create my own toned background. Most of this is
actually mid-range, apart from those trees which
were in the background and incredibly dark and I was
able to work on top of this, you will see that there were
two versions that I created. One using posca pens and the
other using colored pencils. However, it's the same
principle of finding the darkest areas and using negative space to block out
parts of the background. I think it's very much a continuation of what I have
presented in this class. But taking it to the next stage, applying the same contrast
and shadow considerations, but using different mediums. Creating my own spontaneous tone backgrounds
is something that I've been playing with a lot recently in my
sketchbook studies. I've used ink in the background,
applied very randomly, so it wouldn't react with any watercolor or pens I might
want to work with on top. Once you have the foundations, you will be able to apply
the same framework. These are actually taken from
my on-location sketchbook. If I turn some of these spreads into a
black-and-white image, you can see I have basically
created toned paper. I have been able to
add highlights using one posca pen and
darker brush pens. Understanding the relationship
between color and value makes it easier to
work with different colors. Even those that
seem unnatural like the accidental red splashes over acrylic paint
in this sketchbook. In fact, even without
any color at all, our brains can easily
identify objects in an image. This is because our attention is primarily drawn to the
patterns of light and dark. When there is contrast between
light and dark elements, our eyes are
immediately captivated. While we often think of color and value as
separate concepts, they are closely interconnected. By considering the
value of a color, we can effectively capture
the essence of an object or scene regardless
of its coloration. By recognizing the importance of value and its
relationship to color, we can make informed decisions when choosing color
in our artwork. Understanding that value plays a significant role in how
we perceive and interpret colors helps us to create more impactful and visually
engaging compositions.
11. BONUS: Clematis Colour Study: I wanted to include this bonus video lesson to
show you how I interpret the same clematis from
Demo 1 as a color version. Now you can compare how undertaking a toned
paper version has influenced my
decision-making when I create a watercolor
study in color. You don't have to undertake color interpretation as
part of your class project, this is purely optional. However, if you do go ahead
and decide to paint one, please do upload your
color version along with the tone paper study
and a few words about your experience comparing
the two different studies. Now that we've created a toned paper version
of this clematis, we have a lot more
information at our disposal again
from that first study. We can use this experience
when looking at a watercolor version of
the same reference image. Don't feel intimidated because we are now working with color. As we still have to be mindful
of almost the same things, there should still be a strong emphasis on
shape and values. Before undertaking tone paper
studies are very likely would have started with
a pale petals like this. But it's quite difficult to see. I'm going to change it up and work with the
negative space first, just like in our Study. Let's go in with a
bit of sap green, where I've added
a drop of indigo. I'm leaving the paper white or unpainted and then using the green to paint the space around the shape
of those petals. It's still a case of looking
for the darkest areas, mainly between each petal. When I'm painting
the darkest areas, I am then using Payne's gray mixed up with
that sap green. Don't water it down too much. Make sure there's loads
of pigment in there for these darker values because
watercolors will dry lighter. You can see these
petals emerging, which I absolutely adore. I am actually looking more at the reference image
right now rather than my study because I think I missed out a few things
the first time round, and because I'm in charge, I can interpret it how I want. Sometimes it's really
interesting to see what the differences
are when you compare two pieces of work that may have derived
from the same image. I'm still trying to figure
out the main petals again. They do slightly vary
from my total study because I'm still working with negative space and it's giving different results now. I was having real difficulty
in getting the proportions of those petals right
and their positioning. But I've just let it go
and I'm carrying on. If creating a tone study
and then moving on to a color version on the
same study is new for you. I want to quickly
go over some of the reasons why repetition
is so important. The main one that I've touched upon is building confidence. As artists repeat and
practice various techniques, they become more familiar
and comfortable with them. This breeds confidence, reducing
some of that self-doubt, and enables us to tackle more
complex pieces like this. Furthermore, it is really
important for building up muscle memory by repeatedly practicing those techniques
and brushstrokes. We train our muscles. When we do that, there are actually neurological
pathways in our heads that perform the desired movements
time after time. It becomes a lot more
effective and effortless. This leads to better control and precision and consistency
in our artwork. Now we're looking to bringing
some brighter leaves or slightly lighter in
value at the top area here. It's now sap green
mixed with yellow. You can see how
that corresponds to the areas on the toned paper
that we left unpainted. If you have parts of your
tone paper showing through, this is where some of
your leaves might come in because they are more
of a mid-range value. I'm letting the pigments
mix on the paper. So letting some of those
yellows and greens do the wonderful
watercolor wizardry. When you squint,
you can already see the difference between
the tonal values of this light green I'm
applying now and the dark indigo and sap
green of the background. Repetition helps
establish muscle memory, which is the ability
of our muscles to remember and perform specific
movement automatically, and through consistent practice, such as what we're doing here, we can train our
muscles to execute certain gestures
and actions without having to consciously
think about it. This allows for much more smoother and fluid
movements when we paint. Let's add an indication
of that fence post. I am mindful to keep this
area just here unpainted because there's a lot of windy stems there
which are lurking. I would like to add them later. Now, I think it's time to wash the brush
really well because I'd like to mix up some of that warm pale pink and
then fill the petals in. What I've mixed up is opera rose with a little
bit of gouache to help with opacity and
a tiny drop of orange. I do want to preserve
some of that white paper underneath to keep
that luminosity. Again, it's up to you to decide whether you
want to work from the original reference photo
or from the tonal study, or a mixture of both. It's really okay to have
different interpretations, and that's why we do studies. As you saw from that
reference photo, there was just a tangle of vines in this
particular corner. I simplified it right down
for that tonal study, but I think it could do
with just a few more. It's okay to change
it up because I have a much greater understanding of this particular scene having painted it for a second time. Those vines are a
brownie beige color, but I don't think I'm going
to introduce another color. I'm going to keep
it really simple, but it still gives the
impression that there was this tangle happening
next to those leaves. I'm going to add a few more down here on the bottom right. In amongst there
are some leaves. I think it's time
to add a few of those to this area to
give some context. Just like in the tonal studies, I don't always have a
clear plan of action. I'm literally just taking
it step-by-step and wondering what is the next
thing that I should add. I'm going from one
area to the next as I confirm a piece
of information. Looking at this
central petal again, I realized it was
totally the wrong shape. I've painted some of
that negative space in, and yes, it does
look much better. Same again with a few
of the other petals. They just needed to be resolved
a little bit better so that the shapes are
much more clearer. That's why knowing how to
utilize negative space and negative painting is such
a brilliant tool to have. Moving back up to
the top right area, it looks pretty
similar to our study, but I'm having a
hard time working out how I'm going to
add those leaves. I don't think I'm going to add individual leaves here rather. I'll just fill it in
with a light green so it contrasts enough against
those pale petals. As I've said in
the other videos, It's always good to keep moving around your piece so
that you don't become too fixated with
one particular area and end up overworking it. I'm going to go in with
that yellowy sap green because these are
the leafy areas. They are slightly
varying in values, but I am going to go back in
once they're a little bit drier with some
negative painting to make it more obvious. They are leaves. It is very loose and those pigments are
still flowing together, but they are going to
turn out fine. Trust me. Going back to this
upper section, I don't want to fill it
in too much because it is too jumbled for my brain
to work out what's going on. I'm just going to
leave it like that. As for these leaves
in the bottom corner, I'm now going to use
negative painting to build a leaf shape from that sap green
we put down earlier. This area is actually
a little damp. You can see it's
merging a little bit, which is absolutely fine. Now let's take a moment to
admire what we've done so far. I think it looks great with just the right
pops of contrast. Now it's time to
add the stamens. Again, I'm using sap green, but with a lot more yellow in it so that it harmonizes
with the leaves. I'm just having
them really quickly from the middle outwards. I have to go in again with a slightly more
pigmented sap green with a touch of yellow in it. Just to add that
hint of contrast within the dimension
of those stamens. Let's wash our brush again
because we're going to add a little bit more detail
to those clematis petals, which gives them their
textural quality. It could be really easy at this stage to start overworking. This is where we, as artists start to Pfaff. By keeping your brush
moving around your piece, it maintains that
freshness and energy, and prevent some of
that overworking way. It doesn't look as spontaneous. This continuous movement and variation in the brushwork
will create a sense of liveliness and allow for
visual interest and vitality. I had to go back in with the pale pink because
I hadn't included them on those far
right, clematis petals. Now it's time for
the final pass, which is what I
call it when I add the finishing details using
Payne's gray in this case, I thought it would be a good
idea to give the bottom of this piece a bit of an
outer edge or a frame. It had something to work against and give it a
little bit more context. I don't often do this, but on this occasion, I think it's helping
me to not just carry on and on until it reaches the edge of that piece of paper. You've noticed I've got
quite a limited palette. That is to avoid
muddy and my colors. And also by moving your
brush from different areas, it prevents those colors from becoming muddy or over-blended. When you continuously work in the same area for
an extended period, the colors can
just mix too much, and that will result in a
loss of clarity and vibrancy. I could have filled those
leaves on the outer edges, but I'm mindful that I don't
want to crowd some of this. If we take a moment to
admire both pieces, I honestly don't think I
would've been able to pull off a color version such as this so quickly if I hadn't
done a tonal study. When you do the
squint test tonally, they are very similar. Since the color version
is the second version, I have been able to
input more information, so I've probably added a few more details,
especially the vines. I totally adore that
pale pink against that lush dark
blue-green background. I really hope that
you'll be able to get similar effects if you decide to create a color version
of your floral piece, if you do, please
remember to upload it. I can't wait to
see your versions.
12. Behind the Scenes: Ruby. Ruby darling, I need my desk, I need to start filming. Go on, you can do it. Thank you. No Ruby, Ruby get off, get off Ruby. Darling, I don't know
if this is the way. Oh, you be calm. Ruby, you sat on my work.