Tag Archives: atmosphere

DAVID BELLAMY: RAPID SKETCHING

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This is a time of year when many of us go off on holiday with friends, family or on guided tours with others, hoping to snatch a sketch or painting here and there, only to find that we are pressed to move on quickly to the next highlight of the trip. So we don’t get our sketch, just a quick photo which often falls short of our needs. How do we respond to these pressures?

Having to cope with some furious sketching moments when an Arctic storm is almost upon me, or something really nasty has just emerged from out of the jungle to threaten my very existence, I’ve developed rapid-sketching methods over the years. Firstly, make sure you prepare well. Have your gear ready to hand: fiddling with the opening of pack buckles and searching for the right pencil in a deep container takes precious time, so apart from my usual painting kit kept in a rucsack I ensure I have sharpened pencil stubs in my pockets and an A5 sketchbook in another, all ready to grab quickly and start working. Also included in this pocket kit are water-soluble pencils and an Aquash brush containing its own water supply.

This is a pencil sketch in an A5 hardback sketchbook I did in Austria a couple of weeks ago. It shows the Durlasbodenstausee in the Eastern Tyrol, a magnificent scene, but I only had around 5 minutes to render it. I began with a few photographs, not just of the general scene, but also a close-up of the Reichenspitze, the handsome reigning peak. However, as in many cases I needed to ensure I recorded those parts of the scene that would be less clear in a photograph, and also bring in one or two conifers into more prominent positions than where they stood in reality.

To work quickly within such a ridiculously short time-frame I used my pencil-stubs, ignored the larger sketchbooks in my rucsack and worked over a double-page spread on the A5 book. I briefly indicated the darker tones on the sky only in a small area on the left where it abuts the snow slopes of the Gabler running down on the left, and also put in small patches of dark tones where there was darker ground than the glacier and also where the dark conifers stood. I then darkened the lake in places to indicate the water was darker than the shorelines. Finally I introduced the foreground trees on the left, but only with 3 or 4 pencil lines.

That evening in the hotel I added tone to the mountain peaks and sky, also darkening the top of the sky to include the stormy clouds, then worked on the slopes and conifers, all within the rapid outlines I had created on the spot. I had made a note of one or two of the more important colours, such as the shorelines, but for a painting I often impose my own colour regime anyway. I am wary of doing too much to a sketch, as it’s best to retain the spontaneity of the original, but when working under these conditions you do need to try to produce a reasonable response to the scene while it is still fresh in your mind.

Note that you can buy pencil extenders and also point protectors for those stubs. I always have a few of these in my pockets, even in a restaurant or cafe – you never know when you might need them!

DAVID BELLAMY: CREATIVE GRANULATING IN A WATERCOLOUR LANDSCAPE

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With modern super-granulating colours you can now introduce some amazing effects into your watercolour landscapes, and experiment with abstract passages to create interesting results. In this scene from my new book, Watercolour and Beyond, only a few motifs anchor the scene to reality: the hard shapes of the dark rocks; rocks detail in the top left; and the bush at the top.

The cascade of light was painted with sheer abandon, flowing in nickel titanate yellow and lunar blue into the upper section, then applying lunar black, both the latter two colours heavily granulating. I then immediately squirted copious amounts of granulating medium into the lunar black, using a pipette, varying the angle in places. Some of the rocks were painted wet-into-wet, while the more prominent ones were added once the paper had dried completely. The protruding bush was drawn with watercolour loaded onto the nib of a dip pen to achieve the very fine effect, and I completed the work with some spattering of white gouache on the bottom right to suggest spray, and transparent red oxide over the bush.

I painted this on Bockingford 200lb rough paper and the paints are the superb Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolours

Watercolour and Beyond is published by Search Press We no longer sell by mail order, but the book can be obtained direct from Search Press or any good book shop. It was great fun to write, with the emphasis on experimentation, and written to introduce a fun element into painting, while at the same time depicting some fascinating new techniques with watercolour painting. Henry Malt in Artbookreview.net says of the book: “What we have is, quite simply, his best book” I hope you enjoy it!

DAVID BELLAMY USING ATMOSPHERE TO LOSE THE BACKGROUND

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Have you experienced the frustration of seeing a stunning focal point set against a ghastly background, and wondered what on earth to do with the composition? You can, of course alter the background by bringing in new features that are not present, or turning it into a complete abstract, but my favourite is to use atmosphere to lose unwanted features, and occasionally this has to be quite drastic.

In this view of a trawler at sea off the Scottish coast I should point out that the background in this instance was certainly not ghastly: I just wanted to create the atmosphere and lose nearly all background detail. Suggesting a misty peak on the right with the wet-in-wet method implied the proximity of mountain scenery without elaboration, otherwise there is hardly any detail other than the shaft of light which illuminates the water ahead of the craft. You can apply this method for land-based subjects in much the same way, bringing in one or two suggestions of topographical features in a simple manner as I have done with the misty peak, or alternatively just losing part of the background in this way. It doesn’t have to be a foggy day, either, as low, intense backlighting can have a similar effect. This is also a useful ploy when you enjoy painting the same main feature but wish to alter the background to avoid too much repetition. Give it a go – it’s a great exercise.

I shall be demonstrating painting a waterfall at Erwood Station Gallery & Craft Centre at 2pm on Tuesday 10th December, and all are welcome. There will be a small charge, the proceeds going to Brecon Mountain Rescue Team and booking is essential. Please ring 01982 560555 to book a place and get any further information. The venue is in a delightful rural location beside the River Wye about 6 miles south of Builth Wells, just off the A470 north of Erwood village where they have the most wonderful cakes and teas.

The watercolour demonstration will show how to paint cascading water, summer trees, rocks, reflections in dark pools, and much more, using a variety of techniques that include some innovative approaches to applying paint. Bring along a notebook and camera, and any questions you might have, and if you bring along your sketchbook and make a day of it so much the better! It will last about two hours and I look forward to seeing you.

DAVID BELLAMY: LANDSCAPE COMPOSITION

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Taking time to consider your composition before you begin painting is critical, and unless you are working from a sketch with a fairly well-planned composition it’s worth doing one or two studio sketches to plan the overall design. While we may feel that composition is solely concerned with the positioning of the various elements of a scene, we also need to think about the atmosphere and lighting conditions, and how this will affect the finished result.

In this watercolour of Ravenglass in Cumbria I have kept the horizon line below the halfway mark and the focal point – the cottages – approximately one third from the bottom and one third from the left-hand side in the classic golden rule of thirds. There are times, however when you may wish to ignore this rule, so don’t feel you are bound to it. Happily in watercolour you can always cut a bit off the side, top or bottom if you want to adjust matters! While most of the detail is around the cottages I placed a boat over on the right-hand side to balance things out: it doesn’t compete with the focal point but helps the overall design. Note that the boat is happily looking into the composition. It was in fact sulking a long way off to the right.

The streaks of water in the foreground were all over the place, so I changed them to use as a lead in to the focal point. Closer to the left-hand edge I have washed a dull shadow over the buildings, as it is best not to introduce strong detail or contrasts at the very edge. Between the posts to the right of the cottages you can see two figures, although these might well be mistaken for giant sticks of rhubarb as I haven’t given them much shape, Figures and animals of course draw the eye and it’s helpful to position them near the main detail. Finally we come to the format. I wanted to suggest a tranquil, early evening mood, so I opted for a rectangular layout emphasising the horizontals in the sea, the cloud formation and the ground detail, with the distant land lost in the haze by laying a glaze over it. It was painted on Saunders Waterford rough 140lb paper using Daniel Smith extra-fine watercolours.

Just to remind you that I shall be demonstrating how to use Daniel Smith watercolour sticks sticks at Erwood Station Gallery & Craft Centre on Friday 7th June when I will be signing copies of my new book David Bellamy’s Complete Guide to Landscapes. Action starts at 2pm and I will be there till 4pm so do come along and join in the fun. Erwood Station is a great place to hang out, enjoy a cappuccino and they have the most delicious cakes and pastries! I’ll also have framed and unframed paintings at a discount, but do come and have a look at these magical painting sticks and ask any questions. Erwood Station is about six miles south of Builth Wells, just off the A470 from where it is well signposted. Telephone 01982 560555

David Bellamy – Bella Italia! Wales descends into a pit of hell

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Finishing off my Seas & Shorelines book, a hiking trip to northern Italy, and a host of demonstrations, workshops and other items has left me little time to write blogs of late. I know some folk are quite happy to create their blog while riding across snow-encumbered steppes, I tend to leave most of my electronic appurtenances at home.

The Italian trip in northern Lombardia was really special, and accompanied by wonderful autumnal sunshine. The mountain scenery was outstanding, the granite peaks positively gleaming a brilliant white in the strong sunlight, and especially striking when set against the warm autumn colours on the trees. This brief sketch was carried out with a very soft Lyra sepia pencil in a few minutes, smudging the tones in places with my fingers as I tried to capture the beautiful evening light illuminating the peaks. Lyra make lovely pencils, and this simple approach is an excellent way to improve your drawing.

Back in Wales it came as quite a shock to learn that a wind turbine development is being allowed to go ahead by the Welsh Assembly in a truly beautiful area, despite being thrown out by the local planning committee and the inspector at the public inquiry, and with very strong opposition from local people. The environment minister, who appears to have no experience in the natural environment, decided to give the scheme the go-ahead ‘because of the national interest!’ Which national interest she had in mind is not clear as it is certainly in the interests of the foreign company constructing the turbines.

The photograph shows the glorious Llandegley Rocks ridge which makes for a really interesting walk. There are starling murmurations with up to around 80,000 birds, which the developer intends to get rid of by cutting down their trees and bushes. The World Health Organisation has recently produced a report that shows that wind turbines cause hearing loss, tinnitus, high blood pressure and heart problems, yet the Welsh Ass has not bothered to carry out an investigation into the health of people living near these contrivances. Mid-Wales relies heavily for tourism for its economy, but unlike other countries the Welsh Ass cares little. If they can do this to Llandegley Rocks then nowhere is safe in Wales from this industrialisation. There is no control, this outcome has indicated that public inquiries are a waste of time, effort, money and emotional resources, and that local democracy is absolutely dead in Wales. Planning control appears to be a thing of the past, and this decision throws all efforts to strike a fair balance into utter confusion. It is a very black prospect for the principality. God help the children of Wales.