Painting Pet Portraits in Watercolor
Pat Starr - The Cutting Garden Art Center
Saturday April 5, 2014 and Sunday April 6th 9:00 am -4:30 pm
Tuition for this 14 hour workshop is $105 – limit of 12 students
Teacher: Pat Starr (360) 797 1032 [email protected]
Cost: $105 per student for 14 hours of instruction, payable upon registration. Tuition will only be
refunded if you cancel two full weeks before the workshop; there are no make up classes or
refunds for missed classes.
Mail your check payable to:
Pat Starr
11 Tanoak Court
Sequim, WA 98382
Materials list that each student should bring to class:
Round watercolor brushes sizes 12, 8, 4 (good quality natural hair brushes are best)
1" flat natural hair brush
One size 4 inexpensive brush (for masking fluid)
Colorless Masking fluid.
2 large mouth water containers (16 ounces each)
Pencil 2B
Kneaded eraser
A small bar of plain hand soap
Paper towels – Bounty is best but any will work
A large white plastic palette with lots of compartments, a large center mixing area and a lid (the
best I've seen is the Stephen Quiller Palette on www.jerrysartarama.com)
Masking tape at least 1" wide
Hair dryer optional
Please see my “Stretching Watercolor Paper” (below) concerning paper type and stretching
options. Please prepare your painting surface to accommodate a 12” x16” painting area.
Professional grade watercolor paints in tubes by Daniel Smith, Windsor Newton or Holbein. I use
Daniel Smith exclusively.
The following color list is designed specifically for animal painting. Most of these colors are
transparent and low staining which provide for optimal mixing and lifting.
Aureolin ( cobalt yellow), Quinacridone Gold, Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Quinacridone Rose,
French Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt blue, Viridian (green), Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna
and Sepia.
You can find most supplies at Colors of Sequim on Washington Street or www.danielsmith.com,
www.jerrysartarama.com, www.cheapjoes.com, www.dickblick.com
STRETCHING WATERCOLOR PAPER
Introduction
Advice concerning stretching watercolor paper varies widely. Some
advise stretching all paper under 300 lb., while others never stretch their
paper regardless of the weight. A few even stretch paintings only after
they are completed and considered successful enough to be framed.
Watercolor paper that is lighter than 300lb. will buckle or cockle when
exposed to large amounts of water. The irregular hills and valleys that
are created make it difficult to create a smooth, even wash, because the
paint runs down into the valleys. In addition, the warped paper makes
mounting and framing difficult. I use 300# Fabriano paper for serious
painting and 140# Cold press Arches for experimenting and studies. Using
300# paper eliminates paper stretching all together.
There are several options you can choose from when dealing with this
characteristic of water-soaked, light-weight paper. You can accept the
natural warping of the paper and the resulting unevenness and banding
of washes into your personal style. You can paint with less water so that
the paper won't buckle. You can work on small areas of the paper at a
time. You can avoid the problem all together by painting on surfaces that
don't cockle when wet: 300lb paper, watercolor board, Strathmore
Aquarius II paper, a watercolor block, or a synthetic paper such as Yupo.
(If you paint on a watercolor block, you must wait until your painting
dries completely before removing it from the block. If you remove it
before it is dry, the paper will cockle.)
Soak Your Paper
Before soaking your paper, identify the side you will be painting on and
mark it with a small pencil X in one of the corners.
Gently submerge the paper in a children's wading pool, bathtub, sink, tub,
or tray filled with room temperature water. Soak 90lb paper for 5
minutes and 140lb paper for 10 to 15 minutes. Turn the paper over once
or twice during that time.
The fibers in the paper will expand and some of the sizing will dissolve.
The key to stretching paper successfully is soaking the paper just long
enough to get the desired results, and no longer. The paper has to soak
long enough to absorb water and expand enough that when it dries it will
tighten and create a taut surface.
The longer you soak the paper, the more it absorbs water and expands,
and the more the sizing is dissolved.
If the paper soaks too long, it will absorb so much water and expand so
far that when it begins to dry out and shrink back to its original size, it
will create a tremendous tension capable of tearing the paper, pulling
out the fasteners, or buckling the stretching board. In addition,
prolonged soaking will dissolve so much sizing that your paper will soak
up paint like a blotter.
On the other hand, if the paper is not soaked long enough, it will not
tighten when it dries.
Unfortunately, advice for the proper amount of time ranges from 5
minutes to an hour, so you will have to experiment with your particular
brand and weight of paper. (I soak Arches 140lb cold-pressed paper for
10-15 minutes.)
Some suggest periodically testing the paper while it is soaking. when it is
ready, take it out.
To test the wet paper, hold it upright and bend one of the top corners
toward you. If the corner springs back to the upright position, the sheet
is not wet enough. If it's soggy enough to bend over under its own weight,
then the paper is too saturated. If the corner remains where you bent it
or very slowly returns to the upright position, then it has absorbed the
right amount of water.
If it needs to soak longer, put it back in the water for a few more
minutes.
When you have determined that the paper has soaked long enough, lift
the paper out of the water. Hold it in the air by the two top corners until
the excess surface water has dripped off. Then place the paper on a
support board.
Allow a few minute for the moisture to even out.
If there are air bubbles underneath the paper, use a damp sponge or a
two inch wash brush dipped in water to brush the bubbles out. Move the
brush from the middle of the paper toward the edge.
Attach with Staples
Smooth the soaked watercolor paper, right side up, onto gator board,
sealed Homasote board, or plywood. I prefer ½ gatorboard. Using a
regular household stapler, or staple gun, and 1/4" staples, place a staple
at the center of one of the edges, about 1/2 inch from the edge. Go to
the opposite side, and place another staple. Repeat with the remaining
two sides. Staple every 2 inches all the way around the paper. Smooth
out any air bubbles from the center to outside edge with 2” soft brush or
sponge before stapling.
Let dry flat. Do not rush the process with a hair dryer.
Once paper is dry, tape masking tape over staples and onto the board.
This creates a dam, keeping the glazes on the paper and preventing the
paint from going over the edge and then seeping underneath.
When the painting is finished and completely dry, remove staples with a
flat staple remover, "cats paw" tack puller, narrow screwdriver, or a dull
kitchen knife. Place the staple remover under the paper, not on top.