Exercise 19:
BLACK GOUACHE WASHES AND TONES WITH DETAIL WORK IN PENCIL AND PEN

HERE, YOU WILL CREATE A FLOWER WITH BLACK WASHES OF GOUACHE IN LIGHT, MEDIUM, AND DARK TONES, LAYERING FROM LIGHT TO DARK AS YOU WOULD WITH ANY WATERCOLOR. DETAIL WORK WILL BE DONE IN WHITE PAINT, PENCIL, AND WHITE AND BLACK GEL PENS TO GIVE YOUR FLOWER DEFINITION.

MATERIALS

Newspaper or large craft paper

Palette

Black gouache

Inexpensive brush for mixing

Gray heavy cardstock or watercolor paper

Round or mop paintbrush

White and black gel pens

Pencil

1. Cover your work space with newspaper or large craft paper.

2. Find a flower to use as your reference, either in nature or in a gardening book. Choose a flower with nice dark and medium tones, as well as highlight areas.

3. On a palette, mix the black gouache with varying amounts of water to get three levels of wash: dark (thickest), medium (in the middle), and light (thinnest). You will layer from the light transparent black to the medium to the opaque. Use an inexpensive brush to mix the paint.

4. Set up the gray paper you will paint on. Load a round or mop brush with the lightest wash of black gouache.

5. Paint the foundation petals of your flower with a light hand. You may lightly sketch the flower first for guidance. Let the paint dry. (See A.)

6. Paint a second wash with the medium tone of gouache on the existing flower. Find the medium tones in your reference so the wash is placed selectively. (See B.)

7. To finish your piece, paint a few dark areas and leave small parts of the underlayers of the flower peeking through; this will give the flower form. (See C.)

8. Let your artwork dry before doing any pen work.

9. With your gel pens, pencil, and gouache, create details. Make marks as you like; I follow the flower petal for definition. Use the white gel pen for highlights, the pencil for medium tones, and the black gel pen for darker areas. The pencil is most versatile in this exercise because it can shade or make lines. (See D.)

VARIATIONS