From Painter to Artist

QUESTION: Hi Susie! I admire your paintings. When I grow up I want to be just like you! (ha)I've been at this for a few years now and I don't feel like I know where to go next. I do pretty good at painting along with my instructors but when I step out on my own I'm lost. How do I go from painter to artist? I'd appreciate your suggestions. Thankfully, Sally

SUSIE'S REPLY: Hello Sally!

Hmmmm, we might need to look at the Moma Bird who has been preparing her fledglings for the day they would leave the nest for this answer.

I think there is definitely a spot in the road along our artistic journey where we start to rely more and more on our own instincts and what we have learned and less and less on others.
For some of us it does take courage to venture out on our own. But we all need to try! Just like the baby birds we need to try our wings while the nest is still close enough to get back to if we take a fall. Then try again!
Starting out with an easy project is a good confidence builder. Perhaps you could even redo a successful project you worked on during a class session and make it your own using the same steps you learned in class. Don't shoot yourself in the foot by trying to tackle a difficult project too soon. Keep it simple at first while you test those wings!
Repetition is a good teacher! Select a subject you enjoy painting and see how many different ways you can paint it. Rely on the background you have established with your teacher.
I'll bet you know more than you are giving yourself credit for.

So..... how do you know when you are artist and not just a painter? I guess that depends on your definition of an artist and painter. What's the difference?
I read somewhere that an Artist is creative while a Painter is a follower.
An Artist explores from their heart and soul while painters do it with their hands/mind.
An Artist gets rewarded for his creativity, while painter for his labor.

For me personally I believe I am both an artist and a painter. I think I probably allowed myself to identify or call myself "painter" while I was still learning "how-to-paint". But I believe we can also be artists long before we allow ourselves the title. It comes from within.

If you are getting too big for the nest and your "moma bird" hasn't given you a gentle nudge, you need to flap those wings and give it a try! Trust your instincts!

Happy Painting!
SUSIE

Color Basics in a Nutshell

Color Basics in a Nutshell
Definitions of terms as they relate to watercolor

Hue -- The name of a color, such as red, blue, yellow, green, orange, etc.

Intensity -- The strength, brightness, or purity of a color; its chroma.

Saturation -- The measure of brilliance or purity of a color.

Value -- The lightness or darkness of a color; pure colors will vary greatly in value.

Primary Colors are those hues that cannot be mixed from any other colors-- red, yellow, and blue. From these primaries, most other colors can be mixed. Secondary Colors are the resulting hues of mixing two prima ries in equal amounts. (R+Y =Orange, Y+B=Green, B+R=Purple)

Intermediate Colors are products of mixing one primary and a secondary. (R+O=Red-Orange, Y+O=Yellow-Orange, etc.)

Tertiary Colors are products of mixing two secondary colors. (O+G, O+P, G+P, etc)

Complementary Colors are two hues directly opposite each other on the color wheel. Complement to a primary color is the combination of other two primaries. Complement to Red is Green (Y+B), to Yellow is Purple (R+B), to Blue is Orange (R+Y). Neutral Hues are the results of combining all three primaries in various amounts, thus neutralizing the intensity and saturation of a hue. Combining a primary with its complement results in a neutral hue.

Temperature "The warmth or coolness of a color; also relative terms in comparison to other colors in context.

"Both red and yellow are commonly considered warm, while blue is unquestionably cool. More specifically, warm and cool colors are relative to where a color falls on the color wheel. The warmest color is red-orange and the coolest color is blue-green. Everything between those two points has a slightly warmer color on one side of it and a slightly cooler one on the other. Its neighbor is either warmer or cooler depending on the direction you go around the color wheel.

Using a split primary palette, we are working with a warm and a cool of each primary color.

All secondary hues are mixed from these carefully selected primary colors.

What is "glazing?"

QUESTION:
Susie: As a beginner in watercoloring I am not familiar with glazing as referred to in the
Raindrops on Roses watercolor tip. Please let me know. Thanks so much for your info. L S

SUSIE'S REPLY:
Glazing is layering thin washes of color with drying time between each layer to build up color.

In this case for the pink roses, it would be a thin or watered down puddle of pink paint.
You paint the darkest value near the center of the rose and blend off to a more diluted watered down value on the outer edge.
Blending off is moistening the area beside a stroke to soften the edge.

Look at my other rose demo for more details and info. Look at steps 4, 5 and 6.
http://www.susieshort.net/rose-demo.html

I hope that helps!

Susie

For a more detailed lesson on painting Raindrops on Roses look for my downloadable eLesson on my website. http://www.susieshort.net/e-lessons.html
You will need the Adobe PDF reader to open the file. To get it free click here.

More Watercolor Terms

Color Basics in a Nutshell

QUESTION: Susie, what's the definition of hue vs color? Are they the same? Thanks! Sally K.

SUSIE'S REPLY: Hi Sally! Simply speaking yes, they are the same.
Here is a list of definitions of commonly used terms as they relate to watercolor.

• Hue -- The name of a color, such as red, blue, yellow, green, orange, etc.
• Intensity -- The strength, brightness, or purity of a color; its chroma.
• Saturation -- The measure of brilliance or purity of a color.
• Value -- The lightness or darkness of a color; pure colors will vary greatly in value.
• Temperature -- The warmth or coolness of a color; also relative terms in comparison to other colors in context.
• Primary Colors are those hues that cannot be mixed from any other colors-- red, yellow, and blue. From these primaries, most other colors can be mixed.
• Secondary Colors are the resulting hues of mixing two prima ries in equal amounts.
  (R+Y =Orange, Y+B=Green, B+R=Purple)
• Intermediate Colors are products of mixing one primary and a secondary.
  (R+O=Red-Orange, Y+O=Yellow-Orange, etc.)
• Tertiary Colors are products of mixing two secondary colors.
  (O+G, O+P, G+P, etc)
• Complementary Colors are two hues directly opposite each other on the color wheel.
  Complement to a primary color is the combination of other two primaries.
  Complement to Red is Green (Y+B),
  to Yellow is Purple (R+B),
  to Blue is Orange (R+Y).
• Neutral Hues are the results of combining all three primaries in various amounts, thus neutralizing the intensity and saturation of a hue. Combining a primary with its complement results in a neutral hue.

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warm vs. cool

QUESTION: Hi Suzie, This question concerns "warm vs. cool" colors. If yellow is the "warmest" color on the pallet , and assuming it come in both a warm and a cool version...does the warm version have more red in it? How can that be if moving toward red is moving AWAY from the warmest color (yellow) ? Thanks for your thoughts! Holly

SUSIE'S REPLY: Hi Holly!
I'm happy to share my understanding of "warm vs. cool" with you.
Using a visual color wheel for reference; I believe the warmest color is red-orange and the coolest is blue-green. Let me offer this brief explanation:

• Both red and yellow are commonly considered warm, while blue is unquestionably cool. More specifically, warm and cool colors are relative to where a color falls on the color wheel. The warmest color is red-orange and the coolest color is blue-green. Everything between those two points has a slightly warmer color on one side of it and a slightly cooler one on the other. Its neighbor is either warmer or cooler depending on the direction you go around the color wheel.


• For my basic palette I use a split primary palette, working with a warm and a cool of each primary color. (WR/CR - WY/CY - WB/CB) All secondary hues are mixed from my carefully selected (split) primary colors.
  
  When comparing any two colors of the same hue - one will probably be either warmer or cooler than the other. If you are comparing two yellow hues, the color with more red is warmer than the yellow with more blue in it. If you continue to move around the color wheel toward red the yellow turns into yellow-orange then orange then red orange before you get to the warm reds and to true red. [True red contains a tiny bit of both warm red (hint of yellow) and cool red (with a hint of blue.)]
  If we continue around the color wheel we move from true red to the cool reds and move into the purples as we add more blue.

Blue hues are the most controversial ones! There are differing opinions about blue-greens being cooler/warmer than blue-violets and vica-versa.
I find for me personally it is easier for me to comprehend and understand if I look at the color wheel and see where a color falls. If it is closer to red-orange than it is to the blue-green then it is a warmer version of the hue.

Keep in mind.... "no matter what hue the color is, the color temperature (or the warmness or the coolness) of a color is relative to what you compare it too.

I'll be posting more thoughts on color theory. Click here to read "Some Thoughts on Color: Working with a Split Primary Color Palette" an article I wrote for "Inksmith" published by Daniel Smith.

Thanks for your question!

SUSIE
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Vignette ? ...

Question: "Hi Susie, I am searching for a definition of the term "vignette". I was told by a former art teacher that it is a painting that has color touching all sides (in some irregular fashion) and leaving a lot of white. The dictionary does not support this. I googled for meanings. Photos fade to white in a planned pattern. Is there an art definition that matches what I stated above? Or is there another definition for art work? Thanks " GA/Arkansas

Susie's Reply: This is my interpretation for the term "vignette" as it relates to art and painting. Technically, in a complete vignette the subject is totally surrounded by white paper. In partial vignettes the painted area is touching the edge on the sides and the top and/or bottom. When I think of a vignette I think of a painting that doesn't cover the corners but does randomly touch at least 3 out of the four edges. In other words the corners (and possibly the bottom) are left unpainted.

Guidelines for good composition should be followed when "vignetting". The configuration of the corners (the part left unpainted) should be different but still interesting from each other. Transitional areas for movement from positive to negative spaces within the painting should incorporated. Even though vignettes are often thought of a quick studies they have great potential to generate interest and excitement.

Thanks for your question! If I find a better answer somewhere in my notes I'll post an update.
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