CHAPTER 4
WARMTH
“Art is a line around your thoughts.”
—Gustav Klimt
Certain words connect instantly to a feeling, and warmth is one of them. Warmth reminds us of the feeling of snuggling in a cozy blanket, the way sunshine feels on our face, or of the golden light of a summer afternoon. These are all positive associations.
The projects in this section have a warm color palette in common. They come across in different ways, with different subject matter and compositions—but always with warmth.
Tree of Life, Stoclet Frieze, Gustav Klimt, Austrian (1862–1918). Tempera and watercolor, c. 1905–09. MAK (Austrian Museum of Applied Arts) Vienna/Bridgeman Images.
PROJECT 1
BUTTERFLIES
This project takes inspiration from Odilon Redon’s Evocation of Butterflies. He chose the colors that come to mind for most of us when we think of warmth—the glowing golds and oranges of a sunset or fireside. We’ll develop a warm, rich painted surface, build it up, let it dry, and then add our focal point—butterflies or anything else you like—traveling across the page.
Evocation of Butterflies, Odilon Redon, French (1840–1916). Oil on canvas, c. 1912. Detroit Institute of Arts, USA/Bridgeman Images.
YOU WILL NEED:
• sketch pad or printer paper, any size
• graphite pencil
• reference material for your focal point
• 9" × 12" (23 × 30.5 cm) watercolor paper or Bristol board
• gouache
• watercolors
• paintbrushes, in a variety of sizes
• colored pencils
• white gesso
1 Think about your subject for this exercise and let your mind wander. You can use butterflies as your focal point or another subject you enjoy. It could be flat, graphic symbols, such as hearts or circles, or something that you like to draw, such as flowers or trees.
Work out the basics for your painting on the sketchpad. Draw from memory or gather reference material. Make as many drawings as you like, but don’t get mired down with getting everything perfect. A loose plan will do.
2 Look through your paint colors and note the warmer colors—perhaps the ones you choose are rosier than Redon’s. We’ll build up the surface of the painting slowly, adding warm colors in layers. Start with light washes and larger brushstrokes. Add other colors and tones to create more depth on your page. Play with lights and darks, and note how each color you add affects the page. Drip paint, splatter your brush a bit, or employ any other active techniques you can. The goal is to be playful with your color palette. (See A.)
3 You may find after working loosely with paint that the orientation of your page doesn’t feel right anymore. Go from vertical to horizontal and back again, if you like. Let the paint dry a bit and then go back in, adding more paint or perhaps areas of colored pencil to create fertile ground for your drawing. This step can take time. Don’t rush. If you’d like, work on two background paintings at a time and choose your favorite for the drawing.
4 When the background is dry, plan your drawing. If you’ve chosen butterflies, decide how they’ll fly across your page. Try five of them. The only rule is to not put the largest in the center of the page. If some background areas are too dark to draw on, lighten them with white gouache so your drawings can be seen. (Keep in mind that the white areas won’t stay white.) (See B.)
5 Add details to your drawing. If you’re drawing butterflies, will they each have a slightly different shape? Are they all flying in the same direction? Do they have spots, stripes, or other details? (See C.)
6 Keeping your warm palette in mind, add color to your drawing. Use the Redon painting as a starting point, or branch off in your own direction. You may want to start adding color with paint and then go back into each item with colored pencils.
7 Use tiny brushes or pencil to add any details and embellish any way you’d like. Try to make the transition from paint to colored pencils seamless. Experiment with color and how best to define your drawings. The goal isn’t to be realistic, but to play with the materials and get the most out of them. (See D.)
8 Take a look at the page. How is your subject interacting with the background? Does the composition need more integration? Add some of the color from the focal points into the background. Do they feel too similar? Try outlining an edge or two to help them pop, or perhaps, deepen the background behind the items to help them stand out more. Once you’re happy with your composition, allow it to dry.
Ready to try another? Create another background and then prepare it for drawing. Continue the subject that you started in your initial piece or choose a new one. Did you get too complex with the first? Simplify this one, using geometric shapes as your subject.
PROJECT 2
TREE OF CALM
Trees are a wonderful subject for artists. While rooted in the earth, they reach up to the sky and can be stylized any way you’d like. Gustav Klimt made graphic, but flowing, decorative trees in many of his paintings. They are always full of interest. In this project, we’ll make a tree of calm inspired by Klimt’s Tree of Life.
Tree of Life, Stoclet Frieze, detail of the left-hand side, Gustav Klimt, Austrian (1862–1918). Tempera and watercolor, c. 1905–09. MAK (Austrian Museum of Applied Arts) Vienna/Bridgeman Images.
YOU WILL NEED:
• 8" × 10" (20.5 × 25.5 cm) or 9" × 12" (23 × 30.5 cm) watercolor paper or Bristol board
• graphite and colored pencils
• pieces of cardboard to use for rolling paint
• acrylic paints
• brayer or paint roller
• scrap paper
• small paintbrushes
• card stock for cutting stencils
• craft knife
1 Choose your preferred color palette. (See A.)
2 Set out the sheet of watercolor paper and mark the horizon line with a pencil. Squeeze out and mix your darkest background color on the piece of cardboard. Use the brayer to roll the color onto the watercolor paper. Add a little white or black to the color for variance while you’re rolling—it’s best if there are a variety of tones. Cover the page completely with this color and allow it to dry. (See B.)
3 Mix and roll out your lighter color(s) on a piece of cardboard with the brayer. Apply the lighter color above the horizon. (See C.)
4 Now imagine your tree. Draw a few kinds of trees on the scrap paper until you find a style that appeals to you. Do you like twisty branches or straight ones? A thinner trunk or a sturdier one? Look outside, in books, or explore the internet to find tree shapes that you like. We aren’t looking for a very realistic tree, but more of an iconic representation of trunk, branches, and leaves. (See D.)
5 After making doodles on your scrap paper, use a pencil to lightly draw the general shape of the trunk and branches on your painted background. Don’t worry about the leaves yet. (See E.)
6 Using your darker background color and a small brush, paint the trunk and branches. Feel free to improvise from your sketch. You may decide that you want more branches, longer branches, or perhaps you’ve thought of a completely new way to draw a tree you love. Allow the paint to dry completely. (See F.)
7 What style of leaves would you like? They can be any shape. Klimt used triangles for leaves on one of one his trees (see here), which is not a typical leaf shape. Sketch some possibilities on your scrap paper. Draw your favorite shapes in a variety of sizes onto a piece of card stock.
8 Carefully cut the leaf shapes from the card stock. You will use these as stencils. (See G.)
9 Choose a few colors for the leaves. Without too much planning, use a brush to apply paint through the leaf stencils. Vary the size and color of the leaves. You may wish to stencil the leaves in stages, allowing them to dry in between. Take it bit by bit. Maybe you’d like to see areas of dense leaves, contrasted with lighter areas, or perhaps, you like a more uniform look. (See H.)
10 When the leaves are dry, use a paintbrush to add any additional details or embellishment. Do you want to add any details to the leaves? Do you want a bug crawling on the ground next to your tree or small flowers at the tree’s base?
11 Finally, within the leaves, the trunk, or in the background, find places where you can add touches of white. Use Klimt’s paintings as inspiration, or come up with your own method.
12 Take one more look at your painting. Does it seem complete or could it use something more? If there are any final adjustments to make, go back in and work on them. When you’re ready to call your first tree of calm done, begin new trees to create an entire forest of calm.
PROJECT 3
HAYSTACK HOUSE
Monet’s Haystacks at Sunset absolutely glows with warmth. His haystack almost looks like a small cottage facing the setting sun. In fact, that was the inspiration for this project. In doing our watercolor, we’ll change the haystack to a house. With this project, you can imagine yourself moving into Monet’s landscape in a cozy sunlit cottage of your own. Even if you are not familiar with drawing houses, try drawing a house from your imagination. It doesn’t need to be detailed, so don’t worry about your drawing skills, or rendering anything perfectly. Keep it simple.
Haystacks at Sunset, Frosty Weather, Claude Monet, French (1840–1926). Oil on canvas, 1891. Private Collection/Bridgeman Images.
YOU WILL NEED:
• sketchbook or paper, any size
• pencil
• 8" × 10" (20.5 × 25.5 cm) canvas board, stretched canvas, or primed panel
• watercolor paints
• gouache
• paintbrushes
• white gesso
• black gesso
• white colored pencil
• black colored pencil
1 In the sketchbook, make a doodle of a simple house. Keep it as simple as a square and a triangle, if you like, or any other version of a house that speaks to you. (See A.)
2 Place the canvas board horizontally on your workspace. Use a pencil to divide the surface into the three horizontal bands—foreground, background, and sky. Decide where you’d like to place your house and sketch it simply. You can follow Monet’s lead with the location of his haystack, or come up with your own spot. My only instruction is to keep your house out of the exact center of the page. (See B.)
3 Use watercolors to play with color on the sketchpad. A warm color palette is typically rich with yellow and can include different shades of reds and oranges, as well. Use cooler colors, such as blues and greens, for contrast. (See C.)
4 Begin with the sky. In Monet’s painting, the sky is the lightest section, but it isn’t a bright white–yellows, oranges, and pinks enhance it. Play with the idea of making one side of the painting darker and the other side lighter. (See D.)
5 Next, move to the background, the darkest part of the composition. Make brushstrokes using many colors in your palette to help unify the composition. If your house is going to interrupt the background, leave space where the house will be. You can refine the edges later. (See E.)
6 The foreground is lighter, but not as light as the sky. Continue to unify the sections with brushstrokes of common colors throughout. (See F.)
7 Start painting the house with rich, warm oranges, yellows, and pinks that stand out on the page. Differentiate the color of the roof from the lower part of the house for contrast and readability. Add shadow at the base of the house. Add brushstrokes of cooler tones in the shadows to separate them from the house itself. You can leave the house loosely painted, like Monet’s haystack, or add more details, such as a door, windows, and a shingled roof. (See G.)
8 Clean up the areas where one section meets another. If you’d like, go back in with colored pencils to define areas. Play with the edges a bit until all the elements are balanced and working together. Then sit back and enjoy the view of your little house. Can you feel the warmth? (See H.)
