CHAPTER 6
CALM
“Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life.”
—Pablo Picasso
It doesn’t take long to notice when artwork has a calming effect. Some color palettes are naturally calming—think blues and grays. In addition, the repetition of marks, composition, subject matter, and other details of a painting impact whether or not it leaves the viewer with a sense of tranquility.
The works of art in this chapter share a similar peaceful feel. The compositions are quiet, the color palettes are tranquil in tone, and they feel organized and calm.
The Iles d’Or (The Iles d’Hyeres, Var). Henri-Edmond Cross, French (1856–1910). Oil on canvas, c. 1891–92. Musée d’Orsay, Paris/Bridgeman Images.
PROJECT 1
STACKS OF CALM
The repetition and related colors that Paul Klee used in Growth of the Night Plants move your eye up and down through the stacks of shapes as they emerge from their nighttime background. Perhaps it’s no surprise that Klee was an accomplished musician with a great feeling for rhythm. In this project, we’ll create a collage using painted-paper shapes that we’ve cut out, echoing the shapes in the Klee painting. The organic movement of forms creates a balanced and peaceful composition.
Growth of the Night Plants (no. 174). Paul Klee, Swiss (1879–1940). Oil on cardboard, 1922. Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich/Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen/Artists Rights Society/Bridgeman Images.
YOU WILL NEED:
• 9" × 12" (23 × 30.5 cm) canvas board
• black and white gesso
• paintbrush
• sheets of watercolor or mixed-media paper, in a variety of sizes
• watercolor paint
• scissors or craft knife
• matte medium
• dry brush or sponge, optional
1 Prepare the background. Paint the canvas board with black gesso. It doesn’t matter if the color isn’t perfectly uniform. I mixed in a bit of white gesso in places to give the black some variance. Allow the paint dry completely.
2 Decide how many colors you’d like in your palette. Use Klee’s palette as a guide, or make your own. Consider including neutrals, as they are a quiet force. Experiment with different shades of the same color; your goal is to create color fields. Subtle differences, brushstrokes, and imperfections are all welcome—they will add character and interest. Using watercolor, paint one sheet of paper completely with each of your different colors. Allow the paint to dry completely. (See A.)
3 Decide on the range of shapes you’d like to have in your piece. You can stick to squares, triangles, circles (a little harder to cut!), or any combination of these in a variety of sizes and colors. Cut them out and sort them by shape. (See B.)
4 Set your painted background vertically on your workspace. Experiment with placing your cut-out shapes on the background, without gluing anything yet. Play with the stacks of colors and shapes until you find a design that pleases you. Refer to Klee’s piece if you need a little more structure. (See C and D.)
5 Use the matte medium to glue the shapes into place, starting with the bottom of each pictorial stack. Brush medium on the first shape, place it where you’d like it, then brush medium over it. Repeat, adding each shape and brushing over it with more medium, until you reach the top shape of each stack. Allow the matte medium to dry completely. There will be a slight white cast to the brushed medium, but it will dry clear. (See E.)
6 Once the piece is dry, decide if there is anything you want to add to it. Do you have leftover shapes? Do you want to cut out smaller ones and add those?
7 You may wish to use a sponge or dry brush and a tiny dab of white gesso to highlight the top of some of the shapes. Similarly, you can add shadows with the black gesso.
Are you happy with the colors you chose? Do you want to try different shapes? Think about ways you’d like to play with color and shape and try the project again. Enjoy every step of the way. Focus on each step as you go, settle in, relax, and lose track of time!
PROJECT 2
A DELICATE CALM
Plants and flowers provide great subject matter for exploring a medium and loosening up in a sketchbook. (They are very patient, nonjudgmental models!) One of the things I love about this watercolor drawing is that Charles Rennie Mackintosh had such a light touch. It feels as if he relaxed in making this sketch, and enjoyed the shapes, colors, and gentle lines. What could be more calming?
For this project, we’ll use watercolor and pencils. For inspiration, use any plant you like, real or imagined. I chose poppies. We’ll take a playful approach—explore, doodle, drip. No heavy paint here, just interesting pencil lines and drips of color.
Cactus Flower. Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scottish (1868–1928). Watercolor on paper, 1915. Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust, UK/Museums Sheffield/Bridgeman Images.
YOU WILL NEED:
• paper or sketchbook, any size
• graphite pencil
• colored pencils
• sheets of watercolor paper, 9" × 12" (23 × 30.5 cm)
• watercolor paints
• paintbrushes, in a variety of sizes
• black Micron pen
1 Look at the plant or picture you’ve chosen as your model, and explore it as though it’s the first time you’ve ever looked at a plant. Look at the colors, the shapes, the way the leaves attach to the stem, the weight of the flowers, and the way all the different parts of the plant fit together.
2 Now try making a doodle of your plant with pencil on paper. Don’t be intimidated—it’s a casual doodle and you’re just exploring. Play with your pencil lines, experimenting with deep, light, and varied pressure. See what each quality of line evokes; your line can describe what you are drawing. (See A.)
3 What stands out to you in your doodle? Are there parts of it that you love? Use your doodle as the basis for a new drawing on the watercolor paper. Continue to improvise, discover, and play as you draw. There’s no need to draw a single, realistic plant—if you’d like, make a dreamy assemblage of flowers and leaves.
4 When you’ve loosely sketched your plant, look at it to see which parts pique your curiosity. Go back into the drawing and, with a more confident line, add emphasis or a sense of playfulness. (See B.)
5 Look at the drawing again. Are there areas where you’d like to add light watercolor? Mix the watercolor tones you prefer and let the color drip off the brush into areas of your drawing, allowing the color and the dripped quality to remain spontaneous. (See C.)
6 When the paint dries, go back in and deepen some of the pencil lines or use black pen to do the same. Add patterns or details to the flowers or background. If colored pencils appeal to you, use them to work in a little more definition or simply add color. (See D.)
Take a look at your painted sketch to see if there’s anything else you’d like to add before moving on. Does your painting speak quietly or shout emphatically? If you’ve made a quiet drawing, you might try a louder one—or vice versa. Try this exercise with another plant, keeping it light—explore, doodle, drip. This exercise is a great way to focus on something and get in touch with details that speak to you.
PROJECT 3
SEVEN SHAPES
In this collage, Olga Rozanova used seven pieces of paper, each one a different color. Yet they all combine happily on the blue background, complementing one another nicely. There’s nothing fussy, overworked, or too detailed in her collage. This project offers an opportunity to play with different colors, patterns, and shapes on a colored background. It’s a simple exercise, and yet, finding a perfect balance of shapes can be immensely calming.
Fight Against the Ocean. Olga Vladimirovna Rozanova, Russian (1886–1918). Collage, 1916. Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow/Bridgeman Images.
YOU WILL NEED:
• magazine or discarded book
• sheets of colored paper, construction paper, origami paper, or other patterned paper, any size
• sturdy piece of paper for your surface, preferably not white, 9" × 12" (23 × 30.5 cm)
• gouache paints and paintbrush, optional
• scissors and/or craft knife
• cutting surface
• glue stick
1 Cut a few pages from a magazine or book, preferably some with words and some with illustration. Add these to the other colored papers that you’ve assembled. Of the assortment you’ve gathered, choose seven with which to work. Consider your background color when deciding which papers to use. Feel free to paint any of the papers to add variety. (See A.)
2 Think about the shapes you want to work with and cut them out. Choose one shape that will be the focal point of your composition. You can use basic shapes, including circles, ovals, rectangles, or abstract shapes that suggest a flower, a face, or anything else. You might also cut a few different smaller versions of each shape. (See B.)
3 Place the shapes on the background sheet and play with them. Allow some to overlap and think about how the shapes float or live in the space around them. When you’ve reached a balance that you like, glue the pieces into place.
Do you like the way the text, patterns, and colors work on the background? Make another collage, altering the background color and paper shapes. Pay special attention to the background and give your paper shapes room to breathe.
PROJECT 4
IMAGINARY LANDSCAPE
Henri-Edmond Cross combined three things to give his painting a deeply relaxing sense of calm: an ocean vista, soft color, and pointillist patterns. The layers of color draw your eye back as far as the horizon with no interruption. Ah!
In this project, we’ll create a fictitious landscape in acrylic. We’ll use Cross’s pointillism as inspiration for technique, but make our own composition and color palettes.
The Iles d’Or (The Iles d’Hyeres, Var). Henri-Edmond Cross, French (1856–1910). Oil on canvas, c. 1891–92. Musée d’Orsay, Paris/Bridgeman Images.
YOU WILL NEED:
• sheets of scrap paper
• pencils
• primed panel, canvas board, or heavy paper, 8" × 10" (20 × 25.5 cm)
• acrylic paints
• palette or ceramic plate
• round items in different sizes and diameters for making marks: the end of a wood dowel, the eraser of a pencil, your fingertip, or anything else that will make a dot shape
1 Think about your fantasy landscape—what do you like to gaze at? Water, sand, and sky? Mountains and valleys? Grassy meadows? Make a sketch of your ideal vista on scrap paper. (See A.)
2 Think about your color palette. You might choose the colors of a sunset, the dawn, or a field of wildflowers. Choose the colors for each area of your landscape. (See B.)
3 Set out your background panel and sketch the outlines of your landscape. Squeeze some paint and mix one of the lighter colors for your painting. Pick up the dowel, load the end with paint, and cover your panel with dots of color. Allow the paint to dry. (See C and D.)
4 Mix the color for the foreground. Load your dowel, and begin making small dots, side by side and across the page. You can make them slowly and meditatively, or you can work quickly and more randomly. Leave tiny bits of background color peeking through the dots. Allow the color to dry. (See E.)
5 Now work on the middle ground of your painting. If you have differently sized dot-making tools, experiment with how they affect your painting. Continue to add band after band of color. Do the same with the sky or background of your painting, so that all the layers of the landscape are roughly painted. (See E and F.)
6 Notice in Henri Cross’s painting how the bands of color used for the sand, sea, and sky are each made up of more than one color. Starting back at the bottom of your painting, add new dots of color that help describe each area. Mix in a few contrasting or alternate colors. (See G.)
7 Look at the transitions between each band of color. They will look more natural if they’re somewhat uneven. Allow some of dots of color to rise above or fall below the transition line.
8 Add nuances to complete your imaginary vista. Deeper tones may help define certain areas, making them recede or pop.