Hello
Welcome to the FLOAT-YOUR-PIGMENT Newsletter #241, Black W/C Paper
Welcome to 2020 and the start of a full year of painting and creating! It is funny how the start of the year makes many of us feel like we can start fresh and start something new. Well, today's newsletter may have something a bit different and new and it may be fun to give it a try, start something new and different in this new year.
This coming Thursday the 9th I will be demonstrating on Black watercolor paper for the Lakes Region Watercolor Guild. I will be doing a demo on Stonehenge Aqua Black watercolor paper with Holbein watercolors. Something just a little different but very cool. For information on seeing this demo go HERE
January 10th I head to Florida... 1st stop will be the Villages where I will be demonstrating for a Dillman's Artist Festival, and in the evening I host a paint party which will be January 12th INFO HERE. Then the 13th and 14th I will have a watercolor workshop at the Villages, and the 15th and 16th I will be doing an acrylic workshop at the Villages INFO HERE The following weekend January 24th I have a paint party in Dunedin INFO HERE and the next day the 25th I run an all-day class in Watercolor INFO HERE. For all my classes and paint
parties in Florida, you don't need to bring any supplies, all the supplies are provided, just bring yourself!
While I am in Florida please be sure to check this newsletter or my website for my weekly classes to see if they are running or not. See below for if my class is running with my substitute Sue Macfarlan or Gary Wigman.
Yes to Class at the Civic Center in Libertyville,Thursday, Jan. 9th 1pm to 3:30pm
No Class but yes to open studio with Gary Wigman at the BeckerArt Gallery in McHenry, Saturday, Jan. 11th 9:00 am to 11:30 am
Stonehenge Aqua Black Watercolor paper
A couple of months ago I wrote a newsletter about the Stonehenge Aqua black watercolor paper but I decided it would be a good idea to bring it up again because I have been asked a lot of questions about this paper. I have also heard comments about the paper and some of those comments were incorrect when describing what the paper was.
One thing I heard another artist say was that they had used black watercolor paper before but that I believe is incorrect because this is the first-ever 100% cotton, sized in and on the surface, cold press, black watercolor paper. There have been other black papers before, just not 100% cotton that is sized in and out and that now comes in 140 and 300lb cold press sheets and pads.
For 2-1/2 years I have helped Legion Papers test their Stonehenge Aqua white and black watercolor papers.
At first, I had the same reaction that I see most watercolor artists have, their reaction is how can you use transparent watercolors on black paper. It's actually quite simple, you can use white watercolor paint when you need to get a white area onto your paper. When you start with a white sheet of paper all the white is already there so it only makes sense when you use black paper to get back to the lightest white of your paper you will have to use white paint.
Using white paint is what gets the transparent watercolorists up in arms and gets them confused about why they don't know how or why they would use black watercolor paper. Using white paint in watercolor has been frowned upon for years and years and when most students are taught about how to use watercolor paints the use of white and also black have been banned from the palette. I felt the same way for many years after being taught that white shouldn't be used. But now that there is a black
watercolor paper on the market, white paint is the best way to get the white light back into the black watercolor paper.
A few students have asked me why would I use black paper when I can get great darks and black by just painting in the blacks or darks. I say why not, I like trying new materials and the black gives a new look to a watercolor painting. I find if I do a painting where there are more darks then lights why not start with the black paper because it is less work to put in the few lights if everything that is dark is already done because the paper is dark from the get-go.
How do you use the black watercolor paper, the answer is, use it just like you would the white paper but you will need to add white to your palette or at least have some opaque colors available on your palette. When the paint dries it usually gets 20% lighter on white paper but on black paper it will get 20% darker. The actual handing of water to pigment ratio is just like working on white along with doing wet-into-wet washes. Keeping things transparent is even while using white is done just
like you would when working on white, the outcome is just different because you are working on a dark paper.
Go ahead give it a try!
David
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WORKSHOPS and DEMOS of 2020
DILLMAN'S FEST & PAINT PARTY Village Art Center, Summerfield, Florida, Jan 12th INFO HERE
WORKSHOP Village Art Center, W/C, Summerfield, Florida, Jan 13th and 14th, INFO HERE
WORKSHOP Village Art Center, Acrylic, Summerfield, Florida, Jan 15th and 16th, INFO HERE
PAINT PARTY Dunedin Fine Art Center, Dunedin, Florida, Jan 24th INFO HERE
WORKSHOP Dunedin Fine Art Center, W/C, Dunedin, Florida, Jan 25th INFO HERE
WORKSHOP Morris Watercolor Guild, W/C, Morris, IL., March 6th INFO TO COME
WORKSHOP Brevard Watercolor Society, W/C, Melbourne, Florida, March 15th-17th INFO HERE
WORKSHOP Lake Superior Watercolor Guild, W/C, Duluth, MN, March 26th- 28th INFO HERE
DILLMAN'S FEST at my Gallery in McHenry, IL. May 3rd INFO HERE
WORKSHOP Dillman's, Lac Du Flambeau, W/C, Wisconsin, June 29th to July 2nd INFO HERE
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If you want to try the Stonehenge Aqua Black get a pad like this and give it a go!
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Here is an artist I just found on instagram ...wow!
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Shop Amazon by clicking the logo below to help me fund this newsletter... Thank You!
For any other info please email me at david@davidrbecker.com
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