"Spring Art in France"
COLIN'S SEASONAL 'BLOG' . . .
(please note all images, photographic or otherwise are the copyright of Picture Burgundy (Catherine & Colin Winn),
unless stated otherwise and must not be copied or reproduced without permission).
Shower Dodging is a great game . . . and as Painters, Sketchers or indeed any type of artist working
in Springtime, whizzing back outdoors just as soon as the rain stops to continue a drawing or painting,
may seem almost obligatory.
The 'upside' of this 'though is that if, like me you consider you work too slowly, anticipation of the re-arrival
of black threatening rain clouds slowly worming their way towards your patch of sky again is a terrific
incentive to finding a way to make your marks on paper or board in a speedier way.
This in turn can give rise to 'happy accident' discoveries due to unintended results, leading to exploration
of styles previously not given due time and consideration.
Example? See below!
Arthur's House. Copyright Colin G. Winn 2007
Whilst out in the back garden here with a painting client in Burgundy and looking across the fields
to our neighbours' attractive farmhouse, I'd gone three-quarters of the way to being reasonably complete
with a quick coloured ink portrait of those fields with the building in the background, holding off from
escaping the impending rain until the very last moment . . . except that I had mis-calculated . . . and the
rain duly began to fall on my work.
The few drops I allowed to hit the paper contaminated the last few strokes I'd laid on the paper and
made the colours run . . . real unplanned 'wet into wet' !!
Not unduly worried or upset, we returned indoors to let our efforts dry a little. The areas the rain had
wet on my paper were happily intended to be a sea of buttercups. I had specifed areas of several
small blobs to be the individual buttercups, but was aware that in doing this, I was in danger of producing too
representative a piece of work.
The capacity I have to create almost photographic representation (please see " A Bit About Me") - a
hangover from my previous commercial works - is something I have striven to remove over the last 3 years
on arrival in East Burgundy, France, whilst running painting holidays here. It can also be the result of working,
with client-guests wishing to be guided through the process of drawing/marking out and painting the representational.
I have consciously tried to liberate myself in terms of working more quickly, with limited colours where
applicable and most of all, trying much more to express/convey in pictorial terms how I 'feel' about the subject I am viewing.
Either way, the individual buttercups I'd placed on the page were now only a 'blob' of bright yellow,
but I could see a way to turn this to my advantage; I'd long been an admirer of what I would describe as the
colour-and-wash, street-and-country depiction scenes. These mainly line and in-fill wash pictures I'd not
really had any chance to develop under my own commercial steam - but now here was the perfect opportunity.
After all, I'd laid in the colour and although the stages of construction may have been a little back to front,
I now had the chance to define the areas the rain had so delightfully made vague, by the application of
linework, using technical pen.
So in essence, this is what I did to retrieve the situation - and whilst if I had been deliberately trying for the
particular end result that would have given me the type of line and colour-wash picture for which I have
previously had little time, I would probably have diminished the strength of colour laid in. At least
the whole episode left a rendition of some sort for people's viewing!
As I said in a former blog page - I don't like to waste anything!
A recent client has also been wishing to use watercolour, but seldom had the chance to use them, only being
able to squeeze some sketching into a busy worklife. We sat and sketched for a while and it was clear to me
he had a good eye for proportion and detail. The rain I described did not dampen our enthusiasm - we could
easily work indoors and I decided a good way to commence using the medium was to work on a reasonably
large scale.
I found my painting partner and I some oversize A4 hand-made watercolour paper and, it being raining thought we'd
better work from photographs. Finding a suitable (and typically Bressane) subject, a photo taken on one of the recent
mornings, I demonstrated the methods of image enlargement, using one in particular, then transfering the enlarged
image onto the paper.
At this stage, we were ready to paint and my guest made a really good job of his picture, which has yet to be finished
and built on his good sketching abilities by using his good eye for colour matching and the application of watercolour
onto the paper which it is fair to say, really drank the water content applied to it.
Now everyone knows I am not a great lover of watercolour work - my whole expressive aim these days does not
allow too much headspace for the gentle, don't overdo-it, layer-on-layer application and subtleties that watercolour
demands - this is one one reason why I did not use it in a graphic design or commercial context . . .
Beauvernois Cows 2007. Copyright Colin G. Winn 2007
. . . but here (above) in an unfinished state, is what I achieved the same day as my watercolourist partner . . . a picture
in progress, with tonal variations yet to be made, but for me it represents a good afternoon's work in just about the
only medium with which I am personally not very comfortable.
Any original sketch for composition in my experience, is best preserved as it can be used for other types of treatment and
can be transferred to any variety of surface and made; as a chalk and charcoal, highlighting the low-level sunlit side of
the animals; in pastel; re-arranged as an abstract, worked quickly in maybe only two colours, on a variety of coloured
stock etc., etc..
I rarely look at one image and treat it in one manner only - especially these days, as I realise that they can be
visually rendered in wonderfully diverse ways - all of which can be done at Picture Burgundy and again with me, Colin,
as peripatetic Art Group Leader through the Chateaux Art Network I am setting up with the active assistance of fine
accommodation providers.
Good Creating!
Colin Winn - May 2007.
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We really DO paint, draw and sketch all year round. We hope you too, will want to take a painting
holiday in France - and with Picture Burgundy & now, the Chateaux Art Network !
For further information about Picture Burgundy's International Autumn Art (Painting) Workshop 2007,
For further information about the Chateaux Art Network (C.A.N.) French painting holidays in Burgundy or Colin the Artist, please visit the relevant pages on this website (www.pictureburgundy.com)
To buy artwork or commission either Catherine or Colin for artwork and photography, to book a painting in France
holiday break or to take general artworking advice, please view our galleries and then e-mail: info@pictureburgundy.com
