Art Lessons
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Hippos |
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Lesson 3
Find a simple picture, (your own).
- Turn it upside down, now draw what you see not what you know.
Check for correctness by looking at negative and positive spaces
(my subject is the positive space and the background around the
subject is the negative space).
- As you draw, keep your pencil marks light and try to move quickly.
Once you feel that the proportions are right you can start to
darken the lines so you have a good guideline for the painting.
I often continue to make corrections as I am painting.
- Once you feel it is starting to look like your picture then
turn it right side up. |
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| - Now start with your initial
wash to establish your base colors (your underpainting). This
part takes time as you should be referencing your photo frequently
and making corrections as you go slowly along. |
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| - Once you have your underpainting
you start all over again but now you can work quickly because
you have a clear map of the colors and direction of the painting. |
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| - Continue to work manageable
areas. Allow each layer to dry before adding the next. Often
in dark areas I have applied 4 to 7 layers. Each section may
take a good amount of time to do so stay focused and watch out
for the temptation to just put paint down and hope it will work.
Keep control of your colors and your direction. Watercolors dry
lighter then what you put on wet so you may often need to make
your paint color darker or more vibrant than you think it should
be. |
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| - Now I will use more paint
and less water and only work in manageable sections. I had divided
this painting into 7 sections. Try not to dilute areas with just
water after you have put you paint down. At this point you should
be building up color not taking away. |
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| - I made a few color
changes from the original photo, as I wanted to play up their
pinks, blues and purples. The water values were slightly changed
to keep the focus on the main hippo. |
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| My husband and I were guided on foot to this
remote river in Zambia to photograph this pod of hippos. We spent
several hours taking pictures and studying individual hippos
and how they reacted in a social group. They may appear quite
cute but they are very territorial and dangerous. I have been
told that more people are killed by hippos than any other wild
animal in Africa. My goal for this painting and the series to
follow is to show their beauty and social interactions. |
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