Painting Loose: Combining Shapes

Eric: A concept that can be extremely helpful in painting loosely is the creation of our own conceptual shapes. By painting through the boundaries of our adjacent objects we can construct new shape patterns and encourage the bold, free look we are trying to achieve.

For example, a tree’s edge next to the roof of a house can be lost so there is no edge joining the two. Instead of an awkward shape (parallelogram of a roof) next to a potentially awkward shape (the circle of a tree’s foliage), we now have one better shape of the two combined. This is where creating art becomes satisfying, for we are about the business of creating for our own sense of visual patterns; we are making new shapes rather than just rendering the shapes as presented to us visually by a subject.

I try to combine objects and create a new shape for all the values: lights, midtones, and darks. Sometimes I will have to shift the value slightly of an object so that it matches more closely the value of an adjoining object for easier combining. (Lying in art is ok – logic and reason do not necessarily make for good art!)

So how does combining objects to make new shapes lead to a looser painting? The mind’s eye simply fills in the boundaries of the tree and roof at their conjuncture. The viewer is energized by making the completion of the tree and roof by himself, unaware of the process that has taken place. Such a person will say, “The painting is so free and loose,” not aware they are the participants in the process. It’s this jump from artistically created abstract shapes to perceived reality that is so stimulating for the viewer.

Also, the new edge is considered a soft, or lost, edge. Soft edges will give a loose look and are easy to work with in watercolor: they can always be tightened up with a harder edge superimposed over the top to create a beautiful painterly look. In contrast, especially in watercolor, it is difficult to soften a hard edge without resorting to scrubbing and lifting.

There are additional side benefits from painting through the boundaries of your objects, other than it looking loose. One is the creation of the sense of reflected color and hence, natural light. Back to our example: the green wash of the tree mixing with the red of the roof, all done in one wash, will give this a bounced light effect.

Another benefit is that we have a newly constructed larger shape. Large shapes are the armatures of the painting – detail is built upon them. Detail is worthless without a proper foundation. Our paintings tend to look fractured when we have too many small shapes. Constructing a few large shapes to build your painting upon is the center of the creative process; detail can always be teased in.

This whole process of painting through the boundaries of our shapes to create new shapes certainly leads to a loose, bold look. However, it can be rather frustrating for those of us who want a controlled, completed look as we progress through the painting. It can be very difficult to paint through the boundaries of our objects because of our strong subconscious desire to stop at the objects’ edge. It takes an act of the will to keep going.

This process tends to look out of control if one paints all over and rapidly as I do, leaving the final “snap” of the finished look for the end when detail is added. If I have not lost my white pattern, the painting is progressing well. It takes some faith to see it through, and to pursue diligently to the finish, but it can be well worth the effort for a free, loose look.

We welcome your questions. Please send them to: watercolors@ericwiegardt.com