Creating Textures in Watercolor by Cathy Johnson

Author:Cathy Johnson [Johnson, Cathy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780891344179
Publisher: F+W Media
Published: 1992-04-06T04:00:00+00:00

Brunke's House 15" × 22"

Chapter Nine

WEATHERED WOOD

Capturing the texture of old wood is one of the most satisfying tricks the watercolorist can pull off. When it's right, it conveys a sense of antiquity and perseverance—you suggest a mood as well as an object.

Whether your subject is an ancient fence post or the ornate, peeling trim on a fading Victorian house, you can choose how much or how little detail it will take to achieve your ends. It depends partly, of course, on distance. Close up you may wish to explore layer after layer of glaze and tiny detail in the exposed grain of the wood; at a distance, only a hint of such detail is necessary—or possible. It depends, too, on whether the wood is bare or painted—the effects of weather on these very different kinds of wood produce anything from deep grooves and a healthy crop of lichen to a kind of alligator crackling.

In most cases, a simple, varied underwash followed by additional glazing and a final layer of detail work will be sufficient. You can suggest light and shadow with that original wash or reserve that first step for local color only, coming back with a glaze to find your shadows.

Old fences have a special charm; there are so many kinds and styles and conditions, some indigenous to their geographical area, that you can suggest place with a simple architectural device. A white picket fence speaks of small-town Americana; a leaning slat fence feels like the Eastern seaboard. Weathered logs laid in the characteristic zigzag pattern of a rail fence is typically Southern or Midwestern.

Like all weathered wood, fences can be handled with a kind of creative logic. Ask yourself how much detail you need to get your point—or your mood—across. Ask yourself how to proceed from simple washes to glazes to detail, and then just do it!

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