INFLUENCES

I suspect there are artists, especially new artists, who say “I don’t want to be influenced” and choose not to study what other artists do.  In my opinion, to avoid studying how other artists handle composition, light, value, color, brushwork and edges is a foolish short-changing of one’s artistic development.  My small reference library ranges from Rembrandt, the Hudson River School, Russell and Remington, N.C. Wyeth, and the French impressionists, to the fantasy art of Frank Frazetta, and the wonderful work of the American illustrators of the twentieth century.  I also spend time studying currently active painters.  Quite often, I need a solution to a painting problem, and will visit the websites of several painters to see how they handled a particular subject.  The past is a valuable resource.

The more I paint, the more I realize I am on a long journey of discovery, and I don’t have to make the trip alone.  I actively participate in the website wetcanvas.com.  This international community of well over 100,000 artists has been a tremendous source of inspiration, education and encouragement.  A number of extremely talented painters with years of experience have willingly provided me with mentoring and advice, critiques, observations and suggestions which have allowed me to progress far more quickly than if I attempted it strictly on my own.  Through their encouragement, these artists have drawn me deeper into a desire to find my own artistic “voice” as I try to portray the landscape in my own personal way.  And for that, I shall be forever grateful.

There are a lot of fine artists working with or experimenting with gouache today.  For most, it is an occasional diversion from their primary mediums of oils or watercolors, or used for plein air, or outdoor, sketches.  Because I take a painterly approach to its use, I get some questions about how I work.  Since I have been helped by so many artists, I have no hesitation in sharing what I learn as my work progresses.  There are other sources of technical information about gouache, so I’ll speak here simply from my own experience.

Gouche (gwash), also called opaque watercolor, is heavier than traditional transparent watercolors, with a higher pigment to water ratio.  It has unique properties and peculiarities, among them an extremely fast drying time, and the fact that colors dry to a different value than when they were originally applied.  This provides an interesting challenge to the painter, especially if work is being done over several sessions.

It can be applied, like traditional watercolor, in transparent washes, but I prefer to make extensive use of its opaque qualities.  Working wet in wet can be challenging.  The paint begins to set immediately, so one is actually applying wet paint over paint that is already drying, and to further complicate the process, the paint tends to lie on the surface, remaining “active” indefinitely, so that when wet paint is stroked onto existing paint, the brush tends to pick up the color beneath it.  This can be frustrating for the beginner, but over time, I have come to treat it as an advantage.  As with any medium, there is still the occasional happy accident that makes a painting even better.

I work on gessoed Crescent board and masonite.  Each has its own surface characteristics, and adjustments have to be made from one to the other.  Masonite remains rigid, of course, but the Crescent board is taped down tightly prior to brushing on the gesso, and left taped until it is completely dry.  This minimizes warping.  I prefer to work small, no larger than 11x14 so far.  I started out painting on a drafting table, then progressed to a french easel, because it seemed to force me to work in a more “painterly” fashion.  My dear wife recently presented me with a nice studio easel, so the french easel is now exclusively for outdoor or “plein air” painting.

I have one of those nice wood palettes with the thumb hole in it, but it’s never been used.  Since I work in a water-soluble medium, I use a cheap aluminum baking pan with a snap-on plastic lid.  (When you work wet, edges around the palette are a good thing.)  To keep the paint from drying out too fast, I squeeze it out on folded strips of wet paper towels, and spray the paper towels regularly while I’m working.  When I remember to spray one last time and put on the lid, the paint will stay wet for a day, sometimes three days.

I tend to make use of both the wash capabilities as well as the opaque qualities, moving from wet to almost dry brush, depending on the effect I want to achieve.  Sometimes you just simply roll the dice to see what happens.  To paraphrase a quote I saw recently, if you want an assured outcome, become a surgeon, not a painter.  Accidents are part of the game, and one simply hopes most of them are happy ones.

This portrait of artist Marc Chagall is an example of how I work from initial washes to establish my drawing and values, then proceed to increasingly opaque paint.  In this case, anticipating the usual lifting and blending, I used a light blue to work with the cool skin tones..This serves as a “roadmap” to keep me focused on values.  In a landscape, I might use a deep purple, burnt sienna, or ochre.  The background was laid in as a series of wash layers, letting the broad brush strokes create a somewhat abstract pattern.

When a painting is finished and signed, I apply several coats of spray Kamar varnish, and, if necessary, crop it to fit directly into a frame.  Most artists seem to prefer the soft matte finish of gouache.  I’ve been swimming against the current most of my artistic life, and continue to do so in this respect.  Varnishing eliminates the need for a mat and glass, restores the original brilliance of the paint, and gives the finished piece the look of a small oil painting (see below).  I kind of like it that way.

                                                  ~Ralph Parker

"Grove" 8x10 Gouache ~ This painting sold at a fundraising auction in late 2007.