LEO KAHL Watercolor Art and Watercolor Instruction
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Every Watercolor Artist has a plan!

1/11/2019

12 Comments

 
I came across an insightful quote from Mr. Mike Tyson, the former heavy weight boxing champion, that I thought was rather appropriate to the watercolor artist. It goes something like this...​"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face"
For every painting concept that I come up with, I always arrive at the same starting point. A big, white sheet of watercolor paper punching me in the face.  Even though I can kind of see the finished painting in my head, actually arriving there is an entirely different matter.
Maybe its just a matter of experience, I’m not sure. I have plenty of experience but inevitably go 10 to 15 rounds with a piece until it succumbs to my vision.
I'll will walk you through my painting "Christmas Tea"  from start to finish and try as best I can to relay my thoughts on each step in the process. Lets see if I get knocked out or create a knockout piece!
"Christmas Tea" By Leo Kahl
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Step 1: Occasionally, I enjoy doing paintings that actually look like my family or friends. In this case, I traced over an enlarged laser copy onto tracing paper. I rubbed soft graphite over back side of tracing paper then traced the figures using a ball point pen, transferring the image on to my Arches Rough watercolor color.  Additionally, I adjust the size of the figures to enhance my composition.
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Step 2: As with most all of my paintings, I lay down washes of warm undertones, This wash will "push through" subsequent layers and add glow to my painting
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Step 3: Now I get into the meat of the painting by adding rich middle values and hues. This layer utilizes varying levels of translucency, but not quite opaque just yet. I work from the furthest point in background towards the foreground.
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Step 4: This painting did not involve a lot of negative space painting, something I normally focus on. At this stage, I'm adding lots of elements to the table along with soft, translucent shadows
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Step 5: I finish the figures in foreground in a loose and unfocused manner. I want the viewers eye to be attracted to the pure white tea pot held by the host.
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Step 6: I protect the majority of my painting with paper towels and splatter some light blue paint  (Cerulean Blue and some Chinese White) Adding a little Chinese white pigment will help the chandelier to look illuminated. I love the effect of splattering paint for certain subjects such as this.
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Step 7: I use dark opaque paint for small details on the faces and elsewhere.
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Step 8: This was a unique subject. I wanted to convey the beautiful white linen table cloth and plethora of specular highlights on all the crystal and glassware, this is what I remembered so strongly about this experience. This could have been accomplished in a more abstract manner using dry brush to allow hundreds of white specks of paper to show through. I opted for a more manual and controlled effect by adding white highlights to each item on the table.
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Done!: I love peeling the masking tape of my painting when done. The white border acts like a matt board and isolates your image form its surroundings. 
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Well, this is the finished piece. Is it what I planned?  Not exactly, but that's OK. I feel that I captured the atmosphere and mood of this annual holiday gathering with great friends. This  is what the word "art" means to me.
12 Comments
Yvonne Wagner
3/13/2019 11:19:53 am

Wow Leo. What amazes me about this piece of art is that you “painted” light. It has aura about it that keeps the viewer looking. I enjoyed reading about the variety of techniques you used to accomplish this. Thanks for sharing!

Reply
Leo Kahl WaterColors link
3/14/2019 08:05:35 am

thx Yvonne, this was a tricky piece, in using too much opaque white paint for highlights you run the risk of turning a watercolor into a gouache painting. Glad you liked it!

Reply
Tim
3/13/2019 11:48:30 am

Looking good! It has a nice sense of depth, and your eye is naturally drawn to the focal point.

Reply
Leo Kahl WaterColors link
3/14/2019 10:01:37 am

That Tim, that was the idea.

Reply
Tracy Hebert link
3/14/2019 06:15:52 am

Beautiful light capturing painting. I love how you make bold decisions and they work out perfectly!

Reply
Leo Kahl WaterColors link
3/15/2019 09:46:13 am

thx Tracy!

Reply
Leo Kahl WaterColors link
3/24/2019 11:37:00 am

PS... my bold decisions do not always work perfectly....thats why I have a spray bottle!

Rob Nickles
3/14/2019 07:08:01 am

Always enjoy seeing what you’re doing Leo!! I’ll pass this along!!

Reply
Leo Kahl WaterColors link
3/14/2019 08:03:29 am

thx Rob, hope you and the fam are doing well. Hopefully this is the first of many blog posts.

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Nancy Dryden
3/14/2019 09:19:04 am

What intrigues me most when I look at your paintings is not just the light, but the shadows that are created.
I really enjoy seeing the steps that you take to get to the finished product.

Reply
Leo Kahl WaterColors link
3/24/2019 11:35:39 am

thx Nancy... the shadows actually create the light.. think about that for a minute:)

Reply
Andrea link
12/7/2022 04:04:49 am

So beautiful! I love your highlights. I hope you made this into a Christmas card.

Reply



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    Leo Kahl  Watercolor Artist, Watercolour Instructor, Dad, GrandDad, Husband, ex Baseball Player
    ​Pet Lover & Blogger:)

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