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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

A Cross-pollination demo--Windows!

Hi all!  I needed to do a demo for the class I'm giving--people kept asking about how I painted the windows in the old mill painting at top-- but I don't have time to make a video or figure out where to upload a PDF, so I'm going to aim them here!

...and by the way, I just painted around, carefully, here...
 
So first, I just sketched a normal double-hung window...
 
And then painted around the window and sill...


I added a little contrasting spatter for texture, using a small oil-painter's bristle brush and my finger.  And yes, I always get it all over me!

Then I carefully added some of the shadows...I pushed the color a bit...

...and added the curtains.

Finally, I painted in the dark shadowy windows and added a suggestion of reflections when that was dry...but basically, just painted around, no mask, no scraping, no lifting.

However!  You can do all of those things...there's no right or wrong way to paint windows.  Observation is your best tool...there are so many different kinds of windows, you just need to pay attention to what you see, and experiment a little.

Here, I scraped through a damp wash with the end of an aquarelle brush to lift the lights...the one on the right, I just left spaces for the crossbars or mullions.

...and then went wild with a bunch of other techniques!  My Crayon didn't work that well, so I tried a piece of candle wax--and ended up lifting the pigment off the crayon lines with a damp, clean brush and blotting away the extra color. (That's a bamboo pen applying liquid mask at lower right...easy to clean once the mask is dry.)

See what I mean?  You can't really say how to paint windows, because there are literally dozens of different kinds...I did quick sketches of a few I found in an old book on English cottages...

So here are a few of the ideas to try on some simple windows...there are many, many more. 
There are quite a few different approaches to windows in my Travel Sketch set on Flickr and a few more in my Urban Sketches set, as well as some duplicates. 

Ready to try a nice Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass window??

Me either!

And you're right, this isn't journaling, strictly speaking, except I did the demo in my Strathmore Visual Journal... :-D

25 comments:

  1. Great demo, Kate! Love that top sketch!

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  2. Thank you for posting this, it answers a lot of questions, and gives lots of different things to practice. Much appreciated!

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  3. Wonderful, wonder woman.... you rock :)

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  4. Thank you, Cathy. This is very helpful. I check this blog, the Sketching In Nature blog, and many of the blog posts by other sketch journal artists, first thing every morning. It gives a special start to my day and I learn so much from everyone.

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  5. Thanks, you two! Glad you enjoyed it...I love to learn too.

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  6. Oh Kate, THANKS so much for doing this!!! It has helped me immensely! You are the BEST!!!!

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  7. Excellent help! I was so sure you had used mask for the light area in the top window . . .

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  8. Nice piece, Kate. Thanks for sharing.

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  9. Nope, no mask! Glad to help...it was a fun little demo!

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  10. Thanks once again! Your drawings and comments are precious

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  11. Thank you Kate........I have been frustrated by the tightness and perfectionist attitude I have had and your work has allowed me to swing free....Whee! J

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  12. Terrific! Unless we're architects designing a building that contractors need to follow, I don't think we HAVE to be that perfect.<:-D

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  13. Makes me want to find some fun windows to draw. Thanks for the great ideas.

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  14. Have fun, Soeurette! I love to do windows and doors...

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  15. Kate, I love your sketches on windows. First your windows always look great, but it's great fun to just see the stand alone window develop. I could see a whole journal just of windows and that would be a massive learning experience (for me and my architectural development!). Now if there are pigeons on the sill I'm sure to sketch them.

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  16. Thanks, you two! Roz, I'd love to see that...and Miss Liz, looking forward to your post on this!

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  17. really great advice - for me, my urban sketch jounalling often involves drawing my coffee, food and the building across the road. But I so easily get caught up in the details of buildings, especially when there are lots of windows.

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  18. Thanks, Alissa! I like to focus in, sometimes...details are so cool!

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  19. Loved this little tutorial. I do almost all of my work in acrylic or oil, but even this little bit makes me want to start a journal. Thank you for inspiring me today!

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  20. You make it look so easy, Cathy...thanks for your generous sharing of your tutorials. I've learned so much from your postings here and on YouTube.

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