LESSON XI - Part 2: Painting a Checkerboard Abstraction

Using a checkerboard grid as the basic design, you will create an abstract, but organized, field of painted squares . . .

You will use the cracks of a stone wall (either my photograph or your own), as a jumping-off point for this design . . . 

For this project, you will need the following:  your watercolor paper, paint, and brushes; masking fluid; a quill pen or toothpicks or other applicator, and Q-tips (for the masking fluid) . . . 

You will use just four watercolor pigments (Quinacridone Burnt Orange (or Burnt Sienna), French Ultramarine Blue, Quinacridone Gold, and Alizarin Crimson) . . . 

Begin by drawing a grid on your 7" x 10" watercolor paper, with a pencil and a ruler, resulting in 7 - 1" squares across and 10 - 1" squares down.  

Now, either sit in front of a stone wall, or refer to the photograph above, and draw the cracks in the wall, with your pencil.  No shading -- just draw the contour of the cracks that you see.  Ignore the grid -- just draw the cracks until you have covered your paper.

Prepare your masking fluid, now.  In a small (tiny) plastic container, pour in a little of the masking fluid.  Add a little water to the masking fluid, and mix it up with a toothpick.  By watering it down, it makes the masking go on easier with a quill pen.  It will still resist the paint.  I like to use a quill pen, because you can peel off the masking from the metal nib, after it dries.  

Draw the masking fluid on the cracks -- But only in EVERY OTHER SQUARE.

Allow the masking fluid to totally dry before proceeding.

Now, prep your paints on your palette -- the French Ultramarine, Alizarin Crimson, Burnt Orange, and Quin Gold.

Wet the entire painting with clear water, and drop in these four colors, in a random way -- letting them mingle on their own. . . 

While this is still just damp, spatter these same colors onto your painting.  (Just dip your brush in the pigment and then tap your brush over the wet paint -- your brush should not touch the painting) . . . 

Let your painting dry -- on a flat surface. . . 

You will be doing some more masking, so be sure that your painting is completely dry.  Mix up some more masking fluid and water, if necessary, in your small plastic container.

This time, apply the masking fluid to those squares that you skipped last time.  But, in those squares, instead of masking the cracks, you will MASK THE AREAS AROUND THE CRACKS . . . in EVERY OTHER SQUARE.  So, you will be doing the opposite of what you did the first time around.

When you have larger areas to cover with the masking, outline the shape with the quill pen, dipped in the masking, to get a nice edge to the shape -- and then, fill it in with a cotton swab dipped in the masking.

When you're finished, each square will be the opposite of the square next to it . . . 

Let this dry completely.  Meanwhile, mix up a few puddles of dark combinations:  French Ultramarine + Burnt Orange; Burnt Orange + Alizarin Crimson; and Alizarin Crimson + French Ultramarine . . . 

Now, WITHOUT wetting your paper first, start painting these darks on a diagonal, starting in one corner -- one at a time -- working your way down the paper.  Paint right over the masking -- that's why it is there.  When you switch colors, rinse out your brush quickly, pick up the next color, and start painting where you left off . . . 

While this is still wet, lay it flat and spatter some individual colors onto it -- like the Ultramarine, Aliz. Crimson, and the Burnt Orange.  Then, let it dry completely.

Now, it's time to remove all the masking from your painting.  To do this, you can use a rubber cement pick-up eraser -- just rub it off gently.  If you don't have one of these erasers, you can use your thumb or a kneaded eraser.  (The painting should be absolutely dry, before doing this.)

When you have picked up/ rubbed off all of the masking, rub your hand over the surface of the painting, to make sure that you've gotten it all off.

You are almost, but not quite, finished.

Mix up a pale wash of Quinacridone Gold -- lots of water with a little pigment.  Now, paint this wash over the outer square only -- all the way around.  This is called "glazing" -- where you paint a pale wash of color over layers of dry paint.

OK, NOW you're done!  Just sign, mat, and frame it.  This little abstract painting would look awesome with a big, wide white mat around it, in a simple black frame.