I thought it might be interesting to share with you the process I use to create a painting. I will be using my latest completed image, the front quarter panel of a 1961 Cadillac for an example of how I approach my work. My husband is a vintage car lover, and I have become one since meeting him. One of our favorite activities is attending car shows where vintage car owners gather and display their beloved old cars. These shows present the perfect opportunity to gather images for my car paintings. The photo below is one I took at such a car show and is the source for the image for this painting.
Using this photo as a reference, I begin by drawing. I draw the image by hand, with no tracing or other “aids” to create the base drawing which will be turned into the watercolor painting. I prefer to draw on a smaller scale than will generally be used for the final painting. For example, the final painting here is 16×20”, so I drew the image at 8×10”, and then I have my drawing enlarged to the size I want. I strive to make my drawing as accurate as I can, but I don’t worry about measuring or overly obsessing about details. This particular drawing was a challenge on several fronts, especially the spokes in the wheel. As I’m drawing I think about areas that may need to be simplified or modified to make the painting more aesthetically pleasing rather than just mechanically copying the photo. Below is the completed drawing.
Once the drawing is completed to my liking, I take it to my local print shop and have it enlarged to the size I want for the final painting. I use this Xerox to transfer the drawing to my watercolor board. I use a graphite impregnated sheet as a form of carbon paper and draw over the lines on the Xerox copy. This allows me to transfer the image without having to redraw anything. When this transfer is done, I lightly go back over the image on the watercolor board with an eraser to make sure the lines are just dark enough to see, but light enough to not stand out too strongly in the final painting.
Now it’s time to paint! I don’t have a prescribed methodology about where to start. I just jump in at the area(s) that intrigue me the most about the image. On this painting, it was the chrome around the headlights and the headlights themselves. The chrome on a vintage car always offers a whole lot of fabulous distorted reflections that are just fun to paint. That’s why I prefer (in most cases) to snap my reference photos on bright sunny days.
I continue painting, referring often to my reference photo to complete the image. This particular car has some great horizontal lines between the front grill and the wheel well. Painting straight lines of any length can be a real challenge. One secret to getting believable straight lines in watercolor is the use of masking tape. The painter simply masks off the area to be painted with the tape, carefully burnishing it onto the paper so there is a good “seal” against the paint bleeding up under the tape. Then a wash is applied to the paper and allowed to dry completely before the tape is carefully removed. Below is a close-up view of the area where this process was used.
And here is the final painting, “’61 Cadillac” watercolor, 16×20”. This painting can be viewed on this website in the “Automobiles” gallery. Prints of this painting will be available on my Etsy store in the very near future.
As always, I really appreciate the time you spend reading this blog. I’d love to hear from you, so please consider sending me a question or a comment via the “Contact Me” portion of the website.
~ Diane