Watercolours or Oil Paintings? Vive la Difference.31/07/2021Author: Peter Drewett
If you are fortunate enough to enjoy paintings in both oil and watercolour, then you will note how completely different they are, not in just their look but in how we as painters have to treat them. In many ways, oil paintings give greater depth and possibly a chance to incorporate very detailed brushwork, but watercolours have the propensity to imbue a painting with transparency, almost an air-filled atmosphere that’s hard to define. Oils are forgiving: If you don’t like what you have put onto your canvas – even part way through – you can just wipe it off, something I have personally done many times. Seeing an unsatisfactory painting in front of you being wiped away with just a rag and a splash of turpentine brings quite a mix of emotions. Yes, it may seem a waste of paint and perhaps a waste of hours of work, but of what good is it really to keep a painting when you really don’t even like it! And you may well have learnt something in the process. There is also a solidness with oils, rather like driving a stately old Rolls Royce; but with watercolour it’s more akin to driving a sports car, not just for its speed of application but because it can be an exciting and unnerving experience, even for the old-timers. Make a mistake with a Rolls Royce and you’ve probably got plenty of time to sedately grind to a halt. Make a mistake with a sports car and you’re likely to head into a deep ditch. The thing about watercolours is that you as the painter have to be in absolute control all the time, even when attempting a brave manoeuvre as the slightest hiccup will result in you -or me- screwing up the expensive paper and depositing it in the nearest bin. And you have to know when to quit. One minute you have an exquisite painting in front of you, and along comes the temptation to add just a little bit more……. Disaster! Start again. But again, you will have to learn some important lessons. I have actually had to shout out “Stop right now!” on odd occasions, but it’s saved a painting from the dustbin.
For whatever reason you paint, enjoy it, but don’t expect it to be an easy ride with a fair wind in your sails. Expect challenges. Push yourself. Get out of your comfort zone and don’t feel despondent if your masterpiece doesn’t quite match up to your intended wish. I personally have been painting in both oils and watercolours for nigh on fifty years but I don’t consider myself as having ‘made it’. There is always something to learn, some image in your mind that you can’t quite figure out how to portray. But that’s the beauty of painting; a constant searching, an unquenchable thirst that must be drunk down deep, but once you’re on that lonely path, look around, enjoy the view, and go where your heart leads you. View Peter's artwork on UK Artists
Further Reading
For the beginner Oil and Watercolour Demystified: 'If You Can Write-you Can Paint' a Practical Guide: 68
For the experienced painter Painting on Location: Techniques for painting outside with watercolours and oils.
|
Comments