Dewitt's Watercolor Workshop
at the York Art Association (HERE) in York, Maine
on October 25, 2014, sketched on October 26, 2014
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Fabriano Artistico cold press fine grain 100% cotton watercolor paper
unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping
Space as Place, Getting the Picture
Where all colors have their welcomes,
in a space of fluid atoms
swirling in a vortex, brushing
by as a blend, leaving, rushing
to destiny, solid vapor
onto watercolor paper,
some stay behind, a color flood
in a mix of a known hue, mud.
poem © 2014 Bruce McMillan
not for reuse without permission
The Watercolor Palette Space of Dewitt Hardy
I participated in the Shadows and Trees Watercolor Workshop with Dewitt Hardy HERE on Saturday, October 25, 2014 at the York (Maine) Art Association.
The Dewitt morning demo, painting a tree with shadows, paper raised at the top. Starting at the top and working down the water flows in that direction, leaving more intense color at the bottom of each flow. The tree and shadows are done using a green and red for visual harmony. A touch of Mars Black was added for only the darkest shadows.
For the shadows the sun is here, coming from the direction of the arrow. I saw this reference point unlike anyone else, including Dewitt, as seen and explained in my exercise below.
Dewitt uses a small mirror, checking his work as he draws and paints, getting another perspective, fascinating. Shadows are painted in darks over lights, then darker darks over those same darks, keeping in mind the direction of the imaginary sun.
Finally the long shadow, leaving the darker color at the tree's base as the color flows down.
In the afternoon Dewitt did a double demo. First he sketched in pencil and painted in monochrome the street scene outside the York Art Association as a study.
Then he sketched it again, this time painting it in full color.
Dewitt recommends Winsor and Newton Sceptre Gold II Watercolor Brushes, a combination of sable hair with a blend of synthetic fibers, which I happen to also use and recommend, a quality economical brush.
Dewitt Hardy's web site with gallery HERE
Where the imaginary sun was . . .
Morning Workshop Tree Study
Bruce McMillan
7" x 5", Fabriano 140 lb. cotton watercolor paper
Our workshop's working area was arranged as square. I sat opposite Dewitt and sketched my workshop tree. When he'd drawn an arrow on the paper to show the direction of the sun, everyone saw the arrow as the sun in the top left corner. However I saw the imaginary sun as existing in the space of the room, not on the paper. So when I painted my tree, I was the only person who painted the shadows coming from a direction other than Dewitt's study. My mind is a fascinating quirky place, never boring.
Dewitt's first comment, a little startled, when looking at my study, "Oh, the shadows are coming from the other side." It was coincidentally the same direction Dewitt saw his tree in his hand held mirror, the direction reversed
Update
Dewitt Hardy (1940 - 2017)
Our Kennebunkport Figure Drawing Art Group lost a prominent part of the group Saturday night, July 8, 2017. After the celebratory opening at the Barn Gallery of the annual Regional Juried Show, which included a watercolor by Dewitt, he died suddenly, seventy-seven years old. Our group is stunned.
Dewitt was a mover and shaker in the Ogunquit Arts scene. "Dewitt Hardy spent his last evening doing a lot of the things he loved: being with dear friends at the Barn Gallery in Ogunquit, drinking wine, schmoozing with other artists and talking about art and other esoteric things like life and love and whatever. RIP dear old friend, you are already dearly missed," wrote Hara Harding to our group.
"According to his profile at Sanctuary Arts, Dewitt studied art at Syracuse University and was a noted figurative watercolorist. He had seventeen one-man shows in New York City and his artwork is represented in forty-two museums, including the British Museum, the Smithsonian, the Cleveland Museum and the San Francisco Museum."
