Tip of the month – June, 2007

One month from now, I will be at Mount Sutton for my summer workshops. It’s hard to believe that summer is almost here.

From the balcony of our chalet, Sutton valley and the mountains beyond are visible on a clear day. In the early morning, the valley is “socked in” with fog. Nothing is visible except the tops of the furthest mountains. When we are in the valley in the early morning, we cannot see Mount Sutton. The atmosphere of mist or fog lies between us and the ascending mountain.

balcony view

I know that while I’m at Mount Sutton, there will be many different weather conditions including mist and heavy fog.

I’ve been asked to explain how I paint foggy effects. First of all, I think of fog as wet atmosphere. That means water in the technique.

On very wet paper, I cannot create solid shapes. There is too much water to allow for edge control. Everything is fluid and glossy.

On the moist paper, I can create soft-edge shapes. There is still a sheen on the paper and the water is evenly distributed.

Weak transparent colors are suitable for an overall misty quality. The shapes emerging from the mist should be painted with weak transparent colors, also. These shapes can be painted as a pale glaze on the dry first wash with a gradated bottom edge disappearing into the first wash.

First I paint a flat delicate wash and then, a second delicate application is painted on dry to show the objects in the mist. But this is not enough. What happens to the color of the atmosphere and the shapes in that atmosphere?

Muted colors are the answer. Colors can be muted by adding a small portion of their complement to the mix.

How do I illustrate that this is a misty atmosphere and not a poorly done watercolor? I use the contrast of a shape that is not in the fog, perhaps in the foreground or the middle ground of the painting.

If I am planning a localized patch of fog, the technique changes. The shapes that are not in the fog bank are painted and before they dry, a clean wet brush is moved upwards into the bottom edge of the shape.

I can add some soft edge shapes into the still moist fog shape to show its volume. In the fog patches, I choose not to have very much color. It is the white of the paper with tints of color derived from the shapes above the fog that give it its foggy thickness.

These techniques can be used for subjects other than fog. Think about it.

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