Beyond Watercolor

Watercolor Painting by Dennis Pendleton. I was looking through some of my work, deciding what to use for my Sunday email, when I came across a picture of this painting. It is actually a mixed media image where I start in the print room with a monotype. I had to work in reverse because the image goes through a printing press and comes out the opposite of the way it was painted. I used printers inks which are oil based. When the monotype was dry I worked on it with watercolor and finally with pastel. Using these three mediums together present different problems as well as advantages and the result is a mixed media painting.

You can see where I left unpainted white paper for some of the buildings and scratched out the paint where I wanted white lines. I also used spattering which is one of my favorite watercolor techniques. In this case, I not only spattered paint but also mineral spirits which removed paint and left white spots. Working from memory in the print room, I wanted to capture the movement, noise, and activity that I remembered from 17th Street in downtown Denver, Colorado. Working quickly, I wasn't to concerned with exact proportions as I piled in the traffic and buildings using one point perspective. As you can see, the vehicles draw you into the composition and take you to an area where the buildings drop down to the street creating a major point of interest. Traffic lights and utility poles also guide you into this area where the lines of one point perspective merge. Everywhere you look in this painting there is something that guides you back to that spot.

One of my favorite parts is where the tall glass buildings reflect the images of other buildings adding mystery and movement. I deliberately created movement in the buildings to coincide with the action on the street. You can also see how vibrant rich colors add visual weight and help to balance the painting. I knew that working quickly was essential to creating the loose effect I wanted and the major part of this painting was done in about 30 minutes. Later when I was working with watercolor and pastel, I was very careful with what I added because to much exact detail would have destroyed the rhythm and movement that is the essence of this painting.

Working in the print room, I was able to use other tools besides my watercolor brushes. You can see where I rolled out color with a brayer and used an implement shaped like a credit card to move paint. Working in the print room on mixed media paintings is so different and I am sure that some of what I learn carries over to my work in watercolor. Happy Painting! Dennis Pendleton