Depicting Bricks in Ink

Today I was asked, by one of my students, how I incorporate line work (ink) into my paintings that have brick in them.  

"When you do brick outlines in permanent marker do you do rows or start in a corner and fan outward? I think I want to attempt that on this picture."  Then she included her painting, along with one of mine that she wanted to emulate the look and feel of.

Her painting, along with her reference photo.

My painting that shows the bricks she'd like to emulate.

So, here's the input I gave her...I'm hoping it helps others of you as well.

1) First of all, be aware of how large to make your bricks. They will not necessarily be the size I used. Depends mostly on how close the building is. 

2) I do draw my brick rows in pencil lightly first to get the angles of the lines as they either move away from me or not (perspective).

3) then, again in pencil, I start to draw in some of the bricks nearest my main focal area (not on the outside edges of the building). Maybe around a door or a window.

4) I either then finish by using pencil or, if I feel confident enough, I jump in with ink. (I use a variety of inking options, but on this one, I used a Sharpie Ultrafinepoint marker.  Since this painting was done en plein air, it was easier to travel with.)

5) For interest, some lines are fatter than others and I never use a ruler in order to keep it fresher.

6) I don't always use ink in my paintings.  But I still try to give the bricks some individual character so that it doesn't look mechanical. Here's an example.

No ink used in this painting.

Please feel free to leave your own watercolors with brick work in the comments section.  We can all learn from each other.

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My New Chapter - turning the page

Do any of you ever remember thinking "I'm about to enter a brand new chapter in my life"?  That's me right now.

In 2 weeks, I'll no longer be an owner (and artist) of Lowcountry Artists Gallery.  I'll now be able to focus on painting (and teaching), as I'm going to be represented by the Mary Martin Gallery of Fine Art here in Charleston, SC! 

Mary is a powerhouse of a gallery owner and someone I'm proud to be associated with!  Stop in to see us when you're in town!

I've been working hard to prepare a new body of work for Mary.  Here's a work-in-progress peek at the one currently on my easel.  BTW, no title yet, so feel free to leave me Comments about what you think the title should be!  

p.s.  A big thank you to everyone at Lowcountry Artists Gallery for my time with them!  Friends forever!

30"h x 40"w - Early stages of a new watercolor on watercolor canvas.

Uncompleted for now (still work-in-progress)...will post finished piece soon!
This painting will be available through the Mary Martin Gallery of Fine Art!
30"h x 40"w, watercolor on watercolor canvas

So...what should I name it!?  All suggestions will be entered into a drawing!
At the end of October, I'll draw a name from all the submissions and give that person a fine art giclee of my "Charleston Curls" painting (below).
Do it today...what have you got to lose?  Leave a comment here or post one on my Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/BeachamFineArt

"Charleston Curls I" - Reproductions available.
This print will be given to one person who has made a suggestion for the title of my newest work in progress!

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Come paint with me! 

In 2015, we're going to Venice, Jamaica, Niagara Falls, Montreal and so on!!!  
Find details HERE.

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Tippette #19 - The Mystery of Perspective...Debunked

Tippette = Snippet of a Tip (in watercolor).  One per day...during April...right here!  Tell a friend!

The Mystery of Perspective...Debunked

Let's face it.  If I start talking about 1, 2 and 3-point perspective (and about vanishing points), your eyes are going to glaze over and I'll lose you!   So I'm not going to do it!

Instead, I'm going to tell you how I SIMPLY approach drawing buildings.  Here we go.  Hopefully with a combination of my "words" and the pictures I'm about to show you, it'll make sense.

This first one (above) is an easy one.  If you're facing a building straight on (and you're standing in the center of the building), all your lines are horizontal and parallel to the bottom of the page, aren't they?  This angle might be the easiest to draw, but it's also probably the most boring painting.

Here you're standing to one side of the middle, so all of the lines are moving to one constant vanishing point.  Do you see how that vanishing point is WAY off the photo itself?  Here's what I do to make sense of it.  I tape my photo down to a bigger piece of paper.  I use a ruler to draw the bottom of the building where it meets the street (and I extend it way to the right).  Then I find a line to place my ruler on, near the top of the photo, and I draw it.  Where the two lines meet is the vanishing point for this scene.  EVERY OTHER line automatically falls somewhere inside of those two.  Pull out your own photos and give it a try!

I added this photo (of the red shutters) to illustrate the fact that, so long as you determine the position of the vanishing point, you can ADD to the photo and it'll feel right (pivot your ruler off of the vanishing point to create those lines)!

In this photo, you can see TWO sides of the building, so you have two vanishing points. 

So, did I confuse you more than I helped? Let me know about your own trials and tribulations with this phenomenon!

Come with Helen K. Beacham and Kelly Medford to paint Venice this October...

click HERE for details!

www.helenKbeacham.com 

Day 8

Mission:  30 paintings in 30 days
Focus:  Watercolor with pen and ink on Italian-made Fabriano 140# paper.

I tend to paint the "simple", not the "sublime".  Even in a town as rich with history and gorgeous architecture as CHARLESTON, I find myself on the side streets and alleyways where I picture simpler life unfolding.

Another thing that draws me to any particular spot is the lure of the ITALIAN CYPRESS trees that poke the sky with their tips, as it would seem.

This is Day 8's painting in my series this month.  Please enjoy!

"Charleston Embrace" (watercolor with pen and ink) 6" x 4" - Available
by Helen K. Beacham

www.helenKbeacham.com

To purchase (or view)  my whole collection of paintings in this 30-day project, click on:  ARTWORK

Please also enjoy the other 220+ artists' paintings by visiting LESLIE SAETA.

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Rainbow Row in Charleston, SC

www.helenKbeacham.com

Photo & Comments courtesy of www.CharlestonLowcountry.com

Concern for the needless destruction of historical buildings inspired the forming of the Society for Preservation of Old Dwelling Houses, in 1920, still functioning today as the Preservation Society. 


In 1931 Dorothy Legge purchased 99 and 101 East Bay, beginning the renovation of the area between Tradd and Elliot Streets. Originally these mid-1700 homes had been the center of commerce; merchants had stores on the first floor and lived on the floors above. Neglect over time left these valuable buildings in a state of disrepair. The purchase and restoration by Mrs. Legge inspired others, and today this beautiful array of homes is known as "Rainbow Row".


These old row houses are very popular to Charleston. They represent the very first style of Charleston homes and are portrayed in the story of Porgie and Bess. You'll see pictures of Rainbow Row throughout your stay in Charleston.

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2 New paintings

Just finished two more paintings in my latest series (on Yupo paper).

"An Invitation II" (watercolor on Yupo)

"Welcome Home II" (watercolor on Yupo)

Painting & Living Downtown

Ran into artist friend Karen Hagan today in downtown Charleston...she is lucky enough to have a working studio in downtown Charleston on Broad St.  I think that would be the best!  Good luck at Piccolo, Karen!

Watercolor class tonight

Time for our new set of watercolor classes to start tonight!  We're going to focus on subjects such as this photo of a Charleston garden.  We don't want the background to fight the ironwork up close, so we're going to paint it much looser and allow the iron to play the leading role.  I'll post updates on our progress soon.

Hot on Broad - Newest Painting

Just finished this acrylic/mixed media....it's called "Hot on Broad" - I love these quaint little settings throughout Charleston. It measures 20x50 (23 x 53 framed).