( 그림공부 ) Put Less In, Get More Out

 

“Artists Point, Grand Marais” (watercolor, 11 x 15 in.)

 

Dan Mondloch 라는 미국 화가의 수채화에 대해서 쓴 의미있는 글이 있어

여기 옮긴다. ( 번역은 구글번역, 영어 원문은 맨 뒤에 )

=======================================================

 

"수채화에서는 단계별로 값을 구축합니다." 댄 몬들로흐가 말했습니다. "하지만 시간 

제약이 있는 경우 수채화가 더 좋습니다. 수채화지에 정확한 그림을 꽤 빨리 그릴 수 있고 

워시로 따뜻하고 차가운 영역을 제안할 수 있습니다. 전선, 쓰레기통 등과 같이 많은 

물건이 있는 거친 장면에 특히 좋습니다. 장면을 명암으로 단순화하고 워시로 통합하여 

멋진 빛 속에서 모든 어수선함의 정체성을 일부 제거할 수 있습니다. 

이러한 변형은 친숙한 주제를 아름답게 만들어 가장 만족스러울 수 있습니다."

그는 먼저 명암 워시로 칠하고 가장 밝은 빛에 대해 종이를 군데군데 비춘 다음 

중간 값을 사용하여 더 강렬한 로컬 색상의 크고 유동적인 모양을 만든 다음 중간 값을 

어두운 값으로 나눕니다. 특히 그림자 영역에서 그렇습니다. 몬들로흐는 "어두운 부분은 종종 

그림의 약 15%에 불과하지만 장면을 눈으로 읽을 수 있게 해줍니다."라고 말했습니다. 

"학생들은 이 부분에서 어려움을 겪습니다. 어두운 부분을 나중에 하기로 하죠. 

하지만 그림이 그렇게 좋지 않을 때에도 전체 그림에 대한 믿음을 가져야 합니다. 

모든 그림은 어색한 사춘기 단계를 거칩니다. 

몇 가지 어두운 부분이 모든 것을 하나로 모을 겁니다."

작가는 수채화의 초기 워시가 처음에는 너무 어둡고 강해 보일 수 있지만, 

부드럽고 밝아진다고 경고합니다. 그는 또한 구아슈를 사용하여 더 파스텔 느낌을 

만들거나 불투명도를 얻는 것을 꺼리지 않습니다. 그는 자신의 영감을 준 두 사람인 

존 싱어 사전트와 조셉 즈부크빅과 잘 어울립니다. "즈부크빅은 구아슈가 그림의 

브레이크라고 말했습니다." 몬들로흐가 설명합니다. "구아슈는 수채화의 일관성을 조절하여 

색을 과포화하거나 너무 어둡게 하지 않고도 건조하게 만들 수 있습니다. 

저는 너무 어둡게 그리는 경향이 있고, 어두운 부분에 더 많은 색을 넣기 위해 노력합니다. 

"어두운 부분에 얼마나 많은 색을 넣을 수 있고 화려하지 않은지 놀랍습니다. 

또한 색상을 얼마나 어둡게 할 수 있고 여전히 그 정체성을 유지할 수 있는지 놀랍습니다."

 

“Hudson Alley” (watercolor, 15 x 11 in.)

 

 

그는 흰색 구아슈가 색상에 약간의 중립성을 줄 수 있다고 설명합니다. 

수채화가가 원치 않는 색상 혼합 없이 레이어를 만들 수 있습니다. 

"저는 종종 하늘에 구아슈를 사용합니다. 푸른 하늘에 있는 구름을 따뜻하게 하면 

녹색이 될 수 있기 때문입니다. 저는 코발트와 섞인 흰색 구아슈로 이 문제를 해결합니다. 

노란색을 충분히 숨겨서 녹색이 되지 않고도 파란색이 드러나게 합니다." 

몬들로흐는 또한 리거 브러시로 구아슈를 약간 바르면 강하고 얇은 선이 만들어진다고 지적합니다.

그는 300파운드의 거친 수채화지를 선호하는데, 그 무거운 질감 덕분에 흥미로운 효과를 

낼 수 있습니다. "저는 거친 질감을 좋아하는데, 붓질의 제스처를 강화하고 야외에서 

순간의 에너지를 포착하기 때문입니다. 나무에도 좋지만 거리 장면에도 좋습니다. 

거친 질감이 획을 건너뛰어 전화선이나 거리를 가로지르는 그림자와 같은 것을 깨뜨립니다."

 

“Striking Light” (watercolor, 11 x 15 in.)

 

 

그래도 그는 디테일을 최소한으로 유지합니다. "세부 묘사에는 안정감이 있습니다." 

몬들로흐가 설명합니다. "그래서 우리가 기본으로 하는 것 같아요. 

우리는 사진 사회에 살고 있고, 자연스럽게 사물을 사진과 비교합니다. 우리는 사진을 

시각적 증거로 봅니다. 하지만 대개 그림에 더 많은 것을 넣을수록 덜 성공적입니다. 

너무 많은 디테일을 추가하면 장면을 특별하게 만드는 것을 잃을 수 있습니다. 

나머지는 단지 표시하기만 하면 되므로 선명하게 렌더링된 요소 하나나 둘만 

있으면 됩니다. 무엇을 묘사하고 무엇을 제안해야 하는지 알아야 합니다. 

그렇긴 하지만, 그림의 주요 아이디어를 손상시키지 않는다면 디테일이 있어도 괜찮습니다."

 

Mondloch 의 수채화 그림 몇 점 더 ( 작가의 homepage 에서 캡쳐했음)

 

 

“With watercolor, I work in stages to build the values,” says Dan Mondloch. “And yet watercolor is better for me if there is a time constraint. I can crank out an accurate drawing pretty fast on watercolor paper and suggest warm and cool areas with washes. It’s especially good for grittier scenes with lots of stuff in them, like wires, garbage cans, and the like. I can simplify the scenes into light and shade, and unify them with washes to strip out some of the identity of all the clutter in nice light. That transformation makes a familiar subject beautiful, which can be most satisfying.”

 

He first paints with a light-value wash, leaving the paper to show through in spots for the lightest lights, then creates a large, fluid shape of more intense local color using middle values, then breaks up the middle values with darks, particularly in the shadow areas. “Darks are often only about 15 percent of the painting, but they make the scene legible to the eye,” Mondloch says. “Students struggle with this — leaving the darks until later — but you have to have faith with the whole painting even when it isn’t looking so good. Every painting goes through that awkward teenage stage. A few darks will bring it all together.”

 

The artist warns that the initial washes in watercolor may seem too dark and strong at first, but they mellow and lighten. He’s also not averse to using gouache to create a more pastel look or to achieve opacity. He is in good company with John Singer Sargent and Joseph Zbukvic, two of his inspirations. “Zbukvic said that gouache is the hand brake in painting,” Mondloch explains. “It can control the consistency of watercolor, making it dry without oversaturating the color or getting too dark. I tend to paint too dark, and I work to get more color in my darks. “I’m amazed at how much color you can put in darks and have them not be garish. I’m also surprised at how dark you can go with a color and still retain its identity.”

 

He goes on to explain that white gouache can give a little bit of neutrality to a color. It allows a watercolorist to layer without unwanted color mixing. “I often use gouache in skies, because if you warm up a cloud in a blue sky, it can become green. I get around that with white gouache mixed with cobalt. It hides the yellow enough to allow the blue to come through, without making green.” Mondloch also points out that applying bit of gouache with a rigger brush makes strong, thin lines.

 

Enough Is Enough

 

He prefers to work on 300-lb. rough watercolor paper, the heavy texture of which allows for interesting effects. “I like the rough texture because it enhances the gesture of a brushstroke and captures the energy of the moment en plein air. It’s good for trees, but also for street scenes, where the rough texture skips the stroke, breaking up things like telephone lines or shadows raking across the street.”

 

Still, he keeps detail to a minimum. “There is security in painting detail,” Mondloch explains. “I think that’s why we default to it. We live in a photographic society and we naturally compare things to photos. We see photos as visual proof. But more often than not, the more we put in the painting, the less successful it is. We can lose what makes the scene special if we add too much detail to it. You only need one or two sharply rendered elements for the rest to be just indicated. You have to know what to depict and what to suggest. That said, I don’t mind detail if it doesn’t take away from the main idea of the painting.”