A Cubist Approach to Watercolour Painting

One of the aspects of painting that my students generally enjoy is experimenting with media and in particular, watercolour. Most have used watercolours before, but have long since moved on to acrylics. However, with their drawing and painting skills now reaching a more sophisticated level, it was nice to return to watercolours to compare the differences in technique. My students recently spent some time investigating watercolours and the variety of approaches that are possible.

They initially began by working quite traditionally by painting a series of close-up still life pieces and flower studies inspired by the works of Georgia O’Keefe. However, for their major piece we looked at other approaches to seeing the world around them by investigating the analytical approach to painting that was adopted by the Cubists. By using multiple photographic views of a selected scene, the students began to cut up their printouts and recompose them on A4 paper. The finished product was then enlarged by photocopier and traced through with pencil onto watercolour paper. Emphasis was placed upon clearly delineating the various facets of the composition. As they painted, the students were encouraged to combine various watercolour techniques (i.e. wet on dry, wet on wet and the use of salt) and not to feel bound by realistic colours schemes.

The end results were both bold and vibrant. By adopting this approach, many reflected that their final piece was in most cases completely different than what they had imagined and allowed them to see their subject matter through fresh eyes.