Second stage - The Blending Stage

Use your hand as a brush. Carefully move and blend the colors until they match the value, texture, tone and gradation of the subject. Some colors may need to be dragged to achieve this effect. Others may need to be pure, so clean your hands before you blend them.

Compare the colors of the area by the following tests:

a. What is the lightest object?

b. What is the darkest part of it?

c. What is the darkest object?

d. What is the lightest part of it?

e. How many colors are there between "a" and "c"?

f. Which is brighter: "b" or "d"?

The amount of chalk used in the previous layering stage must be the proper depth for under-painting saturation. The special bogus paper we use has a special saturation indicator. When you see the small gaps disappear between the chalk while you are blending, the paper is properly saturated.

Note:

If you find it hard to saturate, it may be necessary to add more chalk with greater pressure to make blending easier.

Caution: Be sure you have "clean hands and a pure heart". Dark colors will show up fast when you touch lighter colors. Special attention should be given to cleaning the hands, just as you would a brush, before entering a new color to blend it.

The exception to this is when you are trying to blend several colors together. You want each color to be carried into the next, so don't lift your hands. Keep them dirty.

If dark dust has settled on your lighter colors, be sure to blow it off before you start to blend.

Painting By Blending

Careful attention should be given to the moving of the colors with the fingers since its value and texture will be determined by the blending process. Verify the color and control its texture as you blend it by the pressure and amount of rubbing and blending and by the direction and travel of the hand as you blend.

Remember:

Your hand is the brush and your fingers are its bristles. The fingers can form a fan brush, a liner brush, in fact any brush you wish and you can move the bristles as you blend!

By controlling the number of times you rub and the pressure, you can quickly create:

• • Wind blown clouds (few strokes & light pressure)
  • Cascading waterfalls (clean heavy strokes)
  • Distant waves on water (flat heavy strokes)
  • Fog banks on the base of mountains (softly extend the sloping curves of the mountain, flatten out as you reach the lower planes)
  • Forest tree lines. (softly up and down)

Blending in two or more directions

You can create a rich variety of textures with crosshatching blends. This is blending in two or more directions with "X" type motions.

Scumbling is rubbing over and blurring the line between two colors and then smoothing out the lines that result. This produces very smooth transitions between colors. These blends are everywhere. They are especially useful in turning edges (as the edges of objects that curve out of sight).

Blending in Circles produces the smoothest transitions. Small circles with a few fingers work well for clouds. Large circles with the whole hand fill broad areas with smooth color like the under-painting of clouds, mountains etc.

Color Corrections

For slight adjustments add a skim coat of the desired color, and blending it.

Major changes require lifting some of the color off first with paper towel or tissue, then adding color and re-blending.

Be careful. Corrections can get 'muddy' fast. A stiff bristled brush can be used to take off more.