Julian Bruere
Demonstration
Saturday 20th April, 2013
Watercolour – Maritime Subject
Julian
is a lively talkative personality who shares all of his many secrets
freely during his demonstration. He is quite amusing, approachable and
unassuming. He tells a story against himself and his tendency to talk.
Kath Ballard, patron of the watercolour society, at a demonstration by
Julian, once spoke up. “Which hand do you paint with?” “”The right” said
Julian. Kath replied, “Why don’t you give it a try?”
He had a galleon sketched on a full sheet of 300gsm, taped and stapled. It would be ‘maritime art’ which he is publicising because he is a fan of it. He has done some great paintings of historical events such as battles. He offered entry forms for a coming maritime art show. “Any picture with a ship and the smell of salt” will qualify.
He
started by putting the headland in early on dry paper to let it dry a bit.
He then sprayed the sky area of the paper with water in a perfume bottle
(for a fine even spray). His painting method was to use a scratchy brush
held long and quick nervy strokes with dips into several pools of watery
colour. It dried out to a rather vague sky which sat back in the picture,
not dominating, which is what he wanted. With no horizon he moved from sky
to sea virtually by mixing green into the blue. He was scrubbing light
tones all over the large sheet, quite casually, talking all the time, one
hand in his pocket. But I think his mind was working furiously all the
time. With a subject like the sea lots of loose marks are fine, as long as
there is a bigger broad shape, which he had with the large wave on the
left.
Getting
on to the ship and the rock his method was more compartmental. Lovely
areas of colour, also using a scalpel to scrape back some highlights on
the rocks.
When he got on to the rigging it was very informative. He held a ruler at an angle to the paper so that the edge was about one inch higher than the surface and he ran the ferrule of the brush along it. He used a ‘marmite’ consistency of paint on a fine brush. The result was lovely fine straight lines, very necessary for a sailing ship. Painstaking work, which you can keep for the evening. Do the broad coloured stuff during the bright light of day.
Another brushwork style that he used was to hold a rigger at its very longest end and scribble fine lines, a suitable technique for fence wire, twigs etc.
His many skills were there to be seen, often disguised under a camouflage of chat.
He modestly refuses to rank himself alongside the top Melbourne watercolourists, but we know better than that.
Colin Browne (WAA Secretary)
Julian and the finished watercolour