4v: Drawing and Watercolor - Using Cezanne Still Lifes as a Guide

What you’ll need:
- A graphite pencil (a pencil)
- Some decent watercolor paint
- Watercolor paper (suggest a medium size watercolor sketchbook; about 14"x 10" cold press 90-140 lb)
- One or two nice watercolor brushes that are in good shape (a round with a nice point and maybe a flat; size 8 to10 for a round brush should work. A blend of natural sable or squirrel and synthetic hair for example.

I thought you could start a project using as reference some watercolors by Cezanne. The ones he did (below) were all done with pencil and watercolor on paper. One nice thing about pencil and watercolor work is that it's pretty easy to clean up and it doesn't take a lot of room.

How should you go about this?

First of all, take some time to observe the Cezanne paintings. (You can click on them for a larger view.) Pay attention to the relationship of the shapes and the colors. Look at the bush strokes and the sketch work holding the brush strokes and the colors. Look how the light and the shadows move across the painting. Notice the flat perceptive that makes you more aware of the surface. Think about what pleases you about the paintings. What gives them their sense of calm and feeling?

Still Life with Watermelon and Pomegranates

When you're ready to begin find some objects that have meaning for you, or that you are attracted to. They can be every day things like the ones in Cezanne's paintings-- fruit, vegetables, plants or flowers, a table cloth, cups, bowls, plates, bottles, mirrors, jewelry, scarf, book or other things with pleasing shapes and colors. Next, arrange the items to form a composition. The way you compose a painting is very important. Keep the arrangement rather simple at first, but work to give it balance and interest from the overall standpoint of color and shape.Then begin doing a pencil drawing. Keep the drawing simple, mainly a contour drawing; however, like Cezanne, you can also include some body and texture lines. As you make your sketch, begin to think about how you will be painting the scene. Once you have a sketch you're happy with you can start to lay in the washes of color.

The Green Pot

It's hard to describe watercolor brush strokes. Cezanne worked very hard to get the feeling he wanted. Watercolor is a tricky medium. Move your brush with rhythm and flow, not mechanically. The color will fall differently depending on how wet or dry the brush and paper are and on how much color is loaded on the brush. The way the colors flow over the surface is one of the beautiful things about watercolor paints. (Until you get the feel of it, it's useful to have some paper to test on before you move the brush to the painting. Also have some paper towels available to blot dry if you need to.) You can do wet in wet at times and you can let one layer of wash dry and then come back and paint another layer later. Enjoy the colours and the shapes as you work. Work until you are satisfied with it. Don’t be afraid to stop and come back later to see how you feel about it, but on the other hand, don’t be afraid to move quickly as you let the bush move the colors into and through the shapes.

Complete a selection of several paintings and gradually add to your watercolor notebook!

More Cezanne examples: