- Hi, this is Kath Macaulay with Pocket Sketching.

Where are we going next?

Well, we're going to something that probably bothers you.

We're gonna fix things that are terrible.

See this?

It's weak.

It needs a lot of help.

And what we're gonna do is take several bad ones and fix them and you're gonna love it.

You'll be amazed to see how much you've learned from your bad ones.

Looking forward to having you.

Come join me.

(upbeat music) Hi, this is Kath Macaulay with Pocket Sketching.

We're back to an exercise I think you'll enjoy.

And by now you're probably ready for it.

The exercise is fixing the bad ones.

We all have some.

And a little note first on the bad ones.

When you're working on something, you have expectations, and it doesn't come up to the expectations.

At that point, it's worthless, especially if you happen to be quite critical.

And it's truly worthless... Don't throw them out.

Please don't throw them out.

Leave them alone for a while.

My three-day rule happened because of a painting.

And I tell anybody in my workshops about the three-day rule.

I painted a very large painting of a hawk carrying a rabbit in watercolor.

And at that time I was doing a lot of national competition.

It was so bad, that I took it, and it was wet, wet in wet, and I took it and folded it over, and creased it, fold it again like a napkin, creased it again and threw it in the garbage.

And I was so bent out of shape I did not take the garbage out.

I quit.

And I didn't go back.

I had a studio then.

I didn't go back for three days.

And the only reason I went back then, I had not taken the garbage out, and I remembered a little tiny thing in the garbage I wanted to get.

So I went out and leafed through it to find it, but in the process, found this folded up paper, and I thought, well, I'll just open it up and see how really, really, really bad it is, 'cause it's really bad.

And I opened it up.

Well, I know watercolor paper really well.

I was able to get one crease out, not the other one.

I made a few corrections under the beak of the hawk, and under the rabbit.

And then entered it in a national watercolor show, and it went best in show.

Now that's the three-day rule.

And three days have passed, and I don't know what the minimum is, but I know three days works, you have forgotten what it was that you wanted.

Now when you look at it, you look at it with a fresh eye.

You no longer have those expectations, those plans.

And if it's really good, you're gonna see it.

Well, I suppose if it's really bad, you're gonna see that too.

I did happen to put in a photograph.

It's not perfect, 'cause we took it off my computer, but this is the hawk carrying the rabbit.

And there's a lot of stuff in here that we've done in my classes here.

This is scraping with a credit card.

That is a comb.

That's a comb.

There's tons of scraping.

The tail's scraped.

The only corrections, the little lines under the rabbit, and a couple of the lines in the face of the hawk.

And it was in the garbage.

It was that bad.

So when you're looking at your bad work, do keep it.

Keep it long enough.

Robert Enright used to say, "Keep it long enough to learn the lesson.

When you've learned the lesson, you move on."

The one that we have behind me, this was a fix 'em.

It was a fixed 'em.

It is fixed.

I'm really pleased with it.

It's from the Metivier Inn on Mackinac Island.

This side was too light, but I couldn't bring this dark behind the bicycle, or would've lost it.

In fact, this side was that light.

So it was boring.

And by the way, I have a linear mistakes, linear perspective mistakes on the two sides here.

But this is the one you see, because of the contrast.

You don't notice that one as much.

The flowers back here were not noticeable.

They were too tiny.

The pot here stepped that way, way, way up.

So now we're gonna do some for real.

I'm going to leaf through a few, tell you what I think I would fix, and then fix at least one.

Oh, you asked when do you ever find time to do this?

Well, you find time when you don't wanna start something.

Let's say you have a little bit of time, your stuff is handy, and you don't wanna go start something.

You don't wanna go anywhere.

You just don't wanna start.

Pull out your fixing file, and pull out four or five.

That's plenty.

Out of the four or five, you'll find something to play with.

The time will not only be well-spent, perhaps making it better, perhaps making it worse.

But anything you do is learning.

You will learn a lot more, and you'll certainly learn the first three lessons of perspective, contrast, focal point.

Let's see the third one.

I'm busy.

And I'm thinking somewhere else.

I'm looking at this one now.

It's a cool...

This is the National Gallery of Art.

It's the fountain out in front.

This is not strong enough, but I also am very emotionally involved with this one, so I'm gonna elect to not use it.

Some other time.

It'll stay in the fixing pile.

The day will come.

When the day comes, I'll do it.

Let's find somebody else.

This one.

Okay.

What's good?

What's bad?

These rocks have a good shape.

They may not be strong enough for the foreground.

It must've been a whale of a great day to get the water this wussy.

It should've had more strength.

The splashing water is very, very nice.

This is okay.

Background's really yucky.

Okay, so where do you go?

If this is really nice, you wanna emphasize it.

And it wouldn't hurt a bit to have more color here, and it wouldn't have hurt a bit to have more strength there.

I'm gonna go to one more and then pick between the two.

This was from just a week ago, Ann Arbor.

Nice in every way, except, because they're closer, they could have more contrast to pop closer.

This isn't gonna take much.

It's gonna be easy.

So why not do this one?

Oh, by the way, you pick...

It's like picking favorites, and you say, oh, well, I probably will have a bigger effect on this one.

Why not start here?

Why not give this one a go?

How about some nice bright yellow?

That umbrella's not bright enough.

Step it up.

Just step it up with a bit more yellow.

Okay, not a lot.

Enough.

There we go.

Okay.

Then why not repeat that yellow down here in this guy.

By the way, these lines have not been touched.

They were made with a water-soluble pen.

If I touch them, they will go into solution.

And I don't want this yellow to be darkened with the line.

So I'm gonna be very careful to not touch the line, because I'm not gonna bother with pulling it away.

Okay?

Nice, it's already coming forward.

So what I wanna know, what if this person had a handbag down here, a matching handbag?

You don't know what it is.

You don't care.

Okay, right there, we made a difference.

Now what about that blue umbrella?

This is a color you may not have.

This is phthalo blue, spelled both P-T-H-A-L-O and T-H-A-L-O.

It's an incredibly strong color.

Overpigmented.

That little half pan is gonna last me a very, very, very long time.

And I think I like it.

I was gonna do more.

I was gonna do that side too.

Maybe not.

Maybe yes.

Maybe no.

I think I'll put just a little bit of it in here.

Just a bit.

Just enough.

I wanna step it up a touch.

Notice what it's doing to everything.

There's another umbrella back here.

Do the same thing with that.

Step it up.

What I'm doing is increasing contrast.

And I'm also gonna go for complimentary color.

Okay, I've got a red shirt in there.

Make it redder.

You're noticing how this is coming forward.

Make that red shirt redder.

By the way, I don't know if you've ever noticed, but I almost never blot.

I have a blotter.

It's the top off a sock, but it goes on the wrist.

I could show you in a minute.

Busy right now.

And it works beautifully.

But, instead, I try to tip it off.

If I'm outdoors, I flick, you go like the flick, and it works.

Okay, good.

That's nice.

I'm gonna do a little bit more over here.

And maybe a little bit more a dot down in here.

Just a dot.

Is this enough?

Might be.

This could be enough right now.

What about their hair?

Anybody's got darker hair?

Somebody's head.

How about that one?

And I'll add a little bit.

This is just burnt sienna.

Common burnt sienna.

Lovely color.

Okay.

Strengthen the chair back there.

Give it some legs.

Do you know what?

It's already changed.

The whole thing's changed.

Do I wanna put red on this umbrella?

Not much.

Maybe a touch.

Now by adding...

I don't have a green in there yet.

I've got two reds and no green.

Let's go for a bit of green, because that's a complimentary color scheme, and it's going to pull your eye here.

Whether you like it or not, you will see it.

There you go.

It's in there.

And right over here, we've got the compliment.

That little teeny piece, I'm gonna leave it.

This guy's chair.

This is gonna put you right here.

Watch what this does.

I've got a complimentary color scheme right next to each other, red and green, and you're gonna see this, and this is all now cast in the background.

And I like that green, so why not change this chair or whatever it is.

And a little bit down there.

You can see the difference.

This group of people has come forward.

You cannot miss them.

This is done on complimentary colors and heavy duty contrast.

And that one is fixed.

So all you have to do now, and watch how this completes it.

I'm signing it with the same pen I use.

But look how that fits in.

It fits in perfectly.

And at the end, I'll try to remember to put a mat on it, so you can see it.

I don't wanna step anything up in the background, because then I'll be looking back there instead of up here.

Did you see how fast that went?

These things are fast.

Now just for the fun of it, this one is a bigger job.

It's a bigger job, but why not?

Why not?

The best part, right in here, weak, very weak, sort of okay.

And I can't even figure out what that is.

So I'm gonna enhance this first, and if I blow it... You know, if I blow it, I haven't a lost a thing.

It was already in the fix it pile.

I've lost nothing.

The one that I wouldn't touch, I'm not willing to take a chance on this one yet.

Someday.

Not today.

But one that I don't care about.

Really?

Why not have a little bit more fun with it?

Look how much stronger that is already.

I want more brown in it, because it would be there.

It's not bad.

There might be a little bit of water coming around here, but this, get some guts in there, really.

Don't make it blah.

That's okay.

That's telling me I should go a little bit farther.

Remember, I've got nothing.

When I started, I had nothing.

So if I have nothing at the end, I haven't lost a thing.

It's kind of a fun feeling.

I guess you can't lose.

It's already better.

(Kath chuckles) Now come in here, because this is the best part, and make that darker, so that you're gonna see it better, and put a little bit of that into here.

Strengthen these rocks and kill the background.

And, remember, I'm not gonna lose a thing with this.

This is just all fun.

I've got ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.

It's a favorite color of mine, combination for rocks.

Did you see what that did all by itself?

If I do nothing else, nothing else, putting a view right here, heck of an improvement.

Heck of an improvement.

And I'm gonna just run this across here, and under there, and then sort of...

Okay.

And I liked that... Might like it with a bit of scraping.

I might not.

But why not?

I've always got this handy.

Yay.

Nice rock.

I can live with that.

Okay, go for a little bit more.

The one above is a little grayer.

Come around.

Wanna enhance that?

Go right there.

And it's got a crack in it.

It's got lighter up here.

So it's probably darker right there, 'cause it's got a shadow.

Okay, I'm gonna scrape this one too.

Making the water stand out.

Now it may not work.

Maybe you get all bad ones.

Maybe you'll get all bad ones.

What have you got to lose?

Cool cock.

Lots of more texture.

So go for the top one.

More brown, 'cause I rather like that.

It's gonna be bluer under there.

Put more brown.

That's a bit much (chuckles).

I didn't mean to get it that brown.

So you make mistakes.

Don't let it bother you really.

That's really more than I want, but it's okay.

Take this, shove it up there, 'cause I'm gonna scrape it in a minute.

I want that to be bluer under here.

I'm gonna leave this mess in my brush.

If you got a color you think you might use someplace else, keep it.

That's a little bit wet.

I'm not gonna get a clean scrape.

Probably have to wait a minute.

We'll find out.

That's too dark.

I really like it, but it's gonna grab your attention.

However, I'm not done with the background yet.

So why not just keep this stuff in a brush, so that I can use it.

There's another tree back here.

Ooh, that's nice.

Leave it.

Now get some depth.

Pick this up and stick it over there.

Now, darken this.

The splash in the water is terrific.

Darken what's beyond it.

There you go.

And pick this stuff up and use it.

Though we're doing pocket sketching, we're hitting a lot of very traditional watercolor techniques.

For instance, transferring from one place to another.

Very traditional.

And there's no reason why not.

I'm gonna cut that down just a tad.

I'm gonna add a little bit of color to it, and then cut.

That's more than I wanted.

It will dry lighter than it is now.

So pick that up, move it over here.

It will influence...

Okay, now, that's okay.

I like that, but there's too much of it.

Which one was this?

Nothing.

That was a good brush stroke.

All in all... All in all.

And I want one more slosh down in here.

One more good slosh.

Now, as you can see, it keeps changing.

There you go.

And there you go.

That's probably enough.

Yeah, come in here, like that, but don't make it green.

There you go.

That's all right.

Is that stronger than it was?

You bet.

Oh, I've got one problem, that tree in the background with that gorgeous red, either put the red someplace else, or take it away from there.

I'm gonna elect, because it's easier, to take it away.

There's not enough shape in that stuff back there.

But you see, I had nothing to lose.

It was a loser.

It was a loser.

Isn't that nice now, really?

And you wouldn't believe...

I should've put a frame on it before.

I'm really curious now.

What's it gonna look like if I put a mat on it?

What's it gonna look like?

It's pretty cool.

And maybe I'm not done.

Maybe I'll come back and do some more.

Oh, yeah, I'll do a little tiny bit more.

The water is awfully white right there.

I want something that's somewhat yucky, somewhat yucky.

I'm going into the stuff in the lid of my box.

That's slightly yucky.

Maybe a touch more.

Just a touch.

It's coming out over there.

And maybe a bit somewhere, where do I want it to be the lightest.

And then maybe a little bit of blue, and pulling it out of the lid right there, and there, maybe.

Anyway, I'm done.

And you can shoot through.

You can go right... Oh, there's a white spot.

And we'll get rid of that white spot.

It's right there.

And it's gonna attract attention.

Okay, it's out.

Now, it's not there.

Now it's so much better than it was.

You get the idea?

You take something that is in your throw out crop, and we all have 'em.

I don't care.

Oh, this one's gonna be a snap.

This is a snap.

The problem, bullseye, right there.

This is a gorgeous tree, beautifully done.

And you've got this white spot in the middle of it.

Super high contrast.

But not only that, it's close to the middle of the page.

In every way, that's bad, in every possible way.

And you wanna... (Kath chuckles) I'm not kidding when I tell you it's relatively easy to fix these.

Just broke it up.

Was that hard?

And then I'm gonna do something to the ground down here, because I don't like that tree just so isolated.

But that broke up that bulls-eye.

Is that important?

It's major.

This is major.

Just break that up.

Come down here.

Nice color.

Nice color.

Giving it some land.

And then I'm gonna give it an extra dark, just for the fun of it.

I'm gonna put in a dark.

I'm gonna go for purple.

Purple's a great dark.

Maybe too strong.

Put some in the dark in the tree, so it fits.

And that turned out to be a strong blue, not a purple.

What would happen if... And what color do I have in here right now?

A very faint blue.

Just curious.

What would happen if... Well, so I made it worse.

It's mine.

It's all mine.

It doesn't matter if I make it worse.

It's my choice.

It's my choice.

It is a beautiful tree.

I'm adding a bit of earth color back there.

Is it better?

Is it worse?

Gonna add a bit of that down here in the foreground, right in there.

Oh, I'm gonna make it stronger.

What happens if that is a bit stronger?

I bet this is too much.

That red is a whopper.

When your colors get wet, they pick up more easily.

That's what I just found in there.

Not bad.

Get rid of this stuff.

What's with that?

Why does it look out of place?

I mean, it's mine.

This is the whole thing.

It's yours.

You've already done it.

You've already basically thrown it out.

It's not any good.

So now you come in and play, and meanwhile, you'll learn.

It will teach you.

So why wouldn't you just learn a bit more while you're playing with it?

It's surprising what you can get out of something you've discarded.

Now this is a nice piece of dirt.

I'm gonna step it up a touch with a red, just for the fun of it.

And then I'm gonna leave it alone.

And maybe it's not any better.

Maybe it's a whole lot better.

I suppose I could've put a mat around it before.

And by the way, it's very handy to have a few mats on hand.

It looks kind of nice.

And the thing in the back wasn't necessary, but it's okay.

This came out much better.

And you certainly got rid of that bullseye, really.

So the point of this whole thing is you get some bad ones, and you simply figure out how to make 'em better.

This is The Blue Bridge from Grand Rapids, Michigan, happens to be where I am.

It's not the greatest, and there's something wrong with it, and I don't know what it is, but I can play with it.

What if this were darker?

What if that were more brilliant?

It is, after all, the renowned Blue Bridge.

What if it were bluer?

This sort of a superstructure is really powerful.

I'm not gonna lose a thing.

I already decided I didn't like it.

In that tiny bit, it got better.

So enjoy fixing them.

You won't believe how much you get out of this.

And I've loved having you in Pocket Sketching.

So much fun to have you learn this.

Happy sketching.

Want to learn more about the wonderful world of Pocket Sketching?

Then visit my website at pocketsketching.com.

We have so much there for you to explore, including free tips and training videos, the Pocket Sketching supplies, photo galleries, and how to access additional training.

All this and more is available at pocketsketching.com.

Learn enough to play for a lifetime.

(upbeat music) (upbeat rock music)