The SAA Catalogue 19/20
Hazel cncourages you to break free from conventional watercolour techniques and bring real vibrancy to your work!
This book is a guide to being fearless when using colour and creating excitement within your paintings.
Workshop on the web
The loose style of the watercolour painting method in this book would turn
out some amazing sketchbook pages. The subhead page (above) describes it
as how to paint with drama and intensity. Its a chunky book with much information and, while it covers the usual topics of colour, line, form and perspective, it adds another chapter: Painting for Impact.
There are ideas here for the use of multiple washes to build strong colours.
Pattern is also covered and a means of creating strong composition as
stitchers, we all know the power of repeat patterns and I like the way Hazel uses them in the contest of townscapes. The use of colour-runs, small-scale versions of paintings with variations of colour, is a great idea. Quite apart from trying out the ideas as sketchbook-fodder, it would make an interesting starting point for a stitched work with sheer fabrics, layered up over a drawing or stitched outline. Hmmm, cant wait to try that.
Paint & Draw
Issue 10 - July 17
When you think of watercolours, do you think of calming scenes, washed with pale shades? Hazel urges you to think again with this inspiring guide to how the medium can be more vibrant than you might expect.
Line, shape, form and composition are essential in any great painting and there are lots of top tips for all of that, as well as some great advice for finding a subject, planning and getting more from your sketchboook.
But at its heart, Hazel's book is a joyful celebration of colour. The close-ups of her palettes as she mixes her paints inspire you to break open your own watercolour box and get messy, while the text is packed with top tips on selecting the right colours, mixing them, testing them out and finally applying them to a project.
With your craft suitably honed, you can then jump into the final two chapters to push your work in excitign new directions, creating visual impact and excitement with bold colour combinations and unconventional compositions. If you're looking for ways to breathe new life into your paintings, this is definitely worth a look.
The Artist
Summer 2017
In her introduction Hazel refers to wondering as a child, why artists used unexpected colours, and, as her confidence progressed discovering the delights of a varied and (yes) vibrant palette. Although there are plenty of the usual hints, tips, exercises and demonstrations, this is not an instructional book per se. Think of it as a journey of exploration guided by someone who's been there before, and you'll get a better sense of what Hazel is offering. You will also get immesurably more from the experience. Subject matter is varied but its also not the important part. That's colour shape and form.
SAA Paint
May 2017
I defy anyone to come up with a workable definition of what vibrant watercolour is. However, I also think that we all know one when we see one. It has much to do with colour shape and sometimes but not always a sense of movement. In this exciting bookby an exciting artist, there are plenty of examples and ideas that include landscapes, street scenes, buildings animals and portraits. Yes, even a portrait can be vibrant - it's the point where you emphasise inner character rather than outer likeness.
A book about ideas can be difficult to structure because so much of it is just a matter of leading by example. Hazel breaks things down nicely though starting with the process of gathering your thoughts and using sketches to find your way before exploring colour and exploiting properties of the medium. Shes particularly sound on on dominant and receding hues, warm and cool colours and achieving a balance. Further sections look at line, shape, perspective, impact and simply surprising the viewer.
There are plenty of examples and demonstrations, but this is really a book to dive into head first and immerse yourself. It's an invigorating experience and if you feel a little overwhelmed at first, Hazels enthusiasm and clear instruction will soon have you headed in the right direction.
Kreative Review
Vibrancy is the sum of the elements of a painting that grab and keep your attention
Every painting tells a story. Hazel Lale calls it visual language. Five important key components help to produce a vibrant finished work. Vibrancy is achieved through the combination and interaction of colour, line, shape, form and pattern. A balanced relationship of these elements helps to catch the viewers eye and keep attention.
Important for beginners is the right basic equipment. Hazel Lale presents a list of materials she uses on her expeditions. A sketchbook should be carried around to gather all ideas. It is a melkpot of inspirations and together with written notes a good preparation for the final watercolour painting,
The radiant power of Hazel Lales paintings is mainly based on the selection of her watercolours. She splits her favorite colors into warm, cold and balanced paletts, shows colour examples and list their names This is very helpful for the untrained beginner.
Another important aspect for a vibrant and energetic painting is the right approach with vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines. Shape selection,colours and tonal values can give the impression of depth and three-dimensional space.
A lot of step-by-step instructions will help to learn how Hazel Lale paints.
Using unexpected colours or techniques will engage the viewer immediately. Different approaches like colour, pattern, contrast and tonal contrasts can give many paintings visual impact.
Another approach to make your painting interest for viewers is to place the subject in an unusual way.
With a growing painter's experience one also deals with abstraction.
Using watercolours for abstract painting frees the painter to use pattern and vibrant colour with less structure.
Conclusion: The vibrant paintings of Hazel Lale impress by their bright colour selection. The artist uses lines, forms, pattern and other unusual methods to catch the viewers eye. Both beginners and advanced students will gain valuable experience by a lot of different step-by-step examples like portraits, landscapes and abstracts.
http://kreativreview.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/vibrant-watercolours-by-hazel-lale.html
Artbookreview.net
Rather helpfully, Hazel explains in her introduction, some of what a vibrant watercolour is. To summarise, its about the use of colour, often unexpected colour and in unconventional ways. She recounts, as a child, wondering why some artists painted portraits with white or green faces and of coming to understand how painting was more than simple representation an artistic maturity, as it were.
The subtitle also provides a clue: How to paint with drama and intensity. This is, in short, a book mainly about working with and revelling in colour. Its about seeing, not the obvious, the superficial, but the true character of any subject, whether its a person, an animal or any inanimate object. On top of colour, there are also shape and form and these can be manipulated, along with the colours, to tell the viewer more about what youre painting than simple representation. A photograph will record a subject and allow the onlooker to interpret it for themselves. The job of an artist is to shape the response and convey a personal view. At its extreme, this leads to abstraction, where the response is purely emotional but, here, its also about the object itself as much as the pure image. Its a hard topic to explain in words because its so inherently visual, but think of it as poetry rather than prose.
This is an approach thats been covered before, but Hazels sheer enthusiasm will carry you along and almost certainly open your eyes to, if not a new, then certainly an enhanced way of seeing.
The Leisure Painter
May 2017
Watercolour artists often struggle to add impact to their paintings beacuase of the inherent delicacy of the medium. Vibrant Watercolours: How to Paint with Drama and Intensity by Hazel Lale shows you how to bring your paintings to life. The book is packed full of advice, covering a broad range of of subjects and five step-by-step projects allow you to work alongside Hazel to consolidate the information learnt.
yarnsandfabrics.co.uk
Hazel has a definite style that will most likely appeal to any lover of colour. Instead of the quiet watercolours of country scenes, she goes for bold, vibrant colour. This exciting painting book includes an introduction, visual language, materials, ideas, sketching and the main chapters Colour, Bringing Your Paintings to Life, Painting for Impact and Abstraction - all divided into bit-sized pieces and including a step-by-step project. Hazel looks at 5 aspects of visual language used to build a picture or painting. Ideas for sketchbooks is a good section. Throughout the book is full of tips and techniques and useful insights, accompanied by brilliant examples of Hazel's work. The 5 step-by-step projects are very good; my favourite is the portrait of an African woman. An art book to read, offering a course-style learning process for progress with paint and water. This is a superb book that makes you think about every stroke of your painting. Highly recommended.
