I mentioned a little while ago a painting of cats in a garden that I am working on and here is an update. Its 28" x 20" in watercolour on arches. The cats are slowly emerging and beginning to take on their personalities. Lots of fur which is always fun :) If I get time over the next few days I'll post some more new work, but as it is the school holidays as well time is something in short
Young Otters (working title) 3" x 2" watercolour
This week has been mainly taken up with the planning stages for a large commission featuring six cats, but in between I have been having fun with a new miniature painting. These are young Asian short clawed otters, and we met them a couple of weeks ago at Longleat safari park. They were full of fun and hardly stayed still for a moment! (T
Cockerel study 6" x 4"copyright Tracy Hall 2008
This is Picasso, our resident cockerel. I have been wanting to paint him for some time as he loves to pose and is rather good at it. Finally today, while waiting for some paper to stretch itself, I did. I have no idea what breed he is, but as I got the eggs from a neighbour I suspect it's a heinz 57 variety :) He was hatched under an obligi
May in England, yellow fields and cow parsley. Sketch. 18x26cm approx Watercolour/mixed media. Vivien BlackburnA watercolour and mixed media sketch of the rapeseed just before it loses it's bright yellow flowers, with the cow parsley billowing in the verges, done from near where the pastel sketch was done.Watercolour, a little work with coloured pencils, white gouache and tippex went into this -an
The Royal Watercolour Society (RWS) is the new sponsor and host of the watercolour competition previously known as "the Singer and Friedlander". (See The RWS / Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 2008 invites entries).
Permanently, Temporary
(2nd prize 2007)
Angus McEwan
This post covers:
the formal Call for Entries by the organisers
a summary of details for those wanting to submit workwho was
Sunset, Ebb Tide, watercolour, Vivien BlackburnSunset, looking across the beach as the tide ebbs and the pools of water reflect the sky. I haven't used watercolour for a while and fancied playing with the way that the colours merge and flow and glazes of transparent colour create colours it's impossible to name - just like the sky in real life.There's a lot of aureolin yellow in there - a lovely transparent yellow when used thinly. There is also a very little watercolour pencil and a little pencil added at the end.I do like watercolours - I should remember to use them more often and get a bit more practice in!you can see some other work on Cornwall here
A new little painting for Art Helping Animals of a three year old Beagle named Ren. In May and June we are spotlighting the work of Bones Beagle Rescue in the US, where Ren is currently waiting for a new home. This painting is 3.5" x 2.5" in watercolour and supplied framed ready to hang - you can click on the picture to purchase straightaway through Paypal. 20% goes directly to Bones to help Ren
Hi,Finally the original postcard size original watercolour for the month of May is here.Don't forget that by being a subscriber to The Art Inquirer, you will receive important updates and may win a free original painting every month.And because of this delay, this time I will be offering shipping.Read about it here.Kind regards,José
Bearded Iris 16" x 12" watercolour
The bearded Iris is now completed. I loved the striking colours of this flower, but I have no idea what variety it is as I took photos last year in a friend's garden (and they don't know either!).
The best news this week (or year) was that my painting 'Red Squirrel' received the Mary Scott Kestin Award for Animals and Wildlife at the Hilliard Society
Bridge by Julia Farrer
Winner of the £15,000 First Prize
The Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 2007
You may have known it as the Singer and Friedlander/Sunday Times Watercolour Competition - but it now has a new name and venue - and is inviting entries for 2008. Now in its 21st year, the Sunday Times Watercolour Competition is a very prestigious watercolour competition with the largest prize
I visited the Spring Show (13 March - 13 April) of the Royal Watercolour Society yesterday at the Bankside Gallery.
The Royal Watercolour Society is the oldest and most prestigious watercolour society in the world. Its aims and objectives include promoting the language of drawing and painting and especially of watercolour painting to an ever widening public.
The RWS has defined 'a watercolour'
Moth Orchid 16" x 12" watercolour
Each time one of my orchids flowers I make plans to paint it. Despite the fact that they flower for weeks on end, I rarely seem to manage it. But this time I did :) They are my favourite plants, and this one is Phalaenopsis (which comes from the greek for looking like a moth). Probably the most common and certainly very easy to grow.Painting flowers is so much
detail of mixed media painting using watercolour, collage and oil pastel. Vivien BlackburnDuring the talk I gave at the sketchclub on sketching and sketchbooks, we also talked about using mixed media. Some people beginning painting imagine that if they use for instance, watercolour, then they must use only watercolour - or at the most pen and wash. There is a perception that this is more 'pure'.In actual fact using a mix of media can mean far more exciting paintings. There isn't any particular merit in keeping a painting purely to one medium - though there's also no rule against it :>DI love the extra visual language possible by using another medium - the velvety texture of Unison pastels used with watercolour - the range of marks is so much more varied all those lovely things watercolour
'Blink' Tracy Hall
2.5" x 3.5" Watercolour on Arches
This is my latest little painting for Art Helping Animals. A 20% donation from the sale will go to help Tabby's Place Cat Rescue in New Jersey. Tabby's Place is an amazing sancuary providing a cage free refuge for cats who have no where else to go. Click on the link below to find out more!I am indebted to pastel artist Naomi Heijmans for
Goodness, where does the time go?! Another week flown by. Here is the latest little painting for Art Helping Animals - a tabby kitten painting 'Curiosity'. It is 3.5" x 2.5" watercolour on Arches and will benefit True Blue Animal Rescue in Texas. The model is one of our kittens from a couple of years ago - it was so much fun to watch them exploring the big wide world (well, the garden anyway!).
This painting shows the house sparrow, chaffinch, brambling and tree sparrows for the bird book.The chaffinches are at 'Happy Valley' which is a very special garden in Stenness, Orkney. It was created by Edwin Harrold who planted trees along the burn that ran past his house half a century ago and, with incredible patience and perseverance, gradually turned a bare hillside into a beautiful wooded walk, an enchanted place, full of plants and wildlife. He delighted in welcoming visitors from all over the world to his home, and was a joy to meet, until old age finally forced him to leave and he died in 2005 aged 98. I think the gardens are still open to the public but I haven't been since he left so I'm not sure what state they are in. There are some interactive photos which give a taste of the place here - Happy Valley, and a rather lovely shot of the bluebells out here.
Maggie (2007)
watercolour on paper, 55 x 75cm
copyright Sue Rubira
21st Century Watercolour is an annual open painting competition organised by the Royal Watercolour Society, which usually takes place in the Spring.
The aim of the competition is to encourage innovation in the use of water-based media on paper and to stimulate fresh approaches to what are considered to be watercolour’s
Feature image for the RWS Autumn Show at the Bankside Gallery:
Thin Yellow Light
Italian pigments and acrylic medium
copyright David Brayne RWS
I very much applaud those Art Societies which make their members and their working methods accessible to those interested in their particular medium or way of working.
Many societies now appreciate both the marketing and education benefits to be derived
Autumn coloursA small quick sketch in watercolour - the autumn fields are looking lovely, some have been freshly ploughed and the hawthorn, blackthorn and beech hedges are gorgeous colours. Well they have been gorgeous colours - it's been windy today so as I travel to work tomorrow I may find all the leaves have blown away, they are on their last fling and just a little wind will mean goodbye to all that gorgeous colour and those lovely golden carpets of leaves will fade.I love the long shadows at this time of year as I travel to work in the early mornings through the countryside and autumn skies are wonderful and dramatic. Seeing the vivid golden leaves against a threatening purple sky is so beautiful :)
towards the headland, watercolour, Vivien BlackburnI have lots of small quick paintings that were done as demo's of techniques for classes, usually added to over several sessions as I explained how to use use coloured pencils over a previous watercolour that 'didn't quite work' or showed how to use oil pastel as a resist with watercolour or splatter paint, wet in wet ..... a zillion bits of the 'language' of painting. I'd often continue working on a fragment done another week. I never do a complete painting as the students are there to paint themselves, not watch me, but I do show them how things work in small quick examples.So .... I had quite a few of these sketches doing nothing. They are only small, sometimes just a couple of inches square, sometimes 6-8 inches. I decided to make use of them by cutting them up to make some more cards for the Art Fair. I like the abstract minimalism of them.Three more cards ready to go :).... and another 3 ....... and yet another 3
watercolour sketchI'm thinking around the canvasses I want to do and how I want to develop them. These first 2 are quick watercolour studies followed by a couple of digital simplifications - I'd like to do some more abstract variations on this view and these are a start on sorting out essential elements.watercolour sketchdigital manipulationdigital manipulationThis last one does really catch the essence of the light without any detail - I rather like it and though it's simplified there are some nice bleeds of colour going on.what do you think?.
When you want to create a tactile and fluid effect in your digital art, your best bet is to reach for the real thing. Derek Lea gets out his watercolour paints and reveals how original old-style becomes digitally colour-perfect
Click here to download this tutorial (Author:Derek Lea)
Support files
Password(if needed):
http://pro-designs.blogspot.com
Mawgan Porth, Cornwall copyright Vivien Blackburnwatercolour, charcoal pencil, coloured pencil, oil pastelThis is a lovely beach on the north coast of Cornwall, just a couple of miles from where I lived as a child. The light on the wet sand and pools is beautiful and constantly changing. A small stream comes down the steep valley and joins the sea here, skirting the edge of this cliff. Steep - very steep - narrow roads lead up each side with hairpin bends making driving interesting when you meet a bus or lorry :)This is the morning light - the cliffs opposite were lit with a honey/amber glow in the mornings. In the afternoons they were shadowed and darker, almost silhouettes where the rocks are dark. The cliffs reflect in the pools.Down near the low water line there's a pattern of pools very close to each other and quite deep - up to 2 feet deep - carved out by the crashing waves. I remember these well from childhood - when paddling you could suddenly find the water that had been up
The folks at GoMedia are giving away two free hi-res watercolor textures that accompany their new Watercolor texture Pack. The Go Media Watercolor Pack contains 45 high resolution (8.5″ x 11″ at 300 DPI) watercolor washes, textures, splatters, drips, fades, and stains.
This set also features a Signature Series of unique watercolor textures from artist My Dead Pony. He is a master of modern watercolor design, check out his site mydeadpony.com for examples of how he uses watercolor textures in his illustrations and designs. Very inspiring!
Share This
This painting for the Orkney bird book shows the yellow browed warbler, goldcrest, and spotted and pied flycatchers. The goldcrest is the smallest bird in europe, only about 9cm long. On the easel as I speak (well, write) are shrikes and starlings. I'm very fond of starlings, despite their delinquent reputation! They are brilliant mimics.
Watercolour has many virtues, its main attraction for artists being its freshness and translucence, making it ideal for a variety of subjects, especially landscapes and flower paintings.
As the name implies, pure watercolour is mixed with water and is transparent, so that it must be applied from light to dark, unlike oil paint or acrylics which are opaque and can be built up from dark to light.
Highlights consist of areas of the paper left white or very pale washes surrounded by darker ones.
A certain amount of pre-planning is necessary at an early stage to work out where the highlights are to be, but some planning is always needed for any painting or drawing, whatever medium is being used.
The central band of rocks were completed next. Starting with two underlying colour/colour washes. The first being the colours/colors for the light tones followed, when dry, by a shadow wash to define all areas in shadow and start creating the form. Then a number of washes brought out the detail on the rock (texture, lichens, etc) working light to dark before overlaying some warm or cool washes (depending on reflected light etc) over the whole area but working in small areas at a time.
The initial stages of a watercolour/watercolor painting of the coastline very near Landsend, Cornwall. A hot sunny day with intense light, typical for a day like this on the Cornish coast. This painting was started, having first masked the highlights on the water, with a wash for the sky and underlying colour/color for the sea. While this was still wet the clouds were lifted out. This was allowed to dry before a second wash was applied to the sea, building up the wave forms. Further small washes were used to build up the wave detail, these ranged in colour/color and tone. Following the sea the distant headland was painted. Starting with the lightest areas of the rocks, then applying further washs to build up the tone using stronger mixes of colour/color for each area. Lots of blues and violets were used to help give the feeling of distance, more in the shadows but the whole area as given a blue wash which also softened any hard edges. The process was repeated again for the central he
This is the whitethroat, lesser whitethroat, chiff chaff and willow warbler. I still seem to be having problems with scanning these. Something to do with a fight between the browns and greens by the looks of it as they are all over the place - but hopefully it will do for now as I don't have time to fix it today. Suffice to say this doesn't look much like the painting. Which is very helpful, isn't it?! Someone asked what size these paintings are for the book - 18.5" x 13.5". Here's a slightly better close up of the chiff chaff:Related links: Orkney Book of Birds
The initial stages of a watercolour/watercolor painting of the harbour/harbor area of the South Ayrshire town of Girvan.After doing the masking (for the boat rigging) the sky and distant hills could be painted. Two wet washes created the overcast sky, the colour/color of which was brought down into the hills. When dry, the distant hills were painted using three washes to gain the weight and colour/color before a clean wet wash softened it all and helped with the mood and recession. The sun had just come out and was catching the foreground harbour area but not the background hills creating a nice contrast of warm against cool colours/colors.Following the above, the painting of the building along the harbour area was completed, again keeping them simple, both for detail and contrast, again softening some edges.
The middle stages of a watercolour/watercolor painting of the delightful Cornish village of Polperro.These stages involved painting the middle distant buildings, some of the boats along with some refection's. A good contrast between the buildings, on the left hand side and the distant hill of trees was essential to create depth and impact.Starting on the left hand side and working across, the left hand group of buildings was painted individually. While doing this, areas for the boats mast, rigging etc were left unpainted. Each building was built up using a number of layers to achieve the correct colour/colour, tone and texture beginning with the walls, then roof areas before adding details like windows, pipes etc. A unifying shadow wash was then applied to areas in cast shadow.The buildings on the right hand side were much simpler to paint, again like the previous buildings, starting with the walls, then the roofs, almost all variations, warm or cool of one colour/color followed by th
The initial stages of a watercolour/watercolor painting of the delightful Cornish village of Polperro.After the first wet wash, which was really just to establish the sky, some of that colour/color was brought down into areas that are either shadows or water (almost high time at the time).The next stage was to complete the background hill of trees with the occasional house before moving down into the distant buildings of the village of Polperro. The trees were painted in three or four layers. Each layer had varied colour/color mixes for each area, sometimes each tree. Along the lines of a wet against wet before allowing to that to dry and then the next darker areas were painted, again wet against wet. This continued until I had enough depth of tone in the shadows. Once completed and dried a wet wash was applied to soften all hard edges.The buildings on the hill side needed to be painted separately but thankfully the colour/color of the roofs on most of the distant buildings was similar
Watercolour/Watercolor painting - Staithes, North Yorkshire The middle area was painted next. This included the buildings that line the beck in Staithes, the beck wall, the footbridge and finally the distant boats and water. The buildings were painted almost individually apart from areas that matched in colour/color, for example the roof colour/color which were painted together. The walls etc are just simple washes using different colours/colors, with overlays of more washes if require. Likewise with the window and door detail, single wash for the glass followed by the frames in one or two washes to create the form and then a wash for any shadows. Finishing off the building with the small details like chimney stacks and pots again using up to three washes (light, medium and dark).The bridge was a combination of wet-into-wet and overlaying washes. The basic underlying washes were put down followed by the detail. Starting on the left hand wall the vegetation was painted first, followed b
Purple Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris) in watercolour: This is actually the second attempt at this painting - the first acquired some suspicious and indelible marks on the white paper near to completion which left me with no alternative but to start again. Very annoying when you are nearly done I can tell you!
Watercolour/Watercolor painting - Staithes, North YorkshireThe picture above shows the early stages of one of the watercolour/watercolor paintings currently in production. A background wash was first applied covering all the painting, apart from the areas that I had masked, these being the areas of white on the boats and buildings. This wash was applied loosely and wet using the lightest colour/color or underlying colour/color for each area working quickly before it started to dry.Next to be painted was the background cliff and vegetation using a number of layers to develope the texture and form. Just started on the left hand side are some shadow details from the foot bridge that crosses the beck and some of the small dingies on the slipway. The middle section, bridge, cottages and the far beck wall will be completed before moving to the foreground boats.
This is the finished painting of the pink aquilegia (columbine) which I showed the w.i.p stages of in a previous post:I have another columbine to do next, and am also working on more thrushes for the bird book. And the sun is shining outside for a change which is not helping!
Something a bit different today. I thought it might be interesting to see the various stages involved in a flower painting, and since I am recording this one for the lady who commissioned it I have no excuse! Because everything is very light to begin with it is difficult to get a clear photo of it so you can actually see the lines - so the first couple are overly darkened to compensate (the paper is actually white). It is a simple study of a pink aquilegia (columbine) in watercolour on Arches. It all starts with the drawing, which you can do on a separate sheet and then transfer to the watercolour paper when you have finished scrubbing it out and adjusting it. Arches especially I find very delicate - it does not respond at all well to rubbing out which ruins the surface for painting. So if you anticipate any corrections, its a good idea. The next step is a tonal underpainting (above) to give a three dimensional feel to the piece and establish the shadows using a light shading mix of pa
This week one of my gifted students, Jenny, brought in a superb book by Shirley Trevena (you can see some of the work in it on her website) - an artist I really admire. One of the techniques she uses is rubbing watercolour pencils with sandpaper, over damp watercolour washes, giving a speckled effect - and it looks wonderful. http://www.shirleytrevena.com/ take a look at her gorgeous work :)Jenny lent me her pencils to have a go - so this is a very quick demo for the class - a play on cartridge paper with watercolour, watercolour pencils and sandpaper :) and ordinary coloured pencils (my own). We went on to discuss drawing with the 'wrong' end of the brush through damp paint to get those veins in the leaves and putting soft patches of normal coloured pencils in areas to enhance and push colours. They've all been used in this demo piece.I'm sold! I have to get some water soluble coloured pencils :) I think graphitints would be good for this as they are supposed to dry waterproof - w
Where does the time go?! I do make an effort to update the diary at least once a week, but...well,sometimes I forget. Anyhow here is one recently completed (almost) for the bird book. It features stonechat, whinchat and wheatear, the little members of the thrush family.The two wheatears are facing the same way on purpose - it doesn't do much for the composition, but it apparently helps with telling them apart, which is of course the main idea.
Early Morning Garden. Watercolour, sketchbook.Out and about early this morning I snatched a moment to doodle the morning garden just as it emerged from the shadows with the first rays of the day catching the tops of the lavenders. Tall verbena flowers nod on delicate stalks like wandering sprits in the gloom. The air is already warm and scented with the heady notes of sweet peas and honeysuckle. Have a good weekend.
Watercolour and pencil. Moleskin Sketchbook. Click it to see a bigger version.Todays offering is from my sketch book. Due to a great deal of illustration work that has winged its way to my door I am only going to be able to snatch time for sketch book work. This was during a very pleasant tea break in my garden. Noel our farmer neighbour is about to cut the field for hay so, as finally summer seems to have arrived, I doodled this as I drank my tea and also drank in the beautiful summers day. What is it about sun, warm air and birdsong that sooths the soul so very much. I sit in the shade of the tree, in the inky shadows and feel so peaceful despite the mountains of work waiting inside.Anyway, wherever you are, I hope you enjoy this little bit of summer sketchbook.
I've decided to do a watercolour based on the graphite portrait of Liz that I've been showing here. This is a new challenge for me; I've never tried painting a portrait before, so it's a bit scary. In fact, I didn't even have much idea how to mix a good skin tone; in the end I found the yellow ochre a alizarin crimson are commonly used, so that's what I've tried, with the addition of cobalt blue for shadows. This is just a first wash, there's a lot more to do. technorati tags: watercolour, portraits, Liz, WIP
I forgot to post the final painting of the cottage that I had shown as a work in progress a while back, so playing catch up here it is:The traditional roofs (is that even a proper plural?!) in Orkney are often pointed - I don't know if this is a unique thing to the islands, but I don't recall seeing it anywhere else. When you have winds like we do I guess it is just common sense! The owners decided to have the roof in its unpointed state in the painting, so you may not know what I am talking about...and by 'pointed' I mean with cement put inbetween the slates, not pointy!
This one isn't quite finished but I am leaving it here for now, and will come back to it later on with fresh eyes! The Waxwing, Wren and Dunnock. All the birds are now in, but there are some odds and ends to do in the background and I ran out of steam. I know well enough when to leave alone now, stop fiddling when you can't really see the painting anymore, and luckily this project gives me the chance to do that. Next up for the book is the robin, redstarts and bluethroat.Related links: Orkney Book of Birds
The latest painting for the bird book features Kittiwake, Guillimot and Razorbill perched precariously on the cliffs. It is pretty well done now, although I will doubtless be coming back to it later for a final check. They are shown in their winter plumage in the bottom corners.
A sketch of Frog island, a grotty inner city industrial area, in watercolour and coloured pencil in the 11 inch square sketchbook.I really like to mix media, it gives me different marks and possibilities to draw on to push darks or emphasise lights.The tree is enhanced with a Lyra flourescent yellow pencil - the leaves were that incredibly bright and fresh spring green against the murky darkness of the old brick wall behind it.Behind the weir the water was inky dark and appeared still, although of course it wasn't. In front there was bright light reflecting and a jumble of ever changing (as the light changed) reflections. English weather isn't the easiest for sketching in! sometimes the light on the water reflected the bricks of the buildings clearly and at other it went dark with only hints of a reflection as clouds went over the sun.At one point the friend I was sketching with stood helpfully in front of the scene :>) I was drawing
For the watercolour sketchers, The Winsor an Newton Bijou Box has got to be on top of their wish lists. It is a beautifully compact and solid enamelled box that measures 79mm x 60mm x 16mm (or approximately 3" x 2.5" x 3/4"). I have always wanted to have one of these, but since I own two larger Winsor and Newton boxes and have made my own Altoids watercolour boxes before, I could not justify the cost of the Winsor and Newton Bijou Box.This size box is excellent for carrying around in a pocket for sketching when you are out in the everyday world. It is the size of a Blackberry, and when coupled with a small size pocket sketchbook and a waterbrush, can turn into an instant pocket studio.I love my Altoids box. It has been my companion for a while now, but over time it has become loose and clunky and with spring around the corner, it was time to retire it. I had been constantly on the look out for a metal box that approximates the dimensions of the Bijou Box. Call it an ideal, or just the
Café Interior ParisFrancis Bowyer PPRWScopyright Francis BowyerThe Royal Watercolour Society is having an Art Event Day this Sunday 1st April at the Bankside Gallery in London. I've been to one of these before and they're very interesting.Between 12.00 and 4.00pm you can:watch while six members of the Society draw and paint a model. Admission is £5. Free for members have a personal critique of your own portfolio of artwork with artists June Berry and Olwen Jones. £20 for half an hour. Friend - priority booking and reduce fee of £15.To book, phone 020 7928 7521 or e-mail info@banksidegallery.comIt's a great opportunity to see the techniques of different artists and to be able to ask questions. The six members participating in the art event are: Francis Bowyer, Past President of the RWS, Tom Coates, Karolina Larusdottir, Michael McGuinness, David Paskett and Michael Whittlesea.You can see examples of their work and mini bios about them on the members page of the Royal Waterco
Here is another of the paintings I am working on just now, a lovely little cottage by the sea:The owners have been renovating it, and when I took the reference photos they hadn't finished pointing the roof (its an old style caithness slate one) so am waiting to hear if they want it shown before or after pointing before I go any further. Very tempted to put a seagull or two in!
Recently a group of watercolour artists got together to start a new group dedicated to - what else - watercolours. The yahoo group, an email forum with an additional website to showcase the group's work, was envisioned as a departure from the many forums that are out there in yahoo and Google land, in that it is juried and limited to a small number of artists. The group has just added 15 new spots for juried new memberships. Here is the text of the invitation"Fine Art Watercolour Group is a juried group for watercolour artists. We welcome all new applicants. To become a member, please apply going to our website and click the subscription button. In your application notes, please include a URL to your work either on a website or Blog. After a peer review of your work, we will advise you of the status of your application.The Group's Mission:Most artists feel the need to share their work and experience with fellow artists. This need for fellowship is not new. Most art movements started
Listening to Jonathan Cramp RWSpen and ink, double page spread in Daler Rowney A4 sketchbookcopyright Katherine TyrrellThe Annual Spring Exhibition of the Royal Watercolour Society - the oldest watercolour society in the world - is currently on display at the Bankside Gallery in London until Sunday 15th April. There are 187 pieces in the show all by members of the RWS and priced for sale between £395 and £6,000 with most work being in the £700 - £2,000 range.I'd highly recommend that anybody wanting to improve their watercolours should make a point of getting to see a show such as this - it really gives an insight into what can be achieved. Examples of the work shown by RWS members from last year's (2006) exhibition can be seen here.I do think it's a very great pity that digital images of work in the current exhibition cannot be seen on the RWS website while it is actually on (as happens with the NEAC website/shop). Also, online access to members' work is limited to clickin
I knew that people had said that moleskines didn't take watercolour - but I had to find out for myself :>)I started off with a rough pencil sketch of a marsh harbour at Brancaster Staithe from the small moor on the hill above. It's a tiny area but real moorland with gorse and bracken and rocks.The watercolour just rolled off its waxy surface and had to be scrubbed in quite drily to get it to stay on the paper at all! Definitely not one to try again - maybe gouache? or acrylic?Then I used coloured pencils to reinforce colours, letting some of the watercolour that 'stuck' show through.A mix of Polychromos, Lyra, Derwent and some cheap unnamed supermarket coloured pencils were used, reinforced with graphite pencil.This is a view I'd like to do in oils some time, working plein air. It was done from a photograph taken when I sketched there last year. There's a wonderful view from the moor, known as The Common, of the harbour with its islands and twisting creeks, reed beds and salt mar
The good folks at the Altoids company keep throwing challenging new boxes my way and I keep taking the bate! The last was this fabulous looking sour chewing gum box. It measures 8.5cm x 3.7cm x 2cm and is about half the size of the regular Altoids box. It also sports a lovely curved top that should serve well in holding water and colour mixes. (You can see my old, well worn, regular Altoids box on the right for comparison)The smaller size was a real challenge. At these dimensions the box would not hold more than four standard half pans. Four pans would not really make a useful palette for me, so I looked for quarter pans. I know they used to sell those but I just can't find them anymore (If you know where I can find some please let me know). I finally decided to try using the FIMO clay that you can bake to a hard solid shape. I placed the clay in the metal box, smoothed it and used a round flat felt pen end to press 10 holes in the clay. I then smoothed those and placed the whole thi
I found this painting in my archives the other day, which was a bit of a puzzle as I didn’t recall painting it, and I don’t use watercolours!
I thought perhaps it was an image someone had downloaded from the web in the dim and distant past, maybe I had even done it myself. It was so very familiar though……..when I mentioned it to my husband he grinned and came over all mischevious. After having his fun he finally fessed up that he was the one responsible - I was surprised to say the least as he is not the painting kind and how on earth could he have found the time to produce a painting without me knowing a thing about it?
The answer is obvious of course……Photoshop, the perverter of so many images. He’d been fooling around with his image editing software and left this picture for me to find! OK, so it’s a phony, but I thought he did a pretty good job, and it serves as a reminder that faking things in this digital age is a very simple
I recently completed the latest illustration for the bird book, this one shows the yellow, grey, pied and white wagtails: I wasn't aware there were white wagtails - I think I just thought they were pied? There is certainly no shortage of things to learn as I work on this project. They are lovely birds anyway, great fun to watch as their tails bob up and down incessantly. Not sure how you would paint that though! The light is being very kind so I may get some decent photos today of the four paintings I have in progress at the moment, but time being at a bit of a premium just now whether I get them uploaded here is another matter entirely.
These are wonderful plants which I think come originally from South Africa (?) but seem to be fairly at home even in the far north. It is a Pineapple Lily (Eucomis Bicolor) and this painting is in watercolor on Saunders Waterford paper. Due to the multitude of little flowers crammed onto the stem, it took almost as long to draw this out as it did to paint! I knew there was no chance of my drawing it without needing to erase (and frequently) so I drew it on another sheet and only transferred it to the actual paper when I was happy with it. The reason for this is to protect the delicate surface of the hot pressed paper - it is very unforgiving and any rubbing out, however gentle, invariably damages the paper slightly which really shows up when you lay washes of transparent watercolour over it. HP papers do vary and some seem worse for this than others but on the whole it is a good practice and doesn't take long. The little masque pen came into its own again for this one for the tiny dot
Here is the latest painting for the Bird Book - this one is of Black Guillimot, Atlantic Puffin, Little Auk and the Great Auk.The Great Auk posed a few problems. It is the first extinct creature I have painted, and I am very grateful to the Natural History Museum for their help with reference photos of their specimen, which I was able to use together with contemporary descriptions to try and breathe some life back into such a beautiful bird that last waddled around Orkney almost 100 years ago. I just hope he doesn't look stuffed....
This is another painting for the Viking Heaths Project of Spring Squill. The plant is shown at actual size in the corner of the painting (it is just under 3" high, although can grow taller elsewhere) with a seed head included at the top as well. The curly leaves appear before the flowers and can be mistaken for grass, although they are quite fleshy. The flower colour created a few problems - the overall impression is not quite blue and not quite lilac, although it always seems to be described as 'blue'...Sorry, I've been told the image is too small to see anything....! Here is a detail bit of the flowers, hope its a bit clearer.
This painting of a cat was done in watercolour and is 8" x 8". Some of the whiskers were done with the 'masque pen' (masking fluid applicator - see October 2006 post) to see how it would cope just out of interest, and others with chinese white. I did have to touch up very slightly but on the whole it did well.
Terns in watercolour, almost finished. I am waiting for some new brushes to arrive for the fine details - left it a bit late as the ones I am currently using have been worn down to a few hairs...too frustrating! Serves me right for being disorganised. This painting shows the Sandwich Tern, Little Tern, Arctic Tern and Common Tern. Next up will be the Auks, including the ever popular little Puffins.
This is a Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia). It likes wet, boggy areas and has round leaves covered on the upper side by fine red hairs / tentacles with a little gland at the end that oozes a sticky substance and attracts unfortunate insects. The hairs then wrap themselves around the meal until it is digested. All quite revolting, but a pretty little plant all the same! This is painted in watercolour and due to its tiny size the plant is shown considerably larger in the painting, with a life-size version in the corner (not shown here). Here is a close up of the top side of a leaf: Also just completed is another Primula scotica:
Here's a way of painting hair or fur in watercolour, specifically lighter hair falling over darker hair. Watercolour is a fantastic medium, but believe me I am no expert; I am learning all the time and will continue to do so for as long as I can hold a paintbrush. But I have learnt so much from other artists generous enough to share their techniques, so in the same spirit here goes:After laying in your base colour, let it dry. Then begin to add the darker hair strokes, working up into the lighter colour. You can soften the edges a little as you work with some clean water if you need to. Always work in the direction of the hair growth - or in the opposite direction if you are wanting to create the idea of lighter hair falling over darker hair where the two meet. Continue with progressively darker mixes, leaving some of the earlier layers showing through each time as you gradually build up the depth, working up into the lighter area and beginning to add some strokes down into the edge
I've not posted anything for ages...I hope that's going to change, as there are at least a few weeks when I'm not expecting to be quite as busy with work as I have been.Anyway, I've been continuing to try to get a bit better with watercolours. Here's a recent effort. The scene is in the English Lake District.
I attended a watercolour workshop on the 11 and 12 of this month at the Peterborough Regional Art Centre. The photo is of Graham W Smith applying colour in the first stage of his painting.More information can be found at my website at Out & AboutArts & Stuff with Susan Borgas
SnapShots
I have great respect for artist that chooses to create artworks how they want rather than what the purest think how it should be done. Maybe even the old masters would have been more forward with how they approached their creative work if it wasn't for this disapproving sector of the art world.Well I for one do paint from reference photos and want to share some of my personal ideas with you.When developing a painting from a reference photo, aim for it to be a piece of artwork that comes from you rather than just a copy of an image. In other words be creative with what you do. In saying this though you may need to consider what a client wants, then decide if you want to go ahead with the painting if they expect a "copy" of the photo.My observations of painting from a reference image may help those that prefer to work this way. If you have any ideas that can be of help please add them to the comments section of this topic.Gain experience from Plein-air painting and learn to draw. It wi
