Holiday Sketch

Relaxing
25 March 2012
Water-soluble Pencil, Ink and Watercolour on Paper
25.5cm x 13cm (10" x 5")

On Tuesday, Elaine and I returned from an incredible holiday in the Maldives. We took a week off from the Natural Way to Draw, which made the break even more relaxing.

I kept up with the Daily Composition exercise and somehow I found time to draw Elaine reclining on a sun lounger.

This drawing is loosely based on the Extended Gesture Study and the Sustained Study from Section 13 of the Natural Way to Draw.

The Sustained Study brings together gesture drawing, contour drawing and modelled drawing. It uses tracing paper to overlay the different techniques. In this picture, I have used all three techniques on a single piece of paper.

I started by drawing an extended gesture study in water-soluble pencil. I followed this up with a contour drawing in ink and then some modelling with the water-soluble pencils.

I used a wet paintbrush to blend and soften the pencil lines. When this was dry, I finished the sketch by adding some watercolour.

This was an interesting experiment and I plan to do some more sketching using this technique.

Next weekend, I will write a more detailed post about the Extended Gesture Study and the Sustained Study.

Shelford Group of Artists Easter Exhibition 2012

Across the Trent
Watercolour on Paper
34cm x 21.5cm (13.5" x 8.5")

The Shelford Group of Artists hold their annual exhibition over the Easter weekend.

I will be displaying pictures for the first time in this year’s exhibition.

Across the Trent is one of the pictures I am exhibiting. I painted this late in 2010, but was never happy with it - until I realised I could cut off all the bits I didn’t like.

I cropped the picture, added a few finishing touches and the result is at the top of this post.

The other six pictures have already appeared on this blog:

• Fishtown
• On the East and West Line
• Moo!
• The Bell Tower
• Left Luggage
• Venetian Window (on The Natural Way to Draw)

The exhibition is in Shelford Village Hall (NG12 1EN) and is open between 10am and 4 pm on Easter Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

If you get the chance, please pop in. I will be there between 10am and 2pm on the Saturday.

Wash Swatches

Wash Swatches
Watercolour on Paper
26cm x 35.5cm (10.25" x 14")

I found some excellent advice about painting watercolour washes on http://watercolorpaintingandprojects.com/index.html. The website describes a technique to obtain a smooth application of colour. It relies on angling the paper and creating a bead of watercolour that you gradually move down the page.

The instructions are very detailed. Initially, I followed them to the letter, but as I gained experience, I was able to improvise with the technique.

I’ve commented on previous posts that sometimes I am too heavy handed with the brush. An important moment for me was realising I could gently tease the bead down the page by touching the brush to the bead, without needing to touch the paper.

I painted the swatches from right to left and from bottom to top. The bottom row is a flat wash, the middle row is an example of charging (changing from one colour to another mid wash) and the top row is a graded wash. The two right hand columns are painted with a number 12 round sable brush, the second from the left is painted with a 1 inch synthetic flat brush and the left hand column is painted with a half inch decorating brush.

I am looking forward to apply this technique to some paintings.

Sky Wash 5

Sky Wash 5
Watercolour on Paper
26cm x 18.5cm (10.25" x 7.25")

This is the last and most complex of the simple sky demonstrations from John Lovett’s Splashing Paint DVD.

The sky starts with a watery dirty yellow wash in the middle of the paper. While this is still wet, grey is added to the lower part of the sky and blue is added to the top. Some of the yellow and some clean paper is left showing in the middle to form the brightest part of the clouds. The area around this bright area is then blotted with a crumpled paper towel to create the clouds.

After this first wash is dry, the bottom of the sky is glazed with blue to make it seem further away. Darker blue is added to the top to create some stronger edges on the clouds and some dark grey is added to strengthen the shadows in the bottom of the clouds.

Once the sky is dry, the foreground is added to give the sky some context.

This was a difficult sky to paint - the version on this post is is my third attempt. Making the clouds seem fluffy and cloudlike was particularly tricky.

My next wash experiment will be to paint some flat and graded washes. Then I will move on to some more skies from programmes on the Painting and Drawing channel.

A Final Farewell to Modeled Drawing in Water Color

Multitasking
Modelled Drawing - 26 February 2012
Watercolour on Paper
40.5cm x 23cm (16" x 9")

This really is my last Modelled Drawing in Water Color.

Elaine is lying on a pillow with a sheet covering her lower half. The sheet is crumpled and piled up on her back.

I drew it in four 25-minute sessions. One of the biggest challenges was to reorganise the sheet at the start of each session so it at least vaguely resembled its original appearance. In retrospect, I should have used a much simpler arrangement, but you live and learn.

I’ve already celebrated my last Modelled Drawing in Water Color (see Farewell Modelled Drawing in Water Color). I wasn’t overjoyed to find this one lurking in the schedules, but I enjoyed it. I’m pleased to have had a last chance to make friends with the exercise before it really did disappear.

Why Multitasking? Elaine is posing for me and watching the TV.

Sky Washes 3 and 4

Sky Wash 3
Watercolour on Paper
26.5cm x 19cm (10.5" x 7.5")

These are another two demonstrations from John Lovett’s Splashing Paint DVD.

The skies are atmospheric and direct the eye towards the centre of interest rather than accurately portraying a specific skyscape.

In both exercises the bulk of the foreground is painted first, the sky is painted around it and finally some details are added to the foreground.

Sky Wash 3 is painted as two wet in wet washes. The first wash is a light pink wash in the centre of the paper. Once this is dry, the blue wash is added, leaving a patch of light pink in the middle.

Sky Wash 4 is painted as a single wet in wet wash. The indigo is painted first - leaving a space for the white gouache. When this is added, it spreads out and fuses with the indigo.

I had a couple of goes at both these skies and I am tempted to repeat them again, but the Painting and Drawing channel is providing an ever expanding list of skies for me to try.

Sky Wash 4
Watercolour on Paper
26.5cm x 19cm (10.5" x 7.5")

Fishtown

Fishtown
Watercolour on Paper
54.5cm x 35.5cm (21.5" x 14")

Elaine and I visit Brixham whenever we holiday in Dartmouth. It is a small fishing port and holiday town in the south west of England.

Historically, Brixham was divided into Fishtown (on the coast where the fishermen lived) and Cowtown (on the hill where the farmers lived).

Last year Sky Atlantic showed a 10-part documentary about life in Brixham called Fish Town (see http://skyatlantic.sky.com/shows/fish-town). This is where I got the idea for the name, but I’ve called it Fishtown because it is usually written as one word.

This picture has taken ages. I started it at the end of November and finished it today. While I’ve been working on it, I’ve started and finished four other paintings (Blakemere Moss, Beach Huts, Snowy Lane and Ye Old Dog and Partridge).

The little details take forever. Initially, they are quite therapeutic, but as I get closer to the end, there is a nagging desire not to do anything to spoil the picture.