Waterlillies

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This photograph does not do justice to this painting. Ireally need to practise my photography skills.

I gave this painting to a friend for a present, so I don't have it in front of me to tell you how big it is or when I completed it, but from memory it took me 2 weeks from conception to final stroke. I think it was November (2002) when I completed it (I'll have to check that).

It is watercolour pencil, approx. 100cm wide x 60cm high, the largest watercolour I have ever attempted (and finished, too, bonus). I was fairly happy with the final result, it does have a few problems, just proof that I should practice my drawing skills more often.

I used a new technique with this painting. I recently acquired a digital camera, and since I was in a hurry to complete this painting (before that said friend returned from holidays), I took a standard graphic design short cut. I have three artificial white waterlillies (very realistic) that sit in my loungeroom. I lit these flowers in various poses and photographed them, transferred the images to my computer, printed out in colour the chosen three. I also printed out three enlarged copies of the flowers and shoved them onto a phocopier and enlarged them to the size I wanted. These I then traced down on to some paper and drew in the rest of the outline of the painting. Once the design was complete I traced it down on to the final illustration board and began the painting itself. I don't know whether this was quicker, but I didn't have to worry hugely about proportion and perspective as I would have if I had hand drawn them...besides, I know that if I needed to hand draw them I could, so I don't need to prove that I can.

Due to having that digital camera I was able to take in progress pictures.

At this point I was drawing in the first layer of pencil. A technique that I often use with watercolour pencil is to pencil in the detail and then wet it with a brush, let it dry and then go over it again with more pencil. If needed I can then go over it again with a brush, and a gain with pencil, depending upon the result I am looking for. This painting ended up with only one brush run, consequently the result looks more like a pencil drawing than a painting. It just turned out that way.

Here is the first layer of pencil completed with some of the brush work already started. I'm not used to taking 'in progress' shots so I kept forgetting to do it at appropriate intervals. In the end I only took two 'in progress' groups of photos in any case, completely forgot in later stages.