Some time ago I planned a series of small paintings with the theme of ‘Perpetual blooms’. At the time, I only painted one, but now several years later when I’m looking for an avenue to get back into my painting practise, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity.
While my watercolour pencil explorations are on hold while Inktense and watercolour paints take over my interest, I will always have a fond thought for my hardworked watercolour pencils. They’ve done a lot of work.
Now the key to these fantabulous pencils is that while they act like watercolour pencils for the most part, once they are dry they are not watersoluble – like waterproof ink. This may sound like a small difference, but it isn’t. Because they dry waterproof, you can go over and over and over your piece of work and build up some beautifully intense (funnily enough) colours.
I had nothing tonight for Sunday Sketches, but I did have about an hour to come up with something, despite being exhausted. I found myself playing. I didn’t know what to draw initially (though it is not like I don’t have a pile of unfinished works lying around, but hey, my thought capabilities at the moment are on par with fencing post, so I figured I shouldn’t attempt to ruin anything), so I got out my watercolour pencils and just drew whatever came to mind.
I did little more than fifteen minutes of art today. I didn’t time myself, so it could have been up to half an hour, but it was at least fifteen minutes.
The new challenge for Illustration Friday was released and this is the painting that came to mind.
As a bonus, I started reading one of my watercolour painting books, and encountered the technique of lifting off. The book basically described how you can lift off paint by wetting the dried paint with a brush and then blotting with tissue. When I experimented with acrylic glazing, I wiped the glaze with a cloth before it could dry properly to give it texture. I pondered if I could get an interesting effect using the lifting off technique combined with the scrubbing on the petals in this piece.
I spent tonight tidying up my art corner in order to fit the primed boards inside the house. Since we had children and lost the two spare rooms, everything that didn’t migrate to the rubbish bin ended up out in the hobby room. The hobby room which houses two computers, a display case, four bookcases, two cupboards, six desks, a filing cabinet, a set of art drawers and a sewing machine cabinet, is starting to become crowded. I’m having the problem of needing to put away things that have no place to go. And since I’ve been neglecting things like housework so I can art…well, let’s say it wasn’t a pretty sight.
When I came to do the red centres of the flowers (around the yellow eye), I had to switch from watercolour pencil to watercolour paint because as with my pastel sticks, my red watercolour pencils are annoyingly hard and often scratch the surface of the paper. Do any of you ever encounter this problem? I find it very frustrating, to the point I can’t use my reds.
I don’t have a completed piece for Sunday Sketches this week. What I do have to show you here is a work-in-progress watercolour pencil experiment.
God, this is scary – actually writing it down. Does this mean I actually have to follow up on it? 😀
It is more of a project than a resolution, but it is something that has been floating around in the vast empty space I use for a brain for several years now, and it is something I really should get off my butt and do.
