First day of #olympic competition…all a bit boring! So spoldged around with some watercolours in sketchbook.
Olympics
watercolour
Flat brush
Messing around with a wide flat brush and splodgy watercolour. Makes painting a bit more abstract. Can’t get bogged down in detail – which for me is perfect. Nectarine and Lime
Jack in bed
Jack the Russell
One of our six Jack Russells, and yes he is called Jack….snoozing after a walk on a hot day.
Referendum
Couldn’t stand the tension last night so did some doodling to try and take my mind off it all. Only to wake up to the Out vote….what a miserable day.
Snail ate my Irises
Went out this morning and these Iris flower heads were lying on the ground. Stems nibbled through by naughty snails (or slugs)! So put them in a glass of water hoping they’ll flower and took the opportunity to draw them. This time in pencil, watercolour, colour pencils and some ink at the end. Really like using colour pencils in this bold scribble way.
Stand-up pencil case
Such a brilliant idea. A pencil case that stands up and one that’s easy to see what’s inside.
Stormy tulips
end of the tulips on a grey winters day
Lemsip
Struggling with flu. Thankfully a full box of Lemsip is to hand!
More mop brush watercolours
Loving the mop brush I bought recently. Makes life very splodgy! No control and loads of water makes for loose painting
New vibrant colours in watercolour palette
I’ve been getting bored with my usual watercolour palette. Partly due I think to having too many choices in it. So I’ve created another box, from a simple Muji plastic box, with just eight colours – three of which are greens. I’ve never ever used a ready mixed green in a palette but I’m starting to do more landscapes and thought it might make life a little easier to include a few.
In the box the colours look quite dull, but on paper they absolutely sparkle. The only problem is there are a mixture of makes – Daniel Smith (the two full size pans), Winsor and Newton, and Sennelier. I know the names of the DS and W+N paints, but only have a number for the Sennelier ones. But here is a photo of the palette with the info I have on the colours.
My first two sketches with this palette have turned out really well – I’m loving the colour mixes I’m getting. Figs from the garden at the top of the page, and dead yellow roses…
Kunst + Papier sketchbook
Starting new sketchbook – Kunst + Papier – a gift from my stepdaughter in Berlin. It’s thinner paper than I normally like, so not so good for watercolour, but will just about hold it. Very nice quality paper – natural colour, not bright white with a bit of tooth. So think I’ll use it for more pen and ink, and colour pencil drawings.
It’s been a while since I posted here – had a project on that’s been distracting me. But that’s all sorted now, so back to some sketching which is so nice.
still life – ink, colour pencil and some water over water soluble pencil
A very tired Bruce – ink with turquoise watercolour
Mixing pen, pencil & watercolour
Enjoyed mixing a bit of very soft pencil with the ink and watercolour.
Art before…..
breakfast….
lunch….
and dinner…..
Orange sweater watercolour
Was about to add colour to face, hair and background, then decided that the focus on orange is much more powerful. Very juicy splodgy watercolour in Seawhite sketchbook. Lines with Noodlers Ahab pen – love it for it’s line weight variability.
Tulip watercolour
Such beautiful tulips. I love them when they get to this stage of madness and uncontrolability. Noddlers Ahab pen with very splodgy watercolour.
Mary Poppins art bag
My soft leather yellow bag – deep enough for the most serious sketching kit to get lost in! It has a blue and white striped inner bag, which seems to swallow anything that goes into it – Mary Poppins comes to mind!
Instant sketching responses
It’s hard work trying to keep up to speed with a blog – and sadly this one has taken a back seat for a month or two while I work on my book. How can it take so long to get the words to say exactly what you mean?! That’s why drawing is probably more satisfying, it’s an instant response to the thing that’s in front of you at that moment. So here a few instants from the last month or so…
The Big House Gates, just outside my village of Mouton in France. It was cold and I was in the car drawing this..
The Butt and Oyster pub in Suffolk, UK. On one of my recent trips to revisit my old home turf, and perhaps to be my second-home turf! These two were obviously not married, very flirty, lots of touching and a lot of drinking!
“Threads” sewing bag
…which I now use as a pencil case. The word “threads” is appliqued on the back..
Coffee, watercolour sketch
Thanks to Jane Blundell for letting me know it’s International coffee day!
Watercolour mixes
Starting to really enjoy my very limited palette of watercolours. It started with Jane Blundell’s recommendation for four great colours: Hansa Yellow Medium, Qunacridone Magenta, Phthalo Blue RS, and Transparent Pyrrol Orange. But I found they weren’t quite there, so have added two others – Cerulean Blue and Yellow Ochre. These add a little more softness and subtlety to the range.
With these six colours I’m really starting to get the mixes I want – bright, transparent, lime greens to soft greens, huge range of reds, oranges, pinks – and a better range of blues now I’ve added Cerulean.
Kitchen enamel signs
Enamel signs and thinking I must get my eyes tested! Pen and watercolour.
Drawing with sunglasses
Cycled to Lichere and sat in the late afternoon sun to catch these strong shadows. Colours a bit mad as had very rose tinted sunglasses on while painting!
Jane Blundell
I’m hoping for a delivery tomorrow – four new watercolours, as recommended by Jane Blundell on her blog. She’s based in Australia and has done loads of tests with different combinations of colours. The four I’m waiting for are from Daniel Smiths range of excellent colours:
Hansa Yellow Medium PY97
Quinacridone Magenta
Phthalo Blue RS
Transparent Pyrrol Orange
This is the test swatch that Jane has so carefully prepared – taken from her blog – that shows the fantastic range of colours achievable with just four great colours.
Orange cabin
Coming into our village – an orange cabin. Watercolour and pen in sketchbook.
Pen, pencil, brush
Three key bits of kit. Lamy Joy pen, Pentel mechanical pencil with blue leads (lines don’t show on reproductions) and Pentel waterbrush – ink and watercolour in sketchbook.
Tomatoes
