Thursday, August 9, 2012

Brenda Swenson's Sketching techniques with Watercolor DVD

Well, my copy of Brenda Swenson's DVD arrived today and I was definitely not disappointed.  It's one I plan to view several times as it's chocked full of information that in no way you could absorb all in one viewing.

Brenda is very informative without being boring or repetitive.  Some instructional DVDs I have are difficult to watch because the artist talking can put you to sleep (at least does to me).

She shares about the tools she uses and why to include her journal books.

Topics covered I found helpful were about shadows and also the use of water soluble pens like the Tombow.

Brenda covers contour drawings and leaving open areas and why she does that making a painted piece more interesting.

I love the fact during demos that she shows us taking brush to water container to pulling and mixing color and to paper.  Something that used to be left out leaving people questioning what I feel to be a very important aspect of teaching watercolor painting.  Consistencies of paint is very important and one area so many have problems with.

Another plus to this DVD is the fact the camera man does not overly bounce back and forth between the artist and the demo piece being worked on.  I personally find that to be extremely distracting.  Her DVD has a nice balance with most of the time focused on the demo.

She has many tips mentioned throughout I found to be very interesting and helpful.

All in all............I'm excited about my new addition to my video library and highly recommend it for those interested in watercolor sketching.....to especially include doing so in journal books.  It's a great learning adventure while having fun along the way and not feeling stressed while learning.  It is also a great addition even for those who are already seasoned watercolorists.  ;-)

If interested, here is the direct link through Cheap Joes.

**In addition to the link above taking you to her website, her blog is listed to the right if you'd like to check out her work.

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2 comments:

WWendi said...

Thank you so much for the heads up a out the DVD, and your review!!! I love the watercolor and sketch journaling community!!!

Susan Bronsak said...

I'm with you Wendi!! I'm so glad I came across the sketch journaling community.......has really changed how I go about painting any more. I'm not so uptight or tense.......actually having fun and enjoying what I'm doing even when less than perfect (in my own eyes). I'm learning to "loosen up" not just in painting but my over-all frame of mind. I love keeping journals!!! Now I want to learn to make my own using the hand stitch. With better paper, I'm sure I'll have even more fun!