Still the Uncertainty

Saturday morning, August 31st and the path of Dorian keeps changing moving more off shore.  Now looks like states further north will now have to prepare for a possible hit.  No matter how much technology, it proves that we still don't have a good handle on predicting mother nature as one might wish or hope.

Just trying to sketch, I chose to go through my photos and picked Venetian Gardens to work a quick graphite sketch.  I chose water soluble graphite pencils for a wash effect and then went over with some watercolor.

I'd consider this more of a large thumbnail sketch.  Not feeling 100%, I'm not really into sketching but thought I would make myself do something while Terry goes to see if he can get the boys generator started.  It was purchased two years ago for the boys (Mark) when they lost power for about a week while living in Ocala.  It was only started once after being put together and has sat all this time.  Travis tried starting it yesterday and it just wouldn't do so.

Zeta sketchbook / Wolf's water soluble graphite 4B / Holbein watercolors

Comparing color to black and white

Trying Out Grumbacher Watercolor In and Out Journal Book

Yesterday I stopped at our local art supply shop called DK Art Supplies.  I hadn't been there since they expanded mid last year.

I was really impressed with the layout and how everything was being displayed making it more enjoyable to shop there.

The owner, Dennis, was sharing about the changes and the supplies he carries and letting me know if he doesn't have in stock, he can always order anything we might want.  Then talking about particular graphite between water soluble to standard to Artgraf color graphite bars and kneaded graphite I had never heard of before.  Really interesting what companies keep coming up with.

What I really like about this place and the owner, he's quick to do little demonstrations showing what one can expect with various supplies before you buy.

Then he was showing me the Grumbacher In and Out journals that are spiral bound but pages cut to where you can remove them and then put back in place in any order you wish.

I like the fact you can remove the page for laying flat in the scanner and then return it to sketchbook.

I'd never painted or sketched on Grumbacher paper so I was intrigued and bought a 7 x 10 watercolor journal.  It has 12 pages 140 lb acid free paper which is heavily sized for lifting and blending.  I personally like paper like that with how I work.

These are just a few play examples as I get a feel for the paper surface.  Front has a hilly surface and the back is silky smooth.

So far this is playing a little with watercolor and with water soluble graphite (Wolf's Carbon pencil B).  Also did a quick ink smear test but not waiting any real time before trying to smear.  I wanted to know how careful I needed to be writing or sketching moving my hand around the paper as I worked.

Playing with a Carbon Pencil

I have various pencils but wasn't familiar with a carbon pencil (at least not to my knowledge).  A dear friend from our sketching group was working a sketch using her carbon B pencil and gave it to me to play with.

I'm trying it on various papers..............

Handbook by Global Arts (Mixed Media).  The man and the bear were sprayed with a fixative.  Then learned the carbon pencil is water soluble so I tested it at the bottom of the page.

This quick little sketch was worked on Strathmore Visual WC paper.  The pencil picks up the tooth design of the paper surface as noticeable in the tail feathers.

Before and after taking a damp brush to sketch.....

This one was worked on a piece of Stonehenge 90lb paper.  Also sprayed with fixative.

Watercolor Pencils and Paper Comparison

After the last post sharing a dogwood flower using Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils in my Stillman & Birn Beta journal, I decided to play some more comparing other Stillman & Birn papers.

In doing the comparison I wanted to create like flowers using the same four colors.

 

The results are basically the same.

What I did learn from this is that the Alpha series paper absorbs the moisture quickly resulting in more water on brush, faster application, and more brush work to get the color to spread.  I didn't have to keep adding darker tones as I did with the other two papers and that may be because the paper absorbs the color more quickly (just a thought on my part.......not sure if that's the absolute reason or not).

With the Epsilon, the water really pooled making it real easy for backruns.  I had to take real care in dropping more pigment (from taking brush to tip of watercolor pencil and then to paper) as it would spread or run easily where the surface took longer to absorb pigment.....thus causing the backruns.

And although the Beta is a true watercolor paper and water sat on top for a few seconds, it still absorbed a bit faster than the Epsilon making the wet in wet quite enjoyable without the fear of blossoms (although I'm sure I could make it do so :-))  I had to drop more pigment to darken those areas close to the center to obtain the value I wanted but was able to do so without the backruns.

As I was working with these watercolor pencils, I learned something I hadn't realized with earlier experiments...............you cannot erase pencil lines even when dry.............at least not with a putty eraser.  I can't remember if my Derwent watercolor pencils erase or not.  I'll have to check that out ;-))

Painting these makes me think.........."Is it Spring yet??"

Dogwood - Watercolor Pencils

Thought I would try my hand at taking a video clip producing this dogwood flower using Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils.

Done in the Stillman & Birn Beta journal book.

Photo illustration of finished flower is scanned.  All petals as well as the leaves were done in the same manner as shown in the video.

Video created using a webcam.

Personal Note - Being this is the first time I've ever tried creating a video using a webcam and converting to a format blogger allows, I'm hoping the majority can view this and it be of decent quality.  I know not all platforms will be able to view and I apologize for that.

Alt video file (MP4) - Best viewed if computer window is down sized.  Browser (at least Firefox does) opens movie stretched to window size that may not be the best quality.  If you downsize the browser window, the results look better.  I tested on my iphone and it opened nicely:  MP4 format



** After using the color pencil dry on paper, I am using a wet brush (not dripping wet) to spread the color.

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More Playing with Faber Castell Watercolor Pencils

Here's another page in my Stillman & Birn Alpha journal book playing with the Faber Castell watercolor pencils.  My play consisted of two methods of color application:

1)  Dry application using pencil to sketch and color then taking damp or wet brush to area to spread the color; and,

2)  Wet application taking color off the tip of the watercolor pencil with a wet or damp brush and "painting" on the paper surface like one would with normal pan or tube watercolors.

So far.......what I'm finding with using WC pencils is I prefer to take color straight from the tip of the pencil with wet brush versus sketching with the pencil first and then taking wet brush to an area.

Reasons:

1)  No surprises in how something might look after a damp or wet brush is applied (example of what I mean with this statement is shown best in the tree illustration below step 1 vs step 2).

2)  No hard edges or "ring around" a center area washed with wet brush causing color to pool along the edges;

3)  I can obtain a nice controlled application of pigment/water before laying down on paper.  Again no major surprises.

Berry Example - Sketched dry vs Painted On

Notice the left berry where I first colored in with pencil and then applied a wet brush.  There's a hard edge with the color "washing out" in the center.  I can always go back when dry and add more value but this just shows the initial results.  I'm sure I could also soften those hard edges with no problem but I would prefer not having to go back and fix something if I can help it.

The right berry is done with brush and color taken off the wc pencil tip adding a touch more color (with brush) as the area dries. With me personally, I just feel I have better control of what I'm doing.

Flower - Sketched dry / Color Washed out / Painted on Darks and Streaks)

Next is a close-up of the flower.  For this example I started out sketching color dry on paper first and then applying a wet brush.

I lightly sketched by outlining the petals with the red pencil and then shading with up and down hatch marks where I would want my deepest color concentration.

Notice how smoothly the color washed with the wet brush.  I pulled the color from the base of each petal out towards the edges.  Had I used another brand of watercolor pencils, I may have ended with harsh pencil strokes showing after the wash created with wet/damp brush.

As the petals were drying, I picked color off the pencil tip with a damp brush and applied extra color giving the streaked look and adding some deeper tones.  .

* I took my pen and Lexy gray ink last for some detailing after all was dry.

These steps illustrate the direction and how the original hatch marks were put in before the wash.  The hatch marks were placed between petals and at the bottom of the front petal.  Color pulled from base up towards top of each petal.

The stem was done coloring one side with dark green and then taking a damp brush over color fading out to one side.  Also darkened the one edge with wet pigment from my brush after pulling color off the pencil.

The Leaf was done both dry sketching and washing out plus "painting" the color on with pigment taken from tip of pencil to add darker values of the color.

Tree Illustration - Sketched Dry and Color Washed

This final illustration is a better example applying or scribbling in color first (as seen to the left #1) and then using a wet brush to blend the color with first results showing in #2.  I went one step further in #3 as noted in the example.

The minus for me sketching or filling in color first straight with pencil and then applying wet brush is not having any idea how an area will look from dry to wet until after it's been done.  At the same time, look at the neat effect one gets using different colored pencils together scribbling in an area and THEN using a damp to wet brush.  It would be difficult to achieve that look grabbing color off tips of pencils with damp to wet brush first and then taking to paper.  There IS an element of surprise this way but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing :-))  Sometimes that surprise can make it fun and exciting.

My Personal Conclusion from Playing

This is one of those areas where each person might have a personal preference in application depending upon what they might be after at any given time and/or subject they are working.

If one wishes for no surprises and better control, taking pigment off the pencils and "painting on" might be the answer.  For those who love that element of surprise and the ability to play with unpredictable results, sketching dry first and then applying water would be the way to go.  Or as in my examples above, one can use both ;-))

Trying New Supplies

All I've ever been familiar with in watercolor pencils has been the Derwent brand.  After learning how differently the Faber Castell behave with water, I decided to purchase a few and experiment.

The major difference between the two brands turns out to be the initial line one puts down and how well it washes out or dissolves.

The Derwent watercolor pencils tend to leave the initial sketch line with some of the color washing out when a damp or wet brush applied.  The Faber Castell tends to totally wash out.  There are times I might want that initial sketch line to remain but more often I might just want the color wash without the line.

I really liked the feel and results of the Faber Castell.  Will be a nice addition to a travel kit :-))

Also wanted to try out the Derwent Graphitone pencil which is different from my Derwent Sketch water soluble graphite pencils.  The bigget difference right now that I'm seeing is how once wet and dried, one can apply a light watercolor (like yellow) and it not be contaminated or look dingy from the graphite.  I fear saying too much, at this point, until I've played more.

**Lines you see in the little primary color swatches happens to be ink..........not the watercolor pencil marks after taking a damp brush.  I went back afterwards and added the ink lines to represent flower petals as there were no marks at all with color completely washing out.

Pages from Stillman & Birn Alpha series journal book.

Hummingbird in Water Soluble Graphite

Before going to bed, I decided to do a quick sketch of one of our hummingbirds.  This year we've seen more than we've ever seen and we are ecstatic!!

With this particular hummingbird, the one aspect that drew my attention was the one yellow/gold feather there at his neck area.  Makes me think of him wearing a yellow jewel.  The other thing grabbed my attention was his white beak rather than black. 

Using a Derwent Graphite - Medium water soluble pencil, I first held pencil almost parallel to paper using side of lead.  Then went back adding dark areas and defining some of the detail with point. 

Using a waterbrush, I went over areas adding some shading.  Then once that was dry, I went back in with the pencil with a bit more pressure darkening some areas and adding a bit more texture.  Although this little guy was actually sitting on the railing of our porch, I decided to add a stem/twig on my page...just for fun.

Now I'm ready for bed :-)

Graphite/Ink and Wash Combo Continued

This is the completed sheet I started last night using water soluble graphite and Tombow marker pen and wash.

Tombow black (N15) and Derwent Dark Wash graphite (8B)

Graphite/Ink and Wash Combo

This started out to be a graphite sketch using a water soluble pencil (Derwent Dark Wash 8B).  Decided to shade using a damp waterbrush and then finalized with some detailing using a Tombow marker pen.   I like the combination of softness achieved with wash over the graphite as well as dry areas left that show the texture of the dry graphite (not sure the image is large enough for viewers to see this).

Checking out Moleskine Sketchbook

Today I compared sketchbook paper between The Handbook and the Moleskine Sketchbook.

When I first felt the Moleskine paper finish, I thought it would be great for ink and light washes.  The paper seems thick by feel but was quite surprised by the results.

First off, when I used a water brush lightly going over my ink or water soluble graphite, the wet brush marks 'beaded' on the paper.  Although I'm sure one could use that to their advantage for a textured look on smooth paper, I was not expecting that to happen.

The top of the page with my first example, I didn't notice the beading effect at that time.  It wasn't until I tried again with the second illustration (boat) that it was obvious.


Next I tried using a water soluble pencil to see if maybe it was more the ink and water that would bead.  I still experienced a slight beading but not to the extent as I did with the Tombow marker and water brush.

Closer look to show the beaded effect with the wash...............a rather nice effect if one wishes it to turn out that way depending upon subject matter.

 

Here's a simple watercolor example.  Definite beading!

Close-up......

The one thing I didn't care for was the fact there was bleed-through from front side of a page to the back side if water applied.  And another negative to this paper is the fact the Derwent water soluble graphite pencil doesn't erase very well using a putty eraser.  So unlike the paper in The Handbook.

On a positive note - this little Moleskine sketchbook will be fine for pen and ink. :-)

I started the top left with a Stabilo pen and changed over to a Uni-ball pen. 

Bit of Sketching - Nests

Can't believe how many days/weeks have passed and I've not done anything.  Today I finally did a little bit of sketching.  It's a start, anyways.

Med (4B) pencil in Handbook sketchbook.

Started out right to left sketching the mud dauber tubes or whatever one calls them and then the web worm nest that is popping up all over the place in the trees.  Some areas worse than others.  Last thing I did was add the mud dauber, which turned out a little larger than I had planned.

Went over some areas with a water brush (pencil is water soluble graphite).

Cheetah

This started out as a gesture sketch to quickly get features and form down on paper.  From there I went on to define more in detail.

I used a Derwent Watercolor pencil (Indigo) this time.  What I like about using a watercolor pencil for sketching is 1) the fact it doesn't smudge like graphite; and, 2) I can take a damp to wet brush to it if I later want to add additional tone.  Just keeps a door open for me should I choose to do more with this.

When I pulled this up in Photoshop Elements to rescale for web viewing, I was in one of my moods to play and experiment.  Using a Wacom Tablet and pen, I went on to digitally paint adding color splashes for more texture in the fur, adding color to emphasize the eyes, and adding a color border for more impact.  You will notice I changed the background from a plain white to where it looks like it was done on a piece of fabric of sorts.  This also added some texture to the cheetah.

This was fun and I really like how the eyes turned out. 

Artist's Journal and The Art of Journaling

I've been fascinated in this concept for some time.  For years I've been doing most of my work in journal books or spiral watercolor pads............most often including technical notes and/or sometimes what's on my mind at the time I produce whatever.  My goal at this point is to learn the Art of Journaling which gets into design of the page I work my exercises or paintings on.  There's a lot to learn about it and like anything else, takes practice, trial and error.

This page is pretty plain but I did get into playing a little arranging wording and images.  (This is how it actually looks in the Hand-book journal that has buff or light cream color pages - which my scanner really doesn't pick up).  I have since added "Bachelor Buttons" written small with pen and ink under the blue flowers and "Butterfly Weed" under the orange.


The second image shows where I was playing a bit using photoshop with a color background.  Potential idea of how it might look adding color to the page before I start sketching or painting.

From this I can see where I might not want the entire page covered with color but maybe splashes here and there leaving some white (or buff) showing.  I plan to experiment more on possibilities so I'll have an idea of what I might actually want to try in my journal book.

Of course sometimes I think it's just best with the plain background.  Like with anything, one can go over-board.

Think I like something more like this with some of the background left unpainted.  One could dry sponge on paper before sketching or painting; sponge on wet paper for that blurred look; or even pale washes of color here and there.  And this just barely scratches the surface of possibilities.

UPDATE:  After several days of viewing this, my vote goes to keeping the white background......at least with this particular page example.  I think the elements on the page show better ....... at least to my own eyes.  :)

   

Hummer Gesture and a Splash of Color - Water Soluble Pencils

Early morning play with water soluble pencils for my sketching.

First I did the quick gesture using Derwent Blue Gray watercolor pencil then went back and added a splash of color using Inktense pencils.  A little brush and water was used.