Watercolor Pencil Practice - Continued

Taking one of my newest lucky bamboos, I decided to do more practice using watercolor pencils from tips and suggestions after taking Cathy Johnson's course on the subject.  My favorite pencils being the Albrecht Durer Watercolor Pencils.  Reason they are my favorite is because they dissolve so easily with brush and water.

And to share with others in addition to helping me remember what I did, I've scanned along the way.....


First thing I did was work a light pencil sketch on my page.

I think most often I enjoy starting my sketches and paintings with a light pencil sketch and it's not necessarily for precision.  For me using pencil first helps me to become familiar with my subject without fears or hesitation.  I can focus (without pressure) on lines, curves, negative space and relationships between parts of the subject rather than fearing every stroke I lay down in brush mark or ink line being wrong.  It frees me.  For some people that might be the opposite but this is how I enjoy working.

Because I worked in pencil, I could have erased it all and started over when I realized I was going to run off the top of the page but you know what..............that's OK.  Normally I don't erase anything until later (normally after I've painted or put my lines in with ink) but erasing is OK too if or when you decide to do so.  It's no crime to use pencil and eraser.  It doesn't hurt anyone to include the person doing so.  It's just another means of creating.  I know from hearing what others say and from reading, for some people using pencil might mean limitations or boundaries.  Some folks might even see it as cheating of sorts.  That too is OK...........for them.  It's a personal thing and what works for each of us / you is what's most important. 

I started with the vase and worked my way up and out. If I was going to run off the page, I'd rather have a leaf do so then the bottom of my vase.  Plus I wanted to get the ellipse of the vase worked out first as it's one of my toughest subjects to get right. 

Next step was adding color with the watercolor pencils.......dry. 

I used two watercolor pencils to begin laying down color in the leaves.........a light and dark green.  I'm still trying to gauge amount of dry pencil coverage to put down without going too far.  Ideally would be to get the tones right first time; but then I also know I can always layer if I don't get it right the first time. 

Next step - I used a damp brush blending the pencil marks on paper.

I tend to be a bit timid at first with how wet my brush should be.  If I want that wild explosion of color, then I know to use a wet brush.  However if I want more control, I start out damp........not wet.  Plus it doesn't take as long to dry :-)

While that was drying, I started the little pot using mainly the side of the pencil point for quicker coverage.  I noticed I tend to do this in a small circular motion in large open areas and going to the point in tighter areas.

Rest of the process

These steps I repeated to include going back over in areas already worked on the paper to build up tones.  I saved inking as my last step.

My finished page - in the Strathmore Soft Cover Visual sketchbook.

I'm still working through/learning how light or dark to go with dry pencil; how much water to use in my brush; and how much care needs to be taken not to disturb the watercolor already on paper when working layers. 

And for me..........it's this "journey" I now enjoy more than the actual results.  Nice results are just extra icing on the cake :-)  I've come a long way because it used to be the opposite for me.  I used to be more concerned with the results and never enjoyed the journey or process.  I'd often feel frustrated or stressed which for me hurt and held me back from personal growth (at least that's how I see it for myself).   Now I truly feel so much freer and happier and I do think I see some improvement.  If nothing else, it helps with building confidence and even more important..............it helps take me to a place where nothing else matters except what I'm doing at that given time.  An escape..................a safe place I can get lost in for however much time it might take me :-)

My Fountain Pens and Nibs

Saturday I received another new pen I've been eyeballing for some time.  I've read so many good things about Edison pens that I decided to finally purchase one.

Edison is a German made pen......correction - is an American made pen with a German nib.  Most that I have are either American (Noodler's) or Japanese (Pilot and Platinum) plus the Lamy which are German made.  I also have one from China (Hero) and one from Taiwan (TWSBI).

 

It's interesting how the nib sizes differ between countries.  The Japanese nibs run smaller than those from Germany or America.  And I have to say my top favorites tend to be from Japan.

Immediately after opening my new Edison and trying it out, I fell in love.  The nib is an EF nib and the smoothest one yet that I own.  Most of my pens have EF or F nibs as I prefer the thinner lines writing and especially sketching.  Unfortunately many of the EF nibs feel a little scratchy.

As I continue playing with various pens and nibs, I am also learning how to fine tune them.  I spent hours yesterday smoothing out those nibs I felt were just not quite smooth enough for my liking.  I mainly used Mylar paper which is a super super fine abrasive for polishing out the nib tines..........after making sure they were aligned properly.  A couple I had to actually take to using Micromesh which is more abrasive.  One of my EF nibs was sharp to where it actually tore through the Mylar paper telling me there might have been a burr on it you can't see with the naked eye.  I didn't see it with a loupe either but it must have been something like that.

After working figure 8s on the Micromesh, I felt something give and it started writing smoother...no more snagging on the surface of the micromesh.  Then I polished it and now feels great using on paper.

In addition to the Edison, I also received another Konrad.........a blue marbled colored body as seen at far right in this photo.  Konrads come with #6 Flex Steel nibs but I'm replacing most with other #6 nibs that are not flex.  So far I have replaced with a Two-toned EF, Two-toned F, and Two-toned Italic stub nib (the smaller size).  I may get a M size or even a 1.5 Italic but haven't quite decided yet. 

Besides the nice looking display of colors and patterns, I plan to use each of these pens loaded with different color inks in addition to the various nib sizes.  This way I'm not constantly having to switch out inks or having to re-adjust the nib to feed by changing nibs all the time.

In addition to the pens, I purchased these displays.  It is much easier to find the pen I want to use rather than sifting through a box with all the pens together.  Plus this way they won't scratch or get marred up as easily.

From left to right:  Platinum Carbon Desk Pen cut down in order the cap posts to body during use; Original Konrad with #6 Flex nib; Sheaffer Calligraphy Fine Italic nib; Pilot Metropolitan with F nib; Pilot Metropolitan with M nib; Hero 578 Bent Nib; Lamy with EF nib; Lamy with F nib; Pilot Preras (both clear with green and the Lime Green and with F nibs); the five Konrads with various nibs; Pilot Falcon with Soft Find gold nib; Edison with EF nib; and the TWSBI Mini with EF nib.

I still have so much to learn about fountain pens, nibs, and even the various inks out there.  Different inks behave differently in different pens.  Some inks can clog pens (especially with EF nibs); some inks are lubricating; some feed wetter than others, and so on.  A new adventure I'm enjoying but taking a bit to sort through mentally.  I can only take in so much at a time.........LOL

Artistic Battery in Need of Recharging

For the last couple of weeks I've lacked motivation to do much with sketching or painting.  The interest is there but not the energy.  I find I go through these spells............kind of like needing my artistic battery recharged.

I remain diligent in keeping up with other artists .....sitting and looking at their work; keeping up with art groups I'm in; watching art videos; and reading anything I can related.  But actually feeling up to doing anything myself.........it takes a lot during these times.

Even with that said, I have managed a few pages in my Strathmore Visual Soft Cover journal as I work through this.

 

 

 

Stunned Towhee

This page was done in the Meandering Journal using W&N watercolor and a Micron 005 and 01 for a little ink line work.

Pencil sketch first and then applied watercolor.  After dry I went over some areas with the Microns.

It was a real joy working on this Arches watercolor paper.  

Squirrel Watcher

Funny but this sketch and subject behind it brings to mind the Song "Girl Watcher" and the tune has been stuck in my head all day.

In my last post I shared where I had taken a course by Marc Taro Holmes - Sketching People in Motion.  In addition to that course, I decided to take another called Picture Book Illustration - Animal Characters with Eric Johnson.  His course is using mixed media to create story book characters for children.

Taking a little bit from each course, I decided to do this sketch of Miya and her favorite outdoor past time..............watching squirrels.  The position I captured her in is her normal stance every time she goes out back.  There's one squirrel that will come within a foot or so from her and they will stare at one another for what seems like forever. 

Here are the steps I chose to use for this quick sketch......

Quick pencil sketch using a 2H pencil.  Sketched in the Strathmore Soft Cover sketchbook.

 

Unsure of just what I wanted to do, I decided to scan and print off on inkjet paper where I worked my next step adding ink using a Micron 005.

 I scanned a second time, printing off on another sheet of paper and worked a layer of watercolor using W&N watercolors.  This proved to be a bit challenging due to the paper buckling on me but it worked out OK. 

Again I scanned and printed what I had done so far and then took Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils for deeper tones and detailing.   I also used a white fine sharpie marker to add back in some whites.

As I'm posting this, I notice for some reason the scanner didn't pick up all the colors in this final scan (particularly the colors behind the fence area).   The background behind the fence should look more like the one right above.  :-/ 

Sketching People in Motion

This is a little (and I do mean little) sketch done in a 3 x 4" journal that was sent to me as a gift from a very dear friend living in the UK. 

The exercise was trying my hand at quickly sketching people who are in motion after viewing an online course I'm taking through Craftsy...............Sketching People in Motion by Marc Taro Holmes.

I was really impressed by the video instruction presented by Mr. Holmes.  A great source of information to go along with a book I have by him called The Urban Sketcher - Techniques for Seeing and Drawing on Location. 

Although the techniques are shared to help capture people in motion, one can use the information learned for anything they might want to sketch..........including from photos.

I probably should have tried this in a different journal better suited for wet media, but I tend to try and make any paper work.  This was a bit of a challenge but I think it worked out just fine.  :-)

January - Negative Painting Exercise

It's been a long time since I've tried painting one of these where you randomly place colors on a sheet and then create the shapes by painting around them (negative painting).

This was worked in the Stillman & Birn Delta Journal and I remembered to take scans along the way to share how I personally approached it.

I have found that the creative part of me doesn't like to come out and play these days.  I have conditioned myself anymore to sketch and paint what I see in front of me.  I find it much easier than trying to come up with things from imagination.  And it definitely re-enforces my preference for sketching and illustrating versus things like this.  All in all I WAS pleased with the results :-)

 

Other January Sketches

As usual, I'm playing catch-up sharing what I worked over the last couple of weeks in January.

These were all done finishing up the square format Hand.book journal.

Strathmore Soft Cover - Gray Journal

New Handmade Meandering Journal made and gifted by Lin Frye.  Made from Arches 140 Cold Press paper.

What is a meandering journal?  It's an accordion fold journal opening up in various directions.  Lin makes hers with ribbon ties to help keep one side closed while working in one direction.  When finished, you tie that off and untie the other side working on the back folded pages.

The cover is made from matboard and I started adding a little something to the front with white marker.  Haven't finished it yet as I haven't decided what else (if anything) I'm going to add.

For those who would like to know how these are put together, check out this Video by Cathy Johnson

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Virtual Sketchcrawl January

Cathy Johnson hosts a once a month (third Saturday each month) virtual sketchcrawl inviting people from all over to sketch something around where they live and sharing in her group,  Artist's Journal Workshop on Facebook.

For my contribution, I ventured quite a ways.............right outside the front of my house......ha ha.
Strathmore Visual Watercolor Sketchbook, Lamy Safari and Falcon with Lexy Grey ink. Daniel Smith watercolors.

Evening Journal Pages

These were done yesterday early evening and into the wee hours of the morning.

With the boys home, we've been sitting up late (well some of us) just enjoying what we enjoy doing and being with one another.

I tend to listen and sometimes watch TV while sketching and checking things out on the computer.  Terry watches his shows or plays video games.  The boys, when home, watch their favorite shows they can't see while on the road or play video games.  We take our breaks and merge together to sit and chat, joke around, etc. and then each return to their own little worlds until the next break.

This first sketch I worked earlier in the evening after dinner while listening to NCIS.  I've seen the episodes so many times I don't need to look to know what's going on.  Anyways........I grabbed this potted plant and decided to use the Konrad again to see how it continued to do after the burping problems I experienced.  Straight pen and ink (no pencil) and then added some color with QoR watercolors.

Stillman & Birn Delta sketchbook..........

This next page I worked on through the wee hours of the morning.  Some of the time I worked on this Travis was sitting out with me just chatting.  Then he'd return to his game.

I took my time and chose to use my Lamy Safari pen with the EF nib and Lexington Grey ink.  I like how lightly I can put a line down which helps with any fear or intimidation I might feel jumping in with ink.  Between the nib size, the dryer feed of an EF nib, and the color ink, it looks almost like graphite.  I can define and shade much better slowly building up my tones either by more pressure on the pen and/or cross hatching.

This is one of three snowmen figurines I bought this winter that stands only 5 inches tall.

Stillman & Birn Delta sketchbook.

Burping Konrad

I finally got around to loading my newest Konrad pen but ran into a phenomenon I had only read about until it actually happened.

There was a sample vial of Apache Sunset ink I wanted to use in the pen that I purchased from Goulet Pens.  Unfortunately, there was not enough ink for the pen nib/feed to sit in for the piston converter to work right pulling ink into the chamber.  To get around that, I took the nib and feed out and used a syringe to load the chamber.  I knew I could end up with air bubbles so I twisted the piston to force the air space out thinking I'd be fine.

Well.........for whatever reason, it wasn't fine.  I experienced the burping I have seen people talk about in forum posts.

Testing the pen in my sketchbook, I just started writing random thoughts as they came to me.  And out of no where a big huge blob of ink would just pop out onto the paper.  I would make adjustments, try to squeeze out more air, push the nib/feed deeper into the body but it still happened.  Two pages of writing before I realized it just wasn't going to straighten out.  I had blobs all over the place.  (I'd share the pages if not for some of what I wrote on them :-)

And as my husband walked by and I showed what was happening, he says........."I'd say your pen has the hiccups.........not burping."  Ha ha ha.

I feared something wrong with the pen.  Maybe the nib and feed were not set well with one another.  Maybe a deformity in the feed.  Maybe something about the ink itself.  I just had no idea.

So I emptied what was left of the Apache Sunset ink and loaded the pen with Noodler's #41 Brown.  I was able to load the proper way and I took the nib and feed out one last time making sure the two were aligned with one another and no lint or anything in the grooves of the feed.

To test.........I decided to sketch instead of just writing.

I've worked another sketch after this one and all appears to be fine with the pen.  (Thank goodness!)

Strathmore Softcover sketchbook / Konrad Bengal Tiger with flex nib.

Playing with a Wizard Brush

Today I have been in a playful mood just taking brush with paint and basically slapping it onto paper in a rough shape of this bear.  I had no idea really if it would turn into anything and honestly didn't care.  If it turned out as nothing, I'd just chalk it up to page of mindless brush marks and move on.  I often surprise myself though and this is one of those times.

The brush I grabbed is the Terry Harrison Wizard brush.  I made three pools of color using Yellow Ochre, Bt Sienna, and a Violet which I can't remember the name.............all QoR pigments.

The right  page gives a general idea of how I just started applying paint to paper.  As I was slapping color on paper, my husband walked by with this quizzical look on his face like "what on earth is she doing?" 

I basically filled in the shape of the overall bear using this process.  After that dried, I did a little pen and ink to start defining features plus a little fur.  Added more brush marks with the wizard brush alternating with the colors and then after that dried, used a round with the violet for a few areas of dark.  Then one last pass with pen and ink for a few areas.

So here is the results of that playing around :-)

Snowing Seeds in Florida

Back home it's been snowing and I'm feeling a bit envious and definitely home sick.  I miss the crisp fresh air of cold temperatures and the white blanket of snow that made the hill where we lived a winter wonderland only disturbed by the wildlife around us. 

Here in Florida the temperature did drop with near freezing temps last night.and chilly weather through the day but it's definitely not in the forecast to last.  It was also very breezy with these seeds, like snow flakes, flying and dropping to the ground.  It was almost like Mother Nature trying to lift my spirits in the best way possible for the sub tropics. :-)

Terry brought in several of these seeds for me to study and sketch.  Weeks ago they were an orange papery pod like structure or flower that I sketched at that time.  These are from the Golden Rain Tree in the front and also in our neighbor's yard.

I chose to use the Lamy Safari with the EF nib because these seed/pods are papery thin and I didn't want a heavy line or harsh look to them a thicker nib would produce.  Worked in the Hand.book and QoR watercolors used to finish off the page.

Late Night Sketching

Here are two more I've done with pen and ink only (no preliminary pencil guidelines).  It feels like it's getting a little easier for me...........not as intimidating to start right in with ink.

This first is a couple of buds with attached stem and leaves we brought inside hoping they open up.  The weather took a nose dive in temperature falling to the low 30s.  I feared the cold snap might hurt the buds on the bush and I really wanted to see them open up.  We'll see if anything happens with these two cuttings.

This next is of a favorite shelf sitter or nic nac.  I forget what this is actually called but has a tea candle at the base you light and the flame heats up a hanging ceramic dish that holds a fragrance tart.

As I was sketching this I ran into a few little issues where I had to improvise.  One being I had to leave the dish off that hangs over the candle.  I didn't carry the arm out far enough which would have made me have to draw over top of the coffee grinder already inked in.  So I thought.........OK..........just include the chain and leave it as is which opens a viewer to wonder or mentally fill in the missing dish.  Well that's my story and am sticking to it.........ha ha.

Another little mishap I had to improvise in was the saucer that should be under the cup along with a spoon.  Rather than trying to work those in, I left them off.

And why am I telling on myself???  It's all a learning experience and maybe my sharing things like this might help someone else when faced with similar occurrences.  :-)

Trying to Spread My Wings a Bit

The last couple of days I've been concentrating on trying to capture things quickly onto paper using ink only.  At this point I'm not worried about perspective or composition........I just want to try and get on paper what I'm seeing the best I can in a quick lively manner.

This first one is the back of our house and my personal living area where I spend most of my days/evenings.

This next is Venetian Gardens not too far from where we live.  It's rather wonky but I enjoyed the process none the less.  My favorite part is the area of the two palm trees :-)

Next is a new bag I received to take my sketching gear out with me.  There are mistakes and even corrections I tried to make with the purpose of learning what to do and what not to do (as noted on the page).  But after worrying about the fact I sketched the strap in front of what was already there, I've seen where many Urban Sketchers do that as part of their normal sketching process.  More and more I'm leaning towards wanting to do that type of day to day sketching but I have lots to learn and practice plus breaking free of that feeling I need to get everything just right.

And this was a true learning experience reminding me why I'm not crazy about marker pens or brush pens.

This started out with pen and ink only using my Falcon pen.  My hand was rebelling with all the hatching and cross hatching to fill in the black so I went to a Black Pitt Artists Brush pen.  That was OK but then came the shadow.  I thought I'd try a Tombow marker pen - brush end to put in the gray.  The shadow was actually more defined but I did NOT like the streaks the marker made.  At least it was water soluble ink so I washed it out to what you see here.  Definitely not my intent but ................ what can I say ??  :-)

Fallen Camellia Flower

We've been watching two bushes form buds and growing with maybe two or three looking like they could open up soon (well as of this morning anyways).  We never took notice that one actually did at some point and then dropped to the ground.  That's when Terry saw the flower head laying under the bush.  He brought it in but being very fragile it was falling apart.

I gently put the layers back together sitting on my table and proceeded to take photos and sketch it.

Looking forward to the buds blossoming hopefully in the next few days.

Tree in Our Back Yard

Whatever type of tree this is, it's really neat with the colors and markings on the trunks and branches.  I've never seen this before.  The trunks are rather smooth with white and orange and a light overall grayish brown. 

Pen and ink only first and then used a white charcoal pencil and watercolor pencils to add just a bit of color.  My main goal was to capture the white and orange that grabs my attention.

Last thing I added with pencil only was the fence that stands behind the trees.  I feared using pen and ink might take away from the tree trunks making it all look cluttered.

Strathmore Softcover Tan Sketchbook and Sheaffer Calligraphy pen with Italic nib (small).

To Loosen Up

I'm finding myself tensing up again trying to get my illustrations and sketches just so so.  The fear in doing that is feeling pressure I place on myself and losing the desire to do anything.  So to help myself out, I decided to work a couple of quick loose sketches without any planning or a lot of thought going into it. 

This first one I randomly chose a photo from a kayak outing a month or so ago.  I jumped right in with paint and brush putting in general areas and shapes of color.  Then I went in, again loosely without a lot of thought, with pen and ink to define the subjects.

This one is from a photo taken before we left Fairmont, WV of a portion of a Church downtown.  Again, I tried not to allow myself to think grabbing a pen and quickly putting on paper what I saw without worrying about perspective or getting everything exact.

To do quick sketches like this is rather liberating and refreshing. :-)

AJW January Challenges

One of the FB groups I'm in - Artists Journal Workshop - one of the admins started a January challenge with a list of prompts for each day of the month.  Although I may not follow it each and every day, I have made a good start with the first several days.

AJW Challenge Day 1 - Something that should be thrown away but hard to let go of. 

I have a tendency to collect things like this and hang on to indefinitely.............just in case I want to sketch at some point.

AJW Challenge Day 2 - A Favorite Book.

I'm sure the challenge was meant for us to sketch a favorite book we've purchased or been gifted with but to me my favorite are those journals I complete to one day pass on to my family.

AJW Challenge Day 3 - Something Industrial.

This one was a tough one for me as I looked around the house trying to find what might fit.  Until I saw what others came up with, I honestly wasn't sure what to do and instead came up with something Industrial Strength.

Although I don't have any on hand, I know they make Industrial Batteries so I grabbed three batteries I had on hand and used them as a model.  The other idea I had was cleaning agents but chose this instead.

**And no you are only seeing things....ha ha.   I did not misspell Indrial.........I mean Industrial...........eeeek!!!  :-O



AJW Challenge Day 4 - Animal

AJW Challenge Day 5 - Bridge