Tuesday, 16 February 2016

A Couple of Hares

More watercolour practice - this time some hares. This one is just watercolour paint (with me trying not to be heavy handed!)
 
 
And this one started out with a watercolour wash, but then I fancied giving him a bit more texture so I got stuck in with some coloured pencil (another medium I'm interested in at the moment. I've seen some amazing coloured pencil work recently...yet another thing I want to learn...I need more time!)
 
 
 They both need backgrounds really - maybe I'll return to them and add something.
 

Monday, 15 February 2016

Watercolour Practice

I've been trying to learn watercolour technique using books and tutorials. I've had some disasters (I tend to be heavy-handed with colour and tone) but I think I'm starting to make some progress.
 
I've traced some outline drawings (pigment pen) from reference photos and scanned them, so I can print them off multiple times. This allows me to concentrate on practicing the watercolour techniques without worrying about having to spend ages doing a drawing each time. Here's one of Chichester Cathedral with watercolour washes.
 
 
Still not very accomplished but definitely an improvement on earlier attempts (which weren't fit to be seen and went straight in the bin!) 

Watercolour Pencils

I'm getting into watercolour painting and have seen some nice examples of watercolour pencils used in conjunction with watercolour paint to create some nice effects. I hadn't used my watercolour pencils for years, so I got them out to have a practice. This is just an adult colouring page I found online - ideal for experimenting with the pencils and getting a feel for them. I penciled in the whole thing dry and then added water (using a water brush - such a great invention!) to create a first wash. I then let it dry and added subsequent washes to create dimension. A great learning exercise, and I have to agree with all those who love adult colouring - it's SO relaxing!