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A Watercolor Sketch of Alun Armstrong
Alun Armstrong’s character in “New Tricks” wears a knitted watch cap in many episodes. And so in March 2021 when I was sketching him every day I ended up sketching him in such a cap quite a lot. That’s fine because I think it’s fun to sketch knitted textures. Here is the sketch before I […]
Tips on Drawing with a Dried Out Brush Pen (or Marker for that Matter)
At the left is the sketch I’ll be demonstrating in my video below. A persistent cough for the past 3 months has kept me from being chatty on my sketching videos. Most of these sketch videos end up as pieces for my Patreon demonstration site. But if I’m working silently to avoid coughing when I […]
Adventures with Unknown Paper
A few years ago I stopped in at Wet Paint and there was a box of 22 x 30 inch paper on the paper counter. “What’s this?” I asked. To make a long story short it was a mystery paper sent by a mill by mistake. When they called the mill to fix the order […]
Demonstration Review of the Pilot Shunpitsu Pocket Brush Pen
Sometimes when I’m under the weather the best thing I can do is test new tools and materials. I find that it takes my focus aways from any aches, pains, or in the current case coughs and general systems failures. (I don’t have Covid, I just have a bad case of bronchitis which even with […]
Sketching as Fast as I Can
Page spread from a journal I bound using the 90 lb. Fabriano Artistico Watercolor Paper. I was watching “As Yet Untitled with Alan Davies,” and trying to keep all the angles and values in my mind before they moved off one guest to another, but sometimes came back again when they were in a different […]
Different Drawing Approaches for the Same Subject
Just this week I was asked by nine people how I start my drawings. I use different approaches to start my drawings depending on what pen I’m using, the paper size, and even just how I feel my eyes are doing on any given day. For a more detailed response I explain that I have […]
Testing Langton-Prestige Watercolor Paper
I have just started testing Daler-Rowney’s Langton-Prestige Cold Press Watercolor paper. In the above video you can see my first experiments with it and my first thoughts. If the video doesn’t play you can view it on Vimeo at this link. Normally in my demonstration videos I include any photo reference or still life […]
On Deciding Which Version of a Sketch You Like Best…
Here’s the final version I did of this brush pen and watercolor sketch on toned (tan paper); with a little bit of white gouache for the highlights. (The cheek is actually the paper color.) Sometimes when I’m sketching I enjoy the plain sketch, or some early version of the sketch so much, that I stop […]
In Context—Another Peek at Pandemic Life
Pandemic life can’t help but pop up in your journal if you’re working from home. I’ve been sorting my images, all in little folders ready for blog posts. I have had some, like this one from 2020 set to go—but I don’t remember what the topic was to be. Last week (2021) I cooked a […]
The April Demo—Thinking About Pattern and Texture in the Design of a Painting
This month on Patreon I do a graphite and watercolor portrait. I use this portrait to begin a discussion on thinking about how the texture of brush strokes and the use of pattern and other textures in a painting impact the readability of that painting. The discussion will continued in May when I look at […]