Currently Browsing: watercolor 166 articles
What Are You Waiting for? Go Ahead Paint on Note Paper
“What Are You Waiting for? Go Ahead Paint on Note Paper” pretty much says it all. Here’s a spread from one of my green lined journals. You can find non-art journals in any bookstore on earth—typically with botanical sketches or pink covers that will appeal to 16 year old girls. (Well actually to […]
Don’t Stop, Keep Going
I think one of the biggest mistakes an artist keeping a visual journal or sketchbook can make is to stop when he gets frustrated. That’s when you kick it up a notch, hunker down, repeat, repeat, repeat. Keep searching for that line, or that likeness, whatever it maybe. If you give up too quickly […]
In Context—Painting on Drawing Paper
Two page spreads today from one of my Hahnemühle Travel Journals. (These are hardcover books that look like Moleskines, but these have more pages and a toothy drawing paper.) I used a Sakura Pigma Professional Brush Pen FB, watercolor, and a 1/2 inch flat brush. Take a moment to look at all the pieces in […]
Go Ahead—Overwork A Sketch Sometimes
I kept fussing and fussing with this sketch of a little dog. Why? because on the day, moving the paint around on an unsuitable (non-watercolor, non-art) paper was just too fun to resist. The process allowed me to play with different pens (including a white gel pen) and experiment with mark […]
In Context: Playing with Paint
Sometimes at the end of the day I just ant to sketch and move some paint around. The detail from today’s image shows the thickness of the pink paint I mixed. I remember with happiness pushing that paint around. I used Schmincke Pan Watercolors to pull out the colors. I used a bit of Schmincke […]
Sketching Faces: When You Feel You’ve Hit A Plateau
I sketch a ton of faces. I look back over the years and see how my approach to sketching faces has changed, how it’s constantly evolving. Often students write to me about experiencing a plateau in their drawing efforts. They feel that they have achieved a level of skill at which they remain […]
In Context—Richard’s Elbow
The sketch today and its caption pretty much explain everything. A couple weeks ago Dick had pain in his elbow and it was very swollen. I of course thought Lyme Disease since he’d been walking in a field a couple days before and ticks are still active up her. That turns out not […]
Nostalgie Is A Fun Paper
I think the sketch pretty much shows how much fun I was having on this paper so I’m not going to write more except to say you can use the category list or search engine on this blog to find more Nostalgie pages. The paper is smooth, heavyweight, and a delight for all […]
Review: Clairefontaine Watercolor Sketchbook
Background on the Testing of This Sketchbook Earlier this year a Clairfontaine representative wrote and asked if I would like to test one of their new watercolor sketchbooks. Typically I buy all materials that I test and review on my website. This time, because I use many Clairfontaine notebooks and love them all I […]
Paper Matters: Is There A Right Paper?
For artists making works on paper media selection and method of application of course both matter, but too often artists forget that paper matters too. Have you been seduced by an art supply catalog into purchasing a substandard, non-artist grade paper? I see it all the time in my student’s questions. They’ve spent money on […]