What’s on my Drawing Board 29 Jan 2021

29 Jan 2021 what’s on my drawing board

Some flowers, maps, islands and a new obsession.

This weeks drawing board has the beginnings of a few new projects, a completed painting of a seaside harbour, some sketchbook experiments and some new pencils and watercolour paints.

Top Row – Completed watercolour painting of Looe harbour, I’d left the painting of the muddy algae encrusted wharf wall until last, as I thought it may be difficult, in fact  I really enjoyed it! I painted the true colours and then added thin glazes of burnt umber and raw sienna to ‘muddy’ things up and it worked really well for the wall and the water below reflecting the dark tones. 

Reference photo print of a bouquet of pink flowers, on top of a stretched A3 piece of cotton rough pressed watercolour paper (Fabriano Artistico 300gsm), with a careful pencil study of the flowers. I’m aiming to paint a detailed watercolour study of these flowers. I find when complex flower petals are involved – a really accurate under drawing helps keep track of the painting areas. Small ring bound sketchbook with pink camelia study.
Abstract blue ‘stone’ studies in watercolour with inked details.

Middle Row – On top of the stretched paper are some previous pink flower studies I have completed with different brands of paint, just to see which ones I want to work with.

Small paint palette with interesting earthy tones called Terrain, this is one of two palettes from a range called Watercolor Confections, that I bought recently from a company called Art Philosophy (I think they used to be called Prima Marketing), I don’t think they are super duper artist quality (probably not very light fast), but they do have pigment information, and I’ve found it  really interesting to look at the mixes they have used to create these muted tones.

Sketchbook with watercolour experiments using the other Watercolour Confections paint palette I bought – this one is called Currents and has blue / green tones. I’m thinking about creating some topographical illustrations of islands, maybe in collage.

Bottom Row – Derwent Graphitint pencils. Pencils have become a recent obsession, not sure why – I don’t normally use them, but I’m finding the subtle hues of these watercolour pencils really interesting, so far I’ve done a few simple sketches and swatched out the colours.

Under painting for a planned gouache painting. I’ve not used gouache since my college days, after much hesitation I though I would use the tried and tested method of copying another painting just to get some practice in. This is a copy of a book illustration by an illustrator I have always admired called Ionicus (Joshua Charles Armitage), he illustrated many book dust jackets from the 1940s through the late 80’s, I came across him on the covers of R. Chetwynd-Hayes novels.

Square hardback Daler Rowney sketchbook with half completed sketch of a glasshouse with foliage pressed up against the windows.
Below the drawing board are a pile of my current small sketchbooks and my paint trolley.

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