Ink sketch

Thought I would start keeping a ink only sketchbook (Like Jillian Tamaki mentioned in her blogpost!), and I'm ditching watercolor for now. Because watercolor and I do not get along.

The tiger (who looks.. um) is from a photo, no under line or rough drawing or anything like that.

Watercolor, attempt numero 3

I like watercolor with line work. Got it. Now to work with that a little bit more.

This is probably the smallest one yet, and not on any sort of watercolor paper. Thought I would try something else with watercolors.

I made a map!

My brother wanted a map of a land that he made up, so he drew something terrible in MS Paint, and I made him this.

I took a sheet of Canson's sketch/drawing paper, scattered instant coffee over it. Poured boiling water over it. Stuck it in the oven on a very low temperature because the color didn't seem to be soaking into the paper. Then I took it out, law it on a cookie cooling rack, and let it dry. Then I drew a grid over his MS Paint map, and a grid over the torn up and textured paper, and made him this. All the color was added in Photoshop.

Watercolor try 2!

Uhhh...

Yeah, I still don't like watercolor. Maybe I should stop trying to paint fruit?

The only thing I come remotely close to liking is the line work, if it can be called that. Maybe I should take my cue from that.

Watercolor try 1!

Uh... I haven't actually used water colors since sophomore year. I think. I don't honestly know. So, this was an experiment to try them out again, so it's suffering from: poor composition, and poorly handled water colors, poor lighting, all that jazz. I will endeavor to post a better watercolor experiment soon, because I would like to get a handle on this media.

Plein Air!

I have once again started Plein Air painting, which is the first time I've posted any on this blog. I forgot how much I missed it!

In fact, it had been so long since I last touched my oil paints, that I did not have a tube of white. Or a tube of Burnt Umber. Or a tube of ultramarine blue. So the first painting was done that first day I went out, as a very spur of the moment thing, tossing all of the little tubes of oil paint I had into my easle, whereupon I discovered my lack of these three important pigments. But since I was there, and it was a beautiful day, I thought I would give it a try anyways.

I went back yesterday and did the second piece, after having carefully gone back through my supply of paints to select my colors with more prejudice. Did I mention that I've never painted white water rapids before? (The previous day totally doesn't count) And I've never done rocks from anything more than a photograph? This painting challenged me. Which is a good thing. But man, it was hard.