Water Media Practice

Recently I bought a set of Holbein watercolors and I've been messing around with them in a square format sketchbook by Stillman and Birn. It's pages are 7x7, but I've been allowing an inch margin when I plan my drawing. I read a tip on the internet that coating the sides of bound paper creates a watercolor block effect, basically using the tension of the glued paper to flatten out ripples caused by water. As it dries, the paper smoothed out again. After I was done with each page, I separated a section of it from the page underneath with an Exacto knife, then the rest lifted easily once it got going. 

 A little teenage moodiness.

Watercolor accented with Speedball Acrylic Ink white.

Holbein watercolors and Speedball Acrylic Ink white.
The red in this one was saturated and vibrant - really lovely.

Walnut Ink
In another watercolor book (Travelogue Watercolor Journal by Hand-book Journal Co.), I experimented with Walnut ink. Vintage mugshots from the 1950s and much earlier can be found on the internet and make for fun practice references. Walnut ink is highly water soluble, making it challenging to keep details from "melting" into each other. It does create a beautiful sepia-like tone befitting of the subject.

Considering the institutional photography, these faces had much character.

My Favorite Watercolor
This portrait below is a favorite of mine. The boy was my neighbor and I gifted this portrait to his family. They live in New Zealand now and I'm so pleased they have something special to remember this fleeting time in his childhood.

Paper: Strathmore Gemini Series watercolor paper, 300lbs.

Day 6: Get Cubist

#draw21days
Day 6: Get Cubist

I haven't been able to keep up day-to-day with the challenge, but here's my effort for the Cubist style exercise. We're given a choice to draw one of the following: Snake in a Tree, Man in a Car, A Vase with Flowers, or a Sea Creature.

Mine came out in a more cartoon style, but I'm happy with it.

Pen and ink with watercolor in my Stillman & Birn sketchbook.
 

Day 2: Continuous Line Drawing

Day 2 of the 21 Day Drawing Challenge

Theme: Draw the following subjects using one continuous line for each the following items: a running dog, a man riding a unicycle, a hand holding a soda bottle and a smiling face. The drawings should be as simplified as possible.

My pen was too big for the job, darn it. Well, it's done. Day 2 was harder than day 1 was for me.

Day 1: Cat Theme

Getting started on a 21 Day Drawing Challenge with Von Glitschka.
Today's theme was "Cat", with the artist free to interpret that however he or she wants.

My day 1 offering in pen and ink:

MOLAA in March

Was in Long Beach and decided to hit the Museum of Latin American Art. Great idea! The collection was mostly contemporary, with figurative and abstract art from all of Latin America. Having no idea what was exhibiting this month, I was happy to view works from Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros which included pages from his sketchbook. These were of particular interest to me as I use my sketchbook almost daily and gain insight when I see how other artists use their books. Siqueiros' drawings, as expected, showed a thorough understanding of anatomy and a bold hand.

Being me, I lingered the longest at the figurative work. The above piece throws back to old Mexican woodcuts and in the tradition of the most famous of Latin American artists, makes a commentary on war. I didn't note the artist, but the work is recent.



The fork and knife set may have been six feet tall.

 

The sculpture garden was in a large courtyard edged with succulents; midday sun giving everything a hard shadow. I enjoyed many of the pieces, but the big bronze "War Giro" by Cuban artist Carlos Luna had me wanting to get my pen and ink out. I snapped a photo and may draw it yet.

My favorite piece of the day was a small bronze by Fernando Botero. It was about 18" tall, with a beautiful sheen. The subject matter was very appealing - the words "sexy thick" come to mind, ha! I found an angle I liked and sketched it in pencil until my arm was tired. Entitled "La Pareja" or "The Couple". Click on the image to see it larger.

 

 

Before leaving MOLAA, I grabbed a bowl of pozole in the bright little Vive Café. Mmm, home-style goodness.

If you're in Long Beach, get yourself to the MOLAA and add a bit of Latin flavor to your art education.