Brusho ATC Swap - Spring theme

I love daffodils - they are my birth month flower and we can grow them in Texas.  I did two sets of three - Each one turned out differently.

On Aquabee watercolor paper, I traced my sketch and sprayed Colourcraft Acrylic spray in Yellow Shimmer.  Using Lemon, Yellow, Orange, Emerald and Leaf Green Brusho and a small dry brush, I covered the lines of the daffodil.  Then I added water with a larger wet brush.  It needed a little more looseness, so when it was almost dry, I spritzed a little more water to create some movement from the remaining crystals.

Floral Time Lines

Practicing line drawing with another quick timed sketch and watercolor, using a Tombow 977 and extra palette "mud" (leftover paint washes), in my Canson sketchbook. Less than five minutes, start to finish.  I really like how it turned out.  It's fun to just be loose and play.

Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind. Nathaniel Hawthorne

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La vie en rose

Inspiration from a Lila Rose hang tag -- I liked the abstract line drawing of a rose and tried it two ways...scratching out while still wet with the end of my paintbrush  and then direct painting/drawing (with the brush!) and filling in the spaces.  I like both!   Strathmore Mixed Media Visual Journal

Pinked to Gray

Fireberry tea - great to drink, dye wooden spoons...

but not so much paper.

?!?!

Well...It's a pretty dove gray, a nice neutral background.

For starters, don't add the alum to cold water until after you have boiled and added the dye/tea.  It reacted to the stainless steel.

It's a gorgeous pot of pink!

While the paper was still damp, I added drops of purple watercolor above.

And then I tried sprinkling some tea to the damp paper - I liked that effect!

The dyed paper started out as a beautiful shade of pink and then turned into gray before my eyes as it dried --  albeit a pretty shades of gray which made a great backdrop to purple and pink painted and leaf stamped back in. . .

(Click to see an earlier art post here from this adventure)

Three Free

I thought the Naples and the Charcoal made an interesting combination.

The other day I received in the mail three (free) tubes of Grumbacher watercolors - Charcoal Gray A042, Naples Yellow Hue A146 and Vermilion Hue A224 in the 7.5 ml size.  They retail for $4.95 each.

Charcoal Grey - Charcoal Grey is a dark neutral gray made, from carbon. This color has excellent tinting strength and is perfect for the grisaille technique.
Pigment Info   PBk6
Lightfastness Excellent
Non-Staining
Temperature Cool

Naples Yellow Hue - Naples Yellow Hue is a lightfast Light Yellow with a Red undertone. It is similar to a Cadmium Yellow Light, but with a muted chroma. Originally made with a toxic lead pigment that is no longer available, Grumbacher's safe version duplicates the masstone, undertones and mixing qualities of the original in every way. Traditionally used in landscape where a receding yellow is required. Also incorporated in flesh tones.
Segment Info  PY3/PBr7/PR178/PW6
Lightfastness Very Good
Non-Staining
Temperature Warm

Vermillion Hue - Vermillion Hue is a bright mid-range red that has a masstone and undertones identical to the obsolete and toxic mercury based Vermillion of the past. This red has infinite uses in painting.
Pigment Info   PY65/PR188
Lightfastness Very Good
Staining
Temperature Warm

While technically these are student artist grade watercolors, Grumbacher has a reputation for excellent quality and I had fun playing with them.  It's an affordable way to try and add different hues. They will make a great addition to my multi-media and journaling/sketchbook palette.

Breaking rules

We watched Shirley Trevena's "Breaking the Rules of Watercolor" DVD and I was playing around with some of her techniques of using watercolor pencil shavings/against sandpaper and drawing on wet paper with wet crayons and pencils.  Here's a video snippet from Pinterest.  I like her attitude!

Got the foggy aspect - but also learned that those Derwent Artbar watercolor crayons didn't quite blend as well as I thought this time on this paper  -- Perhaps because the paper was damp/wet when I scribbled upon it.  Also to pretest.  I've seen some sketchbooks with the first page reserved for trying out the usual and favorite paints and pencils and crayons used, and how it reacts.  Here's what happened with the Artbars in another watercolor sketchbook.  Good to know in advance!

Gooseberry (broken), Baby Blue and Cool Gray

But then, who's to say a more bargain brand and price can't also perform well?  Here are Master's Touch Metallic Oil Pastels from Hobby Lobby's Clearance section, marked down from $9.99 to $3.59.  And you get four of each color/metal.  Just in case one of them tries to pull a Gooseberry and break. Actually it was more like a Kit-Kat bar and I shared two sets with two friends.  (And kept an extra set for me, just because, well, the Gooseberry, but also how much I loved how these worked and looked) They laid down smoothly and gave a great metallic sheen without being gaudy.

Now this is something that Shirley would appreciate!  I think it is great and inspirational to free yourself to try and have fun with new techniques and toys.
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Marbled

Pink and purple handblown marble
Watercolor
6" x 6"

Gorgeous iridescent hand-blown marble with threads of purple and pink from Hudson Beach Glass in Beacon, New York
#WorldWatercolorMonth

Urban Sketching - Watercolor - Rosenberg Library in Galveston

I did a quick sketch in No. 2 pencil and Derwent watercolor pencils at the Rosenberg Library and finished the touchups at home with my watercolors.  Second floor, looking towards the Non-Fiction section.
#WorldWatercolorMonth

July Fry

Near record temperatures and Houston is going strong to beat July 1980 as one of the hottest Julys.
Map inspiration from Space City Weather.  And coincidently today is also National French Fry Day!

#WorldWatercolorMonth
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World Watercolor Month - Day 7

Peacock
8" x 4 1/2"

Just a quick project this afternoon.  I like how the feather "eyes" turned out.
#WorldWatercolorMonth

World Watercolor Month - Day 6

Peace Lily
10" x 7"

Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum), is a genus of about 40 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas and southeastern Asia.  They may also be known as Spath lilies.  Easy to care for, they are often found in offices and are given as condolence/sympathy plants.  Mine has taken quite well to being in an outside container, adapting to Houston heat and humidity, albeit in a shaded area.
#WorldWatercolorMonth
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World Watercolor Month - Day 5

"Lineability"

Inspired by Oki Sato "Thin Black Lines" 
It's kind of a squared color wheel mixing and using the colors of Permanent Rose, Cobalt Blue and Lemon Yellow/Auerolin
#WorldWatercolorMonth

Happy Fourth of July!

and #WorldWatercolorMonth
Day 4

World Watercolor Month - Day 3

"Lunar Moonflower"

This turned out differently than I expected, but I like it!  Opening moonflower bloom surrounded by Daniel Smith Lunar Black, with the crazy granulation.
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World Watercolor Month - Day 2

Passionflower

Passion Flower (Passiflora) grows on a vine, often turning into (or growing over) a shrub.  Gorgeous, intricate blooms. I snapped a photo of this outside of Tantra Coffeehouse in San Marcos, Texas.

#WorldWatercolorMonth

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World Watercolor Month - Day 1

Here is my "Day (Before) Lily" for the World Watercolor Month.  I added the pistols and stamens with watercolor pencils...after basically dousing this page with water, and adding salt to get the watery and crystallizing special effects.   I am pretty impressed with this sketchbook, it can really take the water well.   Unfortunately, it appears to have been discontinued.

#worldwatercolormonth

Watercolor Wednesday - Day(after) Lily

Watercolor
7 1/" x 6 1/2"

Watercolor sketchbook - Day(After)Lily

The daylily is "Little Business"
I will paint the day before version, it was gorgeous.  I was getting ready to this morning when I thought this looked interesting.

Here's the sketch -

This was fun, sketching and painting "en plein kitchen" en nice cool a/c!
#worldwatercolormonth kickoff
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June Moon

"Spaced Out"

Space was the theme of the June ScribeDelivery Box.   How perfect is that for this Houston girl?  Check out that Space Shuttle notebook!

(Note:  I do not get any special compensation from them, I just want to pass along an opportunity to support a US/Texas-based company of two people with a great idea.)  

We all know the curated monthly box subscriptions are all the rage now -- Paper Pumpkin from Stampin' Up, Art Box, Art Snacks, even dinner.  It reminds me of the National Handcraft Society Craft of the Month Club from the 70's - of which I still have some of the things I made from their small book-sized mailing box.  They were very creative. My Mom belonged, but I would open the box and make the projects.  They were just sitting there.  Remember twice a day mail delivery?!
Who doesn't like getting neat things in the mail and a surprise you know you will like, too!

I've been a Scribe subscriber (haha!) for the past four months and I have to say each one gets even better.  If you like paper products, pens, pencils...you should give them a try.  Also if you like to draw or are an artist you will be very happy with them.   The items they include are perfect and often you can't find them in the stores.  Hello blacklight Gelly Roll pen!  The items encourage portable creativity, too.  I can just slip one of the pads and pens/pencils in my purse and be ready for any unexpected artistic sketching opportunity or to jot down thoughts for life in general or a book.  I've always found that if you have cool tools, you tend to want to use and find ways to use them more.

Check out their website and sign up for the next box opening.  They only get limited amounts of the goodies and often only have a few openings available.

Sunday Sketching - New toys!

What is a field trip without stopping to get souvenirs?  Several of us from WAS-H (Watercolor Art Society Houston) visited local Houston galleries to see current exhibitions, and then to meet for lunch afterwards.  We finished our list early, several were closed probably being a Friday in the summer -- good idea to call ahead and see if they are open -- and we were very close to Art Supply on Main.  It's all good and well to use coupons at Michaels and Hobby Lobby, but even better to support local independent businesses.  You can often find better deals and better depth of products and services - and people who are artists.  Even those shopping in the store aisles beside you.

Anyways, I was able to find several "souvenirs" to play and review in my sketchbook. . .

First up - Derwent ArtBar watercolor crayons
I bought Baby Blue (A29), Gooseberry (A13) and Cool Gray (A45)

A bit disappointed in the Gooseberry, I thought it would be more vibrant like the Baby Blue and Cool Gray, which I just loved.

It also was more fragile, breaking apart into three pieces.  Due to the color?  I didn't drop it and it didn't feel broken when I selected it.

Three times a crayon...?!

All colors blended beautifully when used with a wet brush.  I also liked the effect directly adding color into wet paper.  A brush would further dissolve the pigment, but I thought it looked neat.

The triangle shape with three flat sides and three points was also versatile in laying swaths of color and fine sketching detail.  I am a little unsure of its physical strength with the Gooseberry literally falling apart as I held and used it.

I thought these blended better than the Caran d'Ache watercolor crayons I've previously tried.  Art Supply on Main sells these individually, not as a set.  Pick up a few and try them out.

The blue and the gray will be popped into my mobile sketch bag kit.  Color me impressed with those colors.

Neocolor II Water-soluble Metallic Rose

Someone gave me very good advice when presented with a wide variety of colors - choose what your eye goes to first, or go with primary colors to mix.  This pretty purple pink caught my eye immediately.   And metallic, how fun would that be to play with?

Turns out a wise choice on two parts.   The crayon easily put down a generous amount of color and you can see a definite metallic sheen (hard to capture in the photograph)

It dissolved and blended well from dry paper to wet paper.

I'm thinking of  picking up a few more of these in different colors for accents and special effects, particularly on toned paper.  The metallic shimmer is subtle, not gaudy.

Art Supply sells these individually also - grab a handful of the ones which appeal to you.

Thank you Pinterest! (Enabler)

I saw this Daniel Smith color on Pinterest, Duochrome Green Pearl - painted over white and black paper - gorgeous!!  Art Supply had it.

How beautiful is this?!

Can't wait to try this on toned or black paper either!

Like Tailor's Chalk for artists only in graphite!
(And a yummy chocolate color!)

Oh I loved this ArtGraf Viarco water soluble graphite in Sepia in a square format!  So versatile.  I had seen the set of 6 earth tone colors on Amazon but heard the box it came in wasn't that great.  I thought I would try one, with its own individual case.   I love the color, I love how you can use it wet or dry, adding water afterwards or before, and using directly from the block with a wet paintbrush.  This is also going into my grab & go sketching bag.  I may also go and grab some additional colors. 

I had played with this version in class a few months ago and immediately bought on Amazon, but didn't have a chance to play at home until this weekend. . .

This was all one swipe from the tin!

I loved the intensity and the granulation from this graphite tin.   As you can tell, a little goes a long, long, long way.  You can even mix it with water using the inside of the cap.  

I do a lot of traveling, particularly flying as of late, and admit I am little cautious carrying semi-solids/liquid paints/pigments in a palette.  I like these solid forms of graphite for portability, creative innovation and great colors.

One of my watercolor instructors said she always likes to look for and use browns and turquoises in pens and paints.  They can add a richness and yet an understatedness to make your artwork sing.