Elephant using various Mark-Making Techniques

Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolours on Winsor & Newton Artists' 300gsm acid free A5 size watercolour paper.  Original idea taken from an old edition of 'the artist' magazine' and three tester versions subsequently worked up by yours truly using Derwent Inktense pencil over this Summer. 

ArtRba Photograph: Elephant, Watercolour on watercolour paper 

(Click on the image to open full size)

This is the first time that I've painted this image in watercolour albeit I've put together a similar image with Inktense Pencils over the summer.  But the Inktense ones were more about brilliance of colour, speed of work, and mark-making through pencil strokes.

In terms of Mark-Making this image has:

* Masking fluid lines to preserve the white of the paper

* Masking fluid dots again to preserve the white

* Dry brushing on rough paper to achieve broken edges

* Wet surface and then wet on wet watercolour painting

* Dry surface and then wet on wet watercolour painting 

* Wet to dry and wet over dry watercolour painting

* Brushed lines including some overlayed on the previous line

* Splatter technique using a brush 

This particular painting is intended as a gift for some African friends who live in North America.  As I have four black African friends now living in the USA and Canada, I'm loathe to say which country; as that will spoil the surprise of having the painting land on the carpet or deposited in the post box outside of their home.

I've now sketched out and laid down the masking fluid on another version using 12 x 16 Arches paper.  On that example I've gone for a two tone yellow background using the wet on wet technique applied to a wet surface.  This 'on the go' painting is also a gift.  This time for a Greek friend who's partner is Nigerian.    

Art In The City

Or is that ArtRba in the City?

I had a lovely weekend in the City, meeting up with family.  I even managed to get in a painting, which was a huge bonus. 

Here's yesterday's artwork (completed in Duke Street Caffè Nero) after breakfast in the city and then some shopping. It's on Bockingford cold pressed acid free 300 gsm (10 x 7 inch) traditional watercolour paper. Using professional quality Winsor & Newton; Winsor Blue Green Shade (one of my favourite colours), Lemon Yellow, Alizarin Crimson, Ivory Black, and Yellow Ochre. Albeit the yellow ochre was more about the horizon.

In general terms (unless you're trying to create deliberate angles and cropped sections of a scene, or close in on the action on the high seas) water is self levelling and the horizon should be flat.  Which is fine if you have a ruler or have marked out the backing card of another watercolour block or pad, but is a tad awkward if you've got nothing to use, including no pencil.  At which point I used the end cap (without the water of course) of my watercolour Field Box, and dabbed Yellow Ochre here and there as I moved the cap along inline with the edge of the paper.  I then joined up the dots when I started on the sea part of the painting.  This meant some yellow ochre showing through on the horizon, which I overcame by using yellow ochre in a few places elsewhere on the sea.

Photograph: Cormorant in flight across the bay

All rights reserved RBA Bennett, i.e. ArtRba 

I bough the Bockingford pad from a lovely Art Shop called Pen & Paper in if I recall correctly, the Royal Arcade. I always buy something in there whenever we visit, as it's very important to support specialist high street shops who have to compete against Internet prices.  The thing is; once they're gone, they're gone, and I defy you to obtain the level of knowledge these Art Shop owners have elsewhere. Yes you may occasionally save a few bob, but you don't always guarantee original or even new stuff, and the subtle difference pays for itself. 'How?' I hear you ask.  Well, it's simples, all that knowledge that you squeeze out each visit, is free of charge, which is gobsmackingly cheap compared to the cheapest adult Art Courses at more often than not £100 a pop. 

South Beach, Aberystwyth

And here is today's output with my new Watercolour Field Box!

It's on a Langton Prestige 'Fine Grain' COLD watercolour paper Block.  Using my new travelling Filbert brush that I mentioned in a previous post, and the small travelling brush that comes with the Winsor & Newton Field Box.

Photograph: South Beach, Aberystwyth

(Painted outdoors at the location) 

ArtRba

I used Winsor Blue Green Shade for the sky and the sea, and mixed that with Winsor Yellow for the hills to the left and distance.  Yellow Ochre was used for the harbour wall.  Aliz Crimson mixed with Winsor Blue G/S for the foreground pebbles, with a deeper mix for the ones closer to the shoreline.  The same mix was used as shadow on the harbour wall, the small self contained lighthouse at the end of the wall, the sailing boat and the breaking waves.  Burnt Sienna provided some of the driftwood detail on the pebbles, and some contrast in pebble colour.

This one took about two hours to paint.  A lovely two hours sat in the chair that Mrs B recently bought me and wearing my floppy sun hat that one of my daughters bought me for using when out and about painting.

Interestingly, I kept my sunglasses on and didn't wear my reading glasses for painting.

Winsor & Newton Artist Quality Field Box

I've just taken delivery of an Artist Quality watercolour 'Field Box' from the Art Shop at No.5 Pier Street, Aberystwyth.  It's a lovely compact little thing, the Field Box that is, not the Art Shop. 

The Art Shop in Aberystwyth is stuffed with lots of lovely things, run by two lovely people, and Brian is uber knowledgeable. Indeed, it's quite scary what he knows.  And that knowledge and friendliness sort of gives the reason why we should shop local and not online.  Oh, and the price was keen as well.

This particular Winsor & Newton watercolour Field Box opens out to reveal 12 Artist Quality half pans, a natural sponge, two integral fold out mixing palettes, and a small pop out water bottle. The Field Box also comes with a small brush that sits in its housing, but when you take it out its in two parts, that push together to make a longer handled brush.  While the end cap for the Field Box doubles up as a water reservoir that clips back onto the main body.  So the watercolourist is self contained, with a compact and reasonably light portable studio. Oh, did I mention that it was nifty? Because this Field Box is nifty, and this watercolorist is well pleased! 

Photograph: Winsor & Newton Watercolour Field Box

(I opened some of the half pans in excitement before pausing to take the photograph)

I made a few alterations and additions to the set up: I've dumped the Chinese White that came with the Field Box and replaced it with Quinacridone Gold. This colour is a particular favourite of mine when painting Venetian scenes.  I've written out my name, and contact details and placed that under the half pans (just in case the Field Box goes missing or is stolen), and I've put together the names and colours on a small piece of card to remind myself what I'm carrying in this kit, compared to my main studio stuff.  With both the contact details and the watercolour palette colours: I cello-taped one side beyond the card, turned it over and done the same underneath, and then trimmed the surplus clear tape to fit. That should help with water spills and seepage when the Field Box is in use.

Although please note that I took the photograph before doing the taping. It's all so exciting, I just got carried away.  Indeed, I even left out the ArtRba bit and just used Roger Bennett!

Venetian Watercolour

This is today's output so far. The art was started while we were on holiday after I gave away a painting that Pauli liked. Drawing the Venetian scene using Yellow Ochre and a Daler Rowney Aquafine 10/0 'Liner' brush took about one and a quarter hours. It is painted on a 14 x 10 inch 'Lana' cold press 300 gsm fine grain watercolour block.  A block has many sheets of watercolour paper gunned down on all four edges so that you paint on the upper sheet and when dry detach that sheet from the block.  It means hassle free watercolour painting, without the need to tape the paper down onto a larger board. 

On this occasion, I'm using Winsor & Newton Artist Quality watercolours:

Winsor Blue Green Shade

Winsor Lemon

Raw Sienna

Yellow Ochre

If you can't see the whole photograph, click on the image and it should open full in your browser.  Blogger often crops photographs unless you resize them (small) in the full Windows online version of the page.  The photograph shows the three distinct stages of this artwork to get where I am now.

I've imaged the boat using a WH Smith watercolour pencil of no distinct labelled colour (when producing cheap pencils, they have to cut down on production costs, so they don't label them).  

The plan when dry is to detail the sea with the Winsor Blue G/S and the boat in green (mixed with the Winsor Blue G/S and the Winsor Lemon) and Blue Black.  The watercolour pencil outline of the boat, should in the main, wash out.  That's the joy of using watercolour pencils to map out the whole or part of a watercolour image.  

The shadowing on the buildings etc., will be my usual mixture of Prussian Blue and Venetian Red. Well, with a scene of Venice, Venetian Red just sort of has to be used, doesn't it?