A nice thing about taking an art class is you can try out all sorts of techniques and mediums that might not suit the commissions you’re working on in your professional life. I hadn’t touched watercolours for ages, but inspired by various children’s book illustrations and the excellent backgrounds in the Disney movie Lilo and Stitch, I really wanted to try them again.
Watercolour Life Painting 6.3.12
I love the paint’s translucency, especially against nice grainy paper. The tricky thing is timing when to add another layer on top. It’s great working over wet paint and getting a soft edges to each area of colour. It gets frustrating though when you need to do fine sharp detail and the paint below isn’t dry yet.
The room itself makes a really difference to the drying speed. On a wet day it can feel like forever, on a sunny day or a cold day with heaters in the room the paint can dry too fast if you’re not careful. Back in my studio I can use a hairdryer to help control the process.
Watercolour Life Painting 15.11.11
These were all painted over a rough pencil guide. Some artists work without this guide, filling in big areas of space and colour, then getting more and more precise with each layer. I’ve given this a shot too but find that approach counter-intuitive, which is why I’m not displaying my attempts on this blog!
Watercolour Portrait 13.12.11
More work from my Portrait and Life class soon…
