Notice what you Notice

These words from Louise Fletcher, "Notice what you Notice", triggered something in me. I am so grateful. So today, on our walk at the start of Bray Head, I noticed brambles. I love brambles. And I also noticed that I love red and turquoise, separate and together.

So this is where it led me, from a photo I took on the cliff walk from Bray (the bit before the barrier that is supposed to stop people from going further - but would you believe it, someone cut part of the barrier, and people keep going, despite all the signs saying the cliff walk is closed due to rock fall!).

The red I used was Perylene Marroon. But I now want to try out Transparent Pyrrole Orange. And think more about composition. That's where cropping can be so useful.

Goodies

I love goodie bags. And gifts. And deliveries from online orders. It's the not knowing exactly what it will be. The anticipation. The surprise.

The contents of the goodie bag from London Urban Sketchers was excellent! Not that I need any more art supplies!

This ink was a gift from a special friend. The photo doesn't do justice to the amazing colour!

Trying out new art supplies

I don't really use markers. But I couldn't resist a bargain And I'm delighted with the pastel colours. Not sure what I'll do with them, but it will be fun!

I had these Ecoline transparent markers for a while but hadn't used them much. They are similar colours to my new Sonnet markers, so I must find a use for both sets! Markers are so attractive, aren't they? Let's face it, I'm hiding from that painting that's not painting itself!

I ordered these one evening, and they were delivered by post before 9 am the following morning! I love this small Irish business! Crafty Studio. Check them out!

The last of the foliage

These leaves are long gone. I am way behind with my blog. I will survive.

I'm trying different materials these days. Some more successful than others. On the left was done with the Derwent Line and Wash set. I have used it a few times. And yes, I did buy it. I didn't receive it as a gift, although I was involved in a promotion a short while back. And to be honest, it's just as well. Because I don't like it very much. The colours are too flat for me. Compare it to the vibrancy of what I did on the right-hand page with my usual watercolours! It probably works great for people who go for a lighter wash over a drawing, but I'm more of a watercolour woman (doesn't rhyme with Kentucky Woman)! Each to their own!

 

I tried something else here. I don't like the bit at the top where I tried to paint the shape of the leaves, but I'm delighted with how the little tree at the bottom worked out. Semi-abstract, but I think the work I put in on the edges paid off. I must remember to try that again!

Grey paper

 Trying a grey paper a friend gave me! It's a good excuse to use my pencils!

Comparing papers for sketching

As I said recently, I've been sketching in a Moleskine watercolour sketchbook for years. And I was always happy with the paper. But I've moved to the portrait format recently, and the paper is completely different. Scratchy. Not great for fountain pen. And also, I find that watercolour looks patchy. Plus it buckles. They've definitely changed the texture of the paper. And it's not working for me.

So I'm testing a few other papers to see what my options are. So far, Stillman & Birn Beta is the winner:

Seawhite of Brighton watercolour paper NOT

Good for line and watercolour. Still scratchy with my Lamy Joy pen. Maybe it's the pen? 

Kunst & Papier Skizzenbuch grey
Much lighter paper. A joy for pen, even my Lamy Joy! But the watercolour soaks right through and buckles.

Stillman & Birn Beta
Good all rounder. Gorgeous for watercolour. Lamy Joy line still scratchy. Definitely maybe the pen!

Moleskine watercolour Portrait format
Watercolour patchier than previous versions of Moleskines
Pen drawing - scratchy. No flow.
Paper buckles

Stillman & Birn Beta (this one is bound rather than ring-bound)
Yummy colours. Strong lines.  And I love the smallish format, smaller than A4, bigger than A5.

Experiments

Keeping whites in a sketch is really difficult - in a full watercolour, you can use masking fluid (although I rarely do!). But there isn't the time to wait for the latex to dry when out sketching. And it pulls the fibre off the paper anyway. I tried three different techniques from Liz Steel's Sketching Now On Location: 1: using masking tape (pulled the fibre off the paper, in this sketchbook anyway, which is not my usual one); 2: using a Lumocolor Permanent white pencil - keeps the whites nicely, a natural effect, would be lovely for silver birches - but you have to remember to draw with it before you apply your paint!!; 3: Uniball Signo broad pen - fantastic tool. It's going to become my tool of choice for windows in Georgian houses! Note that it is the broad version of the pen, the standard one never seems to work for me!

Trying out materials on new paper

A big Anahmühle sketchbook. Not sure what the paper is. Should have kept the label. Not great for watercolours, but nice with a variety of mark-making tools. And yep, I still struggle with sketching cats! This little kitten is very lively - and look at how sharp his claws are when he's grabbing the cord from my camera! Anything that dangles is fair game as far as he is concerned!

More colour swatches

I did give away some of the goodies I got at the Urban Sketchers Symposium in Amsterdam - I just knew from last year in Porto that I wouldn't get to use everything. Although I have to say I am so envious of the workshop instructors, who got amazing goody bags!! Of course, they are influencers and that's why the sponsors love them! But I kept some for myself. And I also bought a few bits and pieces at the art market (I was much more restrained than in Porto, though).
So, in the couple of weeks that it takes me to get back into a normal routine, I've managed to fit in an hour here and there to play with my new paints! Mixing colours is so relaxing!

New favourite colours?
Aquarius Green and Aquarius Caput Mortuum, without a doubt! Such exciting colours!
And I also loved mixing the three QOR samples: Nickel Azo Yellow, Ultramarine Blue and Quinacridone Magenta.

Transparent Red Oxide sample from Daniel Smith

Pencils from various companies

Jane's Grey from Daniel Smith, Quin Magenta, Nickel Azo Yellow and Ultramarine from QOR, and a white gel pen

Aquarius colours

Caput Mortuum from Aquarius

And once I start, there's no stopping me!

White markers

The search for the perfect white markers continues. Posca is still leading the league.

Magic pencil

A few sketches with my Koh-I-Noor magic pencil. I love it!

Sunflower field

This is just what I needed. Something crazy and loose to remind me what watercolour painting is all about (for me anyway).

I started with two quick sketches, based on a photo I took a while back on a short trip to the South West of France, just at the time when sunflowers were at their best. What a glorious sight it was! (and as you can see, I haven't completely set aside the idea of green trees!!)











I then did a quick painting in a small watercolour sketchbook, just for the fun of it, and I used watercolour pencils to add a little bit of texture.






I explored calligraphic marks too.

























And then I painted quickly and loosely and with rich pigments on a really heavy and rough paper (Two Rivers I think). Colours are Cobalt Blue, Moonglow, Pyrrole Red, Aureolin Yellow, Permanent Rose (PV19), a dash of Potters Pink and two dots of Cobalt Teal (PG50). All paints Daniel Smith (except Potters Pink), which is now available in Evans in Dublin. This is so exciting, to know I can get the paints I need without having to order them from the UK!!

Powerscourt in the drizzle and wind

If I have one piece of advice for any artists out there who care to listen  - don't take new watercolour paper out for plein air painting in November in Ireland. I did. And it caused me much frustration. Oh, and the second piece of advice: don't even try to deploy your light-weight easel - you will end up with bruises.

The thing is - I love plein air, I love the challenge of sketching outdoors in the winter, I love the light in Ireland when the clouds are rushing through the sky. But a strong breeze and a drizzle? Really? What was I thinking?

So the new paper was an A4 plein air pocket book by Two Rivers - it alternates TR rag hand-made paper for watercolour and cartridge paper. I had never painted on good Two Rivers paper before, except for one direct watercolour Life Drawing in studio, and I was excited to try it in the field. But it really didn't turn out the way I had expected.

The thing about that paper is that it's got a lot of sizing I believe, and the paint sits on top of the paper, keeping its beautiful vibrancy rather than absorbing fully into the fibres. My experience on that drizzly November day, however, was that the pigment seemed to disappear off the page (no vibrant colour for me) and yet, the paint sat on top of the paper, refusing to dry (that's the Irish weather for you!). I had another pad of watercolour paper that I know well, and it behaved as normal, so I switched to it for a while. But I was keen to experiment some more, first with the cartridge paper, which is actually quite nice, if you don't put wet ink on the verso, as that will bleed through. I tried some sketching, and then some more watercolour, which turned out disastrous. At that point, I got so frustrated that I packed my bags and drove home and felt sorry for myself for the rest of the day.

So what lessons did I learn?

• Don't bother with easels in the winter in Ireland
• Always wear rain trousers for plein air in winter in Ireland. Even if there is no rain forecast
• Test new paper fully before expecting to produce a masterpiece (indoors and outdoors - the backgarden can be interesting too!)
• It's better to pack up and go home than to stick at it for too long. The frustration goes exponential by the minute
• Reduce the amount of art supplies you bring out if you need to walk, even for a short while
• Don't give up because one painting went wrong.
• Take it as an opportunity to experiment
• Pick yourself up, and go again the next day

So, here they are:

This is the one that broke my spirit. A complete wet mess that wouldn't dry - the pock marks are a combination of rain drops and the roughness of the paper and the sizing that stopped the paint from absorbing.

On the left is the watercolour paper, and on the right the cartridge paper. As you can see, I couldn't paint any detail on the watercolour paper, as it just turned into blobs of colour. It is atmospheric - it does remind me of the day, even if I'd rather not be reminded!

This one was on Saunders Waterford paper. I did add a second layer of paint at home and painted the tree at home. But you can see I was much happier with how the paint behaved here. The same basic colours were used - Buff Titanium, Lavender,  Monte Amiata Natural Sienna, Transparent Red Oxide, Green Apatite Genuine and Ultramarine.

A pen sketch - the effect on the right is from the wet watercolour page opposite flapping on top of this page. I did have bulldog clips to stop my pages flying, but I had to close the book to walk back to the car and the paint was still not dry. The pink blobs are watery ink I splattered after I got home.

I added colour and darker values to the tree after I got home. You can see that the ink from the verso bled through the heavy cartridge paper. Funny that it can handle watercolour quite well, but not ink and water.

I added another layer after I got home. A bit too bright now!!! Maybe that's what this paper needs - plenty of layers. It's so strong it can certainly take plenty of rework, and it doesn't warp at all. So it's not all bad. I just need to get to know it better!

My original tree disaster is still a disaster. But I learned a lot from it. The paper is so strong that you can lift paint quite easily . And it can take several layers of watercolour without going dull!

Marabu watercolour pen

In our wonderful goodies bag at the Urban Sketchers Symposium in Porto was a gorgeous Marabu Aquapen Graphix - everyone got a different colour. It's got a brush pen on one side and a fineliner on the other. Both are watersoluble. Fabulous for catching a movement or a face.

Somehow, it looked familiar. By chance, I realised why. Months ago, I bought a cheap box of watercolour pens in Lidl. They are called Marabu Watercolour Pen, but otherwise, it's identical. Yes, the pale pink and the pale blue pretty much disappear when you add water, but the other colours will be useful for practising people in motion. So glad I was looking for something else in that drawer!

Trying out new toys and techniques

Lots of goodies in our goodies bag from the sponsors of the Urban Sketchers Symposium in Porto. I'm not good at trying out new things - I'm just worried I will want to go and buy more! So I'm trying to set the new pens and sketchbooks aside and start using them when I'm finished ones I've already started using.

Instead, I'm trying to focus on practising techniques I've discovered while in Porto. Mostly about gesture drawing. So I dug out an old book I have of nude poses, and I tried them out.

I filled a brush pen with ink and water and I set to work. Many more thousands of hours of practise before I reach a satisfactory level. But you know me, I get lost in the doing, never mind the result!

Here I moved to a lovely watersoluble marker from our goodies bag, the Marabu Aqua pen Graphix. Everybody got weird colours. But I like what it does. It's on my Amazon wishlist already! I want all the colours!

At this stage, I was a bit fed up working from a book, so my husband, absorbed in a book or his phone, more likely the latter, was a willing model.  The first attempt was done by just looking, not thinking. For the second one, I used the technique I learned at the NCAD for portraits. I'm quite pleased I actually remembered to use something I learned recently!