Liquid watercolour Before and After

Not sure what it's called. I got these as an impulse purchase many moons ago. And I thought now was the time to try them. They are Schmincke watercolours, but in a bottle - you can also fill a special marker with them. But anyways, I thought I would try them as a background for something else (what, I have no idea) in a Sketchbook that I'm not too fond of (an American brand, but it sucks the paint too much for my liking).

Initially, I thought, Wow, these are so vibrant. But when I looked at the dry page the next morning, it was very dull. Not really something I want to draw or paint over. But we'll see. I might try extra layers and see what happens. Or I might conveniently forget about it and move on to something that makes me happy!

If in doubt, colour swatch

So now that I have established that I have plenty of time, I can experiment. And my favourite thing to do is colour swatching.

 

Followed by texture experimentation!

And I need to figure out how to do tree texture !

Still trying to figure out that texture for the foliage! Not really getting anywhere. Too much on my mind.

More thumbnails needed

More thumbnails needed before I continue with that scene under the trees. I want to introduce some texture in the foliage, but not sure how to go about it. Exploring different approaches. Not sure this is going to work for this painting!

And I've just noticed now (after how many thumbnails??) that one of the shadows doesn't make sense!! Always useful to look at these things on a screen to spot the mistakes, I find!

Marsham Court

Next project - closer to home, one of the places where I take Timber for his morning walk. The light was nice one morning and I took a few photos.

I'm also trying new pigment combinations, nothing fancy, but the mixes are very interesting - kind of grown-up colours! Maybe this is the new me? I'm also thinking of going for a less red hair colour next time? Mmm. But someone told me today they thought I was 40, not 50++, so maybe I'm not ready to be a grownup yet!

It's a simple subject, so I don't want to overthink it! Here's what I did in my sketchbook (which has a much more textured paper than my "good" paper, so I might have to rethink that - sometimes I get lovely effects on the sketchbook paper and I get disappointed when the "good" paper isn't as lively!)

It's a little bit tame, but I kinda like it

So, I went back to the house on the mountain, and I painted it one more time. This version is a little bit pastely, but I'm happy with the flow. Time to move on.

How many versions is that now? Time to let go, and think

 It's time to move on. I'm at the point where I'm painting the same mistake over and over (although that can be quite therapeutic too!). That rock stands out for all the wrong reasons. Although in attempt #9, I really like the curve I managed to create. (And on the right-hand side, I was playing with a rigger brush while chatting to a friend on the phone!)

Attempt #8 - I like the transparency, but the rock was just too dark. I need to process all of this at the back of my mind for a while!

Trying a more playful approach

Sometimes, I just need to give up, so that I can come back to the idea with a fresh eye.

But my mind keeps returning to the same view. This time, I played in a sketchbook, which I find quite freeing after getting stuck at the easel with "good" paper!! In the first one, I played with the Shifting views idea from the Sketching PlayLab, and in the second one, I drew with a continuous line before adding watercolour

And I used colours I'm not too familiar with, with interesting results. Hansa Yellow Deep is not a yellow I would normally use, but it's bringing a lot of warmth to the painting that Hansa Yellow Medium is lacking. Although, it's starting to look like Provence rather than the West of Ireland! And I'm loving the new mixes with Paynes Grey and Burnt Umber by the way!

The house on the mountain - without the house

Thinking I need to zoom in on one element at a time, so I dropped the mountain and the house. But still struggling with that big hill! Here I mixed too many darks (Carbazole Violet, Van Dyck Brown, Neutral Tint, Lavender?) and it looks like a big cow pat that landed in the middle of the field!! And nothing is flowing! Need to start practising juicy watercolours again!!

And for this one, I managed to keep a light touch, but then I lifted paint and I have this big smudge in the middle, and this weird cross pattern is emerging, instead of the lovely curves that I was trying to achieve but clearly forgot once I had the paintbrush in hand! Back to the drawing board!

More colour mixes - Paynes Grey, Burnt Umber

Trying out a few colours for an upcoming workshop. You know when the instructor gives you a list of what to bring. Being quite literal, I'm one of these people that brings exactly what was on the list. Well, this year, I'm going to be a rebel, and drop Yellow Ochre - maybe it's the brand I have, but I definitely don't like it, so I'm going to replace it with Monte Amiata Natural Sienna.

And I have been avoiding Paynes Gray and Burnt Umber, for, like, forever. So, Paynes' Gray - the jury's still out - I have 3 different versions in my "bag of paint tubes I don't use". I like this one from Daniel Smith, so I'll stick with it, for now.

And the big revelation is Burnt Umber! Why did I avoid this colour all my life? I clearly never tried to mix it! Look at the last 2 pictures down below, and you'll understand why I am going to have to make room for Burnt Umber in my palette now!! That rainbow caterpillar where I sandwich colours between Burnt Umber and Paynes' Gray was the happiest moment!!

Indigo vs Indigo

Just like the rest of the world, I'm finding it hard to stay focussed and positive. Thankfully, colour mixing always makes me happy.

Interesting facts: to my eye, Hansa Yellow Deep and New Gamboge look identical on the paper. They are both based on Arylide Yellow. And yet, they are completely different pigments numbers (both Daniel Smith). Go figure.

And then, Indigo, which I've been avoiding for years, because I find it so dull. Well, try a different brand (Holbein) and it's like a different colour altogether. To me, it looks more like a Prussian Blue, but hey, it's glorious, so I don't care! And the tiny mix I did with Hansa Yellow Deep makes me so happy that I want to sing!

Colour palette for next painting

I always like to figure out my main colours before I start a painting. This one has been weeks in the procrastinating. This is one step closer. Carbazole Violet and Perylene Green for darks. We'll see how it works!

Coloured darks

Next step in Marion Rivolier's book - mixing coloured darks. I love colour, and I have no problem mixing pigments to represent local colour. But I still struggle with darks. So here is what I did, using the reduced palette I showed you in the previous post:

My conclusions:

• I find the Indigo mixes very dull and disappointing. I think the indigo I have is a Schmincke Indigo. It's a pan, not a tube, and I don't know the pigment number. Maybe I should try a different brand?
• The Ultramarine mixes are full of life, but not very dark.
• The Carbazole Violet mixes make me happy. I will definitely use it with Transaparent Red Oxide, and with Sap Green. I already adore the mix with Cobalt Blue.
• Bloodstone Genuine doesn't really shift the colour in the mix, just makes it duller. But I love the granulation. Not sure it will achieve what I need for coloured darks, though.

Trying to reduce my palette

I love trying out colours and pigments, but when I'm actually painting or sketching, I prefer to keep a limited palette. I'm trying out some colours I don't normally use much, like Quinacridone Gold, Indigo, and Cerulean Blue. I've had to make some sacrifices, letting go of Turquoise Blue, Monte Amiata Natural Sienna, Moonglow and Lavender. We'll have to see how I get on with these. The reason for the Indigo is to create more colourful darks in my sketches. I'm currently reading Marion Rivolier's book and trying to take her guidance on board. Trying being the operative word here, as there is a battle in my head between wanting to learn/improve and trying to not lose myself in the process. And that requires a much more deliberate approach!

The house on the mountain - the thinking phase

Portrait, Landscape, super long Portrait? Lots of choices.

I don't have an iPad with Procreate, but I have Paper on my phone and it's quite useful for picking the colours and getting a better understanding of colour temperatures and values.

 

The house on the mountain

Starting to think about my next project. The inspiration for this is a view over the mountain to the left of Glanmore Lake from the Healy Pass, on the Cork/Kerry border on the Beara Peninsula. Check out Google Maps for this breathtaking vista. I took lots of photos the first time I was there, only a few years ago. The light hitting the hill was amazing in the afternoon. And the little house on the left has the most gorgeous fields in front of it, in contrast to the harsh mountain land above. 

So, for now, I'm just trying to figure out what I love about this scene. And I'm using the Sketching Playlab "Shifting Views" technique to explore! It doesn't look like much yet. I'm finding it hard to set aside the time I need to make real progress with this. I have so many ideas and projects running around in my head at the moment that I'm not getting very far with anything. But Rome wasn't built in a day, so I'll be kind to myself!

Waves at Clogher beach - gouache to the rescue

This time, I decided to zoom in on the dark rocks and crashing waves. But I struggled to achieve the soft effect I had managed with my first attempt. What did I exactly do that worked so well? I lifted the paint from the rock, but when I did that here, I wasn't getting that soft white effect, it was too brown. So is it because I used Transparent Red Oxide in my mix? Most likely.  I'm going to have to work on that. So, since I had nothing to lose, I explored what I could do with gouache. But is this a case of too much gouache? If you look at it from a distance, it looks nice enough, but up close, yes, too much gouache!

Reproduceability

Trying to reproduce the lovely effect I managed a week ago. Nothing I've tried here worked. But it wasn't the same paper. Rookie mistake . Will keep on trying!

Rocks and waves

As I got frustrated with the field and the tree, I moved to rocks and waves. And as you can see in a previous post, maybe a change is all that I needed. Before I moved to the quarter sheet , I did a few watercolour thumbnails in my sketchbook. The granulation in the sketchbook is always more interesting that on the sheet. Well, it's different paper. And the big question is will I be able to reproduce the effect in a larger format. Practise Practise!!

And by the way if you want to observe spectacular waves, the best place to go is Clogher Beach (near the Louis Mulcahy pottery), between Dunquin and Ballyferriter. If there is any swirl at all in the ocean, the waves come crashing at an angle against the rocks and I could watch them for hours. I must go back to the videos I filmed and do screen shots so I can study the waves in more details! They are such a challenge to paint. I haven't found the right formula for me yet - masking, gouache, working carefully, working wet in wet? Too many choices. I want something that looks like a wave, but yet has an abstract quality!

The Field - back to the drawing board?

One more attempt, in my sketchbook. It's better than the painting!! Maybe it's the size, maybe it's the paper, maybe it's me!! All I know is that I need to move on to something else.

And yes, in Ireland the grass is that green!