Grand Canal Dock

Just as well I brought minimal supplies, as it turns out I partially dislocated my clavicle. I don't know about the partially, actually. It's sitting above one of my ribs, so I personally think that qualifies as a full dislocation. I'm writing this on 30th September, so if you're seeing this on Instagram in November, I haven't dislocated again. Although it's entirely possible that I will dislocate it again, apparently! Anyways, my minimal supplies were not very well thought out. A bunch of acrylic markers, a pink pencil, a thick black Posca, and watersoluble graphite crayons. I did try to apply the acrylic markers on top of the graphite. It gave a nice subdued colour, but made the markers really dirty. I think that if I had brought my black Fude pen, I could have done a lot more with these sketches. 

 

Travelling birds

It wasn't the birds that were travelling. It was me. I was visiting my Mum in Belgium. And decided to apply Andrew James' Bird Math technique to pass the time. I had done a session with him and Uma on Vivify and it was so much fun. The first few birds were done from imagination in the airport. I clearly never looked at a seagull properly before. Then I drew a tui (a New Zealand bird) from picture I found on the Internet. I used highlighters and acrylic markers. Then I looked at seagulls on the Internet and drew some more, just having fun. Next time I have a dull moment, I will look at pigeons.

Layers on a bigger sheet

Well, not that big a sheet, A4, but bigger than anything I've done in gouache before. Started with some writing, then circles, letters, lines, more squiggles and circles. And then did a few more layers, trying to vary shapes, colours and values. Including more writing. Photos of the finished version include a few close-ups at different angles so you can see the texture of the gouache.

 

Inspired by patterns in artworks

This week in the patterns class I'm doing with Amanda Close on Vivify, we were finding inspiration in works of art. For the homework, I used patterns I found in a Harry Clarke stained glass window. I worked from a photo I took years ago, in the V&A, I think. I was trying to find photos online, but nothing gave me the zoomed-in detail I wanted. Glad I take photos of all sorts of things that pull me in. My Google Photos collection has lots and lots of inspiration.

I used some acrylic markers on top of the gouache this time, for details. Because let's face it, I struggle with painting details with a brush. It all got a bit mad, but fun.

Gouache + acrylic markers (and a little stamp)

Apart from one (which was a disaster), it was fun to use acrylic markers on top of gouache. First I did a weird triad with a flesh colour, a bright green and a grey blue. It created interesting backgrounds. First I used one of my hand-cut stamps (which I did years ago, when I was into Gelli printing), then I tried some Posca and Molotow markers, then Arrtx. All were fun. You sometimes have to use two layers, as the markers pick up some of the gouache.

I'm not firing on all cylinders this week, so these little swatches are a great way to explore colours and patterns, and learn more about gouache. I just wouldn't have the energy for a big watercolour. Plus the weather is awful outside!

How do I use these acrylic markers?

Everybody I know is using these acrylic markers, so I had to try them too. But I have no idea how to use them! Self-portrait at the hairdresser's was a good excuse to experiment.

Testing Testing

The day is getting dark already. I need more light for watercolour. That's a good excuse to try out my new Arrtx markers. I tried them on brown paper. I think dark grey paper would be better. Need to ask a few people how they use these markers - maybe just for highlights? I don't seem to have enough darks?