Category: watercolour

Sketchcrawling in Rome

Everyday I get to drive past the Appia Antica. Some days I stop along the way for a quick sketch. 
Paper: this pocket watercolour Moleskine.
Colour: Winsor & Newton artists’ water colours. I made myself a tiny colour box using an old mint tin and watercolours pans.
Brush: these Koi water brushes.
Remembering our first day at the beach with a quick watercolour sketch in my weekly art journal. Happy Sunday!

Sketchbook #5

I always have mixed feelings when I fill up the last page of a sketchbook. I feel content as I have completed something and can move on to the next thing, but also a bit sentimental as it marks the end of a journey, which in this case lasted about 7 years! I started this moleskine pocket size notebook back in 2008, when I had just started to get into outdoor sketching and it has been on and off in my bag since then. Oh so many places and so many memories!

Sketchbook #1 // Butterflies

I had a go at illustrating butterflies during the month of April, and it turned out more difficult than I thought. My mind wasn’t really there and I recognise I didn’t put much effort into it. The colour choice and composition are not my strong points, and it clearly shows in these pages.
Anyhow, I wanted to try some new watercolour pencils, but also I came across my old watercolour palette and thought I would give it a try.
Watercolour pencils are very easy to use and the results can be quite rewarding. Unfortunately I can’t say the same for non-professional watercolours! The ones that I used in these pages are Winsor & Newton Cotman, and I don’t know if it’s just me, but I can tell the difference between those and the artist’s range. Apparently, in the Cotman series, the more costly pigments are replaced with cheaper alternatives giving the paint a more uniform consistency, thus losing the wide spectrum of hues. However, I have seen well established artists using the Cotman range, with awesome results…so it must be just me then!
I haven’t picked any new subject for the month of May, yet. And although we are close to the end of the month, I’m still hoping I’ll be able to do some new illustrations.