Wetcanvas Monthly Challenge - July 2015

     For the first time I was I able to this on the second week of the month. Usually I'm able to start at the last week or two days before the end of the month due to busy schedule. 

10" x 14" arches CP

WetCanvas Monthly Challenge - June 2015

     The challenge  for June is about glass jars. It is really challenging yet fun to do. This kind of image requires a tight drawing otherwise it would destroy the illusion. I realized that I failed in the perspective of the lid and in alignment of other elements. I'm happy with the colors though.

10" x 14" Arches CP

WetCanvas Monthly Challenge May 2015

     It has been a while since my last post. I'm aware that the gap between post has been getting longer and I must do something about it. I'm totally swamped between job applications and freelance work. I hope a day will come when I will become a full time painter.
     For this months challenge I've experimented with Canson Montval 200 gsm paper. A lot lighter and little less tooth from what I'm used to using,but way more cheaper. It is really very limiting, since initial layers tend to lift up with the succeeding layers. 
     I've also limited myself to four colors (Dioxazine Purple, Thalo Blue GS, Quinacridone Gold and cobalt teal blue). The Thalo Blue replaces the ultramarine blue that I'm used to using.

10.5" x 7" Canson Monval 200gsm

    I'm really not happy with the result but I will try to use up the remaining stock that I have and hopefully tame this paper.

Tug boat in watercolor

          Another watercolor exercise. Still, from one of the photos taken during our sketchwalk in Navotas by Amado.

11" x 15" Fabriano Artistico CP

Trucks in Watercolor

     During our last visit in Navotas, I took some pictures of views that I might paint as an exercise when I can paint out. One of these is the image of the trucks below. It sure is an interesting subject and very enjoyable to paint!

Reference picture from my phone camera

Wetcanvas Monthly Challenge - Lord Leverhulme Monument

     I am a bit late with this challenge for February 2015 since I've been busy for the past few weeks. I'm glad there is really no deadline though if I can help it, I want to be up to date

15" x 11" watercolor on Arches CP

     Quite a challenge indeed! I had a hard time blending the light parts with the shadow parts being careful with the shape of the folds.
     The thread for this challenge can be found here.

Learning to Control Watercolor (Part II)

     This post is long due. I have started this experiment right after the first part of this post, but I've become to busy painting that made me wonder if this is still relevant when someone can gain this knowledge through practice and observation. Just the same, I hope somebody might find it useful.
     One of the watercolor concepts that has always eluded my understanding is the "wet on wet technique" The are many tutorials online and most of them simply describes it as an application of  wet paint on still wet paint on paper or sometimes an application of wet paint on paper pre-wetted with water. I've also read about avoiding applying wet paint on damp paper since it will produce unwanted effects. Some text even mentioned to watch out for the shininess of the paper. The question still remains with me: how much wetness should the paper have? What should be the water to paint ratio in the brush? Is there any scale to measure paper wetness? With these questions I've set out to do an experiment in order to find out what I could measure, in order to at least, get consistent results we want when painting.
     This experiment is  to determine amount of dispersion the watercolor solution will do on wet paper. My initial thought on this is if I could "measure" the drying time of the paper then I would know when to apply the paint. I was wrong.

A- 10mins, B - 1 min., C- 3 mins.

     My first test shows that even on the same area size, the time it took to lose the shininess (indication that there is water on the paper surface) varies from 1 minute to as much as 10 minutes.

Trying to read the paper wetness in stages I can identify

Five Ways to Sustain the Sketching Habit

Make it easy for you to sketch 
     Always have all the sketching tools within easy reach. For some people, it is a challenge to pick up and set up the tools from whatever storage it is kept in. By the time you have taken them out, you might have just lost the energy. If it within easy reach, it is just easy to sketch or paint on a whim much as like picking up your mobile phone.

Make a portable sketching kit and carry it everywhere
     "An artist is a sketchbook with a person attached to it." I'll never forget this line I have picked up from an article in Artist's Magazine a few years ago. It took me a while though to practice it. Once I have assembled my sketching kit, it is always with me wherever I go. Now I have different configurations for my sketching kit from just pencil and sketchbook combo to a full watercolor sketch kit with an easel to match.

Join a local community such as Urban sketchers or online like Wetcanvas
     I have often heard remarks like "I'm not that good, its embarrassing" whenever encourage them to join Urban Sketchers, or make a post of their works. As always, I would give them a reply "It is fine, it's not a competition, it is a community of friendly people willing to help each other. Everybody has to start from somewhere so no one is judging anybody."
     Participating with a community gives you a sense of commitment to nurture your skill as well as give feedback to others. Regularly posting  your work may give you feedback on areas you need to improve. Just remember to keep an open mind.

Find a friend with the same interest and sketch together
     If it really feels inconvenient to join a community why not sketch with a friend? Sometimes what we need is a little nudge to make our first step. Sketching with a friend could help sustain those steps.

Create a blog
     Blogging would be a nice way to document your progress. You might think it is time consuming but it's not. If you have a Google account, it is as simple as signing up with blogger.com and choosing a template. You can even choose to make your blog private until you are ready to show your work.
 
     Looking back, these are the things I did to be on track. Just pick one and keep adding to the list.
     
     Happy sketching!

Learning to Control Watercolor

     I'm trying to do understand the relationship between the amount of water on the paper, on the brush, the amount of paint and the different stages of dryness of the paper. Its easy to understand in theory, but in actual practice, there's a lot of things going on. I find it overwhelming.

Painted using 4 colors : Madder lake, Cad Red, Cad Yellow D, Cad Yellow Lemon on Arches 7' x 10' CP

     This leads me to another basic idea that I must be familiar with the behavior of the paints I'm using and how they react to paper. Is the paint transparent, staining, or granulating? How strong is the chroma? Does the color have a warm or cool bias? With these thoughts, I think I understand why we have to make color charts and why they are important.

Winsor  & Newton paints on Saunders Waterford. The black vertical bar on each swatch is a tool to determine the transparency of the pigment. The top swatch is painted with a thickest mixture possible(pan watercolor), the bottom swatch has been diluted with more water.

Different brands of paints on Arches CP 300gsm. The swatches are painted  from masstone (dense form of the paint from the tube) to a very thin wash. After all swatches have dried, I tried to lift the color completely by slightly wetting the area(see the horizontal fade). and scrubbing with a damp nylon flat brush. Notice that some pigments does not completely lift out.

    For those who are beginning to paint that doesn't have an idea of what to paint, or doesn't have have the confidence and is intimidated by a blank page or paper, try making color charts for an exercise. It will give you a head start. Did I say it's fun ?

There is a follow up post on this here