A Little Diversion

Happy First Birthday Steve!
 
    For a friends son's first birthday, whose theme is "robots", I was asked to make a robot from Styrofoam to be used as a backdrop piece. A project I really love doing since I used to do miniature models in high school. 

The robot template. I had to make sure the measurement are right and converted it to the correct scale. As it was said, measure twice cut once.

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

SketchWalk at Navotas Fish Port

     A friend I met though Urban Sketchers Philippines happens to be a great watercolor artist and a passionate painter. We've decided to paint around  Navotas, Fish Port area in Manila. The first location we visited that looks like a shipyard has a good sketching spot from every conceivable view. The place seems intimidating at first, but once you start sketching all your worries goes away and the only thing that matters is simply capturing the beautiful scenery in front of you.

This large ship is currently being repaired.

Quick and dirty perspective tool for the rest of us

     If I can help it, I will always try my best not to use any drawing aids for training's sake. But the last sketchwalk had me realize that there are still times I'm struggling with perspective especially if  the subject is something really up close. There are also times when I get pressure to come up with something really fast, and the view is to distracting.
     These gave me an idea to come up with some solution. What if there is a tool we can use to ease things up?
     Again,I was thinking of something portable, and if possible can be inserted between the pages of a sketchbook. So, I've made a viewfinder. Nothing new here. The internet host a lot of different versions that are easy to make. This version is just a piece illustration board cut to size.

Sketching with fellow artist from Gameloft

     After seeing me doing sketching for a while, fellow artist whom  I have used to worked with contacted me to do sketching together. Initially there is this feeling of discomfort and uneasiness of sketching on location and being seen in public. But after the initial sketch, they have gotten  used to it. The original plan of three hours of sketching became a whole day of sketching!

This is very reminiscent of my first sketchwalk. It seems to be a good place to start with the benches around it and few onlookers.

Wetcanvas Monthly Challenge - Cherries

     This challenge has gotten serious for me. I mean reflections, shiny objects and glass ? I have never really given it much thought. Until now. I'm so glad I committed myself to joining WetCanvas monthly watercolor challenge. Like what Doug, the moderator says, it is a challenge you wouldn't normally tackle so I find myself learning new stuff every time.

7.5" x 11" arches CP

     I find that a tight drawing plays a really important role here, perspective and proportions should be correct. Otherwise, it just destroys the illusion even if the colors and values are correct.

Sketchwalk at the North (From Vigan to Pagudpod) Part II

Day 3 

     On this day we went further north to to Pagudpod. It was non-stop rain and wind.

First stop, Kabigan falls. We've  walked through  fields and hills to get here while it is raining but it is worth it .