ANOTHER EQUIPMENT TEST

Learning how to draw presented an opportunity to do another equipment test.

One of the assignments in Keys to Drawing, the book that I'm using to learn to draw better (see my previous post for a review), was to draw a green pepper. I actually went to the store to buy one -- I even chose the one with the most lumps and bumps, to increase the challenge.

The darn object was so interesting that after completing the assignment -- which consisted of two drawings in pencil -- I was  itching to do a watercolour version.

My experimental palette was short on green pigments.

It just so happened that I had just received three tubes of green M. Graham pigments -- a sap green, a hooker's green and an olive green, and that I was also wanting to get some practice in using waterbrushes. I own two of those brushes of different brands (a waterbrush is a brush with a water reservoir in the shaft, like a fountain pen  -- see photo, left), and up until then I had not been satisfied with either, except when painting very small subjects or creating washes when sketching with water-soluble pens.

Watercolor on Moleskine 5" x 9" Sketchbook

This is how my experiment came out.

I drew the outline with my olive green Staedtler Triplus Fineliner water-soluble pen, and for the pepper I used the sap green and a bit of hooker's green in the darker parts. I used the olive green for the shadow.

You can readily see that I was unable to obtain a smooth effect with those waterbrushes, and that's the reason I don't like them.

As for the pigments, for being half the price of the Winsor & Newton ones (unless you buy the huge 37-ml tubes when they're on sale), I'm no expert but I can't find any difference in quality between the two brands. I've never used W&N's greens, but I notice they use the same formulation.

CONCLUSIONS

I'm not in the habit of using convenience colors, but having decided that it was probably a good idea, I'm disappointed in at least one aspect of both the sap green and the hooker's green: they are staining colours. They remind me of some chromium oxide green that I used to have, and that I threw away when I was "pruning" my paint drawer last year. I found the olive green a bit dull, but maybe it's supposed to be like that. I can see using it in a landscape, though if I just add a bit of brown madder to the sap green, I get the exact same colour.

I read somewhere that all "good" greens require three basic colours, and these greens already contain two, so I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with sap green and hooker's green when I add other pigments to them.

On the other hand, I suppose I could premix some non-staining greens and have them there, ready to go. I'm trying to find a Canadian supplier for empty pans and half-pans; that would be a good way of making up a supply. I could then follow Cathy Johnson's advice and stick them to my palette with some rubber cement, or make up some little cups out of sugru. Food for thought...

As for the waterbrushes, even though a certain online watercolour instructor seems to make it look really easy to work with them -- maybe they're good for the kind of fiddly work that she specializes in -- I will continue to carry one for sketching in the field, and I think they're fabulous for creating washes with water-soluble pens, but for working in the studio I'll stick to my regular brushes, thank you very much.

Improving My Drawing Skills

In order to be a decent painter, I need to improve my drawing skills.

Over the years I've bought at least half a dozen "how to draw" books, including the famous Drawing on the Left Side of the Brain. None even comes close to Bert Dodson's Keys to Drawing.

When Left Side of the Brain came out -- way back in the late 80's I believe -- I bought it, did several exercises, and then I got bored. My drawings did improve, though. Then I lost the book.

Last month, I ordered the revised edition. I'm sure it's still very valid, but I found it boring again.

Keys to Drawing is very similar in many ways, but it's never boring. I can't explain it; perhaps it's just that I like the examples better. Or the way it's written -- less stuff about how the brain works and more about how to draw.

This is a substantial book -- 224 pages -- and it's the closest to a good drawing course that you'll ever find in book form.

Moreover, it's recommended by one of my favourite watercolour painters, Charles Reid.

If you like Charles Reid, you will like this book. Buy it! It's only $15 at Amazon.

NOTE: If you click on the image or on the link below and buy it I'll get a few cents' commission, but that's not the reason I'm reviewing Keys to Drawing. It's because I really like it and I want you to know about it. Check it out, have a "Look Inside", read the reviews, and then decide.

My "Paint My Numbers" Project

This article really belongs on my home renovation site, but since it has to do with art, I thought I'd post it here as well.

Long ago, I had decided to paint my numbers -- my house numbers that is -- to fill the big gap that had been left by the removal of the front door. For years I lived with that gap, but finally, this summer, the house got painted, and this weekend is Indian summer, the perfect time for this project.

(All photos will enlarge if you click on them.)

Playing with the design on photos of the house.

Earlier this year, I had been playing with the design on some photos of the house that I had printed out. I had even consulted my friend, Jane Evans, who is an artist and a designer. She had some excellent suggestions for both the number and the green around the windows. (You can see on the photo how I tried two different ways of framing the windows with green.)

Sketch of design on foamboard.

I needed something rigid to make a stencil that I could play with until I was satisfied, that I could then cut out and trace on the wall.

This had to be something that was easy to cut neatly. I settled on foamboard from the dollar store. The boards were 20" x 30", so I joined them by taping them on the back.

This worked really well.

The design is ready to try on the house.

 I used a pushpin and some string to draw the big circles and some plates for the smaller ones. I used coloured markers of different colours for the different tests, so that I'd know exactly where to cut.

I cut everything with a blade cutter. It was very easy to get a neat cut.

Then I pasted the cutouts on the wall with painter's tape to have a look. That's when I realized that my sun/moon pattern was too big, so I redid it.

Tracing of the design with non-permanent markers.

When I was happy with the position (which I tested with a level), I traced around the designs with non-permanent markers of the same colours as the design would be. That way, the outline would just blend in.

Closeup of tracing.

You can see it better on this closeup.













I had to give up at that point because a certain bee was way too curious about my hands. I finished the next day, after locating the insect repellent.

Partially done -- what's wrong with that "3"?

 Here's a perfect example of why you should always step back from your painting.

Taking a photo has the same effect. Anyone can see there's something very wrong with that "3".

Close-up of corrections to the "3" on a photo

I printed out the photo, then I used a white gel pen to reduce the top line's length and the diagonal line's thickness; I also rounded the angles and added an orange flame inside the sun's rays with an orange marker.

The result seemed a lot better to me.

The final result. Good enough!

I used some of the house's white paint to cover the green I didn't want, added the orange flames and another coat of dark blue on the sky.

I also painted a blue eye and a red mouth on the moon.







Later today, I will add another coat of white over the mistakes (if you enlarge the picture you will see where), but generally I'm satisfied.

The full façade in October 2011

Next spring, I will use the leftover green paint to go over the window frames, as I find the present shade of green tends to look black under certain lighting conditions -- as it does in these photos.

(As you can see, a neat lawn isn't a priority for me!)





Why don't you try painting your own house numbers? It's a great way to personalize your home!

By the way, did you know that you can get sample sizes (8 ounces) of just about any paint or colour at Home Depot? For this job I ordered flat exterior paint in green (two pots), yellow, blue and red. With the three primaries I can make just about any colour I want. I have another project in mind for a big empty wall at the back of the house...

Sketching Practice

I've been looking for a difficult subject for my sketching practice.

I had settled on some shaggy mane mushrooms: yesterday I noticed that the recent rains have brought them out, and I was going to go and pick some today, but first I was going to sketch them.

Shaggy Mane Mushrooms

This is what they looked like last year.

Their scientific name is coprinus comatus; they are sometimes referred to as "inky caps".

They grow in the same spot every year, and luckily nobody is interested in them, so I get to pick as many as I want to eat.

The mycologist who guided the mushroom hunt that I wrote up earlier gave me a good recipe for shaggy mane mushrooms: (1) Pick them very small; (2) Cut them in two lengthwise and freeze them on a cookie sheet; (3) Bag them and store them in the freezer. OR: Cut them in two and sauté them fresh. P.S. Never mix shaggy manes with alcohol; that's a toxic combination.

However, it's been raining all day, and the rain is no good for either occupation.

Camera Bag. Pen and Watercolor on Moleskine Sketchbook

So I looked around and settled on my camera bag.

I sketched it directly in ink in my Moleskine Notebook. There's something liberating about drawing in ink; knowing you can't erase forces you to really concentrate, which helps to turn on the "R Mode" that Betty Edwards describes in her book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.

I applied watercolour (Maimeri Payne's Grey). The white dotted lines are from a white gel pen. I worked quickly.

It's a bit off, and the camera didn't render the grey well (it's kind of bluish in reality), but it was very good practice and I like how it turned out -- free and loose, as un-photorealistic as possible. I like the way drawing in ink forces you to leave your corrections there, for all to see.

Click to enlarge, if you like.