Pine cone studies

More attempts to learn watercolor! The picture I was working with was a pine cone nestled on a dark green bed of pine needles. I can't share it here, it is copyrighted to someone else. First I tried doing both the cone and the needles by laying on paint in heavy layers (Alizarin Crimson, a dark green, and finally ultramarine) and then scraping off with a credit card to form the cone. That worked reasonably well for the pine cone. Other versions show painted on needles and various backgrounds. This worked best when the paper was dry before laying on the paint. Finally I tried it on Yupo, skipping the needles. On the Yupo, I used a damp brush to remove a bit of the layered on paint, and that was sufficient.

Sketchcrawl

I attended the sketchcrawl at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles today. It seemed to me there were about 40 people participating, but I didn't know any of them! Most started with the Triceratops in the main atrium, then moved to other rooms. I went to the African Mammals room, which was very dark, and did some quick sketches. They feel a little cartoonish to me, but there you have it.

Tree Studies

Here are some random imaginary trees....spruce, fir, oak, willow. I was following some of the tips from Terry Harrison's watercolor tree class on artistsnetwork.tv. That worked well for the softer trees, but I wonder what I would need to do for a Joshua tree or a palm? Any ideas?

I also took the chance to try out some Yupo samples. I love the Yupo! But I started another version of the red rocks on a bigger piece and the Yupo must have had dirt or oil from being handled, because it did not take the paint in spots.

Friday, Friday

I have a few things to upload but I will do one a day! Here is a study I did and the photo I was working from. I am not terribly satisfied but I made a start. I am trying to learn watercolor. Paints were American Journey and paper was 140 lb. CP.