New Eyes: Watercolor Work

Primaries, secondaries, complements, oh my!

It's been quite a week of working with the watercolor exercises from the first class that I took on Monday. I'm finally getting a bit of a feel for handling the brushes. I've always been timid about using big brushes, but the Number Ten Round is turning in a good friend.

I knew that it is good to add some subtle accents to my drawings in my daily art journal.

Here's a pine cone with a blend or wash of color over the pen and ink drawing. Not bad.

The splotches of color are blooms, where the brush lifted and left behind color. I'm learning to like the look of the blooms and will eventually be a bit more in control of where and how they occur.

I like the entire drawing better, though, when a touch of burnt umber is added. There are also highlights of a deep red violet, thinned to a wash that is sort of taupe.

The additional colors give depth and bring a more natural look to the drawing.








This is one of my favorites from this week's journal, a cartouche that is an inch and a quarter wide by two and a quarter inches high. I usually write the time of the sunrise in the top half circle and, additionally, sunset time goes in the bottom arc.

These little drawings happen quickly. I might work on one for ten minutes max, but they are a delight to imagine and execute.

New eyes? Yes, as always, when taking classes, one sees things in a new way. Color and line, paints and points. I understand them all just a little bit better after a week of working on watercolor.