Sketching for different medias

Preparing for a painting is almost as much fun as the painting. I enjoy drawing just as much as I enjoy painting. My lab does not agree. As you can tell she would rather us be running or something than setting drawing. The old girls only 7 but she is graying.

I have learned alot about sketching and hope this helps you not have to take the time it took me to learn this. Depending on what media you use to paint depends on how you sketch. This has taken a few years for me to figure out. I hope I can short cut it for you.

The sketch above is a thumb nail sketch. Mostly because they are not much bigger than your thumbnail. I work about the size as the palm of my hand. Draw me a square and work on composition; Not much else. These are quick and I work alot on these when I am talking on the phone or while I listen to my preacher give a sermon. Sorry folks but I can not sit anywhere still. If I doodle than I absorb what is being said.

I love drawing in line work or tonal (smooth) shading. When I worked in acrylic or oils it works for me. Since you can add white to find your light values and add black to find you dark. Than this worked. Drawing like this and working in watercolors was frustrating.

It is a little blurry but it will tell you how to draw for watercolor painting. I came across a book by Laurie Humble. That talked about drawing you lines that outlined the light areas and dark areas. This made more information on the board about where to leave white showing though. It works well. You will notice that the tank on the front has a drip area for some dark rust on the lightened paint. The tires show the dark area and what sticks up for the light. I take this sketch and graphite transfer it to the aquabord. It works great.

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The right watercolors

Well the summer time is here and the weather is unpredictable. Last weekend I had the opportunity to go horse back riding. My brother, his girlfriend and I got everything ready drove down to the field. When we got out and on the horses, the skies feel. We were soaked. It was a blast and I was sore the next day.

Those are the days you paint about. This time I am going to talk about paint. Paint is like brushes. Do your research and buy the best you can afford. Remember you get what you pay for.

When I started working in watercolor paint I bought lots of different types. I started out with Reeves, Dick Blick, Daniel Smith, and lots others. I could not figure out why they were not as bright as I had hoped for and started looking to make my own.

On doing my research this is what I found out. A tube of paint has a lot in it and some of it can not easily be created at home. Plus if you have breathing trouble, like me, you can not work with these dust without consequences.

schematic backbone composition of
a modern watercolor paint


There is lots of good information about paint out there and I will link you to a good sight at the end.

What I did learn is that for each color they tell you how much pigment is in the tube. This information can be gathered off the manufacture website. On the back of the tube also has some information. Each will have a letter like PV 1 which tells what is in it, light fastness, and hazardous for just a few things.


Notice I keep talking about tube paints. Well tubes are a different formula than the pans.  All the artist I have talked with say tubes are the way to go. In fact I use my own portable pallet and tubes instead of buying a pan set. The colors are better.

With all I tried the brand I like is Schmincke Horadam. The colors are brighter and when they dry out and you rewet them they just come back to life creamy. Please try out different types but always buy artist grade. It is not fair to compare artist grade to student grade. You would not compare a horse to a dog. No matter how big the dog is.

Well the warm snap will be here only today so plants are waiting and gardening needs to be started.

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The Butterfly is an 10 X 8 sealed watercolor on Aquaboard. Bidding starts at a penny.

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Links below for watercolor information.

Schmincke Horadam Watercolor site

Basic Watercolor Information.

the Science behind the color

Buying art supplies

The weather is warming up and the sun is shining. After this week we will have more time in the evening of sunlight. I hate to get up an hour earlier but I love the light in the evening.

Today I wanted to talk about one of the biggest mistakes I see people make when they dip their fingers into art. It is buying art supplies.  Many people will go to the art supply store and find a set of art supplies that are cheap and buy it to see if they like it. The old saying goes; You get what you pay for.

Brushes: I have brushes that are ten years old that I still use. I did not buy the $30 dollar brushes back then (and only on sale now) but I do look for a good quality of brush. Depending on what type of art you are getting into depends on the brushes. Yes it is trial and error. I have fallen in love with a synthetic blend, meaning that they are a mix of real hair and fake hair. The brand of brushes I like this week are by Raphael. They do run about $10 for a very small size but they keep their point and they do not wear out easily. I carry my brushes everywhere and these are okay with that.

You do not have to pay this much for a good brush. The set below is by dickblick and runs about $11. For a beginner it is great. Always look for at least a student grade never a scholastic grade.

Brushes are like good anything. You pay for what you get. For women a pair of Born or Clark shoes are a good fit and comfortable all day. You can go to a buy everything store but the shoes will wear out faster and probably be less comfortable. All I am saying is look for a brush with a good point that springs back when pressed to paper. Well the light is coming over the horizon and chores must be done. By the way CLICK here is my next eBay. Also my favorite store for art supplies is Dickblick. They have the best price and their costumer service is awesome.

Sketchbooks, an Artist Brain

While the snow came down the other day I wondered about what should be the next important thing to tell you. I mean art is a variety of styles, techniques, medias and all that jazz. Then it hit me as I wrote in my sketchbook.  The sketchbook. This is the most important thing that I know almost all artist have. Many, including me, would save their sketchbooks first from a burning building. This is where my life goes and I thought I would share some tips on what I like and don't like on sketchbooks.

Tip 1: Sketchbooks are private. This is not where you do your best work. It is not what you show off to everyone. Yes, I show my to my students as examples but they do not read them. They see how I work. This is time to practice drawing, work on shading or finding the right value for something. Use it for jotting down ideas, or feelings about art, life, and anything else that blows through your door.
  I do not have time or talent to keep up with a journal for my life, one for church and one for art. My sketchbook is like Leonardo Di Vinci. If you read his, it contains everything from his grocery list to inventions to art.

Tip 2: Pick a size.  This takes time to perfect but a sketchbook for me should be small enough to take everywhere but big enough to have space to draw in. I do take my almost everywhere. A 9 by 12 inch is what I like best. It gives me enough room to draw and it is slightly bulky to carry round but it works. I have worked in a 12 by 14 and a 8 by 5.5 ( I use the latter to teach with for the students). Experiment and find your own perfect size.

Tip 3 You can make your own. I have made many sketchbooks in the past just because I did not find what I liked. There is lots of sites for binding a sketchbooks. Look on youtube.com for cool demonstrations. A three ring binder will work or use the rings that clip together and add paper.

Tip 4 Realize your sketchbook style will evolve as you work. In one sketchbook my has changed many times. Let this happen. This is the place to play just like a kindergartner.

Well hope you start freeing your self up for some fun.
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