Caran d'Ache opaque watercolors/gouache

Hi all!  You may remember we've discussed the Caran d'Ache opaque watercolors/gouache set in this post: http://artistsjournalworkshop.blogspot.com/2011/07/gouache-again.html 
and did a comparison with other brands and types.  It fared well, as you can read in the post and in the comments!

(If you want more gouache-inspiration, check out the labels in the sidebar at right...14 posts on gouache!)

I just had to try these, and quite honestly I think they're extremely nice...they re-wet well, they're smooth, they're nice and dense...but as some of you know, I'm needing to simplify my studio and my life, so I'm passing along some of my art supplies to people who actually WILL use them!  (I'd originally thought to transfer the cakes to a smaller metal box, but I gave that one to my youngest godchild!)

The only problem with this set, for me, is that it IS very sturdy, and just too big and heavy for field work, given my arthritis, and I already have a palette of gouache I use at home.  Sooooo...if you're interested, there's a great bargain on eBay right now! :-D

Self-portraits!

Self portraits are fun, revealing, useful, handy, instructive...and difficult!  Why do we do them?  Well, one very good reason is that we're there, we're willing (more or less), and we don't get wiggly and complain.  They can help us deal with our emotions, or just enjoy a playful mood. 

Explore expressions, too...it's hard to get a friend or family member to hold still for it, but you can sketch your own!

You can draw yourself with as much honesty as you can muster...that's what I tried to do in the top sketch.  (I'm happy to say that I LIKE patina, so I wasn't upset.)  I dealt with a very difficult time in my life by drawing a self portrait--it let me get some of that sadness outside my skin. 

I did quick sketches when involved in rehabbing the house next door or working on my shed studio...tired, dirty, and funny!

You can draw yourself as you'd like to be--younger, thinner, more hair--but why stop with the mundane?  Now's your chance...be a Medieval knight, a queen, a rock star, a mountain climber, a dancer, a tightrope walker, a Tarot card, a Pict, a native right out of Gauguin,  a nun! 

See yourself as a hobbit, Dr. Who, a Man in Black, an alien, Bigfoot, a dragon--or your favorite animal.  Draw yourself as a Steampunk hero, or someone from the Old West.

Draw your favorite outfit, or activity...put yourself in the picture!

Maybe you see yourself like this guy, which made me smile!

I wrote about some of this in one of my free art tips, ages ago, #23...you can read it here (and feel free to sign up for more tips, there will be 120 of them sometime later this week!  The signup form is here--and you'll get a newsletter full of links and news, too.)


Give it a try!  Make it simple, make it complex.  Use your favorite medium.  And then share it with us on our Artist's Journal Workshop Flickr group!

Painting on the spot

I did this video last summer, and never got it up!

Guached!

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After working exclusively in watercolor, I succumbed to the siren call of gouache.  I used a Strathmore spiral bound notebook with black paper.  It was such fun to  paintin the whites instead of painting around them!  I, like Cathy, found the colors dried quite different from their wet intensity, but I will certainly follow up with more of this fun medium!

Gouache, again...

Gouache and toned paper are a match made in heaven!

This was a lovely, foggy day in December--the blue-gray hill, yellow corn and bright red berries just cried out for gouache!

It works well to add just a little bit to spark up a monochromatic sketch like this, too...this was ink and watercolor, gouache, and a bit of white gel pen.

This paper is a pale tan, and I used a brush pen with Lexington Grey Noodler's ink to paint my cats, Ellis and Sophie.  Gouache made them pop off the page!

I draw and paint my cats a lot--they're both beautiful and handy models.  Always a challenge, though...

sketching gear

January 2011: Evening Apples and Pen Experiment

January 2011: Evening Apples and Pen Experiment, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

Actually there were some pears in this glass bowl too :)

I recently acquired a new pen: it's a gel pen form Pilot and it 's called Frixion - you can erase it. But wait - the most interesting thing is that if you freeze the paper with some lines erased, they COME BACK! It was a major hit among my sketching pals this holiday season - our freezer was filled with notes to each other, Santa, martians and neighbor's cats.

But for me the lure was in it's not-so-black color and I wanted to see how it will work with watercolors, especially how erased lines would work with watercolors :)

So here is my experiment: the pen is waterproof and has a varied density of ink as you make lines (which might be frustrating but I like these little surprises). It can be erased from under watercolors too - but little trace of empty paper stays as I expected (see the area in the shadow right under the bowl). I am not sure how it will survive exposure to light and time I am not planning on using it constantly (imagine all the lines you ever erased coming back if you sketchbook travels with you to Norway) but it's a fun thing to play with and now

Publish Post

I am ready to make a treasure map - even on a very short notice!