Finally, sketching outdoors again!

And ended up making a journal spread...

This is the finished spread...trying out new colors!

All I got done on the spot; my ink wasn't drying!  It was Noodler's Lexington Gray in a Hero bent-nib pen, and usually dries quickly.  Not yesterday!  So this morning I decided to take my time and mask off the little waterfalls and ripples!

I'm testing new watercolors from Golden--QoR paints, pronounced "core"!  You'll be hearing more about them...happily, I had an unused palette to put them in.

I decided to use a lot of wet-in-wet to keep it fresh...lots of Naples Yellow and Quin Gold in the rocks...

I used my little sprayer to soften the fore edge, and laid in the fish while the water was still wet.

Removed the mask and added a headline...strengthened some areas in the background...

I tried to keep the feeling of motion in the water...

Pleased with the fish!

I used a pen made from a honeysuckle twig for the pampas grass...

And my new Sharpie EF water-based marker defined the water a bit more.  It's acrylic, so I could paint over it when it dried...nice.

All in all, I was pleased with the spread for how it preserved the day--strong winter sunshine and a good day with old friends.  I'm a bit of an introvert (OK, understatement!) and spending a little time sketching in the midst of the party helped keep me focused.

AND I was pleased with the paints, which are strongly pigmented and re-wet nicely.  You'll be hearing more about them as I try out more things...