22d world wide sketchcrawl!

My day was sponsored by Starbucks…we occupied a sidewalk table early in the day, and pretty much stayed put all afternoon :)

I’d been reading Joseph Zbukvic’s book on watercolor (out of print unfortunately, but available second hand for a small fortune:) Luckily a fellow at work has a copy)….anyway, he really makes watercolor sound simple!

Key things he discusses that really helped me: start with a light but complete drawing, use a HUGE brush to do TWO big washes – one for sky, one for everything else. (Don’t let these two areas touch). wash from top to bottom with a very thin (tea consistency) wash. Work fast, draw the bead down, and go back to the pallet to modulate the color as you go, let wet washes merge into themselves, then WAIT to dry. (very important. WAIT. that’s what made all the difference for me.) Now finish off with little shadows in gradually thicker pigment, until you’re putting on small details with “cream” or “milk” consistency paint. Work dark over light, and go ahead and use gouache at the very end to reclaim small lost lights. I didn’t follow his advice exactly, but tried to keep it in mind. Either way, I’m pleased with these two, compared to what I usually get…

There’s also a Zbukvic DVD, and he does reasonably priced workshops – so keep an eye out for those. I got the DVD off of ebay – book is better – much more detailed – might try your local library, since the book is so costly today…