Faber Castel Watercolor Pencils

7/27/2012 04:58:00 PM Edit This 13 Comments »
After ordering the wrong thing and erroneously sending them back (I wish I had kept them ... the return postage was ridiculous!), I ordered the right thing and was really looking forward to trying them out.  I watched a video about them (sadly I can't give you the link because I have no idea where I saw it) and was completely intrigued.  In the video the artist sort of made a palette of them by thickly applying them in squares on a piece of watercolor paper, and then using them like pan watercolors.  I was intrigued, but also a tad nervous about using them.  I know, that's really silly, but there you are ... somebody let the wicked critic out of her cage and she wasn't happy.

So, finally I sat down and did a quick ink sketch in the sketchbook I'm zeroing in on to complete.  I was on the front porch and drew one of the chairs.  After that sat for awhile ... OK, a pretty long while .... several days, if not a week,  I finally decided to just jump in and outcome be damned!  To put it mildly, the piece is busy, but that's because I really wanted to just fiddle with these pencils.   They are fun .... they are easy to use, although I have to learn how much to put in my square, and they mix well.  As you can see, I chose to mix mine on a separate sheet of paper rather than in the sketchbook since the book isn't very big.  I bought them online from Dick Blick - 25 in a very nice tin, along with an instruction book and color-mixing wheel.   BTW, I don't know if the above link will work .... I had trouble with it and I'm not very good at trouble shooting this sort of thing ... well, really anything having to do with computers.  Anyhow, here's the experimental, very busy, piece.





The blue on the posts is actually burgandy, but I wanted to try out a different color.  I will play with them again ....  maybe soon!        Thanks for dropping by, and I'd love to hear from you!!  



Beginning watercolor

7/12/2012 04:52:00 PM Edit This 10 Comments »
It's been really hot and dry here in the mitten.  The only things growing in our "lawn" are the weeds.  I can't help but wonder why it is that weeds never seem to mind the weather ... not the heat, not the drought, not heavy winds or rain.  Even frost doesn't kill them - they just fade away until the next growing season.  Their roots  settle in for a  long winter's  nap, and in the spring pop right back up, bright eyed and bushy tailed.  Ditto with the crab grass, quack grass, and other grasses that have nothing to do with lawns or gardens.  OK, I'll try not to complain anymore and look at the bright side.  Yes, there is a wee bright side.  I don't have to mow quite as often.  Enough said about all of that!

So, the other night I sat on our front porch with my sketchbook (it only has 5 sheets left!), my little Windsor &  Newton travel sized watercolor set, and my waterbrushes.   I'm never quite sure what you call them - the ones with the tubes to hold water with a brush on the end.   While I like to use those brushes for this kind of casual playing, I like to have a container of water to rinse them off in.  That way I don't have to keep filling them up.  Anyway, what I ended up doing was painting the yard in front of me.  I haven't finished it yet, but you get the idea ... yellow grass.  So far the trees seem to be doing OK.  The gardens, flowerpots, and hanging baskets are all we water because of the size of our yards - hence the dry and dead "grass".  Maybe tonight I'll be able to add a bit more to it, although the truth is that this view doesn't really have much more in it.  Evergreens, trees, and dead "grass".  sigh.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a second to leave me a wee comment - I love hearing from you!