Saturday, August 8, 2020

August 8, 2020 — Elaine O.

 I've been working on a double portrait. I started with a direct watercolor sketch (using only a flat brush at that!)....

 ... before finishing the sketch and the first wash on the painting.


Oh, and I actually finished a sketchbook and added it to my burgeoning mini-library of filled sketchbooks.

6 comments:

  1. Very fresh. At first glance I thought the guy was feeding the gal a bottle. Then I realized maybe it was one of those new fangled camera phones. Anyway, looks like you've got a good composition going. Anyone we know?

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    1. It's Gabe and Angie, of course! They are laughing hysterically at a You Tube video they made of themselves with all of their stuffed animals.

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  2. I like the direct sketch a lot. You’ve really mastered capturing expressions with a few strokes and shadows. How long do usually spend painting these direct sketches? It’s a great idea to do that before painting the actual painting. A gOod warmup — I’m going to try that.

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    1. They only take about 15-20 minutes... sometimes less, but usually not more. I usually just try to get a sense of the most important parts.

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  3. How do you like using the flat brush compared to a round one? I used to use flats most of the time, but not that I'm trying to not build up so many layers, I'm using round brushes more. And as always, lots of life in your subjects!

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    1. I never used a flat brush, after that first plaid. Then, last year, I decided I'd give it a 30 day trial and if I still didn't like it, I'd stop carrying it around.

      After 30 days of sketches using just a flat brush, we became a lot friendlier. I really like it for quickly laying in the initial angles and movement. And it's surprising how well it can work for lines and even details. But I have to admit that if I could only use one brush, it would still be my big round.

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