Meet Dan

Some Guy Called Dan(black fine liner, watercolor, waterbrush)

This is a sketch I made of a photo I found on the internet. It's some guy called Dan. I think he looked kind and interesting so I decided to make a sketch of him. I chose a black fine liner and started to draw without thinking about the likeness very much. Finally I added some watercolor and that was about it.

Nature's Little Wonders at Lake Lestijärvi

The End of a Roach(pencil, black fine liner, watercolor)

A Happy Dragonfly(pencil, black fine liner, watercolor)

For these sketches I used my Ogami sketchbook again.  I was very excited about how the paper reacts with watercolor. The paper doesn't absorb the water right away so you have some time to play with it. With the pink background I kept moving the watercolor around with a brush for few minutes until it started to dry. I'm very happy with the left page, but the right one is too messy. I would have wanted the color to be more even. Now it takes some attention away from the dragonfly itself.

The other thing I thought about while drawing these was the use of an empty space. Especially with the roach and the pliers I tried to place them on the spread differently than I usually would have. Every sketch doesn't have to be in the middle of the page. Actually placing the objects differently has a huge effect on the end result and in many cases makes the work look more interesting.

Plan B

Faces(fine liner, colored pencils)

One Orchid Left(fine liner, watercolor)

A Game of Chess(fine liner, colored pencils)

Before I show you some new material, here's a few sketches from spring. I hurt my shoulder doing sports and couldn't draw for a while. Then I had an idea to try to do some sketches with my left hand. I had already practiced my motor skills by doing basic things like cooking. At first it was difficult and my hand was shaking a lot when I tried to draw. Then I noticed that the shaky line was actually quite nice and very different from my usual line.

I added the color, also with my left hand, and was pretty happy with the result. It made me realize the importance of my sight. A very big part of drawing happens inside your head. Everybody can make lines on the paper, the hardest part is to understand how to make them work together. When your head knows what it's doing, your hand will quickly follow. No matter which hand it is.

The Shining

Bugsy the Shiny Bug (pencil, watercolor, waterbrush)

I found this great picture of a beetle at M.E. Smirnov - photos of exotic scarab beetles (Scarabaeidae) http://www.zin.ru/animalia/coleoptera/eng/m_smirn6.htm. I chose this particular beetle because of the shiny armor it had. The colors changed a bit when I printed the picture, but I only noticed it when I was done. The aim of this project was to find out if I could use watercolors to imitate the shining and the texture of the shield. Well, it took me few hours, but I was quite happy with the result. Maybe I was even too happy, because I didn't make any background for this cutie. I just decided that it was ready.

First I made a drawing with a pencil and then started adding color layer by layer. I think I made about ten layers for some parts of the shield. So this is perhaps not the best project for an impatient person, but it was a really educational one. Also, my students are always wondering my interest towards insects and they are bored with the bug-related assignments I give them. I think I kind of owed this one for them.

What a Day to Visit a Woodshed!

In a Woodshed (black fine liner, watercolor, waterbrush)

I was visiting my parents few days ago and decided to go outside to paint something, because the weather was quite nice, only a light rain and three degrees Celcius.. Somehow I ended up in a woodshed making a sketch of logs. It was interesting, but as it seemed, possible to draw and paint with your gloves on. I also tried out my new Derwent water brushes that I found the day before. The brushes have their own water container which was very convenient as I was outside without any water source.
I had to work quickly and take a break to warm up, but it was still nice and the end result is ok. The water brushes worked perfectly and I can recommend them to everyone who likes to use watercolors.