I’ve been experimenting with my new paints… and I’m in love with quinacridone magenta!
Today’s Shoot it, Sketch it is all about colour and texture. The subject is something I sketched a few years ago (see below). The original photo is even older (2004 is not a typo). Just for fun, I used the sketch of the photo (rather than the photo) as my reference.
This week’s Shoot it, Sketch it photograph was taken around the corner from our house last autumn. You can just make out the curve of the little footbridge in the blurry distance. Is it just me or does the light shining through the willows look like fairylights?
The short story ~ the sketch is an ink and watercolour painting that has been altered using a kind of digital-resist effect (a combination of Photoshop filters that mimic the wax-resist technique used in making batik).
The long story ~ I’m going through an experimental phase. I’m curious to see what happens when I venture out of my comfort zone (ink drawings with lots of fiddly details and carefully considered watercolour and acrylic paintings) — I want to explore different ways of seeing things and be less concerned about the end result. What if…? That’s what happened in A trip down memory lane and it’s what happened here. Smartlea Street Bridge began as an ink and watercolour sketch which I then drew over with a brush pen to thicken the lines and make some areas inky black. The final image was created in Photoshop by inverting a scanned copy of the painting and applying various filters. The batik effect was discovered through trial and error.
Being out of my comfort zone does have one little drawback — it’s not very comfortable. I’m having to resist the urge to edit the light and dark areas to make them look more like the original photo. But so far, so good…
I was looking for photographs to put on my new portfolio site over the weekend when I came across an image I’d completely forgotten about. It’s a picture of Press Lane in central Christchurch taken a few months before the September 2010 earthquake.
I wish it wasn’t quite so hard to tell what the image is (you’re looking over a flower box, down the lane and seeing the buildings in the next street). My husband took a long, hard look at it and announced that I had drawn a kitchen ― and I can see it too now! It was still an interesting exercise… putting my own spin on the out-of-focus shapes and shadows.
The sketch is mainly ink and watercolour with touches of gouache and graphite. I’m not sure what the splash of orange is at the top (I’m sure the building wasn’t on fire) but it was in the photo, so it’s in the sketch : )
Today is my blog’s first anniversary. Yes, it’s been a whole year since my first post. A little retrospective seems in order.
Here are my top ten posts based on your likes and comments. It’s interesting to see what made the list and what didn’t.
Of all the things I’ve drawn, painted and designed over the last year, the little sparrow watercolour (below) — which didn’t make it into the top ten — is my personal favourite : )
Thank you all for your interest in this blog and for liking what I do.
I enjoyed a little sketchbook time while away on holiday last month and thought I’d use one of the pages for this week’s Shoot it, Sketch it ― although it’s really a Sketch it, Shoot it. The drawing I originally planned to post today is still a long way from being finished. Why, oh why do I tackle such complicated illustrations? You’ll see what I mean next week.
Also taking part in Shoot it, Sketch it are Clouds of Colour, The Little Leaf, Lunch Sketch, Poppytump, Two Scamps, Baaps and 30 Minute Art.
This is my second sketch based on photos I took on my way to LUXcity in Christchurch last year. It is the companion piece to City Lights. The end result is not quite what I had in mind when I started sketching. It’s full of unexpected outcomes — and I’m okay with that.
Other bloggers taking part in Shoot it, Sketch it are Clouds of Colour, The Little Leaf, Lunch Sketch, Poppytump, Two Scamps, Breana and 30 Minute Art.
Anna Cull ~ Art & Music 