Month: January 2022

This was mostly sap green, cadmium yellow and ultramarine, with touches of black in the shadows. Again, I’m just mixing the colour on the paper, wet in wet.

This is another sketch for a painting, but with a more challenging subject.

Those wash studies I did a few days ago have really helped me control the paint and I felt this was a step forward in terms of simplicity. I misjudged the tones on the right-hand side, but that was a flaw in observation rather than technique.

I practised the tone gradation and adding touches of green and vermilion.

I’m trying to choose simple subjects to test my ability to apply washes in gradients, without overworking the paint.

I liked this wet in wet approach, and it even worked on this print paper. It gave a smooth, soft transition. Again, controlling the amount of water on the brush is crucial. It’s surprising how little you need after the first wash.

This time I controlled (1) the amount of water on the brush and (2) the amount of paint on the brush. I’ve concluded it’s vital to have something to dry the brush on, like a paper towel. That’s as vital as water.

Again, I messed up with the wash. I kept going over it to get the tone right. I wasn’t in control, so I have to learn how to control the tone better so I just go over the paper once.

I had a struggle matching the red, but finally decided alazarin crimson and vermilion came close.

Another sketch preparing for a painting.