This morning I was reading a book and a quote caught my eye . . . which gave me the inspiration for this watercolor sketch. I did the sky quickly, wet-on-wet, and tipped the sketchbook to allow the storm clouds to run — but it did not turn out like I envisioned in my head.
The quote is hard to read against the water (it dried darker than expected); it says:
“Furious winds often drive the vessel more swiftly into port.” -- Charles Spurgeon
And just because I am missing my fountain pens, I did these bluebell ‘doodles’ in my small Field Notes memo book.
The water looks good. What would you have done differently, now? The ratio or combo of pigments? The amount of water? Would lifting some shading out of the dark cloud work?
ReplyDeleteMostly I wanted the storm cloud to be more diagonal across the sky but even though I tipped the paper, it only wanted to flow one way. The lower sky was a pale earthy raw sienna color, which I wanted to show through, but both that and some lighter clouds on the right were lost.
DeleteAlso, I wanted the lower right corner light enough for the quote to show up but it got dark and stayed that way. I was afraid to try to lift the color and ruin everything.
Oh. Watercolor seems to take so much practice. If you really want to improve, you have to get beyond illustrated journaling and be willing to “waste” paint and paper, it seems. That’s so hard for me.
DeleteSounds like excellent advise but you are right, it also seems hard! Illustrated journaling is a safe zone for me.
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