new toys

I love to draw. I have since early childhood. For many years now, I have sketched in an illustrative style, matching colors to whatever objects or scenes I’m trying to depict and trying to make whatever it is look “real”.

But recently I’ve been inspired by the art of Natasha Newton to get out of my comfort zone and try something new. Instead of ink lines and transparent watercolor, use more multi-media — a base of either watercolor or gouache followed by colored pencils or Neocolor II crayons. Maybe a bit more “folksy” in style (if I can break out of my realism tendencies). Not working so much at mixing colors, but using them “straight” (even gouache) and adding a few pencil details on top.

Not sure where I might go with this but I hope to loosen up and have some fun.

The folio palette above shows all the gouache I’ve collected over the years, plus a few recent additions. (One empty pan is waiting for Dick Blick to send the tube of elm green they left out of my order). I’ve played around with gouache over the years but haven’t posted much of it, not sure what I was doing.

The unusual colors in the smaller palette are similar to one in Natasha’s small travel kit, which includes a lot of colored pencils and some fine liners. Four of them, I mixed myself from other paints I already had.