The Blue Mountains

I spent the weekend at Blackheath in the Blue Mountains, and returned to Evan's Lookout to sketch another view of the cliffs looking to the left. The shadows were very strong in the morning, and the sun very hot. Last time I sketched here is was very cold and I did the view to looking more to the right.

(I have another post about sketching in the Blue Mountains here)
This is actually across a double page in my sketchbook but I need to figure out how to 'stitch' photos. It is a smaller study of the view from Pulpit Rock. This sketch was done on a very misty and cold morning. Such temperature changes in one weekend!

Working with pen

I have been working on my on-line watercolour course, adding the painted watercolour swatches to my website and making up dozens of watercolour palettes lately so it has been nice to take a couple of breaks (between all the rain we've had) and do some sketching. With limited time, I drew in pen first. I like to use a fountain pen (Sailor, Lamy or Pilot Falcon) with waterproof ink (De Atramentis Document Black or Archive).

I am very much a pencil first artist - I like to do a pencil layout, then start with pen if I am using it, or watercolour, but that takes more time and ends up being more precise than I wanted. Working directly with pen takes out the setup steps and forces you to work more quickly and arguably more loosely. You end up with a black line drawing, with or without cross-hatching or shading. Adding watercolour becomes a little like filling in the colouring books of childhood. The decisions have already been made. The lines are all there - you just fill in the colour. With a degree of stylisation already in play due to the black lines, a lesser degree of 'realism' is required so adding the colour is much faster.

Neil's garden over a glass of wine in large Canson All Media sketch book.

This is very much an unplanned 'sketch' rather than a finished painting, which was what I set out do do. But does working in pen automatically make a drawing look sketch-like? I spent another hour or so in my own garden, drawing the strelitzias we planted quite some years ago. Having drawn the foreground plant in pen, I chose to brush in the background shapes directly with watercolour without any drawing at all. Once again it is very 'sketchy', but loose and relaxed.

My garden - quick sketch in large Canson media spiral sketchbook.

I was given some lovely flowers yesterday so spent an hour or so doing another quick sketch. Pen first, once again, then quick washes of watercolour. Taking more time over the drawing and less over the painting is really a reverse from my usual more botanical style where lines are hidden or merged under the watercolour washes.

A bouquet sketch. Right hand side of the page
A5 Moleskine watercolour notebook

Flowers in detail (left hand side of spread)
A5 Moleskine watercolour notebook

Then I decided to add some closer studies to the opposite page in the Moleskine sketchbook. I started these in pencil but wanted the 'freedom' of pen lines so switched to my fountain pen.

I don't know if I will try to do a 'finished painting' by drawing straight in with pen, but for sketching I am enjoying the freedom of black lines :-)

Sketching around Sydney

In between teaching my classes and workshops, I have been doing a lot of studies with materials, painting images for the books I am working on and getting out sketching around Sydney most weeks. Here are a few of the sketches I have done in and around Sydney in the last couple of months. More to come.

This was done on Saturday with the Urban Sketchers. I have always love this building and wanted to explore a few different elements on the same page. I started on the right with the lovely arch- ways over the stairs, then moved to the pattern of the floor at the bottom of the page, then moved to the purple stained glass window (and realised I haven't used purple while sketching!) then moved outside to add one of the domes. I added the logo later.

Queen Victoria Building, Sydney, in Canson mixed media spiral.

 This was painted on a gorgeous day at the end of May. It was very difficult to believe Winter was about to arrive.

A gate at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney.

This was painted on the open day at Strickland House. It's a beautiful building in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney on stunning grounds overlooking the harbour. The grounds are open to the public for picnics and so on but it is more rare to be able to go inside.

I did this series of studies of the architectural details inside the house. I was testing out different water soluble inks, pens and pencils and the details were a nice subject.

Architectural details of Strickland House.

I am teaching a workshop on watercolour and plein air sketching at Art Est at the beginning of July and it is always fun to try out materials for classes.

Plein Air Painting Materials - showing full work in progress.

I have painted my favourite art tools in my sketchbook but I thought I'd add more information here and post the photos of the work in progress.

You can use a very limited plein air kit, as I've shown in my previous post and also in another called 'travelling light with watercolour'.

Here I'll show the tools I use when I go out sketching with the Sydney Sketch Club, Urban sketchers, for my own sketching or for my teaching locally or internationally. I never know quite what I may choose to paint or draw so I like to have a good range of materials. Quite daunting to tackle, but as a study rather fun as there are lots of different materials to render - wood, plastic, metal, clear plastic and so on.

Stage one was to lightly draw all the pens and pencils into a double page spread of my A4 Moleskine watercolour notebook. I chose this one as the paper is lovely to work in and I can paint all the materials life size.

While not the most important items, I started with the natural sea sponge, which I like to use for painting vegetation, a regular eraser and a little tube of white opaque watercolour (or gouache) that I have with me for splashing on a bit of sea spray at the beach or touching white highlights to an objects. The pencils are a water-soluble Faber Castell graphite 2B or 4B (Derwent are also good) that is a lovely pencil to use as it blends into a wash with either water or watercolour. Next is a Derwent Inktense Neutral Grey watercolour pencil. I like to use this for quickly adding dark details as it matches my 'Jane's Grey' premixed paint. It creates a more solid and matt dark than the graphite without the graphite 'shine'.

Natural sea sponge, white watercolour, eraser, Faber Castell watersoluble grahite pencil, Derwent inktense pencil.

Here is stage two - my Faber Castell clutch pencil is starting to take shape. 

Next I drew in a white chalk pencil. This one is from Gererals. It is nice for adding white highlights to a finished piece or for creating highlights on painted or tinted paper along with a dark pencil, or dark watercolour, for shadows. 

...Faber Castell clutch pencil and General's White Charcoal Pencil added..

The clutch pencil is now painted in. I like to have a clutch pencil as it doesn't need sharpening. I also have a regular pencil in my tiny travel kit if I want to do extra shading, or the graphite pencil. This is a 0.7 lead and is also nice to write with. I generally write on my sketches with whatever I drew with - pencil on pencil sketches, ink on ink sketches and so on.

Natural sea sponge, white watercolour, eraser, Faber Castell watersoluble grahite pencil, Derwent inktense pencil Faber Castell clutch pencil and General's White Charcoal Pencil.

Now I have drawn in my Lamy pen and painted the Copic cool grey pen. I like to use these when I want a more gentle line rather than a black. It's not easy to find a waterproof grey. This is light but I like it.

...copic pen added...

Now my Lamy Joy is painted in, though not the lid as yet. I have put an EF nib on this and it is lovely to draw or write with. I am using a converter with De Atramentis Archival black ink, which I have tested and found to be waterproof. It also doesn't affect the warranty of the Lamy pen. De Atramentis black Document Ink is also excellent, and may be cheaper in some countries.

I have also painted in another permanent pen - a Sakura Pigma Micron in 0.1. I like to have the option of black, grey or brown line-work, depending what I am drawing. I have started on the nib. I hold each item to draw and paint it in, then put it on the page to see what the shadow does and add that.

...Lamy Joy pen, Sukura Pigma marker and dip pen added...

 I love to use a dip pen with ink or paint. It is a great way to add fine lines and details into a drawing. I use a brush to brush the colour onto the nib and draw away with colour or even white. This has a nice strong Post Office nib.

Now I have added my lovely squirrel mop brush from Rosemary & Co. It carries a lot of water and comes to a fine tip so is a fabulous brush for plein air painting. At this stage I still had my pencil sharpener in the picture but will move it onto another page...or remove it altogether.

Squirrel Quill added.

Now I have added a Pental water-brush. I like these for quick studies with a water-soluble pencil and also for using with my watercolours if I don't have time or space to set up with a water container to use my regular brush. You can see the shadow on the real water-brush sitting in the middle of the page. I use the medium brush size.

..and a Pental water brush

So here they are so far....Lots more to add. :-)

Natural sea sponge, eraser, white watercolour tube, Faber Castell watersoluble grahite pencil, Derwent inktense pencil, Faber Castell clutch pencil, General's White Charcoal Pencil, Lamy Joy pen, Copic Cool Grey pen, Sukura Pigma marker, Squirrel Quill pocket brush, a Pental water brush and dip pen.

Onto the second page. I've added in my lovely Brass watercolour palette from Classicpaintboxes and started to draw some other favourite tools

The very fine eraser is by Tombow and allows really detailed erasing. Not a necessity but very helpful at times. The pen has the gold started and the pencil is gradually coming to life. It's a Palomino pencil - nice and dark and claims to require less effort to use. They come in three tones - the grey is the lightest then Pearl, then the black which is very soft and dark. They also have their own special sharpener! 

Another Lamy pen. I have quite a few of them - three with calligraphy nibs, three in my kit...and a couple more :-) This one has a lovely orange/brown ink - De Atramentis Ochre Yellow - that is not waterproof so will run if washed over with water or watercolour - useful for some purposes. I nearly always use Burnt Sienna so a permanent and a water soluble version of this hue is rather fun for sketching.

Now the pen is nice and dark the the pencil has its first wash of grey. The pen is a Sailor fountain pen with an EF nib. I love writing with it but it is also very nice for drawing. I have it filled with Sailor Nano ink, which is supposed to be waterproof. It seems to be from this fine pen on most paper but has run on occasions. It dries pretty fast. Sailor make the finest of fine nibs, which I really enjoy.

So here is the double page spread. Two more objects to paint in on the left - another travel brush and another Lamy pen so nothing new really. I've added the kneadable eraser here - Faber Castell are the ones I like best.
On the right page I have added another lovely Rosemary & Co travel brush - this is a sable quill, a Porcupine Quill that I use to scratch into a damp wash and to stir paint, a fine scrubber brush from Dick Blick and a travel dagger I asked Rosemary and Co to make - it's a mixture of 50% synthetic and 50% sable hair and a very versatile brush.

And here they are in real life, with the watercolour palette closed, some of the travel brushes put away and the pencil case they all fit in. I also add a ruler and a pencil sharpener but any brand would do of those so they missed out on their portrait! A couple of shadows and a couple more items to paint (can you find them?) and this will be complete. 

Here is the second page in progress. The metallic Lamy pen has a grey ink from de Atramentis called Fog Grey so I have the option of softer line-work than black. This ink is not waterproof so can create interesting effects if a wash is put over the top.

...And here the final brush has been added - the Isabey squirrel quill - this and the Rosemary Squirrel quill are my two most used travel brushes. I have another of these in my tiny kit. I've strengthened the colours in the palette and added the shadow to the kneadable eraser.

 All these materials pack into a pencil case ready to go.

 ...And here it is finished! This will be scanned and available as a limited edition print.

My full Plein air painting kit. From left: Classicbrassboxes Brass palette, Palamino Pencil, Lamy Al-Star Fountain Pen, Isabey squirrel Quill, Lamy Safari fountain pen, Kneadable eraser, Tombow eraser,  Sailor Fountin pen, sea sponge, eraser, white watercolour, Faber Castell watersoluble grahite pencil, Derwent inktense pencil, Faber Castell clutch pencil, General's White Charcoal Pencil, Lamy Joy pen, Copic Cool Grey pen, Sukura Pigma marker, Uniball White rollerball, Squirrel Quill pocket brush, a Pental water brush, dip pen, Sable Quill brush, porcupine quill, scrubber brush and Red Sable travel dagger brush.

Cockatoo Island Sketching

I went back to Cockatoo Island on Saturday to meet the Urban Sketchers after their two day workshop, and did a bit more sketching. I have no idea what these various machines do but they are so interesting to draw. I'll add the ones from January again as well as Saturday's March visit. All done in Moleskine watercolour notebooks, A5 size, with watercolour and some pen.

A rusted structure near the ferry. I love those granulating colours!

This was painted on Saturday. The sky behind us was very threatening but looking towards the bridge was fine.

An abandoned machine in one of the large warehouses.

This was painted on my first trip to the island in January. I love the minimal colour scheme of this view from inside the large warehouse.

Another machine of unknown purpose...

This machine is located out in the open near a bar. I painted this on Saturday and really enjoyed dripping in the rust colour.

The colours on the walls are amazing.

This was painted in January once again in the main warehouse. It was very hot that day so I painted inside. This is a wall with some ladder sections attached.

Another wall in one of the large warehouses.

Painted in January, this is typical of the many buildings that have seen many uses. Doors and windows are often closed in, covered up, repainted or changed in other ways.

I'll keep going back to this interesting place. I am doing some abstract oil paintings of some of the amazing locations.

Travelling light with colour

There are so many ways you can carry some colour with you when you are out and about. Some are so light and slim you can have them with you all the time. Others are more suitable for a planned painting kit. I have a set up for both - a portable kit I keep in my handbag and a more comprehensive kit that I take with my on planned sketching trips or travels. Here are a few ideas...

Coloured pencils - you can have a few coloured pencils with you in a small pencil case. Make them watercolour pencils and take a water-brush and you increase your options immediately.

Use water-colour pencils to make a tiny colour palette in the back of a sketch book on on a separate sheet of watercolour paper. Carry a travel brush or water-brush with you and you can wash in some colour with ease.

• 

  A water-soluable pencil palette

  

  Just a touch of a brush gives you a wash of colour.

  
  

You can buy paper impregnated with colour from Peerless, who have been making their transparent watercolours since 1885! The sheets were originally designed to tint black and white photographs. They can be cut up and stuck onto a paper palette, into a sketch book or a piece of plastic film.

Peerless transparent watercolours made into a palette. The colour has been washed in behind, then plastic contact applied, then the dark Peerless colours pasted on top.



Daniel Smith make 'try it dot' kits with many of their colours. You could make your own tiny palette with a drop or two of your favourite tube watercolours on a sheet of watercolour paper or plastic. Allow to dry and slip it into your sketch book.

Daniel Smith Try It Dots.

Or you can buy or make up small a travel palette with your favourite water-colour paints. Buy the half pans or buy empty pans and fill them from your own tubes.

Pocket palette made in Italy from Arters.com.sg This little cutie is painted black on the outside and has a thumb-ring. It is set up with 12 colours but 15 can be squeezed in with a bit of a fiddle :-)

Tiny hinged tin with 6 full pans.

An Art Basics 12 colour half pan palette with 14 colours and a Pocket Palette with 14 colours, all set up and ready to go.   The one on the left has a thumb-ring on the back. 

Update 21/6/2014: The colours in both of these are my suggested 'ultimate mixing colours' - Buff titanium (Daniel Smith), Hansa Yellow Medium, Quinacridone Gold PO49 (Daniel Smith), Pyrrol Scarlet, Pyrrol Crimson, Quinacridone Rose, Ultramarine, Cerulean Chromium PB36, Phthalo Blue GS, Goethite (Daniel Smith), Burnt Sienna PBr7, Raw Umber PBr7 and Jane's Grey, which is a custom mix of Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine. You can see this palette painted out on my website here. Available for AU$65 plus shipping if you want one from me filled with artist quality colours.

Small tin with 12 half pans.

There are a number of other small portable palettes for watercolour, or you could have one hand-made in brass like this one - my travel palette, which is lacquered brass and has a thumb-ring on the other side

 

There are so many ways to get some colour into your sketches and still travel light. 

Happy sketching!

Black Sketch Books 2 - Stillman & Birn

My collection of black books.

Stillman & Birn

My previous post in this series was about Moleskine Watercolour Notebooks which you can find here. Here I'll look at the sketchbooks am papers I have tried more recently from Stillman and Birn.  These come in a range of sizes, paper weights, paper colour and binding styles and are known as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon and Zeta. You can see the whole range on their website here. 

Some of the Stillman and Birn range from their website http://www.stillmanandbirn.com/

It is a great range of books with something for everyone. This chart from their website is very helpful as it shows the weight, colour, surface and intended use of each book in the range. It can be found here.

The characteristics of Stillman & Birn sketchbooks from their website http://www.stillmanandbirn.com/specs.html

Unlike many of the books available these days, Stillman & Birn books do not have an elastic strap to hold them closed, or a pocket in the back to hold extra pieces of paper. Or a pen holder. If you want these features you need to add them yourself.

Pocket Alpha, Landscape Alpha and
square spiral bound Beta books.

The Book on the left is my Pocket Alpha 4" x 6". Alpha is white paper that is very versatile. It calls itself a 'dry media, light wash and ink' paper but takes even heavier washes surprisingly well, is nice to draw on and being 150gsm paper you get a lot of pages in each book. I use this hard bound portrait format pocket version as my sketch/notes/colour play book that I keep with me all the time.

Watercolour sketch from a cafe window in an Alpha pocket notebook

The second book in the photo is the larger landscape version that I enjoy to test out colours in my studio and for pen and wash or pencil and wash sketches and quick studies. It is slightly larger than the 'Large Moleskine'. I don't use it for more serious paintings, but one could. It's a fabulous paper and I really like it's versatility. Below are scans of two pages from this book.

Watercolour sketch of a statue in an Alpha 9" x 6"
landscape format sketchbook 

Samples of watercolour testing a range of Burnt Sienna and Indian Red varieties in my Alpha 9" x 6" landscape format sketchbook.

Notice that the watercolour washes are quite strong but there is not a lot of buckling. However, there is some degree of show-thorough so I certainly wouldn't paint serious sketches on both sides of the paper. Paint on one side, writing on the other is perfect. There are a range of sketch books available in the Alpha as shown here.

The two books on the right in the photo at the beginning of this post are Beta square 7" spiral bound. Beta books are made with heavier 270gms paper so there are less pages in each book than the Alpha. Each page can certainly be painted on both sides. So far it is not available in my favourite hard bound landscape format, but it is in either hard bound or spiral bound versions in a range of sizes as you can see here. It is lovely paper to paint on and though not smooth it also works well for pencil and ink drawing or writing. 

Painted swatches on both sides of the paper in a Stillman & Birn Beta 7" spiral bound sketchbook.

The Gamma is the same 150 gsm paper as the Alpha but in ivory. I haven't used a book in this range yet as I prefer white paper so far. I do have a pocket version waiting though...I have tested the paper and it works beautifully for its designed use for 'dry media, light wash and ink' and is really lovely. I tested a yellow and Buff Titanium on each sheet to see how well they showed up and there isn't a problem. 

S&B Gamma paper test

S&B Gamma paper test - back with wet wash.

The Delta is 270gsm Ivory paper. The same characteristics as the Beta but in Ivory. Once again, I have tested the paper but not used it in a book. I really love the paper, but am not sure about the slight ivory tint for my own work - perhaps just for warm scenes without any white? It is a very soft Ivory by the way, not a strong tone.

S&B Delta paper test - back with wet wash

S&B Delta paper test

Epsilon is Smooth white 150 gsm and Zeta is smooth white 270 gsm. These are also lovely papers, but I seem to recall they took a long time to dry. I haven't used them in a book as yet...I'd suggest these would suit those who like to write a lot of text as well as and draw/paint, or simply those who want a smoother surface. I always prefer a medium surface as I find the granulation of watercolour shows up more. For pure drawing and line work these are great and simply gorgeous for pencil.

Stillman & Birn Epsilon series test sheet

S&B Epsilon series test sheet back with wet wash

Stillman & Birn Zeta paper test sheet.

S&B Zeta test sheet back with wet wash

To be complete, I'll show my tests of the Alpha and Beta papers here too. This is the Alpha paper again. It really is quite special - some buckle but remarkably little for a relatively thin paper. Colours look bright - brighter than the smooth papers? Or am I imagining it?

S&B Alpha test sheet back with wet wash

Stillman & Birn Alpha test sheet

...and this is the Beta. Great paper that takes watercolour really well on both sides of the paper. Also fine for pen and other line work but not a smooth as the Zeta and Epsilon.

Stillman & Birn Best test sheet.

S&B Beta test sheet, back with wet wash

So something for everyone in this wonderful range of sketchbooks. 

Next up - other sketchbooks I've tried, though I think the Moleskine and Stillman and Birn are probably the most universally available. Make sure you try the Book Depository if you can't find them near where you are.