“Watercolorful” June 28, 2020
Watercolor is a medium of choice for many urban sketchers around the world. It is portable, expressive, versatile, moody, beautiful and alive. In this episode we sing an ode to watercolor for allowing us to express ourselves in different ways while drawing on location.
Джейн Бланделл
Джейн Бланделл, who our host calls “The Watercolor Scientist,” joined us from Sydney, Australia, to discuss her immense knowledge of watercolor pigments. Jane began working with watercolor as a teenager. She describes her first experiences with it as feeling “like a language I understood.” When she talks about watercolor, she describes it as a friend and something she has had a long relationship with.
As we viewed Jane’s sketches of botanicals and of scenes from all over Australia, she told us that she tries to match colors that she sees using pigments in her palette. For shadows, she mixes the opposite color or adds Jane’s Grey, a Daniel Smith color that she created with a specific mix of burnt sienna and ultramarine blue. She explained the differences in some of these pigments and the importance of getting to know your palette really well.
Challenge from Jane
Jane’s challenge naturally focuses on color. She says to simplify your color mixing and harmonize your urban sketches with earth triads. With an earthy red, yellow, and blue, you can still mix a range of colors. Explore what you can with it and see what you can do.
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Reham Ali
Reham Ali, originally from Alexandria, Egypt, joined us from Saudi Arabia where she teaches interior design. Rob described Reham’s watercolor sketches as passionate and expressive, but Reham described her style as messy, which a lot of us can relate to. She started using watercolor about five years ago because of its convenience for moving back and forth from Egypt and Saudi Arabia, having primarily used oils and acrylics before that.
She’s drawn to older areas, “messy” areas, and is known for sketching balconies and even for sketching laundry. Her style is expressive, but she says all of her sketches depend on one simple element: shadows. She begins by finding a focal point for her sketch, then draws in the shape of the shadows. After that, she says, everything falls into place.
Challenge from Reham
Reham’s challenge, Go with the Flow, focuses on water. Use a big brush to create a loose, bold wash, allowing the colors to bloom and flow. Follow that with quick line work on damp paper, and finish with touch-ups when dry.
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