Aquabord

Watercolor on Aquabord

Watercolor on Aquabord

After a trip to the arts supply store last week, I have a whole array of new goodies to try out. One of them was Aquaboard by Ampersand. A flat panel made of wood fibers with an absorbent  surface, appropriate for watercolors. I bought a pack of three post-card size panels, just to try the surface. Surprisingly, it handles water very well. You can paint wet-in-wet, wet in dry and dry-brush. It seems to dry slower than watercolor paper, so you have more time before hard edges form. Of course the price is way higher than the best paper, but they say that you can seal the painting and hang it without framing, which could be a great advantage in some cases. I am not sure what can be used for sealing, though, so if you know, please let me know.

The forecast is for a very cold and rainy weekend, but who cares, I still have water-soluble charcoal, graphite and crayons to try out, as well as hot pressed and rough paper. I'm sure you know that feeling...

Portrait

Arches cp, 23 x 28 cm

This was my second and more successful attempt at this and my model approved it after a brief glance. Though, I don't think he noticed the yellows and purples. In fact, I used just a basic palette of Raw sienna, Quin. red and Cerulean for the face, plus Burnt sienna and Ultramarine for the darks. Despite the recommendations to mix the colors on the paper, I found it much easier to produce the darker values by premixing them on the palette. That's  how the purple appeared. I liked it, so I made it the dominant color. I have been realizing lately the way greater significance of value versus color - a text book truth, but you have to reach it on your own, nevertheless...

Simple objects

These sketches are inspired by Judy's post  "From the kitchen...", which reminded me that one doesn't have to paint complex subjects to have fun. The simple objects around the home can do just fine.

Painting my mood

Normally, painting takes my mind away from work. It is an activity quite opposite to my technical profession and helps me keep a balance. Yet, when the stress from office politics and nonsense at work passes a certain level, I loose any desire to paint. Not having painted for days then depresses me more, and the vicious circle feeds itself.
Last weekend I tried to force myself to grab the brushes and I ended up going overboard with squiggling and splatters, producing the crazy flower above. Didn't feel any better though. You can't force a peace of mind.

Finally today I managed to do some productive work and with that came the desire to put paint on paper...
And there is so much to catch up with in blog-space!
 

A walk on the beach

Walk on the beach, arches paper, 38 x 28 cm

The boat, arches paper, 38 x 28 cm