Walk On….ballerina style

I was wanting to color-sketch big and when I came across this ballerina “done with practice for the day”, I thought she’d be the perfect candidate. 



Did the watercolor wash first.  Then started in on the slippers…you know the easy stuff!



If you’ve been following me on instagram then this scene won’t be so new to you.



This will give you a perspective as to the size.  30 x 40 inches.  It’s the same brand of illustration board as I used for the Horse.  But I’m having much trouble with the paper.  It seems to not like the watercolor so much.  It’s bumping up on me and it’s flaking off.  I don’t remember that being an issue with the horse! Ugh! 



Stayed with watercolor and w/c pencils as long as humanly possible!  But, the board seems happier when I use colored pencils.



Onto the hands….I seem to “get” the hands when I do them in watercolor.  Watercolor is so pliable, it just adapts better to all those cracks and crevices.



This back is going to be fun!  One minute it’s watercolor time the next it’s colored pencil time.  But they seem to work well with each other….so I’m happy!




The w/c pencils used so far.  All lined up….ready to go!



I just love this ladies attitude!! She’s so confident and cute!  I hope I can do her justice

Warhol….Watered Down

I enjoyed doing the first Warhol style drawing, so I thought I do another.



I wanted to use a different color pallet….jewel tones.  Teals, blues, purples, pinks. 



The initial pink was Way-Too-Strong, so I went in and took a lot of the watercolor pigment off (watered it down).  Which ended up being the plan for the entire picture.



Apply the watercolor strong initially, then take it off.  I liked how the pigment remained dark at the borders.



I ended up putting a lot more detail into the face….which may not have been the best choice.



But it was an interesting choice.




This picture kind of grows on me, if I don’t expect it to look like the original.

Ugly Christmas Sweaters

IF I sent out Christmas cards…..I think this would be the one.



In honor of those Ugly Christmas Sweater days!



I don’t know when I stopped wearing my ugly Christmas sweaters, but I did rack up a few.



I did this all in watercolor by brush. 



We are all missing our eyes here….we appear a little zoombie-ish.



Merry Christmas everyone!

Illustration….Girls

Since I’m in an illustration obsession….I thought I’d draw another one.



The shiny stuff is the masking fluid.



What cracks me up about this drawing is that the head sizes from left to right kept increasing.  The first head (far left) is much smaller than the last one (far right).



Watercolors only allowed.  Plus marker to sharpen those edges.



I was surprised that I liked how the curly hair turned out.  Gotta stay loose when drawing this hair type.



Just fun and colorful!  It won’t win any awards but that’s not the point!

Illustration….in watercolor

Since….I’m kinda likin’ my watercolors-by-brush and I wanted to keep going while I had the momentum.



I thought I’d try some illustration.  What’s nice about fashion illustration is….I don’t have to be so exact and I get to play with colors and clothes!  What more could a girl ask for?



I used the masking fluid again for the flowers on the top and highlights in the hair.



She’s a bit barbie-ish….since her proportions are exaggerated!!



I didn’t know if I’d take to this kind of drawing so I grabbed a piece of cheap drawing paper….not even watercolor paper.  As it turned out it started to buckle up on me.  Next time I may try it in me-moleskine cuz this was fun!

Oscar needs a Background

So….I finished Oscar up with my fine point micron pen.  You know, sharpening those edges. 



Here he is posing with the original.  At first, I thought I’d give Oscar some fingers to hold the phone, but then I forgot….plus…how do you draw dummy fingers?



As I’m learning this whole watercolor-brush stuff….I noticed how the watercolor likes to feather out over the paper if it’s already wet.  I’m trying to duplicate that here but it’s not going as imagined. Good thing I decided to practice on a separate piece of paper instead of on Oscar's.



By the fourth flower petal I decided to put that masking fluid to use, and I applied a grid so that I could go in and apply watercolor without worrying about color overlap. 



Then to make things POP, I outlined with my black marker.



Most people play with their watercolors before they get started on “real” drawings….not a bad idea.  But my gong-ho nature didn’t have patience for that which may have saved me some frustrations!! When I figure this watercolor-brush stuff out….I hope to give Oscar his background

Oscar Poses

He Who Must Not Be Named Oscar was needing some attention.  Since it’s selfie time around here, I got him in on the action.



I used the masking fluid to keep my white highlights from getting colored. Can’t get used to a medium if I don’t use it, so he gets to be brush-watercolored too!



These figures are really good for seeing simple shapes…..cylinders….balls.



Adding layer upon layer. 



I’m trying to remember to use the blow-dryer more between layers.  Hoping it will help when the watercolor gets puddly on me.



Still more to do…..hold that pose Oscar and say cheese!

Selfie…..Warhol-Style

I stopped in at the local art store because I wanted to try some gouache paint. (Similar to watercolor except it’s opaque).  It was suggested that I try this new product, so I bought it.  It’s acrylic so it dries with a satin finish…..and with these 4 colors I get to mix and make any color I want…..well….almost!



I seem to be my most willing subject when inspiration strikes…so off I went to get my main man to get a decent shot.  Then I posterized it.



Then I transferred the image onto 12” x 12” watercolor paper.



Mixed up a red acrylic with the Splash paints and put the yellow on straight.



Then brought in pink and orange.  I exaggerated some of the features with some add-on shapes.  (This looks like I’m applying make-up for Halloween)



Had a lot of fun in this area, changing the shapes and colors for the hair strands.



Used watercolor for a few of the colors here:  Blue, Orange, Pink and the green background…..I did NOT trust my ability to mix the acrylics properly.



When it was dry, I went in with my handy-dandy black XS Faber Castel marker to enhance.

Ta-da…now I have a new selfie…profile pic.  Yikes….and looking at this again, it looks like I have no nose!  I could rename this Voldemort-style!!