More pages from Kate Johnson’s Watercolour Pencil class…

Jack’s back!!!
Just when you thought I would stop copying Jack Hamm… I have got out another of his books. This one is Landscape and Scenery and is brilliant!!!

A quick sketch practicing my new watercolour pencil techniques. I am trying to work out how to get the wonderful mix of wash and texture and end up with the colours I want. It is so much fun to try something different but it is a real struggle not to reach for my ink pen…

These are the 2 of the so called ’12’ apostles on the Victorian coast that are separate from the main group and we saw them from the beach – wonderful! Sketched from a photo taken from a visit to Vic in Dec 2006.

First attempt outside on a bleak (almost) winter’s afternoon standing up and having all kind of fun balancing my pencils and putting far too much pencil colour down which exploded into a riot of colour when I added the water…I was also interrupted by the arrival of my nephews
Don’t you love the way, I talk to myself in my journal… surely it is not a sign of madness?!?

A more controlled attempt… but still very colourful!
I am trying to mix colours but find it extremely hard to predict what it is going to turn out like.

Test Landscape

This was really just a doodle/large thumbnail that I did before going to bed (often do this) and kept going with….

Unfortunately I did the outlines of the distant hills in the blue with too much pressure and a bit afraid of trying to lift it anymore. I was testing out different textures and how to fade them to a achieve perspective…just got to work on fading the pressure now!

This exercise proved to myself that you can do a landscape without touching a green pencil!!!! After all these are the ‘blue mountains’

I think I will try this again with only 3 muted primaries…though I am getting a new addiction to that dark indigo pencil…. want to look at the use of shadows too. If I used ochre rather than cad yellow the greens would have looked more Australian!

I have tried to sketch from this photo MANY times and most times unsuccessful…so happy with this! more of the history of this view later as there is an exciting story attached with the first time!

I really must get to work (Tues am for me) but WC pencils are definitely more fun!