A watercolour sketch I painted in my Moleskin journal 29 x 21 cm. I really want to do a sketch a day, but it is so hard when work and life get in the way. I had a tooth removed yesterday, a good example of life’s little distractions that slow my progress in becoming a master of watercolour!
I’ve been busy doing other things than art recently like watching my son graduate and helping him move back to Stockholm after 3 years in Karlskrona. I’m working this week but yesterday was Sweden’s national day so I had the day off which meant I could watercolour! 🙂
I hadn’t painted for a week so in order to get going I painted this sketch of Stockholm’s town hall called “Stadshuset” in Swedish. I think it’s a very beautiful building so I have sketched many times and I probably will continue to do so in the future.
While I was painting yesterday, I filmed it using a GoPro camera. I bought one secondhand last year and have found it hard to start filming with it. I think it is like everything that requires some learning, the first step is the hardest. But now I have taken that first important step and I have ambitions to publish short films of myself while I paint watercolours. I am currently studying how to edit using Premiere Pro, so much to learn; one step at a time David, one step at a time.
The sketch was painted in a Moleskin watercolour journal. The paper quality sucks but if forces me to adapt which isn’t a bad thing.
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I don’t always achieve it but I do try to do a watercolour sketch everyday. This was painted late one night last week in my Moleskin watercolour journal. The paper is inferior compared to Arches but it forces me to experiment which I like. The great thing about sketches is that you can be free to play around, no pressure compared to an exhibition piece.
Today I studied Sergey Temerev’s cloud painting techniques on YouTube. I also did a sketch of a painting that I will start in the morning. Painting in a Moleskin sketchbook is difficult when you are used to good quality paper like Arches, but it’s a sketchbook which means I am not too concerned. The most important thing is to play and experiment with composition and pigment.
I’ve started a new Sketchbook. I find it very useful when I take breaks from the watercolours that I am producing for my upcoming exhibition. To be able to just relax and sketch whatever for an hour is so beneficial when one is under pressure. I now start each artist day with a watercolour sketch to get me into the groove of painting.
Format: Moleskin 29.5 x 20.5 cm
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