Tag: Watercolour

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Sketch Uncategorized Watercolour

Folkboat

Moleskin watercolour sketch of Folkboat by David Meldrum
Moleskin watercolour sketch of Folkboat

I love the design of these scandinavian pearls called Nordic Folkboats.
A friend of mine owned one and I sailed it a number of times, it is a beautiful boat to sail, the only negative was that it felt cramped when camping out in the archipelago. I painted these two sketches in my Moleskin journal (29 x 21 cm). Special thanks to Erik Lähteenmäki for the inspiring reference photos of a Folkboat regatta in Finland.
I plan to paint a few large format watercolours featuring these classic boats in the coming weeks.

Moleskin watercolour sketch 29 x 21 cm by David Meldrum
Moleskin watercolour sketch 29 x 21 cm
Categories
Watercolour

Building a bridge

Djurgårdsbron
Djurgårdsbron

Djurgårdsbron is at the entrance to Djurgården which is a royal island close to the city center here in Stockholm. There are many museums, walks and even an amusement park. I definitely recommend you to visit if you are in Sweden’s capital city.
A friend of mine, Susanna Janfalk published a photo on her Instagram account and I felt very inspired to try and paint it when I saw it. I asked for permission and then set about drawing some sketches initially and then finally I did the final watercolour which you see here.

On seeing the painting my friend immediately wanted to buy the watercolour. Business is good when I sell paintings fresh off my desk!

There is no point in replicating a photograph as a watercolourist, this is why I sketch first. I want to find out – what is important and what can I take out, I am trying to make an interesting composition. A bridge between the reality of a photo and the execution of a watercolour.

Moleskin watercolour sketch 28 x 21 cm of Djurgårdsbron, Stockholm
Moleskin watercolour sketch 28 x 21 cm
A5 pencil sketchof Djurgårdsbron, Stockholm
A5 pencil sketch
Original photo by Susanna Janfalk
Original photo by Susanna Janfalk
Categories
figure drawing My Life Drawing Nude Sketch Watercolour

Sunday fun

Watercolour nude by David Meldrum
Watercolour nude

Sunday fun and a little extra work Monday morning hence the date on the painting being the 5th of Februari. I enjoyed the long – one pose session at konstnärshuset last Sunday. The model (Sofie) was excellent and stayed perfectly still throughout. I am so looking forward to having her at Meldrum Kroki very soon, she is very popular with the local life drawing tribe.

I love the power of the internet, it looks as though this particular watercolour has a buyer already, always nice to make a sale.

Click image below for larger size.

Watercolour nude by David Meldrum
Watercolour nude
Categories
Portrait Sketch Watercolour

Portrait practice

Meldrum portrait practice
Meldrum portrait practice

I painted a portrait last weekend and it wasn’t very good. I needed to practice. A friend of mine tipped me about an app for the iPhone called Sktchy. People upload there selfie portraits and artists paint them if they find them interesting. It’s a great copyright free resource for artists. I used the app for the first time yesterday. I have no idea who the dude is.

Arches 27 x 37 cm

Meldrum portrait practice
Meldrum portrait practice
Categories
art figure drawing My Life Drawing Nude Nudes Sketch Watercolour

Nude study

Meldrum - watercolour nude study - original reference by Eugenia Kirikova
Meldrum - watercolour nude study - original reference by Eugenia Kirikova

I found a lovely image on Tumblr that inspired me to paint. The original photo was taken by Russian photographer Eugenia Kirikova.
I am trying to paint more nudes and portraits on a daily basis. The more we paint the better we get!

Arches rough watercolour paper, 27 x 37 cm

Click thumbnail below for larger image.

Meldrum - watercolour nude study - original reference by Eugenia Kirikova
Meldrum – watercolour nude study – original reference by Eugenia Kirikova
Categories
Sketch Watercolour

Sandhamn – sketch #3

Dog approaching Sandhamn beach
Dog approaching Sandhamn beach

This was a fun sketch to do. I didn’t take me long and I am happy with the result. I will definitely paint a finished version of it in the future. I am obsessed with capturing the light, I think there is nothing more beautiful than the rays of sunshine.

Click thumbnail for larger image

Rusty approaching Sandhamn beach
Rusty approaching Sandhamn beach
Categories
Sketch Watercolour

Sandhamn – sketch #2

Sandhamn radar reflector beacon
Sandhamn radar reflector beacon

This is a radar reflector beacon on the island of Sandhamn in the Stockholm archipelago. Not easy to guess what it is I know. It was such a strange object to approach on the lonely windswept beach, a little spooky – cold metal with sharp, angular form.
The sketch is about A5 in size and painted in my Moleskin watercolour journal.

Click the thumbnail below to see it full-size image

Sandhamn radar reflector beacon
Sandhamn radar reflector beacon
Categories
David Meldrum Watercolour

Looking forward to 2018

David Meldrum
David Meldrum

Yes, I am looking forward to 2018. I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited about the start of a new calendar year. The 31st of December at the stroke of midnight I become a full time artist! I am a little nervous about it but it is nothing compared to the exhilaration I feel, the passion I have for my new career as an artist.

5 year plan
5 year plan

I came up with a 5-year plan exactly 5 years ago. The plan was simple as you can see on my amazing slick graph, my art career was to grow and my web designer career was to decline. To my surprise it has come true and was totally on schedule, amazing!

My plan for 2018 is to start a company and paint like crazy for the first 3 months. I will be developing “Meldrum Kroki” my life drawing sessions that I started back in October. I will also try my hand at producing weekly video vlogs plus painting tutorials or demonstrations. I think that’s enough to keep my self busy.

It’s going to be a fun year in 2018, really looking forward to it.

Happy New Year folks!

 

Categories
Sketch Watercolour

New year celebrations

Donaghadee
Donaghadee sketch final stage

I finished this sketch of Donaghadee harbour today. I actually started the sketch while in Ireland a couple of weeks back.
My last sketch of 2017. I am so looking forward to the new year. Tomorrow I will be a full-time artist!
I have included a few earlier version of the sketch, I know some of you are interested in seeing how I paint. Saunders watercolour paper 38 x 28 sketchbook.
Happy New Year everyone! 😀

Donaghadee sketch final stage
Donaghadee sketch 2nd stage
Donaghadee sketch 1st stage