We had plans to deliver, so they went first. But in the name of mixing subjects, I’m posting the watercolors first. It breaks up the constant flow of landscape drawings with Something Different. Besides, techniques used in watercolors transfer very well into techniques for rendering landscape illustrations
The paintings were done on cold press watercolor paper using synthetic brushes of various types.
Paints are mostly from Daniel Smith (http://danielsmith.com/) with some M. Graham (https://mgraham.com/) – my favorite brands.
Some people use traditional sable brushes (another word for “mink”. Since these were paint brushes, I hoped that they just kept the minks in a nice warm home and shaved them for the fur from time to time. Then I thought, “not likely!”.
Apologies to all computer geeks, but an Apple Pencil cannot replace paper, a brush and the act of mixing water and pigments. The feel is lost, digital brushes don’t really simulate real brushes, and watercolors self organize into wonderful things if guided correctly. They move, they granulate, they create textures, they evolve from wet to dry.
That’s too much to ask for a couple of APIs and some subroutines! Although I use an iPad for illustration, none of the apps I’ve found really looks and feels like watercolor.
One more thing…
If you’re following our art blog, this will look familiar. Only the text was changed.