It’s Good Friday, a holiday that allows me to dedicate fully to my art. It’s been a few days I’ve been thinking about what to draw for Easter this year. I am still practicing my watercolour on a 300g paper. As you might know, when you are starting in a new venture, it’s always good to have references. However, I have a problem with a particular type of reference – when you have a photo at your side and you start from it. If I do that, I get glued. What do I mean? I mean that I want to reproduce exactly what the reference is showing me. What happens with my creativity? It becomes practically destroyed. Therefore, when I come with a project, I always think of a story, scene first. Then I look for references of type of shadows I might have to use, direction of a light depending on the objects I will use.
Imagining the scene for this Easter
This time I kept thinking of how nature presents itself simply and majestic to us. The days are getting longer, some flowers start appearing in the ground and the trees are still showing us their brown leaves. With this thought, an image and thought formed in my mind. I would have a tree with some leaves. These leaves would be coloured – representing the arrival of spring. I thought of nests on the trees representing life with eggs. But I went one step further. I would have Easter eggs hanging from the tree, and one or two of them matured in the ground! The idea was settled!!
Illustration and watercolour
As a beginner in the world of painting, I am using watercolour pencils for my illustrations. I start with a sketch, followed by colouring in with the pencils, as if I was just colouring a drawing. Once this is step is done, I use thin and medium brushes to dab as little water as possible on the colouring, so I don’t wash the colours too much. Easy? No! You have to get used with it. Don’t forget a paper towel, your best friend to control the amount of water in the brushes. The brushes I use are Pentel Aquash Water Brush Pens. No mess involved and I can take them everywhere when I want. With these, attention should be taken with the pressure you apply for the water to reach the brush’ hairs. Again, practice and paper tower are your best friends. As I was doing this illustration at home, I didn’t fill the brushes this time with water. I just dabbed them in a small container with water.
The process was simple: colouring, painting with water over it, blending from lighter to darker areas, drying, colouring again where I wanted more colour coming up, and last but not least, dabbing the tip of the pencil directly into the water in order to bring strong coloured details in the picture.
The feeling of creating a painting in a watercolour paper – Winsor & Newton, 300g/m2, 30% cotton acid free – is fabulous. Nothing better to ‘taste’ a real medium. While digital painting is fun as well where you can ‘feel’ the brushes too, the challenges and expectations are different. What is more interesting and better for your soul? Meeting a friend in person or online? I will leave it for you to answer! 🙂
And the final result of an Easter illustration representing the beauty of a simple life. Happy peaceful Easter!
Leave a reply