Hi Everyone! Have you been doing any sketching this spring? I challenged myself at the beginning of the month to try to sketch every day in May. It has been way too long since I made time for a regular daily sketching habit. I felt a need to reconnect with what I really love, and I figured it would be good preparation for all the sketching I’ll be doing when I teach in England in early June.
So, I’ve been sketching every day in an 9″ x 9″ Aquabee Super Deluxe sketchbook. The paper in it is only 93 lb., so it doesn’t handle watercolor like a heavier paper would, but I like the square format and the 9 x 9 size and the fact that it’s reasonably priced and doesn’t feel too precious. It let’s me feel free to play around without trying to make something great.
My intention with this project has been to try new tools, materials, and techniques. For Day 1, I did an ambitious painting of a bouquet of flowers my husband gave me. I tried painting first instead of using my usual technique of drawing with ink first. Here’s what the painting looked like with watercolor only…
and with ink lines added…
and, finally, with darker values and a bit more detailing.
When I was finished, I decided that it probably looked better without the ink lines. It taught me a lesson: I need to branch out and do more sketches with a foundational pencil drawing instead of always relying on ink lines. Experimenting with this technique and scanning each step so I could compare the images was instructive.
Since then, I’ve been keeping the daily sketches simpler to limit the time commitment. I want to figure how to sketch each day without having it become a burden, or just another thing to check off my endless to-do list.
For a continuous line drawing, you pick a place to start and keep drawing until the sketch is complete, without ever lifting your pen from the paper.
On Day 3, I drew a landscape using water-soluble ink (Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses) and used a paint brush loaded with water to drag and soften the lines. This is such a quick and easy technique, and I like the results it gives. It takes much less time than painting an entire picture with watercolor, but you can get a nice range of values.
Day 4’s sketch shows one of the sights we’ll be sketching on my workshop tour to Giverny in 2025. It’s an old mill built in the 16th century. I did a continuous line drawing of it using DeAtramentis Document Orange ink in a bent-nib Sailor Fude pen. Fun, fun, fun!
It’s planting time here in PA, so on Day 5 I sketched a 4-pack of zinnias waiting to be planted in my garden. I used a set of Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour Pencils and a water brush.
I struggled a lot with this sketch. I don’t enjoy the watercolor pencils at all. The whole time I was using them, I kept thinking how much easier it would be to just paint the drawing with watercolors. The pencils are time-consuming to use, and I don’t like the splotchy results.
I do enjoy doing a contour line drawing with watercolor pencils and then painting over it with watercolors. It gives a softer look to a sketch than ink lines do. But every time I’ve tried using them for overall color, I’ve been unhappy with them.
What has your experience been with watercolor pencils? Do you like them? Hate them? Is there a technique to using them that I haven’t figured out yet? Leave a comment below and let me know.
5 Comments
Yes! It’s a love hate relationship with watercolor pencils. I like them for travel. I don’t like them for drawing when they don’t blend in. Whe I don’t use them for a long time I forget which ones don’t blend.
Hi Leslie,
Thank you for the inspiration, encouragement and all your tips and techniques!
❤️ Beverlee
I love this post.
I totally agree with you on using watercolor pencils.
Joanne
Some brands of wc pencils are splotchy. The best ones I’ve found are Staedtler Norris Club – and very inexpensive! They have more pigment than some of the expensive ones. However, it’s much quicker to use paint than change pencils all the time!
When I started sketching in 2019, I thought colored pencils and water-soluble colored pencils would be my focus. So, like many novices who jump in without instruction, I bought an array of brands in various cost and quality brackets!! As you mentioned, I had splotchy inconsistent lines with the watercolor pencils and I got frustrated. Thankfully, someone in a Facebook group suggested I try using watercolors instead and that was such a game-changer!! Only in the past year or so have I combined the two (occasionally), and that was another game-changer!! Thru it all, I am learning and having FUN!!