The Quicksilver Workaholic

mood: busy

Rags in Watercolor Pencil, originally uploaded by Cathy (Kate) Johnson.

I had fun with this one yesterday...I wanted a freer, fresher effect than I sometimes get with watercolor pencils (let's face it, a pencil point is a good deal narrower than a nice wash-filled 1" brush!). This time I did quite a bit of blending with clear water on the cat herself, then made scribbles of blue gray and black in the background to suggest the dark cave on top of my computer that's her favorite napping spot.

I used plenty of water to blend that area, then dripped more water in from the tip of my flat Niji waterbrush after running it over the tip of an ultramarine pencil to add more cool color.

I let this fall into the background and blend spontaneously, too. Then I tipped the paper to encourage runs, and finally spattered three different colors into the wet wash and the area to the lower right, by flicking color from the tip of a pencil with a round Aquash waterbrush.

Any brand would do, of course...I'm just playing with this one since it's new! A regular watercolor brush dipped in clear water works just fine, as well. 

(I finally got around to updating the art supplies section of my Books and More online shop so I have reviews on that section, too, and recommendations of watercolor pencils and waterbrushes--couldn't find the Aquash there, though!)

I was using Strathmore paper, which has a good tough surface, a Derwent Blue Gray watercolor pencil (that's a necessity in my kit!), and Faber Castell's Albrecht Durer Burnt Sienna, Black, Walnut Brown, Ultramarine, and some pale pink for the ears and nose.

Click on the image, if you like, for lots more notes on technique!
 

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And I decided to try to find a new home--for the painting, not Rags!--she's on my gallery blog, Cathy Johnson's Fine Art Galleries, here --I guess you'll need to look for the entry for Friday, May 29, if you look at this post later, I couldn't figure out how to link directly...