Sketching on location. And experimenting with media.

Hello again;

If you’ve read some of my recent posts you’ll be familiar with my search.

It started with an experiment to use liquid watercolours on location. It carried on for some more weeks and I learned a few things:

Pentel color brush pens aren’t suitable for sketching on location (not in UK weather): They take too long to dry.

Inktense watersoluble pencils don’t produce strong vibrant colours. Well, they do if you use them directly on the paper. But not if you pick them with a waterbrush from a palette. Also, if you use them directly on paper they will leave pencil marks after washing.

Watercolour pencils behave similarly to Inktense watersoluble pencils, although they can wash better and not leave pencil marks. They can also leave some build-up of pigment if used too thickly.

Ecoline watercolour brush markers can produce strong vibrant colours if applied directly to paper. If you want to use a palette, though, the vibrancy reduces considerably. They are quite chunky so I find them too bulky for my my sketching bag.

Cheap colour markers can be used quite successfully on palette and produce a similar result to watercolours. I have no idea how long the sketches will last before fading, though.

Berol brush tip markers can be used on palette. Once dried out they can also be refilled with liquid watercolour and used as a slimmer version of Ecoline watercolour brush markers. I love their chunky brush tip.

Pitt artist pigment brush pens are quite light, small, vibrant enough… They also are artist quality, fade-resistant, waterproof when dry, etc… But they share the fate of Ecoline and other colour markers: the colour looks pale when applied from palette and can also look too flat.

Maybe the problem is not the products I’ve tried.

Maybe the problem is that I’m trying to find something too versatile: something convenient to carry with me without bulk or weight, that will suit my sketching in short sessions in any weather and will produce vibrant colours on recycled papers of different qualities…

Maybe it doesn’t exist yet?

I don’t know. In the meantime, though, the search has motivated me to keep drawing and I’ve filled a few sketchbooks.

These are some of my new sketches:

mail box in Sydenham Avenue — Using watercolour and Inktense pencils. I wanted stronger colours and felt the tone looked bitty… although I like it better some time later.

detail of dinosaur head at Crystal Palace park — Ecoline brush pens. The tones looked flat. I tried to add variety with small strokes of different shades, waiting for the paper to dry somewhat in between.

detail of facade of St Bartholomew's church, Sydenham

Ecoline brush pens and watersoluble pencils.

detail of toys and digital tablet, unfinished. — Here I used Ecoline pen directly on the paper to add vibrancy to the red picked up from the palette. I did the same with the yellow.

detail of facade of Wesley Hall, Sydenham — Here I used Hydrus liquid watercolours inside a waterbrush. I didn’t like the process as the paint flicked everywhere.

sketch of church in Penge using colour markers. — church in Penge

detail of tree and houses at roundabout in Sydenham Avenue — Using Inktense pencil for the tree , hoping it would add some texture. The paper quickly dampened as it was a cold day.

Using Ecoline brush pen and black pen for line and shadows.

public phone box in Lewisham — Using two shades of red Ecoline watercolour pens. I didn’t like the ‘flatness’ of the result, and missed the texture that pigment can offer in pencil media.

Inktense pencil. I drew this from my window. I used a dense wash to achieve a dark tone quickly. The result is cumbersome. I probably should have waited and tried with several layers

dinosaur at Crystal Palace park — Watercolour and inktense pencils. I felt this dinosaur lacked vibrancy. It prompted me to start experimenting with Pentel color brushes etc.

It’s been quite a few weeks of searching, experimenting, searching again… But it has been fun, I’ve learned a few things, and it has forced me to be creative with whatever products I already own.

I have quite a few more sketches to share yet, but for now I think these will suffice.

Thanks for reading this and … see you again soon.

Art. In progress

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