This painting I made about a week ago. Temperatures have been quite volatile lately, even snowing in early April! Two weekends ago, we went for a little stroll in the neighbourhood when it was about 6℃, noticing how the trees had no leaves yet and the flowers yet to bloom. Great to notice that a week later, we are now starting to see some improvements but I thought I would share a painting I made before it changed for the better. So how about a watercolor painting combined with some Ecoline ink?
Pencil Sketch
Strathmore’s Visual Journal for Watercolors was used for this painting. First I made a rough sketch using graphite pencil. Lesson here I had learned is not to use aquarelle pencils which are water soluble and hence blend unwantedly when trying to fill in with watercolor. What a cute sketch of me and my boyfriend together walking in the woods. Our heads are so big that it was difficult to draw us holding hands without making the arms too long so I added a heart in between instead haha!
Watercolor Painting
I began coloring the background first using some dried-up Holbein watercolor paints leftover from a previous painting that was sitting in the dish and waiting to be reused. Once that was done, I painted the face using some watersoluble pastels, namely Caran d’Ache Neocolor II in Salmon. The hair was then colored using some Holbein Watercolors. For the outfit and the heart, I thought I’d have some fun with some fluorescent shades and went for a set from Komorebi’s by MozArt supplies. And so far so cute!
Ecoline Ink
Watercolor and Ecoline Ink make such an amazing combination. Whilst watercolors give a light and even somewhat translucent finish, Ecoline inks are more intense and have a more vibrant appearance. Here, I added some brown and grey ink on the hair to enhance the streakiness, using the same color for the trees. The eyes were then filled in with some black and blue ink which really added to the intensity. Finally, I dotted in some yellow ink on the ground using the back of a cocktail stick. Finishing touches were then made with some white gel pen and Uni Posca markers. And what have we here!!
I suppose this painting became an omen because once I finished it, the very next day leaves started growing on trees and flowers blooming! Now we can really enjoy our Spring. The combination of watercolor and Econline Ink worked rather well, although I must say the trees could have turned out better. Not to fret, it was merely another practice and another lesson to be learned. I will definitely be doing more such painting again. Meanwhile I shall enjoy creating more about the Spring!
My Kawaii Quarter 