For the first time in my life, I was praying for rain. And when it came and began raining cats and dogs the other day, I rejoiced. Why? I’ve been suffering badly from hayfever, especially this year when we had weeks or maybe at least a month of no rain. Everyone knows that when you have all that pollen, dust and in the case of the Netherlands, caterpillar hair, flying around the atmosphere, it’s hard to shake it off. Even the current dose of antihistamines are of little use. When it rains though all that washes away. It’s like a magic wand!
Pencil Sketch
Now life back to normal: No more blocked runny nose and irritated eyes. Perhaps the occasional sneeze and short-lived itchy eye, but I can survive. What joy it is to be able to breathe properly again. And of course I need to express my joy on my sketchbook! So on my Strathmore’s Visual Journal for Mixed Media, I doodled away. Both me and my boyfriend look so excited and elated standing out in the garden under a huge umbrella. And this going to be one sweet happy painting I’ll be creating!
Switching to Ecoline
For this, I decided to use markers and ink. Initially began with Faber Castell’s Pitt Artist’s pens for the outlines then switched to Ecoline Brush Pens. I was in the mood for coloring with Ecoline inks this time as I’ve not used them for a while and wanted some change. Naturally, using the matching brush pens made sense. So far, so cute! Once I was done with the outlines I was ready to start filling them in.
Happy Coloring!
First the background followed by the subjects. These Ecoline inks and markers are dye-based which produce intensively light colors yet have transparency on white paper, perfect for illustrations. Unfortunately, they are colorfast which means they fade in the sunlight after some time, but as we’re using a sketchbook here with no intentions to expose them against the sunlight for the long term, I’m not too concerned. For the background and umbrella, I went for the ink slightly diluted with water, and for the rest, I went for the brush pens directly except for the face where I spread with a wet brush. And look how it turned out!
I love that transparent effect of the ecoline inks! And the brush pens came handy for the outlines, coloring the smaller areas and enhancing the intensity of the color. For instance, our outfits really pop out against the background! I forgot how effective Ecoline can be and should use their products more. They certainly do brighten up the painting even if it’s about rain. And what a happy painting it turned out to be! That’s because, for the first time, I am happy it rained!
My Kawaii Quarter 