Megalith - another watercolour painting

 

In my previous post I mentioned that I wanted to know what would be the difference between rough paper and paper with a smoother texture. So today I have painted the same scene, using the same colours, on a different paper. Both paper are cotton papers of the same weight and the same brand so the only difference is the texture. And maybe the conditions of the room I use as my studio (temperature, humidity of the air) and my being more or less relaxed while painting.

The difference is mostly in the sky and clouds where I wanted to paint wet-in-wet for nice colour transitions and tonal differences. The clouds had to be dark and I achieved more darkness than I dared to risk yesterday, but the brushstrokes matter much more on this paper than on the rough paper. I spent a lot of time and energy trying to correct that ending with a painting that is almost overworked.

The colour difference in the foreground happened because I did make some changes in how I applied the colours. More blue near the horizon and just a little brown in the foreground. Because of the texture of this paper I could add some more details without ruining my nice wet-in-wet foreground.

The stones are painted with less paint and corrections. That worked well for the small one on the right, but the standing stone might have been a bit darker.

Both watercolours are different and that was to be expected. In both paintings are some things that could be improved and in both paintings are things that are very good. The conclusion of this weekend is that because of the difference in paper texture both paintings cannot really be compared and have to be judged for their own value.

This painting also 'works' well so I am happy with today's result. Now I will not wonder 'What if I had....'  anymore and I can move on to other subjects.

The information about the materials I have used, the size of this painting and its availability can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Megalith - watercolour painting

 

As written in my previous post, I have also made a watercolour painting using the sketch I made inspired by a documentary about megaliths.

There was time to select a sheet of paper, soak and stretch it, let it dry and paint so this is the result of today's work. The paper I chose has a rough texture which stays wet or moist much longer than smoother papers so the colours can blend beautifully as is required for the clouds and the grassland. Painting details on rough paper is more difficult because of that same quality so this watercolour painting is much less detailed (compared to the charcoal drawing) because adding more detail would definitely have ruined the foreground. 

In fact it is 'not fair' to compare a watercolour painting to a charcoal drawing, the charcoal can get much darker - almost black - than watercolour, even if I apply several layers of paint. Using the fine structure of the paper, a lot of details can be suggested with a stick of charcoal which is not easy using wet paint on a wet or moist sheet of watercolour paper.

Maybe I should paint another watercolour on paper with a finer texture, so I can see the differences between the two watercolour paintings. That should be a much better  comparison than when I look for the differences between two techniques that are based on very different materials.

In fact I am really happy with the results of today's work, 

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this watercolour painting can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Megalith - charcoal drawing

 

This charcoal drawing does have a very unusual source of inspiration, a documentary about megaliths do be precise. There were some wonderfully atmospheric landscape shots in the documentary and I started sketching the one that made the strongest impression as soon as possible to remember that landscape and atmosphere.

My sketch does have a lot of notes - as usual - and I wanted to work from that sketch even before I had the time for a watercolour painting. Watercolour painting needs some preparation because the paper has to be soaked, stretched and dried again before I can start painting.

A charcoal drawing is quick because I only have to gather my materials and start drawing. To recreate the atmosphere of the scene in the documentary a charcoal drawing is perfect as although there was some colour in the scene the dark clouds and the solitude of that one standing stone made that me want to draw and paint.

Of course I am not finished with this scene now, there will also be a watercolour painting - when I have the time to prepare and paint properly.

The information about the materials I have used, the size of this drawing and its availability can all be found in my Tumblr blog.