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Sunday, November 27, 2016

Ready for the snow


Driving around I found these snow removal machines in the parking lot of this neighborhood. I had to google the name for these machines, I've seen them quite often but never knew the proper name, they are skid loaders.The details of these loaders was quite intimidating, specially with so many in a row. I tackled it anyway. I sketched loosely the ink lines and watercolor. I wanted to give the impression of, not the detail of these machines. The sky is grey and the leaves of trees brown, the leaves which still remain in trees, those that refuse to fall. It took me about 30 minutes to sketch on ink and 30 minutes on watercolor at my studio. The contractors are ready to clean the snow....but mother nature says not yet. 

Monday, November 21, 2016

Friends, walk, coffee and sketches.


My friends and I went for a walk today. I excused myself last time because it was too cold to walk outside in the morning. So this time we set the time for the afternoon. Better. Our returning point for this route is a grocery store where we stopped and had a cup of coffee, like other times. We needed to warm up. I didn't get coffee this time. Instead I sketched....them. They know of this practice of mine because I have told them like a thousand times and they agreed to let me sketch, although one was shy and the other was self aware. One of them was afraid of me showing whatever in her face she was not comfortable with. In short everyone wants to look nice. Sketching people is a double edge sword. 


What they don't know is that I'm terrible sketching people, my sketches never turned  out like them, they shouldn't expect that, I explained this to them. I told them I wanted to record this time. Given said that they agreed. I asked one of them to held the natural position of the hand holding her face. It was a reflection of how comfortable we were talking to each other. My other friend had a calm expression in her face while listening that I think I successfully portrayed in my sketch. When it was time to return I showed them the sketches in ink. I hope that when they see this post, the colored sketches help to keep our friendship! 

Friday, November 18, 2016

An addiction hard to give up.


I found peace and quiet in Wilmington that October afternoon. The non existing traffic in this street was refreshing, so was the cinema, with only 2 theaters. The art deco sign on top keeps this building back in time. These small towns are full of treasures that I love to sketch. They have a different flavor to what one can find on more populated towns or cities, but it is most the coziness which attracts me to those. Sketching and listening to piano classics on Pandora while writing these lines makes a perfect combination of calmness and pleasure. It's an addiction I don't want to give up. 

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Daniel Smith 238 Color Chart

Eat your own words, I told myself. After publicly saying that I may not change EVER my preference for Winsor and Newton watercolor (click here to see my W&N current palette), Daniel Smith, the American Company based in Seattle, turned out to be a temptation. I've heard so much from many people about how enchanted they are with this brand name that decided to try them also. I didn't know what color to buy because I have never tried them before. So I looked on the internet something that may help to make a decision. Unfortunately I didn't find any good quality color images of actual paint to help me to compare colors side by side. So, I bought a DS Watercolor Essentials Set to start, a set of 6 primary colors cold and warm to start, but I wasn't sure what else to get so I got the Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor Sample 238 Color Chart. 


I wet all the dot samples and paint a graded wash next to dot in the same paper, which it is watercolor paper.... or behaves like it. So far I'm very happy the quality of the paint but there are so many color choices, too many, hopefully this charts helps to make a decision. The paints have high concentration of pigment, easy to dissolve although I found some colors are harder to dissolve than others, i.e. many of the purple family and the Primatek Series, which are made of real mineral. Some of the Primatek look like pastel color and others looked rich in color. I scanned the charts in different scanners, took photos in the shade and under the direct sunlight. The ones under direct sunlight turned one to be the closest to the real thing. Click each image for a zoom. Meanwhile I'll play with the start kit I got. I hope this post help someone.