Monday, March 4, 2013

Recliner study in gouache

Here's a quick little study of a recliner chair at night, painted in black and white gouache on a Moleskine pocket sketchbook.

The sketch is about 2x4 inches. This is a fun way to sketch for a moody, film noir look. The paper isn't really made for water media. It has a smooth surface that resists the water at first. The painting is mainly transparent black gouache applied with a half inch flat brush. I used white gouache at the end mainly for the light, the open book on the chair, and the coffee table in front. 
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Thanks, Paul Tobin and WCW'ers, for the sketchbook. I'm putting it to use!

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3 comments:

  1. Nathan FowkesMarch 4, 2013 at 6:01 PM

    Nice James!

    A moleskine painting aficionado friend of mine actually wipes the pages with a damp cloth to remove the water resistant coating when they want a more absorbent paper. I like it both ways depending on the subject but the textures in your sketch feel really good as they are.

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  2. James GurneyMarch 4, 2013 at 6:07 PM

    Thanks, Nathan. I'll try the wipedown idea. For those who don't know his work, Nathan is a great painter and teacher, known for his digital concept art, charcoal portraits, and gouache landscapes. More at:
    http://nathanfowkes-sketch.blogspot.com/
    Also, check out his podcast interview at: http://www.sidebarnation.com/my_weblog/2013/02/podcast-episode-210-nathan-fowkes.html

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  3. Gwen BuchananMarch 4, 2013 at 8:41 PM

    It is just right.

    ReplyDelete

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