It's a misty day outside the Heavenly Rest Stop cafe on Fifth Avenue in New York. After eating lunch at an outside table I paint this watercolor of the street scene. It's about 5 x 8 inches.
I start by establishing the basic lines in a reddish brown water-soluble colored pencil. I cover most of the surface with large washes of low-chroma warm and cool colors (raw sienna and Paynes gray) with a #10 watercolor sable round.
Because of the misty weather, the washes take a long time to dry. The umbrella is bright red, but I keep it very low in chroma.
The area of this detail is about 1.5 x 2 inches. What I love about transparent watercolor is that you get all the soft blending transitions for free.
Art Supplies
Moleskine watercolor notebook
Caran D'Ache watercolor pencils
Schmincke Watercolor Pocket Set
Size 10 Kolinsky watercolor round brush
More about the
Zorn show tomorrow.
Lovely, evocative sketch! I think the Brits became such masterful watercolorists because of their weather. Do you ever get tempted to duck indoors or use a car heater to hasten drying time between layers?
ReplyDeleteThis is really FAB. I love the way it appears to be detailed and intricate but it really isn't. Such a clever illusion!
ReplyDelete"..get all the soft blending transitions for free.." -hah, only if you know what you're doing! Otherwise you get -like me- muddy brown patches everywhere.
ReplyDeleteI really like this picture, and really appreciate you taking the time to explain how you built it.