Peacock pens

Watercolour, try to improve

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Pascal (peacockpens.com)

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I know, by doing things and repeating them, on and on, we should only get better, right? I have to adjust this a bit. My piano teacher once told me that it’s important to practice correctly. Correcting a wrong technique takes so much more effort than learning a technique right away. I suppose this is equally true for anyone who wants to learn something new, in my case, watercolour sketching. Since my last sketches, I have asked myself whether, in order to have better results, my material is good enough. I’m now talking about the paper. The sketchbook I normally use is from Royal Talens, A5, ultrasmooth, 250 gsm or 154 lbs. Looking back, I had the feeling that, as far as water colour is concerned, I don’t really like the blend of colors. The reason can be either a wrong technique, or wrong paper or wrong paint. The paint I use is a set from Royal Talens.

Changing all the material doesn’t seem like a good idea to me, so I started by changing only the paper. I switched to SMLT Art paper on separate A4 sheets, 280 gsm. The packaging mentioned ‘best for watercolor’. Lets get into this by showing you the comparative results.

Here on the first three samples from my sketchbook, I noticed that the blend is not so beautiful.

Sketchbook, 250 gsm

Here on my other paper from SMLT I can only see that the blend is so much better. Do you agree?

SMLT paper, best for watercolor, 280 gsm

That’s why I made two sketches, see below, to try out the new paper.

In this sketch, the farm, the basis was drawn with the continuous line technique. So basically, the pen is almost never lifted off the page. The technique may seem weird, but the results can be stunning. The water colour is added last. The texture of the green hedge was created by the use of salt. Yes, watercolor sketching is a bit of cooking :-). The salt is of course wiped away once everything is dry.

The second sketch is more of an abstract interpretation of an urban setting. The basis here is a splash of water colour that is very random. Once the water colours have dried, the actual sketch is drawn on them and further developed in an attempt to get some sort of match. To have it more abstract, I suggest to experiment with more different colours.

The world of watercolour sketching apparently has a wide range of techniques and interpretations, this is what makes it so fascinating to me. Hope you enjoyed it too 🙂

13 responses to “Watercolour, try to improve”

  1. Pamela Boxall Avatar
    Pamela Boxall

    Hi. I just wanted to say that I love that urban abstract sketch. You’ve captured the essence of a city in such a minimalist way. Keep up the good work, with the sketching and with the blog.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Pascal (peacockpens.com) Avatar
      Pascal (peacockpens.com)

      Thank you Pamela for your kind reply. When I finished the sketch and to let the sketch dry, I put it on the table in the living room. I have to admit that I caught myself stopping regularly to stare at it with a smile, almost a big smile. Yes, I’m actually quite happy with the result. Sometimes you have to let the result sink in for a while before judging any further. Nice that you appreciate it. Regards.

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  2. Nancy McKeand Avatar
    Nancy McKeand

    I know that paper really affects what inks do when I’m writing, so it isn’t surprising it does the same with watercolors. Nice demonstration of the differences you found!
    Your sketches make me want to give it a try. I’m not there yet, but maybe…

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    1. Pascal (peacockpens.com) Avatar
      Pascal (peacockpens.com)

      For doing handwriting, most of the time I use Rhodia paper with dot grid. On this paper I have the feeling that the fountain pens feel most at home. Even for fountain pens with a known poor writing performance, this paper seems to do well. A large part of my pens are equipped with a medium nib and they can sometimes react strangely to cheaper paper, especially in terms of feathering. Just go ahead with sketching Nancy if you feel the desire to give it a try. A first step can be, to do some doodling, it’s fun and you can make no mistakes :-). Good luck!

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      1. Nancy McKeand Avatar
        Nancy McKeand

        I used to doodle a lot, but I abandoned it a long time ago. It should be an easy way to at least investigate sketching. Thanks for the suggestion!

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Laura @ Inky Imaginings Avatar
    Laura @ Inky Imaginings

    Your sketches are so good! I’ve always wished I was good at art, but unfortunately it doesn’t seem to come naturally to me. Although I imagine a lot of it is just sticking with it, and practicing, and correcting your technique, as you say. Best of luck with your art and blog!

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    1. Pascal (peacockpens.com) Avatar
      Pascal (peacockpens.com)

      The way I improved with sketching/drawing is just by doing it, trial and error. When I compare my first sketches with my recent ones I notice it’s getting better. But sometimes I go 3 steps ahead, but also at times I take steps backward. But, I have to admit, I have fun when doing it, and, supported by a good WP blogging community, it helps a lot. I often belong to that category that always wants to do better and better, but this should not lead to annoyance and we should also dare to admit that we can be satisfied, even if it is small steps that we take. I want to tell you that I really went out of my comfort zone by doing ‘loose sketching’. I took some lessons from Toby Haseler on Youtube (free) and Skillshare (paid). He is brilliant and I have gained a lot of confidence from this. With loose sketching you have the feeling that nothing can go wrong, and that’s exactly what a novice sketcher needs. Have fun and thank you for your sweet comment.

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. Laura @ Inky Imaginings Avatar
        Laura @ Inky Imaginings

        This is encouraging to hear, and makes me want to give sketching another go. I’ll definitely check out Toby Haseler’s YouTube, so thanks for the recommendation!

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Danny Watts Avatar
    Danny Watts

    Excellent. I was not familiar with the continuous line technique. Both examples are very cool and dramatically different. I believe your change in paper is warrented, not that the original work was bad, just a little shall we say “stiff” in comparison.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Pascal (peacockpens.com) Avatar
      Pascal (peacockpens.com)

      Yes it are two different sketches. The continous line technique on the farm is so much fun. When you use it you have to chill down a bit to prevent it to be to loose. Cheers!

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. Danny Watts Avatar
        Danny Watts

        Both are exceptioinal, well done and thanks for sharing.

        Liked by 1 person

  5. Wrap up February ’24 – Peacock pens

    […] I have not been able to put my money where my mouth is. My abstract sketch, about which I made a post, has been well liked by many, so I’m actually quite […]

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  6. Customspedia Avatar
    Customspedia

    Nice post, thanks for sharing

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