Sketching Loosely
Tag: watercolour sketch a day
My Creative Journey In Visual Art
My creative journey Began with a camera This went on for many years I was an enthusiastic amateur Joining and starting camera clubs Was so much fun I made many friends My creative life had begun I entered competitions and exhibitions Sometimes I won All in all It was just good fun Along the way I became a Photographic Judge Which gave me a different perspective It gave my photography a nudge Briefly, in the Nineties I started to sketch Though photography remained King I felt the itch I took a basic drawing course In two thousand and ten Three years later My photography business opened The business ran For a couple of years Then I decided To do something else In the meantime my love For sketching and painting had grown It was battling photography For the Title and Crown Oil painting at that time Was my preferred expression It became my ‘go to’ My new expression Joining Art groups Has helped me to foster My desire to create Art They helped my creativity to prosper Then I returned To the first painting medium I tried The one that had captured me That reminded me of Slides Line and Wash Then caught my attention It became part of me A lifelike extension A Watercolour sketch-a-day Would give me loads of practice It continues to this day Feeding my Inner Sanctum Oils too Remain a passion For me, I think They’ll always be in fashion Photography still Has a special place in my Heart It started my creative journey Of me, it will always be a part Though at this time Sketching and Painting are my direction They will for a long time Have my attention
Written by David Johnson
22 September 2022
© CommunicatingCreatively/David Johnson 2022
Seeking To Engage
Aquawash Rocks
Today, we went out to Lake Burragong, which is approximately 1/2 a hour drive away from where we live. Lake Burragorang, when full (like it is now), holds 4 times the amount of water of Sydney Harbour. We have been there many times and it is a most beautiful and relaxing place.
I took my Winsor and Newton Field kit (which now has both Winsor and Newton, and Daniel Smith Watercolour paints in it) plus my Aquawash brushes and a small sketchbook.
I wasn’t all that excited about the sketch/painting I did first out there but it did give me an idea to painting a similar subject but in a different way, and more from my imagination.
I’ve had my Aquawash brushes for a few years now though I’ve only used them sporadically and I need to watch some videos on how to use them with greater effectiveness. I rather like how this sketch turned out, though and I will be using these type of brushes more in the future.
I’m due to go on my first field trip with the Sydney Urban Sketchers next month and I think it would great to take these brushes.
Till next time!
Written by David Johnson
24 July 2022
Day 1,249 of a Watercolour Sketch a Day! – “Boat Detail” – Norfolk Island
For my daily Art practice today, I chose to do another interpretation of a previous sketch that I had done, which was based on a reference photo that I took on Norfolk Island on our holiday, earlier in the year.
“Lighters” (wooden boats that up until recently were used to unload to, from cargo ships) continue to be an endless source of fascination to me.
Today I used the following materials:
- Canson 300gsm Watercolour paper
- ArtSpectrum Waterproof Pigment ink
- Manuscript Dip Pen with Mapping nib
- Winsor and Newtown Artist quality paints
- Neef brushes
- Perylene Maroon
- Burnt Sienna
- Ultramarine Blue
- Sepia
I seem to have an attraction to peeling paint and rustic subjects in terms of sketching and painting, which is really not surprising as in my enthusiast photography days the same sort of subject matter attracted me, particularly in early morning or late after night.
I look forward to doing another version of this as I feel I would like to do one that is somewhere ‘between’ the two sketches above.
Till next time!
Written by David Johnson
3 July 2022
The Journey Is Victory
‘Post’ Norfolk Island Watercolour Sketches
A couple of posts ago, I highlighted the sketches that I did each on Norfolk Island using the Sennelier Student Watercolour paints.
Upon arriving home (to presently), all my ‘Watercolour Sketch a Day’ efforts have been from reference photos that I took whilst away on holiday (25th Wedding Anniversary). As you can see, I’m very much in love with Norfolk Island and have been ever since our first visit in 1997 (Honeymoon). This was further strengthened by celebrating our 10th Wedding Anniversary there in 2007.
At home (currently) I am using Winsor and Newton Artist quality paints and so I thought I would post a few of my Watercolour sketches that I have completed since my return.
It really is a fascinating place, and one I’ll be continuing to use for inspiration for many years to come. We are looking forward to going to other places for sure, like Hawaii and New Zealand, but a 4th trip to Norfolk Island is certainly ‘a given.’
Written and Sketched by David Johnson
2 April 2022
Holiday Inspiration!
One of the many benefits of our recent trip away to Norfolk Island was the ‘change of scenery’ in regards to the type of subject matter I had been sketching/painting since I started this journey.
I had been doing a lot of sheds, houses, the odd seascape/landscape, farms and trees. Many were inspired by tutorials, (my own) reference photos, free images of my imagination. There were not a lot from ‘plein air’ sketching.
Whilst I was away, I did some rough pencil sketches in an A5 Moleskine sketchbook, took some reference photos and also kept up my Watercolour Sketch a Day practice however, I chose to use a different paint brand/quality. I took away a Sennelier Student half-pan set. It was a bit of a challenge as I limited myself to only 12 colours and they had some different shades to what I was/am using with the Winsor and Newton Artist quality half-pans.
It forced me to think differently in terms of mixing eg for shadows. Normally, I would use Ultramarine Blue and Sepia however, I did not have these colours available so I had to work to explore a different option.
Below, I’ve included the Watercolour Sketch a Day’s I did on the trip.
Till next time!
Written by David Johnson
27 March 2022
– Day 1,121
– Day 1,122
– Day1,123
Daily Art Practice Continues…
Since reaching Day 1,091 of a Watercolour Sketch a Day (3 years) recently, I’ve been endeavouring to do less tutorials and using reference photos, i.e. do original sketches. When time permits, I will do ‘on-site’ sketches. Most of these will probably be done on weekends.
Here are a few of my latest sketches.
Till next time!
Written by David Johnson
13 February 2022
1,091 Days and Counting…My Daily Art Practice
Today marks the 3rd anniversary since I started my ‘Daily Art Practice’ of a ‘Watercolour Sketch a Day’. For my 1,091st day I decided to sketch/paint a subject that I really seem to enjoy, a Lighthouse.
One day, I will gather up all my Lighthouse sketches and put them in a blog post for no other reason than to see them altogether. I think it would be fun!
Looking back, I was pleased to do 7 days in a row and when I reached 1 month I really had no expectations of being able to keep up this daily Art practice for 1 year, yet alone 3.
My goals for the ‘Daily Art Practice’ were:
- Aim to do one Watercolour Sketch a day (and look no further than that)
- Be a Sponge
- Improve my skills through practice
- Lean from my mistakes
- Practice, practice, practice!
I don’t believe I am ‘naturally talented’ in sketching and painting. Like all children I did draw at school and at home though I am not one of those Artists ‘who have been drawing/painting all throughout their life’, studied Art and are now full-time Artists. (I’m actually a Mortgage Broker and co-run our business with my Wife, Susan and have an additional Mentoring role for Small Business startups. I’m also involved in Toastmasters {Public Speaking}, and BNI {Business Networking}, as well as two other associations).
From 1982 – 2016 I was firmly entrenched in Photography. In the 1990’s, I briefly had an interest in drawing but that didn’t last long as Photography was ‘still King’. In 2010, I took a basic Drawing course and began dabbling in Watercolour (briefly) before dabbling in Acrylic and Oil over the years. In 2016, I decided to concentrate on Oils but it seemed difficult to find the time, consistently.
In 2018, I rediscovered Watercolour though finding the time seemed difficult again. I had a ‘real desire’ to learn it and started looking for ways to allocate more time to it and was (over the course of time) attracted as well to Line and Wash. On Australia Day, 26 January 2019 I decided to aim to do a Watercolour Sketch a Day.
Along the journey so far I’ve:
- Learnt about some sketching, drawing and painting techniques
- Colour mixes
- Brush use
- Colour Theory
- Made an innumerable amount of mistakes
- Increased my belief in myself that I can do this
- Sold 3 A4 paintings (unexpected)
- Joined Red Point Artists Association, Port Kembla
- Made some great connections through Art groups
What’s next?
Well, I still have a lot to learn (and there’s more fun to have) so tomorrow I’m aiming to a Watercolour Sketch and the day after, another one…
My Daily Art practice with Watercolour has also re-inspired my Oil Painting practice so I am aiming to allocate time to that on a regular basis now and am planning to enter some Art Exhibitions and submit my own Art to the next Members Exhibition of the Red Point Artists Association.
Till next time!
Written by David Johnson
26 January 2022
My Watercolour Sketch a Day images can be found at:
https://www.instagram.com/communicatingcreatively/
My larger paintings can be found at:
Communicating Creatively 