Tag: watercolour

Loving This Watercolour Paper!

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Painting

It’s always fun to trying new things.

In this particular case, I’ve been trying out a type of watercolour paper that I haven’t used before. It’s ‘The Masters’s Choice – Artist Watercolour Paper’ made by Baohong. It has a rough texture, and I’m using the block paper version – 300gsm, 15cm x 23cm. It’s also the first time I have used block paper.

I simply love this paper! I’m not an expert in papers and I’m still in the very early stages on this journey of Watercolour. I love the texture and the way it handles colour and water.

I’ve included a few samples below.

“Towards Lone Pine” – Norfolk Island
“Out To Sea”
“Country Cottages”
“Ready To Go” – Greenwell Point
“Crookhaven Heads”

The 15cm x 23cm size as it is quite convenient to carry in a small backpack, along with my Winsor and Newton Field Kit, Aquawash brushes and some paper towel. Pop in a couple of pencils, an eraser and a selection of pigment liners, and a white pen and ‘I’m ready to go!’

I sold the ‘Country Cottages’ painting earlier this month at Red Point Art & Craft on the Grass, Port Kembla, NSW, Australia.

I highly recommend giving this paper a go. Looking forward to using the cold press 300gsm as well. I just received some gift vouchers for my birthday earlier this week. 🙂

Till next time!

Written and painted by David Johnson

31 March 2024

A First For Me at Red Point Artists ‘Art & Craft on the Grass!

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Painting

I’ve been a member of Red Point Artists for about 3 – 4 years however, it is only this year that I took a leap of faith and set up a table with my Watercolours at the monthly, ‘Art & Craft on the Grass’ event.

The first time I did this was in February this year. Due to inclement weather, we set up inside in the main gallery.

The second time was yesterday. It was a beautiful, sunny day so we were all able to set up outside.

As with the first time, I was just happy do be there, displaying my Art and chatting to and encouraging people to be creative and/or rekindle a lost creative passion.

I also had a sign advertising my ‘Daily Art Practice’ aka my ‘Watercolour Sketch a Day’ which as of yesterday was 5 years, 43 days straight.

My thought was that ‘if I sold anything it would be a bonus.’ As the first hour was drawing to a close, that bonus arrived! I sold the following painting…

“Country Cottages”

This is the first painting I have sold at Red Point Artists, and the fourth sale overall.

I would like to thank Red Point Artists for the opportunity to have a table there, and for the inspiring Artists and Craft-makers that I am surrounded by. Looking forward to the second Saturday of April when we will do it all again.

Till next time!

Written by David Johnson

10 March 2024

Bucket List Item Ticked Off!

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Painting, Stories From Life

Yesterday, for the first time, I put my Artistic efforts on a table for sale to the general public. I did this at Red Point Artist’s, ‘Art & Craft On The Grass’ at Port Kembla, NSW, Australia. Port Kembla is approx. one hour’s drive from where we live.

I have been a member of Red Point Artists for just over three years, and this was my fifth attemp at having a sale table down there. The previous attempts, well, life got in the way as it sometimes can. Yesterday, I just took my Watercolour and Line & Wash images down.

Normally, the Artist’s tables would be out on the grassed area however, due to rain appearing when we were due to set up, most of us were inside the gallery.

So, did I sell anything? Not this time.

Was the day still a success? Yes, definitely due to the following:

  • Firstly, it finally happened
  • I was grateful to received quite a few compliments about my Art
  • Picked up a couple of followers on Instagram
  • Some people said they would check out this Blog
  • I encouraged a lady who had recently taken up sketching to come along to the next Urban Sketchers Wollongong Sketch-meet
  • I learned a lot yesterday about how I am going to present my Art at Red Point Artists next month, ‘Artists In Action’ at Camden Civic Centre next Sunday and other places

It is so satisfying to have finally achieved the above and am very grateful to Red Point Artists for the opportunity and the support of the members. 🙂

The images below are of the Art precinct of Red Point and some of the other Artists presenting their Art.

Till next time!

Written by David Johnson

11 February 2024

Urban Sketchers Wollongong Field Trip – Innovation Campus, Wollongong

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Painting

Earlier today, I attended my first Urban Sketchers Wollongong Sketch-meet this year. I don’t actually live the Wollongong (Illawarra Region) in NSW however, we quite often visit the region as I am also a member of Red Point Artists, which is located on the coast to the South. The beaches of Wollongong are the closest beaches to where we live, some 66 kilometres away (41 miles). For us, that is a short drive.

Today’s outing was only 51km (32 miles) away and it was held at the University of Wollongong’s Innovation Campus.

Only 7 Sketchers turned up today (it was very hot), and we met at the Campus Cafe, called ‘Piccolo Me’ cafe. We had a half-hour chat then ventured out to select our subject.

I found the unusually-designed building below…

I’ve lightened up the shadows considerably here to show te detail in the panelling.

After deciding to do this one, I have to decide how much of it to do. For some reason, I seem to gravitate towards subjects with lots of lines. Knowing I only had a relatively short time-frame, I decided not to do the whole scene.

I found doing this sketch quite challenging and would do it differently next time I think. I haven’t done a lot of en Plein air as yet. I really do enjoy it though.

After the sketching, we all had lunch and had a ‘throw-down.’ This is where all the sketches are put on the ground (this time it was a table) so that everyone can see what has been sketched and we can see all the different styles. Unfortunately, this time, I don’t have a photo of all the different sketches.

I really enjoyed the company and the ‘Arty’ conversation once again.

Looking forward to next month’s Sketch-meet!

If you are interested in finding out more about the Urban Sketchers, I shall put a link below. There are Urban Sketch Groups all over the world.

Till next time – Happy Sketching!”’

Written by David Johnson

4 February 2024

https://urbansketchers.org/

Watercolour Sketch a Day – That’s 5 Years!

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Painting

Today marks 5 years of doing a Watercolour Sketch a Day, every day, straight!

On 26 January 2019, I decided to aim to do a Watercolour Sketch a Day as I wanted to:

  • Create a daily Art practice
  • Improve my skills

I remember that after 7 days being happy that I had managed to get that far. Prior to setting my goal of a Watercolour Sketch a Day, I used to do one and then Life would get in the way, and before too long, 2 weeks had gone by. At that rate, it would take me a long time to improve.

Here is Watercolour Sketch a Day #1

It was done on cheap Monte Marte Watercolour paper with Winsor and Newton Cotman Half-Pan Watercolour paint.

About a month after I started, I was about to sign up for 10-week Watercolour course, then the first Covid lockdown hit, and so no course. Instead, I did 120 days straight of YouTube tutorials.

As time went by, gradually I improved however, I also noticed that I would ‘plateau’ and sometimes it seemed that I was going backwards…

Mostly, I endeavour to do the Watercolour Sketch a Day in the early morning before ork although due to various commitments, that is not always possible. The later in the day it gets done, of course the more tired I am so sometimes, the resulting sketch is not as good perhaps as it would have been if I had completed it earlier. Whatever I come up with I post on my Instagram page called ‘Communicating Creatively.’ All 5 years of Watercolour Sketch a Day’s are there.

The latest I have completed was 11.00pm at night.

Also, over time, I changed to using Artist quality Watercolours (Winsor & Newton; Daniel Smith and Schminke), and starting using Artist quality 300gsm/100% Cotton (Saunders Waterford; Winsor & Newton), and Art Spectrum 300gsm/35% Cotton materials.

Here is today’s Watercolour Sketch a Day.

So, where to from here?

I am looking forward to doing Watercolour Sketch a Day, 5 years 1 Day tomorrow. Yes, the journey will continue as I feel I have a long way to go to get to where I want to be as an Artist. I need to get outside my comfort zone more, too.

A few people have asked me, over time, what is the number you are heading for?

My reply is simple, all I am aiming to do is ‘a Watercolour Sketch a Day’ to practice and improve my skills. I just happened to have done that every day, for 5 years straight.

Happy painting!

Till next time!

Written by David Johnson

26 January 2024

https://www.instagram.com/communicatingcreatively/

Reflective of my Mood…

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Painting, Uncategorized

Today’s post is Watercolour Sketch a Day, 4 years, 363 days (in a row).

It has been a fairly hectic start to the year work and other commitment-wise and I think the subject of today’s sketch was clearly about my mind looking for a rest, I feel…

I called it, ‘Meditative.’

Is the art that you produce always reflective of your current mood?

Till next time!

Written by David Johnson

24 January 2024

Cultural Fusion

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Stories From Life

Last night, my Wife, Susan and I decided to attend ‘Cultural Fusion’ which is an event put on by the local Council. It features Art and Craft stalls, Art for sale and local musicians.

Visitor numbers seemed a bit down however, this could have been caused by the fact it was the Thursday before the Long Weekend here in New South Wales. I’m sure visitor numbers will pick up closer to Christmas.

We found it delightful and had fun catching up with some of the Artists I know personally and it was great to make new connections.

It is on every month for the next five months and there is a chance for me to have a table or put some of my Art up for sale so I’ll certainly be investigating those. 🙂

Below are a few images from the event.

Till next time!

Written by David Johnson

29 September 2023

Urban Sketchers Sydney – September Sketch-meet!

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Painting

Yesterday, myself and approx. 50-60 other Urban Sketchers attended the September Sketch-meet. Our destination was the Sydney Opera House, which in a month’s time will have been open for 50 years.

I remember watching the opening in October 1973 on a Black & White TV set from our home approx. 13km/8 miles from the Sydney CBD. I still remember running up to the bridge over the railway line half-way between my suburb and the next so we could see a whole mass of balloons being sent into the sky from the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Of course we could not see the bridge itself, but we did see the the a mass of balloons rise in the distance.

The Sydney Opera House is one of the most uniquely designed structures in the world.

I must say I was very pleased to attend this Sketch-meet as this the first standalone Sydney Sketch-meet I have been able to attend this year.

Rather than try to sketch the whole building, I chose to do a section of it and am very happy with the result.

As you can see from the first photo, it was perfect weather and it was quite a relaxing experience. I find the whole experience of sketching/painting, meditative, particularly when I do minute details, like the tiles in the ‘Sails.’

One of the things that I really look forward to at the the Sketch-meets is the ‘Throwdown’ as seen in the photos below. It’s wonderful seeing all the different styles and mediums that people use to create their Art. So inspirational.

All-in-all it was a great morning of sketching. It is so great to get together with a group of creators.

The ‘Urban Sketchers’ are a world-wide movement which is in over 60 countries, 394 cities with over 120,000 members. For more information, check out their website https://urbansketchers.org/ so you can find a chapter near you.

Till next time – Happy Sketching!

Written by David Johnson

3 September 2023

At Last!!!

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Painting

Last Sunday, I completed my first A4 Watercolour painting for what seems like an eternity.

My Watercolour Sketch a Day continues to roll on…as of today it is 4 years and 216 days however, getting to do an A4 Watercolour has been a challenge over the last 13 months. With moving house, growing the business, family and personal health challenges and other projects it felt for a while there that it was almost impossible to do one.

I’m happy to say that ‘I have broken through that barrier.’

The first A4 painting I was doing on Sunday was going well…until it wasn’t. It was of receding mountain ranges and, after laying the relevant washes, I wrecked the mountains endeavouring to add detail.

The previous night I didn’t get a good night’s sleep and I was about to just walk away from my Art Room, when I thought, ‘maybe I could something simpler’, and at least I could come away with something. The image below is what I painted.

A much simpler scene to paint and I am pleased with the result given how tired I was. I do think in hindsight that the rocks are not punchy enough so I will work on that next time.

Still, as stated previously, I am pleased with the result and I had fun which is the main thing.

Till next time…happy painting!

Written by David Johnson

30 August 2023

Rock Study – 1st Attempt

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Painting

For my Watercolour Sketch a Day tonight (today is 4 years, 211 days straight), after watching a tutorial on YouTube, ‘Painting Rocks’ by Ken Hobson, I decided to do exactly that.

I’m happy with resulting first attempt. I did attempt the water splatter on the rocks however, I think I overdid it and had to perform ‘a rescue’ of the image.

On the weekend, I think I will attempt an A4 of the same subject. I sure had a lot of fun doing tonight’s one!

Till next time!

Written by David Johnson

25 August 2023