My Journey Into Art

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Quick Sketch from the Backyard

I went outside to the backyard yesterday to look at one of the blossoming peach trees. There were so many butterflies out there drinking the nectar. I should have brought my good camera out to try to capture them in photo but instead I used my camera phone. I didn't get near the quality of photos that I would have liked. I did get one of a bee in a blossom.

I did this quick sketch in my Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook. It was my first time using it. It does say that it can take light washes so I didn't use my regular watercolors instead I used watercolor pencils. I think I prefer watercolors over the pencils however I didn't want lots of buckling if the paper couldn't handle it. This sketch was done quickly and so I guess the 'sketchy' watercolor pencil marks are fine.

The paper is really nice to draw on. I think I may keep it just for dry media work from now on.

Peach Blossoms
Posted by at
Labels: ,

7 comments:

  1. Oh, that's LOVELY. I love the colors, the way the petals "cup". How beautiful! It makes me feel like spring is definitely in the air!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Spring is in the air here for sure! It's been mid-70's for most of the week. I really enjoyed the informal sketching. It's a nice change of pace from doing the more formal watercolor paintings. I need to sketch more!

      Delete

  2. Hi Stephanie,

    That's a really beautiful drawing!
    It's true that our packaging states that the Alpha and Gamma Series are suitable for dry media and light washes. But since we launched the line last year, many artists have shown that the paper actually has a lot more wet strength than we realized. So, I would encourage you to experiment with watercolors. (I would not recommend wet in wet technique, however). If you get some buckling, that should flatten out after the paper dries and you put some weight on it overnight. Please let us know how it works for you. You can contact us as info@stillmanandbirn.com.

    Thanks for trying the new Stillman & Birn sketchbooks and for testing it with your beautiful artwork.

    Michael

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Michael: What a nice surprise to see you comment here! I applaud your personal approach to customer service. It really is refreshing. Not too many companies take the time.

      I will take your suggestion and try the sketchbook with watercolors.

      It's a really nice sketchbook and the paper is just lovely.

      Delete

  3. How pretty your page is, love that you sat outside and did this. I've been doing that also now that warmer weather is here. How nice that you even captured the bee inside the flower. Glad the watercolor held up for you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Thank you, Dawn. It's nice to be outside and sketch, isn't it? I'm glad you like my blossoms and bee!

      Delete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)