23.3.16

Silly bunny scribble


It's been nearly four years since I last did any watercolour painting.  Last time I looked, my trusty collection of tubes, which I'd collected over many years at some expense, were in a sorry state and many old friends had dried up. Unable to afford to replace them, I looked around for a cheap way to get going again. 


And I found these nice little sets - Koh-I-Noor palettes. They are dry blocks, which I haven't used since college. I subsequently began using good quality wet tube paints, which I found better for large washes. Like my old college paints, they are a bit chalky. But this set of 36 colours cost very little, the pigments are reasonably bright and they stack oh-so conveniently. Thankfully my brushes had not deteriorated.


I bought a cheap A6 sketchbook, so that it didn't matter what went in it. And after much anxiety and procrastination (really) I did eventually get started. I knew it was going to be a bit rubbish, but I did get my painting brain ticking again. 


Admittedly, it wasn't the best paper for washes, but it was less scary than stretching out a sheet of the HP Arches I usually use. And after all, it's just to get me going again.


So I painted one of my bunnies, miraculously remembered my old techniques and finished it off with a sense of relief. One down, many to go.


The bunnies didn't say anything. They just gazed with their little beady eyes. 


They were obviously reserving judgement. 



In revenge, I am selling them via my Etsy shop. So if you want your own silent bunny, they are £30/$43 each, with free shipping anywhere. Yes, anywhere. 

7 comments:

rossichka said...

Hello, Gretel! I guess the excitement of remembering the old feeling when painting with watercolours was big! The result is lovely, I especially like the nuances in the background. Your bunny looks lonely, so I hope he will soon find friends on the pages of the sketchbook.:)Happy painting!

Anonymous said...

I love the little bunny painting! I hope your revived painting skills will lead to some more of your wonderful cards ...... I still have a few left, as I only give them to very, very special people!!

Lin said...

Okay...so what do you do poorly?

Caroline B said...

Yay, you're painting again! Sweet little picture.
I hope you haven't thrown your old tubes of w/c away - if you cut the bottom off, the contents can still be wetted & used successfully.

Lynda (Granny K) said...

Oh Gretel! You've still 'got it'! I love your paintings.

Kari from Meadowview Farm said...

a d o r a b l e
Hoppy Easter dear Gretel!

Anonymous said...

Don't throw them out! Most watercolors rewet. Just snip open the tubes, spray them with water and let them get soft enough to scrape out into a palette.
Love your work, as usual.