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:
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!
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!!
Okay...so what do you do poorly?
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.
Oh Gretel! You've still 'got it'! I love your paintings.
a d o r a b l e
Hoppy Easter dear Gretel!
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.
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