Daily Sketch Reprise: Colorful Cuddling Kitties
At 11:45 p.m., it it still too hot and humid for me to work on the sketch I began earlier today…my hands and arms are damp from the humidity and I’ll mark up the paper and get my pastels damp! I’ve decided to reprise one from last year, February 25, 2012, which I’ve not run since, but I like it for its colorful nature. It looks sweet and summery. Stay cool!
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Giuseppe at the top, Bean, left and Mimi, right, the three are cuddled on a fleece bed.
I finally found my watercolor pencils, or colored pencils with leads made of compressed watercolor; could not purchase another set while there was still one in the house, a very old one from some donated art supplies or an estate sale.
So it’s really easy to sketch cats while they are sleeping because they aren’t moving too much—though you’d be surprised how much they actually do move. I used as many colors as I could just to try them all, each cat a different color and different outline, the bed (which is actually like a cerise, light yellow-green, but didn’t scan that way). One thing I learned, looking at the right side of the drawing, is that the “lead” isn’t as hard as regular colored pencil and actually smeared when I moved it around a little bit on the platen to scan it.
Anyway, take a good look at “Colorful Cuddling Kitties” above because that’s the only version you’ll see that looks like that. I got my brushes and some water and painted it over the pencil lines, seen below.
Cool! The pencil works up right away, except for the purple, who knows why, but I like how it held the outlines where I used it. Colors are nice and bright and this could be more convenient to carry “into the field” than a little tray of watercolors; I can either do the sketch and bring it home to finish if I’m not carrying usable water or brushes with me, or I can use it right there. Much easier to use on the little 5″ x 7″ watercolor pad I carry too.
I can do that around the house too. Think I’ll play around with it this week.
And so I did! See more sketches in watercolor pencil.
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Wow, I really love both of these! Such lively colors. You certainly brightened my stressful day today.
Thank you, Andrea, and we are sorry to know why it was stressful, hope Mewdy Blue will pull through.
Thankfully he is lapping up a little baby food every couple of hours tonight and even looks a little brighter (unless I’m imagining it). Thanks for your kind thoughts!
Andrea, I’m so glad. The back and forth can be painful to bear, but any progress is heartening!
P.S. Your additional “wash” humbly reminds me of my personal artistic zenith, childhood paint-with-water books. . . .
Meg, I’ve never heard of those, cool!
So, Bernadette, did you use the google?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007EA5388/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?qid=1373255262&sr=8-7&pi=SL75
Meg, I didn’t have the chance to, thanks for sending the link!
Wow, Bernadette, I really liked the first version but then I scrolled down to the “washed” one and my head practically exploded with happy!
(I guess there’s an up side to hot, humid weather that makes one “glow” like a southern belle — it makes you change your medium. Please give us some meowre!)
Meg, I have done a number and love the medium, but once these original old pencils were gone I’ve been disappointed in other sets I’ve bought. I’m still looking, though!