A Still Life, Line and Wash Watercolour Driftwood demonstration. Great for beginners. Peter Sheeler

A Still Life, Line and Wash Watercolour demonstration using just 2 colors. Great for beginners.

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MATERIALS
PEN: A Pigma Micron pen, 005 nib. I’m using a rather worn out Pigma Micron 005 nib pen.

PAPER: Size- 5″x7″
Arches 1401b Cold PRESS Paper for this Video.
My papers of choice include Arches 140lb Hot press and Cold press paper and Strathmore 500 series Sketchbooks. All are 100% cotton rag.

For beginners, I recommend starting with a high quality paper and experimenting with different types. As your style develops, you’ll get a feel for which type is best. Waiting to switch to a better quality paper later will be much like learning to paint all over again.

MY PALETTE: All tube paints!
Winsor Newton- Yellow Ochre, Sepia, Burnt Sienna, Winsor Red, Davy’s Gray, Ultramarine, Sap Green.
DaVinci – Phthalo Blue, Quinachridone Fuchsia, Cadmium Yellow Lemon, Cadmium Yellow Deep.
A note on Davy’s Gray: I rarely use this pigment straight and when using it I usually mix it with each colour used.

PAINT PALETTE::
The palette is the mixing tray from a “Koi” Watercolour travel set. The colours are set up so the ones I mix together most often are close together.
The paints are poured onto slips of paper and then stuck to the palette.

BRUSH:
A Polar Flo 1/2 inch flat brush is my current favorite. The bristle were originally white but have become stained.

I often use inexpensive brushes because several of my techniques are quite abusive.
Whenever the brush disappears from the screen it is either being wiped off or rinsed.

REFERENCE IDEAS: come from my imagination/memory, my own photos or by painting on location.

I rarely draw what I see. I tend to draw what I wanted to see. If I use a reference photo, I prefer to look at it on my phone screen, nothing bigger. I’m not looking for a scene to paint, I’m looking for an idea to paint. Once I begin drawing I’ll go for several minutes before I check the reference. Sometimes, once I’ve stared, I never refer to the reference again.

I am currently unable to overlay an image of the reference photo as I don’t have the proper software. As well, I haven’t room on my current set up to simply display a photo on the work surface.

Music by Chris Martyn and Geoff Harvey. http://www.purple-planet.com

A Still Life, Line and Wash Watercolour Driftwood demonstration. Great for beginners. Peter Sheeler