WWM - Day 24

I've had another palette alteration.

My entire palette is Daniel Smith watercolours.

 

I have added Sepia into my palette to try it out again. I purchased SEPIA a long time ago and haven't had it in my palette for some time...I'm giving it another bash!

 

I have replaced ULTRAMARINE VIOLET with CARBAZOLE VIOLET.

UV was a very disappointing colour for me, I found it weak and hard to pick up on my brush once dried. CV is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I've removed OPERA PINK...I am so sad to see it go as I've only just purchased a tube but I hadn't realised it wasn't lightfast and I do a lot of commission work...it had to go! I'm hoping my QUIN PINKwill step in and be helpful in it's place.

 

I've added SODALITE GENUINE, again, a tube I purchased ages ago that I have never really experimented with, so I'm giving it a whirl...It is wonderfully granulating.

 

I've added MOONGLOW, had it ages, never really used it, thought why not. WOW...gorgeous colour and granulating too! Not sure how useful it will be...we'll see!

 

I am also looking to perhaps change my QUIN RED for either ORAGANIC VERMILLION which was in my last palette (I miss it) or QUIN VIOLET which looks amazing mixed with SODALITE GENUINE. It's quite different to QUINK PINK but not different enough for it to be in my palette.

I am also adding back in SERPENTINE GREEN but I am currently waiting for it to arrive. It's just such a handy 'go to' colour when I'm on location.

 

I have so many colours in full tubes that I've never really given a chance so I'm experimenting.

 

I have noticed a lot of newbies to watercolour over in the #worldwatercolormonth facebook group. A lot of them are experimenting with colours and brands so I thought I'd be helpful...

 

I am offering SIX newbies dot sheets (made by myself from a selection of DANIEL SMITH tubes)

I will choose from the new subscribers to my blog, and send out dot cards with 8 random colours on them

FREE!

So, if you'd like to try some new colours, simply comment on this post and subscribe to this blog, that's FREE too..(you'll find it in the top right corner)
 

GOOD LUCK!

My New Trio

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Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

The three new Daniel Smith colours I purchased recently, as a little treat, and some experimenting!

Taking A Bath

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Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Sketched while taking a bath, sitting rather uncomfortably at the tap end balancing my sketchbook on damp knees.
On the right, the greens in my current palette and a little test to see if I could possibly replace olive with an undersea and winsor yellow mix.

My Italy Trip 2011 Palette

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Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Here it is...my new plastic palette by Compact.

It is very lightweight, only around 5"x3" and I ordered the one with large pans so I could choose if I wanted a large or small pan of my colours. The large empty pans I ordered were too big for this box so I squeezed the paint directly into the well for Burnt Sienna and UB.
The large mixing wells give planty of room to work comfortably and the thumb hole is actually quite useful when I am trying to stand and paint as I am able to hold the palette and secure my sketchbook against my body with the same hand.
I am very pleased with it.

I would like to report that filling these little pans with tube paint was very easy but if you had seen the state of me on more than one occasion through this task you would know I was lying! LOL!

I am pleased with my colour choices...I did add Naples Yellow next to the Buff Titanium afterall...not sure how much I'll need it but I felt sorry for it being named as such and having to stay in the UK while it's friends went along on my dream tour!

Italy trip Palette Preparation

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Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Sorting out colours to put in my 2011 Italy trip palette...I'm taking all of my Earth hues as I seem to have been dipping into all of them during my preparation sketches so far.

Joannie's Iris

Back from a wonderful break in Coltishall with my dear friend Joannie with just enough time to unpack and set off for my Wednesday night art workshop.
Joannie picked me one of her beautiful Iris before I left and I took it to class with me where I set one of my students the task of creating three macro watercolours with it.



On returning home I decided to do the same in my 'Flo' journal and created 4 tiny studies of my own while enjoying a nice hot cuppa!

Column Week 19

I have been eyeing up these brightly coloured peppers sitting in my fridge for days now and Wednesday night I finally scooped them up and found time to sketch them in my journal. On Thursday I sliced them in half and stuffed them with a little flash fried, finely sliced bacon, chicken and mushrooms, topped them with a modest chunk of strong cheddar and popped them in the oven for around 15 mins. I served them with penne pasta in a tomato and basil sauce.

For dessert I treated myself to a couple of the beautiful handmade chocolates I'd purchased in the new sweet shop 'Chocolate Haven' just opened on Chatteris High Street.

Delicious!

My Column Online at the Cambs Times

Making Do

There are poppies blooming all over the garden and they look gorgeous. I've been tempted to paint them but every moment I have it seems to be raining, so I compromised and grabbed the silk stem I have instead.

I have sketched this stem of poppies before HERE in coloured pencil. Strangely I used a similar format back then too!

I sketched them in my new indoor studio space.

It's all been painted now and the floor is finished, I'm just waiting for my Ikea furniture to arrive and I'll be all set. I'm looking forward to not having to make the choice of leaving the family to go outside to work, my outdoor studio is just a few footsteps from the house but seems so far from those I love I invariably choose to stay in with them and end up sketching from the sofa. I'll be able to get so much more done once it's all rigged out but for now I am 'making do' with a 6ft table and stacks of my stuff planted all over my new floor.

It has the most incredible view over the Fen and a huge window that frames the dynamic sun sets perfectly.

Just Chilling!

Sat on the sofa with my feet up I decided to use them as my subject for this journal page, taking a moment to 'chill'.
The weather here had been unusually good for a couple of days so I decided to note that with a fireball of orange, a celebration of sorts!
I added the squares to the top right as a reminder of the laminate tiled flooring that's just been laid in my new indoor studio space and the rest of the design just came from fiddling around with a 0.3 pigment liner.

Fun!

The weather didn't last long, we now have rain again, and the feet are no longer 'chilling' due to me dropping a very heavy concrete flower pot on my right big toe last night.

Agony!

Close To Home - Wimblington

32a Doddington Road, Wimblington © Anita Davies

Another addition to the Close To Home project is this fairly new property along Doddington Road in Wimblington, a crisp, stylish home with lots of grand wrought iron and a curved brick entrance.

I sketched this one from the truck too, parking in Church Street facing it head on.

I was about halfway through the painting stage when the owner returned home with some shopping, as she emptied her boot I could see her looking over so when I'd finished I walked over to introduce myself in case my presence had made her uneasy.

Close To Home - Doddington

18 Newgate Street, Doddington © Anita Davies

I have travelled through the village of Doddington for the past 16 years and only now, through this project, do I learn of this fabulous house hidden up a short drive in Newgate Street.
I sketched this one from my truck, it was a warm day but I was able to park facing the house and sit with my windows open just after taking Harry to school one morning. The drive is narrow so I felt much safer behind the wheel, using it to prop my watercolour block upon.
I love everything about this house, from it's character and style to the untold stories it seemed to whisper to me while I sketched.
What a find!

Sports Day

A couple of quick sketches which made up a page in my journal recently while watching Harry take part in school sports day.

The Waiting Room

I remember a time when waiting to be 'seen' in the Doctors surgery was such a chore. I love that keeping a journal now makes times like these so much fun!

Some Scavenging

A hand doing something & A hand of cards

These are a few sketches I made for this week's Wet Canvas Scavenger Hunt.

A stuffed toy

Your big toes touching

Napkin holder or eggcup

A fruit, plant or flower you had a hand in growing.

Some thing you drink

An open candy rapper with candy

Your favourite drawing tool

Something that reminds you of a good time

A table or floor lamp

A pair of ?

Sketchbook Snippets

A few snippets from my 'Flo' journal filled with CP Bockingford paper using Daniel Smith watercolours and ink.



There's nothing quite like the smell and taste of English strawberries! Yum!



I love the little flowers my youngest brings in from walks down the drove.

Have you noticed how prawns always taste better when YOU remove their shells!

Preparation for a studio space INSIDE the house...Very exciting! This means I'll no longer have to make the choice of leaving my family in the evenings to go outside to the studio. I'll be able to paint into the early hours as well as filling my journal pages throughout the day! Yippee!

Day 28 - The Voice Of Tenneva Jordan

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.

Tenneva Jordan

Journal Grid

The Everyday in May posts have taken over from my daily journal posts this month but I have still been filling pages none the less.
I'm having alot of fun adjusting from the smooth HP paper in my Canson journal to the CP paper in my new 'Flo' journal. The usual 0.1 pigment liners I use do not like the paper very much but my Lamy Safari seems to enjoy any surface put before it. The Daniel Smith watercolours are such a pleasure to work with and I'm gradually finding my way with them.

The door was sketched while waiting for Harry to come out of school.
The necklace was a gift from my Mum, a little 'just because' treat, it has beautiful delicate trinkets hanging from it aswell as a large amber stone.
The roll is topped with sunflower and poppy seeds and was delicious!!!

I have so much to post, more homes from my 'Close to Home' project and lots more journal pages, so be prepared for a visual bombardment over the next couple of weeks.

Day 27 - The Voice Of Father James Keller

"A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle."

Father James Keller

Day 26 - The Voice Of Frederick Franck

Drawing is the discipline by which I constantly discover the world.

Frederick Franck

Parkfield Angus

While searching for a spot to park and sketch in the nearby village of Wimblington recently I came across The Parkfield where a herd of Aberdeen Angus were casually grazing. I've never sketched a cow before so took advantage of my find before moving on to continue my 'Close to Home' sketch for the day.