Sketching with a brush

Close up study for colours.

Last Monday evening a friend and I decided to go sketching at Little Mountain Park which is a few miles north of our city. It was incredibly hot, so when we got there we chose a shady area where we could work comfortably.

I settled myself near a bush that was covered with berries–another sketcher came by who said it was a mulberry bush. When I pulled my sketchbook from my travel bag there was a sinking feeling when I realized my drawing materials, including my watercolour pencils, were still at home relaxing in my cool studio. However, as luck would have it, there was still a travel set of watercolour paints, brushes, and water in the bag. So all was not lost.

Using a small Chinese brush and watercolour paints, I proceeded to study a small section of the mulberry bush. The top sketch ended up being painted at an odd location on my paper because I was balancing water, paper and a paintbox on my lap. I will be better prepared next time.

It was a good experience for me. On my next trip, the drawing tools will be left at home again so I can do more sketching with brush and watercolour. Paints used for these studies were: Daniel Smith quinacridone gold, Winsor & Newton quinacridone magenta, M. Graham napthol red, M. Graham sap green, and M. Graham dioxazine violet for the dark areas.