Otis Cafe, Otis, OR
Otis Cafe, Otis, OR
I decided to try something new today. Normally when I do watercolors I try to draw the subject very carefully in pencil, then determine where the colors and light sources should be, and then build the painting in two or three coats. I started by drawing the subject from a photograph using pen; then worked on it with watercolor; then put it aside; and finally finished with pen accents and a light wash.
The result is a combination of the best aspects of mixed media drawing. The sketch has the lightness of watercolor and the hard line of a pen drawing. It conveys the feeling of being at a roadside cafe at the end of a long journey, having driven all day to get to a destination. And it seems like a friendly place to have a meal.
I think I’ll start more drawings/paintings this way. (Though I think I need a new name for them, because they are somewhere in between watercolor, painting, and drawing.)
October 11, 2009 at 11:31 pm
[...] is a companion piece to my other illustration, and was done in the way that I would normally try to complete watercolors. I penciled in the [...]