studio1009

I began another course with Zina conducted over WebEx. The first exercise was to use an alternate watercolor media. There are watercolor pencils, watercolor sticks, and watercolor markers. I already owned some watercolor pencils and had tried them. In class, I learned that you don't usually color in the picture like colored pencils. You draw with the pencil to apply some color, then blend with a damp brush. You can also dampen the tip of the pencil and draw with that to get intense color, or you can dampen the paper and draw.

Last year at the start of the pandemic lockdown. I visited the National Arboretum to see cherry blossoms. The magnolias were in bloom too and they were a striking dark pink. I used a photo I took then as a reference. I liked the combination of dark buds and pale petals.

The painting looks like an old botanical illustration.