Creating art while babysitting...

9 x 12 "Barrel Cactus

watercolor, watercolor pencils, traditional color pencils

While Baby Whit naps or plays in his gym, I worked in my sketchbook.  First I did watercolor.  Then I lifted out the white needles with a damp brush and then blotted with paper towel.  Then I used a waxy white pencil to protect the white of the needles.  Then I used watersoluable colored pencils.  In some areas I blended with water, in areas of texture I left dry.

Here's Baby Whit!



Making a sketch into something more

This started out as a sketch to prepare for the previous pastel painting called "Winter Colors".  Sometimes after I finish the painting, I go back to the sketch and do more with it.  In this case, it started with pencil to block in the shapes of the leaves and the cast shadows, and then evolved into watercolor pencils ... then watercolor wash over that ... then finally, Prismacolor colored pencils layered and burnished in some areas.