Summer Harvest

I finally finished the drawing and transferred it to a full sheet of 300 lb. 

Arches Cold press.

Once the drawing is transferred I spend some time tweaking areas by adding more details and definition.  I use a kneaded eraser to pick up any excess graphite and rework again.

All this may sound counter productive.

But to me, all this prep sets up the painting in more ways than one.

I feel the texture of the paper and how my composition lays across the sheet,

 all the while working out color recipes in my head as I go.

By the time I'm ready to bring a brush to the surface I see the finish painting completed 

and work towards that goal.

This does not mean that I don't allow for spontaneity.

That happens just in the nature of the medium of watercolor as washes flow and blend.

No matter how carefully I lay out a work there are always surprises.

"Summer Harvest"

I use an electric eraser to take out small areas of the drawing and for picking out highlights in the painting.  I loved to bring this into my middle school drawing classes.

The kids thought an electric eraser was a strange and weird piece of equipment.

But they always changed their minds once I let them try it.

Also you see my mechanical pencil sharpener on the right.

I've had that same one for almost 40 years.

About 20 years ago I bought the inside sandpaper cups in bulk.

They last forever but when it was time to buy more I discovered this sharpener was considered 

vintage and refills could only be found on Ebay!

So I bought a bunch from the one seller who must have hoarded them back in the 80's.

Also you see a couple of the items in this piece.

The cloth and the green bottle were found during on of my thrift store trips.

I have an idea for a large colored glass painting and thought I'd try just one here and see how it goes.

I don't usually work on the weekends but I'm pretty excited about this one

and may just have to break that rule.

Have a happy weekend!