After far too long, I finally managed to film one of the new drawings I’m preparing for the Staithes Festival from the 15-17 September.
This is just the line drawing stage -the paint will follow shortly. Hope you enjoy this… I’m a little rusty in the filming department.🤓
A quick post today…I just uploaded the second part of my Staithes drawing…this part features the addition of watercolour washes..you can watch it here.
A more detailed post will follow in a few days; in response to many comments and requests, I’m writing a recollection and thoughts on my experience on Watercolour Challenge, which is currently being broadcast on Channel 5 at 4pm here in the UK.
Well, that was quite a Monday to start the week. So much happened I thought I would share it in one (hopefully informative) post….to start with, tomorrow sees my latest mini-workshop for the lovely folk at Etchr Studios, and places are still available as I write: it’s at 3 pm GMT & will last for 90 minutes. If you can’t spare the time ‘live’, you can catch up with the recording, which will be emailed to you in 2 -3 days…and all for the price of a big fancy coffee. Details are here
I was also delighted to find out that one of the new pieces I took to The Old School Gallery in Muker last week has happily sold, and is on its way to Hawaii of all places! I did offer to deliver it personally…….this was the [piece in question
I finally ordered a new set of 8 greeting cards from my printer, which will be available on my Etsy shop from next week: I needed to re-stock as I’d completely sold out!!!
I’m also very fortunate to have a few nice commissions in hand, but I will always be able to fit more in, especially if you’re starting too think about the ‘C’ word, gifts, and possible shortages of ideas for the imminent festive season: just drop me a line if you’re at all interested?
What else? Not much more for a rainy Monday here in Yorkshire, but there’s still time…..
Happy to announce I finally got around to filming a new demonstration for my YouTube channel-well, at least parts one and two-which are now live to view.
In the light of the continually evolving COVID situation, I’m resigned to the fact that, with a couple of exceptions, my usual calendar of demonstrations for art clubs and societies is unlikely to resume until next spring at the earliest: many clubs rely on village or church halls for venues, and for obvious reasons these aren’t available and won’t be for some time.
So, I have decided to set myself a target of a new YouTube video on a weekly basis. Logistically it’s not an issue, it’s the subject matter I could use some help with: if there’s anything specific you’d like to see demonstrated, please let me know and if it’s within my abilities I’ll be happy to do so.
Here’s the link to YouTube
I was delighted to be asked by The SAA ( Society for All Artists) to write a blog for their website: I’m still polishing my words of wisdom, and will post when it’s ready.
As a taster, they also asked me for a ‘Top Tip’ which was published today on their social media channels: here it is, with the two demonstration drawings.
John Harrison, artist: purveyor of line drawings with watercolour is a pen and wash artist and has the answer to this often asked question: “How can I make my drawings look less flat?”
One way to achieve this is to vary the line weights that you use in the initial drawing, staring with a really fine nib.
The initial linework on the drawing was done with a 0.05 size, and the emphasis lines with a 0.3 nib.
The fine nib can also be used for any hatching, and the heavier one for deep shadow areas, which can help suggest strong sunlight.
Confining the emphasis lines to those areas closest to the viewer, and leaving those areas furthest away in the lightest lines will also help with aerial perspective to convey a sense of depth and distance.
Share your work with us if you find John’s tip helpful!
Here are the two stages of a quick demo drawing which accompanied the post:
