I went out and painted in the centre of Ghent today. At first it was uncomfortable — people swarming around you, cars, trams, bikes. Ok perhaps not swarming. Milling.

But once I got into it, I forgot where I was and what time it was, and enjoyed it a lot. Drawing urban scenes is completely different to drawing the natural forms of the countryside.

I was almost finished when I was approached by an old man who talked to me about painting. That was nice. He said he was thinking himself of sitting in that position but with a different subject. And he was politely complimentary about my picture. It was a nice exchange and I thought: that’s something that wouldn’t happen in the countryside.

The picture above is taken from a poor angle using my camera as I don’t have a scanner here. Maybe I can get a proper scan of the image at a printshop.

In order to improve…

…I need to not rip up pictures when I get frustrated.

…I need to forgive myself when they don’t turn out the way I wanted.

And I need to recognise small victories.

I need to learn to prioritize the important parts of these sketches; I tried drawing this scene when the sun was going down and soon learned to appreciate brevity in sketching.

The latest sketch of my foray into watercolours. Can you tell what’s depicted?

I’m still lacking control of the finished product (I always know what I want but rarely how to achieve it) but having fun nevertheless.

I’m finding it fun to use my instinct and available resources. My brushes aren’t very good but most of the nicest effects I’ve achieved so far are from using bits of plant stem or leaf as brushes. I also used a knife to cut up the paper in places, but that’s less evident in the photo than in reality.

The green grid pattern is meant to represent the protective wire around the two sapling trees (yes, that’s what they are). I achieved it by cutting out some mesh from a garlic bag and making a stamp.

Update: I see now that I should have made the background layers leaner in places so that the thicker paint in the foreground wasn’t muddled. And perhaps I should have been more patient with drying times. Hopefully I’ll remember all this next time.

I’m using watercolours for the first time.

In the past I’ve only painted digitally with a Wacom tablet. Below are my first four pictures. Clearly I have a lot to learn. But I’m already having fun with different techniques, styles, papers, subjects, etc. I hope that by shaming myself on my own blog I will be encouraged to continue practising :)

First steps. From observation (actually, all of them are).

Getting more confident. Started using a penknife to apply paint in some places because the brushes I have are too flimsy and broad.

This one’s less confident, more complicated. Mixing colours is difficult!

Click to enlarge.

Well it’s true, sometimes you just have to abandon something.

(click to enlarge)

Another sketch from observation. Santa Margalida, Mallorca.

Unfinished sketch. I’d have liked to capture more of the light (and detail, for that matter) in this scene but it changes so quickly in the morning that I got left behind. I need to be quicker, for this.

Could just take a photo but it’s not the same; in trying to capture the details before they change, you become extremely perceptive and appreciative of all the details. A certain glistening or shadow will be gone in moments, the colours change, whole trees disappear behind fog, etc. Drawing becomes a meditation on nature, change, emotional connection with the environment…

I know they’re nothing special, but i’m finding that it’s very therapeutic to do a sketch or two a day. Let’s you disconnect a bit. I think I stand a chance at improving if I just keep it up.

my dad

my cat
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another doodle

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