Carry One Big Brush
I’ve recently found that a big round brush is a fabulous tool for gesture sketching. It simply won’t allow for needless details. The brush point however, is versatile enough to go back into forms to provide corrections and accents. Working exclusively with a big round brush would have felt really uncomfortable for me, just one year ago.
Because, July 9 marked my first Watercolor Wednesday and my year long journey with watercolor, In that time, I’ve only really used a few watercolor brushes. But I’m finding that I’m most comfortable now, working only with this big guy for my small watercolor gesture paintings.
The image above and the Watercolor Wednesday painting in yesterday’s post are examples of these gesture sketches. If you haven’t already tried this minimal touch, I encourage you to give it a go. All you have to lose is a little time and a couple of sheets of paper. I always use both sides:) Sketches that don’t work make fine additions to the collage bag. The less successful sketches have also taught me volumes about becoming comfortable with loose watercolor.
The benefits of my watercolor experiments in general, have seeped into all of my work. I’m more free and generally more confident. I’ve new ideas and loftier goals.
So, I will continue to push my watercolor experiences. I have no plans to give up Watercolor Wednesdays, am I’m enjoying them a heck of a lot more. Thank you for your encouragement this past year. You’ll helped renew my enthusiasm for experimentation and helped me feel free with “less as decidedly more“.