T2

I've added the darker tones, and I think I'm finished.

Meet :                                

T2

Inktense pencils can be wetted, by doing so the colour will be intensified and it will look more like a painting.
However, I quite like the way this picture has turned out, so I shan't be wetting it.

Stages 5 & 6

Just for my impatient followers - you know who you are - you are going to get two stages today :)

Both background , firstly the under layer of yellow and then the top layers of field green, teal blue and indigo.

 I need to do some darker tones in the background. That will be next and then I think it'll be finished. That should be tomorrow.

Stage 4

The platform support that the tiger was resting on has had its first few layers of colour applied.  Next will be to start the background.
Layer after layer of applying colour using pencils is quite hard on hands and wrists. I've had to take a few breaks from creating this. Painting is easier!

Stage 3

Second colour, Mustard is now on the tiger

Here you can see how this textured paper picks up the colour from the pencils

and here's the second layer of the same colour

Because the paper has texture, the colour from the pencils doesn't get right into the grooves, unless forced. I'm not going to force it into every valley, because I like the lighter sections. I think it helps give character.

Stage 2

I started by laying down an under - colour on the Tiger.
For this I used a Sunshine Yellow.

I intend to blend another colour on top of it, to give a truer tiger colouring.

Stages with Inktense pencils

After drawing the mints, I thought to try a more detailed picture with the Inktense pencils.

This is the drawing, from a photo my friend Lynne took at a wildlife sanctuary; which she kindly gave me permission to use.

I used a sheet from my Strathmore pad to draw upon. 

more pud

The Christmas pud meets liquid - and the Inktense colours do as they promise - and intensify..

Pudding, anyone?

A lovely little Christmas pudding, all wrapped up.
Drawn with Inktense pencils in my sketch book.

Water Changes

Here is Mr Rhino, Sir! after water was added to the Inktense pencil drawing.


Sometimes, when you draw with a medium that can be changed by the addition of water, you get a bit wary of making the change, in case you don't like the result! After all, there's no going back.

Luckily for me, I like the changes to the rhino after water was added :)

Mr Rhino, sir!

I'm practicing wild animals at the moment.
This rhino was done in Inktense pencils without water. I may well add water to it and see what develops.


I have a few wildlife photos (thanks to Becks) that I can use to make paintings, so I want to improve my drawing before I lay brush to paper.

Mr Rhino, sir! ( what else would you call him?) is the first of my practice pieces. Eventually I want to paint him in the loose style I have recently been using .

Just a scribble...

Just a scribble?

Why yes. And no.

The scribble of the daffodils has a purpose. It whiled away a few spare minutes and gave me pleasure. That is purpose enough.
I show it to you to show you that not every time you take pencil to paper does it have to be a masterpiece.

Now, this scribble was done with Inktense pencils, so I can wet the drawing after it is finished and get a more painterly look. It still won't look like a masterpiece - but again - it doesn't have to!

If I really like the composition and think it might well make a masterpiece, I can always come back to my sketchbook another time and use it as a reference for when I want to draw the masterpiece on watercolour paper.

So get out and draw.
You'll enjoy it for its own sake.
Masterpieces come later !

Two cats, Two dogs

I've been playing with the new toy again!
Here are a few quick sketches I made with the Inktense pencil.

I drew them first, then selectively wet certain areas - and voila!
Two cats , two dogs .

Each sketch took about Two minutes to draw ..

Playing with paints is great fun, keeps my drawing skills up and makes me smile. That's good enough reason for me to do it - I hope the pictures make you smile too!

New Toy!

I bought a new hardback sketchbook yesterday. Whilst I was in the shop I also bought a new sketching pencil - a Derwent Inktense.

Brilliant little pencil! It draws as you'd expect a pencil to do, but if you wet the area you have drawn, you get a deep intense inky colour.
The two sketches are two really quick ones I made, just to test out its capabilities. I'm very impressed and will be using this from now on for field sketches.

If you want to know more about Derwent and their range of specialist pencils, click here