Magic boat
Posted: August 20, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 11 CommentsI am always excited when people suggest things for me to sketch. My friend George thought I might be interested in drawing this rowboat (he calls it his “chaloupe”) that he inherited when he bought his cottage by the lake. It’s a bit of a magic boat because when it’s out on the lake, water pours in from a bunch of rusty holes in the bottom. And yet when it’s on land it fills up with water that just never seems to drain. I struggled with this sketch for a long time. I hope it reads as a boat full of murky water.
Of course it reads! I’m still deciding if I prefer your outlined sketches or those wuth just watercolor.
Thanks Miguel! For some reason this sketch needed the linework. Maybe because of all the texture in the boat.
I think it’s pretty ironic that you had to struggle to make the water murky in your sketch. Usually, for us, the nightmarish puddle colour always comes in… even without being sought after! But honestly, your “murky” water in the boat is not a puddle colour at all. Lovely setting for the boat and a blast for this sketch!
That’s very funny Mai!
Just lovely. The perspective is interesting and the murky water reads as just that. I am interested in how you determine to use the pen and ink. Also would love a step by step description of how you complete a painting like this one which uses water colour as well as pen.
Glad you like it Valerie. I use pen and ink when I feel there is lots of texture in the scene, especially when I’m working in a Moleskine. The paper doesn’t stand up to many layers of paint so the pen is better for creating some of that texture.
For this sketch, I drew with the pen first (Micron 005) and then added watercolour. But there still was not enough texture in it so I added another layer of pen at the end on the boat and in some of the grasses.
I agree with Mai — the murkiness seems to reside in my paintbrush — LOL!
I really love your artwork Shari…please let me know if you have a Vernissage at the end of the year or sell any.
Thanks Sebrina. I’ll let you know for sure.
I like the boat’s texture a lot and the vegetation around it. Gives the appearance of abandonment. As to the water, I wasn’t quite sure it was water or just a dirty, algae coated inside, but doesn’t really matter if it reads as water or not for me. If you wanted it to read as water, wouldn’t there need to be a reflection of the sky or the seat that is above the water in the bottom? Not sure.
I looked for a long time at the water and there was no reflection of the sky and no light areas. Just deep, dark water. I guess maybe I should have added some light areas to make it read better.