Stretching with Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft

I’m excited to be back again for another Guest Design spot with Design Memory Craft. I’d love for you to stop by over there as well. I really want to improve my painting skills, specifically my watercolor skills. I’ve taken art classes since middle school and watercolor was NEVER my thing. However, I’m determined to get a decent style going with a little more practice. The one thing I have learned is that many of us get frustrated trying a new medium not realizing that the medium may not be of good quality to begin with. We find ourselves buying a low-grade version in an effort to save money and see if ‘we like it’ or not. I can tell you flat-out that you will not like a low-grade medium. They do not blend well, they do not have enough pigmentation, they are chalky, etc. I know that Faber-Castell is a high-quality product, so I’ve been playing with as many of their products as I can to stretch my skills. This week, I decided to play with Faber-Castell Art GRIP® Aquarelle Watercolor Pencils as my main medium. However, I also added some Faber-Castell Gelatos™ as well as Art GRIP® Color Pencils.

I started by sketching a Florida beach scene on my watercolor paper. I used a 2H pencil that would leave really light marks and be easily erased.

I wanted an early sunrise scene, so I started layering my base colors, blending and drying as I went. Let me confess and stress right up front that I am not a watercolor artist, so my technique is not ‘by the book’.

I love texture, so I applied a little technique I learned to give a little texture to your watercolor pieces. If you sand a little pencil color over your wet paper, the paper will pick up the little pigment pieces and hold them creating an extra layer of texture.

I added a few flecks to my water as well.

I came back in and blended a little Coconut and Tangerine Gelatos™ color to my sketch.

I kept playing with my beach scene at this point. After blending everything, I came back in with the Art GRIP® Color Pencils to add a little stronger contrast in places, especially at edges and borders, blending with a blending stump. I used the Art GRIP® Color Pencils in brown (176) and black (199) to sketch in some sea grass and some little flying birds. I stamped my quote with Ranger Archival Ink using a Donny Downey & Unity Stamp from the She Said collection and came back in with a little dry brush and gesso to add some sea-foam in random places.

It’s not quite a masterpiece, but I played and practiced on a skill I want to improve. By doing so, I felt the surge of creative energy kick in that I needed this week and I learned things I’ll try different next time. For example, I know my sky needs to be darker for this to really look like a sunrise scene, but I needed to stop before messing up the progress I did make. Nevertheless, I’m quite happy with my creation today and might just be matting and framing this to put on my gallery wall…until I make one even better. I love seeing my progress and learning to share those with the world as well. I hope you find inspiration today to stretch your wings and try something different; a new technique, a new medium, a new perspective. If you do try something new, please share with me here or on my Facebook page and I’ll share your projects as well.