Comments on: Forest Road http://www.idleminutes.com/2008/01/forest-road/ An Illustrated Journal Featuring The Artwork of Don West Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:18:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 By: Don http://www.idleminutes.com/2008/01/forest-road/#comment-576 Don Sat, 26 Jan 2008 17:30:18 +0000 http://idleminutes.com/2008/01/25/forest-road/#comment-576 Hi Karen, Thanks for the kind comments :-) The scenes start with a pen sketch using a .005 micron pen. Sometimes I do a thumbnail or two with a pencil to get a good composition idea. That's the memory part. Then the colors and light happen as I add the color with watercolor. Highlights are added with a little white gouache tinted with a teeny bit of the desired color. Gouache always dries considerably darker than mixed so it's a little hard to get used to at first. Using that little micron pen has made a lot of difference. The fatter ink lines from heavier pens have tended to overpower the scenes a bit. The tiny pen leaves just the right amount of ink visible in the finished painting. On the lake cliffs post no ink was used, just pencil. It pretty much disappears by the time the painting is finished. Hope this helps :-) Thanks again for the kind words :-) Hi Karen,
Thanks for the kind comments :-)
The scenes start with a pen sketch using a .005 micron pen. Sometimes I do a thumbnail or two with a pencil to get a good composition idea. That’s the memory part.

Then the colors and light happen as I add the color with watercolor. Highlights are added with a little white gouache tinted with a teeny bit of the desired color.

Gouache always dries considerably darker than mixed so it’s a little hard to get used to at first.

Using that little micron pen has made a lot of difference. The fatter ink lines from heavier pens have tended to overpower the scenes a bit. The tiny pen leaves just the right amount of ink visible in the finished painting.

On the lake cliffs post no ink was used, just pencil. It pretty much disappears by the time the painting is finished.

Hope this helps :-)
Thanks again for the kind words :-)

]]> By: karen Sandstrom http://www.idleminutes.com/2008/01/forest-road/#comment-575 karen Sandstrom Sat, 26 Jan 2008 16:49:49 +0000 http://idleminutes.com/2008/01/25/forest-road/#comment-575 You do such a great job on these pastoral-scenes-from-memory, Don. I would never be able to get such a realistic feeling scene. I'm curious about how vividly you "see" it in your imagination, or whether it's a sketchier idea that tends to come alive on the page as you start to paint. More importantly, when are you going to do a drawing that involves barbecue and/or banana pudding??? You do such a great job on these pastoral-scenes-from-memory, Don. I would never be able to get such a realistic feeling scene. I’m curious about how vividly you “see” it in your imagination, or whether it’s a sketchier idea that tends to come alive on the page as you start to paint.
More importantly, when are you going to do a drawing that involves barbecue and/or banana pudding???

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