Paintings-on-the-Go! Watercolor Journaling Presentation to the Watercolor Society of Oregon

Paintings-on-the-Go! Watercolor Journaling Presentation to the Watercolor Society of Oregon

I had the wonderful opportunity of being one of the presenters at the Watercolor Society of Oregon’s Fall Convention at Sunriver, Oregon this past weekend.  The focus of my talk was about painting while traveling.  After showing a packed room some my travel watercolor journals and a few demos, we did one of my favorite painting-on-the-go exercises.  Here is a recap of the lesson I taught – 
Materials needed:  Pencil, eraser, Flair pen, watercolor journal or good quality drawing paper (Strathmore 400), small watercolor brush and watercolor palette.

First, draw your subject with a pencil.  For this lesson we drew a door in Provence.  But this works well with any subject but mostly ones with large shapes.  Then trace over your drawing with the water-soluble Flair pen.  Add more ink in the darker areas of your drawing to create shadows underneath the doorway, stones and areas where the light does not hit.
Then, lightly and carefully add water to the pen lines leaving some areas white.   At this time you can add watercolor to the wash or just leave it as a monochromatic painting. Soften outer edges with clear water. 
I will be teaching this technique and many, many more at the Menucha retreat coming up in November – 4 days of classes, all room & board included, located in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge!

Using the window to trace our drawings

Rene painted a beautiful pineapple with this technique

Looking good!

Having fun!

Hard at work
Deanna shares here watercolor journal

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4 thoughts on “Paintings-on-the-Go! Watercolor Journaling Presentation to the Watercolor Society of Oregon”

  1. I love this technique but usually use a Tombow pen which is watersoluble but not too great on lightfastness. How has the Flair pen held up to lightfastness?

  2. Hi Freebird! So far I have only used these pens in my journal which don't see too much light so I can't answer your questions. I do want to try the Tombows! Don't they come in lots of colors? I have been looking for a good sepia color.

  3. Thanks for your comment on my blog about your 3 legged dog. Gives me hope. How old is it and Can your dog jump up on things .. is it the back leg like Annie's? Always love seeing your watercolors and hints. Wish I had taken up watercolors instead of Oils years ago. I dabble now and try to learn all I can.

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