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This week I got a new set of Tombow Dual Brush pens. They have a fine point at one end and a nylon brush tip at the other. The ink is watersoluble and looks like watercolor if you spread it with a wet brush. The first sketch I did tested all the colors on watercolor paper.
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The next day I experimented with blending techniques. I wet the paper first at the top and then used the brush pens to spread color into the water.
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I then added the flowers using the brushes on the dry paper. Next I filled in around the flowers and used a wet brush to spread and blend the colors. Finally I added a little white ink to restore some of the whites.
On Saturday morning I attended a Paint the Town event at the Springer Garden on the campus of Willamette University. I did a fast warmup sketch to test the colors.
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I did a second color sketch and concentrated on the poppies.
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This time I used both ends of the pens to get both broad and fine marks.
The garden has beautiful beds of flowers, but it also borders the Mill stream with large trees. I decided to do a third sketch with watersoluble pencil to capture the lighting.
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This morning, Sunday, I did two watercolor sketches at another Paint the Town event. This one was held at a private residence near Ankeny Wildlife Reserve. I sat in the shade and worked back and forth between the two sketches. I worked on one and then while waiting for it to dry, I worked on the other.
I started the first sketch with a fountain pen to lay in the scene. Then I worked with watercolor, lightest colors first, and then while waiting for the first layer to dry, I worked on the second sketch painting directly with a brush without any underdrawing using what I learned from the first sketch as a guide.
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After I got home, I added more of the darks and a bit more detail before scanning the sketches.
Jim
