Little Missy Duck Painting in Pen and Wash

Pen and wash painting is just SO easy. You can use either your watercolor or acrylic paints. Whichever you use, your paints will last forever. 

Benefits of Pen and Wash Painting

There are two main benefits here. 
If you happen to be allergic to chemicals, even the ingredients in watercolor paints or acrylic paints, and you experience a great urge to use your creative talents, you will be exposed to far less chemicals when using this method of painting. Sometimes you only need to touch the tip of your damp brush into the tube of paint. This is then mixed with water and goes a LONG way. 

If you don't have much money and a tube of paint is like gold to you, then this is a very economical way to use your creativity. A little paint goes such a long way.

Little Missy Duck painted in Pen and Wash Acrylic paint

Method

• Lightly draw your design with black lead pencil onto your watercolor paper. Watercolor paper comes in different thicknesses. To start with use 210gsm paper. You will not have to stretch it. If you use 180gsm you will need to stretch it. That makes it more complicated to prepare. 
• Wet the area you want to paint with clean water. 
• Add a touch of paint to the area and watch it spread through the water. Paint another section while that one is drying. Paint each area until you are happy with your design. Let dry.
• Take a fine point permanent pen and outline your painting. Make some of the lines broken or made of dots for added effect.
• Sign it then frame.

Remember

When painting different areas of your painting, do not paint adjacent areas at the same time unless you want them to blend. Paint areas that are not touching to keep the paint in the area you want. 

For sale

Little Missy Duck
Size 7 1/2 inches x 5 1/4 inches
13.3 cm x 19 cm

Other articles you may be interested in

• Tole Painting

• Extend Your Artistic Talent with Folk Art and Painting

• Printmaking on a Gelatin Plate by Therese Vahland

 

FOOD TO EAT episode #2 Fish Tales

Here  is a great video about catching and cooking fish in the great outdoors. Here, two chefs take you on an outing to fish in a dam, then cook the catch in a delicious way. 


Bevan Vahland, the chef and film maker also has his videos on footprint.tv, a US based internet television channel. Check it out. 

Do you Believe in Science?

Do you believe in science?
Do you believe all the things scientists postulate? 
Why can scientists change their mind?

Do you believe everything that is 'proven' in science?
Do you think there are things in the Universe that are not explained by science?
Listen to Rupert Sheldrake and then ask yourself these questions.

Extend Your Artistic Talent with Folk Art and Painting

Folk Art, Tole Painting

This method of painting is a great method to learn when you want to paint but don't think you can. In Folk Art Painting or Tole Painting students are helped little by little to learn to paint. It is the basics of painting. You learn

• how to hold your brush
• which paint to use
• which colours go together
• background colours
• design
• control of the brush

Folk art flowers, also called Tole painting or Decorative painting

When a student becomes proficient they can progress to more complicated pieces. 

An array of painted folk art or Tole items

Bavarian folk art painting originated in the country villages of Europe. Painters would go from village to village decorating houses and furniture for the poorer people. The designs were very simple. 

Here are some simple designs I painted to decorate my chicken shed.

Hen and Rooster on wooden plaque

Eggs on a wooden plaque

 

Watercolour Painting

When a painter feels ready for more adventure they can try watercolour paints. Subject matter is vast. Painters can paint simple things at first then move onto more complicated studies. 

Watercolour painting on paper

Computer Programs and Art

Another thing I like to do is combine my paintings with the use of computer programs. www.picmonkey.com is a useful, simple program to use. 

Four separates paintings combines digitally

Printmaking

If you really get the artistic bug you can try some printmaking. This is a different form of art that you do not use a paintbrush to make. It can be made from lino, stamping, using copper or aluminium plates, solar plates or plates made from gelatine.

Printmaking on a gelatine plate

Computational Art

Prints can be enhanced with computer programs. Save your print to your computer then enhance it with a computer program, for example Photoshop, GIMP or Picmonkey.

 Using the computer you overlay one print over another and frame it digitally.

Overlay and frame your print

 So you can see there are plenty of ways to extend your skills and you pick up a paintbrush for the first time. 
Enjoy