The subject for this weeks class was "Something old". Resisting the temptation to look in the mirror or paint the person opposite me (sorry Eileen), I decided to do a Galapagos tortoise as there was a rather nice photograph of one in the new Lonely Planet magazine which I got this morning. As we only had one lesson, ie. 2 hours, to do the picture in I decided the best approach was to do a pen and wash. I did a rough pencil sketch, laid down some watercolour washes in various colours and then drew into this with waterproof sepia pen. I then built up the washes, especially trying to get some dark shadows. I think it still needs some more work so I will put it in my unfinished picture box to play with at a later date.
Not totally unrelated, I have been reading a rather good book called Beneath the Surface - The Making of Paintings by Philippa Abrahams. It looks at the materials and techniques, from illuminated manuscripts and fresco to acrylics. Rather than just deal with the theory, the author actually illstrates the various techniques with her own recreations of various mediums. I can thoroughly recommend this book.
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