Sketches

Saturday 7 November 2009

Diving


Aquarel made for the 50th birthday of a friend of mine, Ger Peukens. Schilderij als verassing voor Ger Peukens, 50 jaar deze week.

6 comments:

RobCarey said...

Beautiful image, Rene. What's the size of this piece, and what materials did you use here?

Rene Fijten said...

I found the picture in a watercolour book, I can't remember which one, but I scanned it in. Format about 25x33. Watercolour paper 300grams. 4 shades of blue and 1 purple (I can look them up if you want). For the first layer I thorougly wetted the paper and (just after the water shimmering is gone) I let the ceraleum blue and red flow freely. Then, later, while the paper was not completely dry, I added 3 layers of differnt blues to suggest the stones. The next day, after the paper had dried, I spat drops of colour on it, using an old toothbrush. The fish were done with inktense pencils washed out with some water, because of the vibrant colours.
Sounds like a lot of work, but the definitive version cost me about 2 1/2 hours. But to be honest I did 2 compete tries before this one before I got the timing right.
You should try it as well!

RobCarey said...

Great work and technique, Rene. Thanks for the explanation. I am still trying to figure out what to do with watercolors, and even trying to play around with gouache, which I find very interesting as well.

Rene Fijten said...

It's always nice to experiment, almost like a trip to unknown territories. Yesterday I used soft pastel for the first time in a drawing, I always disliked the material, but I was surprised by the result. Something totally different came out, sometimes the material leads you to new roads.

Beá Meira said...

Rene,

This image is wonderfull!
I am impressed with your rigour. All this control and discipline in each stage of this work.
Congratulations.

Rene Fijten said...

Bea, thank you. Normally I just make the quick Urban sketches. This painting is also fun to do but my usual daily life gets in the way.