Nice work! I’ve been watching darn near every channel for watercolor painters and I learn a bit from each. But yours I learn the most. Seriously. Your instruction is the most detailed and clearest to learn from. Thanks so much!
Thank you for the comparison. I'm just getting into watercolor for line work and it let me see that I like more line work for the forest and more paint for the reflections. I really appreciate it.
I absolutely agree about the angle hatching, it is a technique i discovered looking at very old etchings and i like using for foliage. Thanks for your videos.
It's nice to see your "whole" process, including using the light table for transferring the drawing's basic outline, which saves a lot of time. Yesterday on an evening walk around our neighborhood, I collected a variety of leaves from trees along our route, pressed them last night, and will now use them to trace around, then paint. I could have sketched out each one, but the tracing will save me some time and give me autumn coloring ideas too. Thanks for the video.
Thank you for talking about cross hatching. I have been thinking for a time now that cross hatching is distracting to the viewer and from the finished picture. I like other hatching and it serves a purpose and direction to the drawing. I really like your rendering of your picture. I like both of them. Thanks for teaching me something new. I always come away from your videos with something I can use.
Okay this is definitely one of my favorites of your videos. I love 💕 both versions of this. I understand completely now why you would use the line & wash both ways. The top one looks more like an illustration piece while the bottom looks more watercolor painting. I am amazed that the line work part gives so much difference to these. I am also thrilled to see how your did the reflections of the water with both versions because I have had a huge problem with trying to do water reflections in my line & wash artwork. Extremely helpful & informative video that I will definitely have to keep handy for reference for doing reflections. Thanks for sharing this wonderful knowledge of line & wash with us! 😉💕👩🏻🎨
Very interesting for me. I liked that I could compare both styles side by side. Both have a draw for me; so another thing I can practice on. Thanks for doing the comparison of these two styles. I like how detailed you explain the process.
I love your work, and your pain any is absolutely stunning you do an awesome job. I agree with others you're one of my most favorite teachers for watercolor. I like that you try new things new products and you share your feelings. Thank you for sharing everything that you do.
Watching you cross-hatching is very soothing (Day 25 of pandemic self-distancing). I originally came to watch your latest video (the azaleas), but realized I hadn’t seen this one, which is older. Great stuff!
Great side by side look at different techniques. I like them both. I've used the various direction of hatching you demonstrated in the first study to draw faces, but with no outlines for face or features, it's all hatching. Fun exercise. You're a born teacher Steve.
I have to agree with you on crosshatching. After 22 days of Inktober I haven't been pleased with most of my attempts at crosshatching. Thanks for sharing this Steve I really appreciate your work and guidance!
Thank you very much for this video. I am better at drawing than watercolor, and it is nice to know that a line and wash is a valid form. I think this will help me as I continue to improve my watercolor technique.
Here is a tip if you are unsure about whether the next step will ruin an artwork; scan it in or photograph it in high quality first. This is great for near finished pieces that you are worried about ruining, as in worst case scenario you will have a print of what you loved. I do really like how both of the artworks came out. I kept thinking “add cooler colors to the water and reflections”. In my mind it would give that slightly more separation of the foliage and the water.
Thanks for this tutorial, Steve. I never did understand on when to cross hatch, and it just never looked right to me! What a relief to know that it's not really a "need" for ink drawings. Both of your drawings turned out beautifully. 🙌
Line and wash is my favorite stile of watercolor. I follow another watercolor artist on RU-vid that specializes in this technique - Peter Sheeler. He does a lighter ink application usually, and I like it very much.
Great to find someone like you “Who Cares” You are such a good guy. Your classes are Tops👌Learn so much from you. If there is anything I need to brush up on with my watercolour, I can guarantee that when I log onto “The Mind of Watercolour” I will find the answers. So BIG THANK YOU Mr Cool Guy and many thanks for your superb classes. Your Great 🌹
Bottom one reminds me so much of Calvin and Hobbes. I love it. I'm trying to incorporate more watercolor into my ink drawings. This helped a ton thank you
I love the look of pen and ink by itself. I am caught up on Inktober, and I still love it. I hope to keep this drawing habit up after this month. Maybe not daily, but several times a week at least. The minimal line and color was my favorite here.
Beautiful as usual..I like both the plain pen and ink and the watercolor wash..You make it look so easy. Thank.you ..I will give it a try again. Thanks for the inspiration
Thanks for the demonstration. I always learn something new from you. I love both pictures, but I understand there is a time and place for both techniques.
Absolutely stunning...Great tutorial. Thank you very much for varying the subject of watercolour, pencil watercolour, pen and ink. Making us comfortable in trying new approach and technique of painting.
Thank you for sharing this. It was interesting on how much of a difference it made when you do ink with wc. The first one looked more detailed than the second one. Of course I'm more parcel to ink and pencil work then WC. First love is grafite. I can make things pop with grafite more than watercolor. Of course I am a WC newbie. Great job 👍. Thanks again.
Wonderful video Steve showing how to change things up and get a different look with the same tools. Your second style with it's leaves reminds me a bit of Mateusz Urbanowicz who is a wonderful watercolor artist that lives and works in Japan (no doubt, you probably already are aware of him here on RU-vid). I always learn something when watching your videos, thanks for that!!!
Beautiful video Steve, really inspiring. I love your work. One day I might get somewhere near your skill level!!! Stay safe, wishing you and your family all the best during these difficult times.
Like them both. Kind of reminds me of the work on channel - Smoothie 77. He does a lot of graphite and water-colour. Glad Reese is getting ready for Halloween.
This was so interesting. I have been doing line and wash and didn't know it was called that but now I know so much more about it. I will go at with more of a sense of purpose and direction now. I appreciate your teaching style. I learn so much from your videos and have practiced with good result after watching, thanks so much.
Steve, this was wonderful. I learned so much in this video. I am going to start it right over and watch it again! I loved it and it is beautiful. Thanks, dear teacher!
This was fantastic. Looking forward to having another go at ink and wash. Although I think Id like something a little more in the middle though both peices are gorgeous as usual.
If the Noodler's is too slow to dry for you (I found that even fully dry it still smears), you can try Platinum Carbon Black ink. I can watercolor right over it the second it dries, it's really quick! Thanks for the great videos, I've learned so much from watching them!
Purr-fect costume for Reese (and his lack of heart). Steve, those drawings are absolutely gorgeous! I love that type of hatching, in the first drawing. The watercoloring is beautiful in both but I rather enjoyed seeing your "graphic side" come alive with the first and your using the light box. Enjoy Autumn! Is it peak there yet? It's still 100 degrees feel-like here and all the trees are various shades of greens, as always. We have the annual influx of crows in the live oaks across the street, however. At least, it sounds like Autumn! They've been fussing at one another all day - hysterical. Soon I will have Painted and Indigo Buntings, the female Paints (greenies) and Blue Grosbeaks. I look forward to them all each winter, eating from my feeders (I took so so many pics one year). See you next week. Thanks for all that you do!
Thanks for talking about all the steps but most of all talking about cross hatching. I have never been able to make it look right and I gave up. I can see trying this in fall and even lighter for winter. It has even given me ideas for Christmas cards, something different is needed here, just talking about me. Most of all it looks very relaxing. We all have a need for something different after Inktober. As far of the different styles both are great, I just like seeing more watercolor than the heavy ink. (Great hint for plein air) Thanks Steve
i know im asking randomly but does anyone know of a trick to log back into an Instagram account? I stupidly lost my account password. I love any tips you can offer me.
@Rey Salvador Thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site through google and I'm waiting for the hacking stuff now. Takes a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
Both were beautiful. I really enjoyed the ink sketch in general. Since I work in comics I do 90% of my work-work “line and wash” technically so I never fuss with it in sketching because i always like the break and freedom of improvisation. But I really really enjoyed your work here and it inspires to me to consider pushing it in my sketchbook more often. :) great video!
They both turned out beautiful! The drawing in the top one was a fantastic ink drawing even without the color. I couldn’t agree more about traditional cross-hatching. It usually comes off looking very amateur. By the way, I don’t trust you to babysit my cat, anymore. So, Princess will be home with me, this week. 🐱
Enjoyed watching you draw, which I think is so much more important than really any other thing in creating artwork. You might try Noodler's Lexington Grey, which is almost black, dries quite fast, and is waterproof, even when diluted.
I love your work. I always gravitate to your painting instructions as I learn so much. While watching your value sketch, I noticed it looked like you were erasing part of the tree with what looks like a pen eraser. Am I correct? If so I don’t see that item listed on your products. Will you please let me know what it is you are using to erase? Thank you.
Hello Steve! I'm wondering what you do with all of the art that you make for RU-vid? You call many of them studies. Of course your work is beautiful. Do you file them, sell them, give them away or toss them? Thank you as always for being so generous with your talent and teaching. You've made a huge difference in my progress and attitude in watercolor. Your Friend from NC! Sherry Lee
Thanks, I usually try to scan and make available as a print. Some of it is in journals or filed away, so originals don't get sold. Originals that are available for sale go up on my website but I'm way behind on posting new work.
Always learn something new and useful - dioxazine purple in green is beautiful and cross hatching sort of takes away from pen and ink drawings. My problem is I can carve very realistic things but when I try to water color - I want each stroke to be the complete thing as in carving. Not explaining myself well, but water color you build up and I don't see the complete 'thing' until you are done with all the layers. In carving, I know when the right nose is completed, or correct cheek - I guess I rely on shape instead of color. I wish there was a way to make the layering work better for me. Any ideas? You said you begin with really dark areas but that even seems counter intuitive to me. I would begin with mid tones then push some areas back with darker shades and bring some out with - can't do that. See what I mean? I'm carving instead of painting. I so thoroughly enjoy your art AND your description of what the brush is doing. Thanks for a really great lesson.
There are all sorts of styles in watercolor. Not everyone builds layers in glazes the way I do. Some can lay it down as a finished stroke to begin with. Difficult for sure. You might try a more detailed or complete drawing under your painting.
When you're referring to the 'masters of pen and ink,' who are you talking about? I'd like to see their work! Edit: So, I looked through one of my old pen and ink 'bibles,' and you're right about the cross hatching. Looking at 'Rendering in Pen and Ink' by Arthur L. Guptill, ninety-eight percent of the illustrations in the book use mostly hatching, and only use cross hatching on the darkest values. I can't believe that I never noticed that before--I've been a pen and ink artist for *years!*
