Amending and editing old sketches: Clovelly, Devon, in coloured pencil

 
Clovelly Harbour, Misty Summer Day, coloured pencil and white gouache

I was looking at this sketchbook with buff paper, thinking of working in it.  Instead I edited the 3 images in there.   I'd never been quite happy with them due to the whites being dull, making the whole image dull.   White pencils are very disappointing when used on coloured paper I find - I'd used 3 different brands in trying to get the whites brighter.

I used a little white gouache, drybrushed where I wanted a gleam in the water, scrubbed a little into part of the wall of the house (but not all over) and used the small colour shaper tool that came in a set of Derwent tools to apply thin drawn lines of gouache for the edges of the waves.

I'm much happier with it now.  This is also a better scan, bringing out the colours in the stone wall at the front and the water colour is more like the original.  Maybe it's having that white there to help it get the white balance to scan accurately?

the images side by side


Comments

Cathy Gatland said…
The touches of white do lift the painting - and bring out the soft, deep greens in the water, beautiful.
8:03 am
vivien said…
yes, if the tonal contrast isn't enough, images can look dull can't they? and the white sheen just wasn't enough. Because of the soft fine mist, the darks weren't intensely dark, but the lights were very light.
3:52 pm
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