Rainbow Colours

Rainbow Colours. NeocolorII on watercolour paper

As I said before: I love bright, strong and vivid colours, and after having experimented with doing washes I simply had to get back to them.

Seamonster

Seamonster. NeocolorII on watercolour paper

This monster was created while doodling away on a piece of paper. It was not so much the drawing I was focussing on but the way of putting on one delicate wash after the other in order to get depth.

Due to the fact that for some time I'd been applying colour strongly and thickly on the paper I had to force myself to apply it ever so lightly. The second thing I have to get used to is to allow the single washes to dry - otherwise I didn't add colour but took it off or turned the whole spot into something muddy. Patience, patience, patience...

Strange Leaves

Like I said in my last blogpost I want to practice washes with my NeocolorII watersoluble wax crayons. This is something totally new to me - I like to apply my colours strong and vivid. On the other hand it is fascinating to see how thin the paint of the neocolorIIs can be, and how strong it still is even when you use it with much water. 

In this painting I used acrylic paper and not watercolour paper, and I've got the impression that paint can be moved very easily on this kind of paper. 

This is my last blogpost before Christmas. Here in Germany the 24th - Christmas Eve - is the day when families and friends unite and spend time together. Christmas Eve is followed by two holidays here (yes, we have the 26th as holiday as well). 

I'll be back after the hollidays. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays wherever and however you'll be celebrating!

Blue Flower

With this painting I tried to use my neocolorII watersoluble wax crayons as one would do with watercolour paints: going from light to dark and applying one wash after the other (of course I had to wait till one wash was dry before I added the other one).

Once again I was fascinated by the intensity of the neocolorIIs; they "pop" even when applied with quite a lot of water.

Colored Curves

Colored Curves. NeocolorII on watercolour paper

I was interested in combining round curve shapes and in working with a limited colour palette. Some of these round curved shapes remind me of wooden branches, and the round thing in the middle looks like a shining red stone to me. 

In the beginning the background was too light. Darkening it made the branches pop. 

The little blue Monster

The little blue monster - Neocolor II on watercolour paper

December 2015

I was looking for a subject which was simple to draw and allowed me to focus on experimenting with my neocolor II watersoluble wax crayons. I found this cute little monster guy.

I am still fascinated about the multiple ways you can use those Neocolor II crayons. You can use them dry on the paper and then wet them; you can collect the shavings in the wells of your palette, drop a bit of water on them and use them like paints out of a pan. You can take the pigments of the crayons with damp brush. 

I am often looking for tutorial videos on YouTube, and yes, you can find ones about the Neocolor IIs. But these videos are focussing on the use of them in mixed media art, especially art journals. What I am trying to do, however, is to use them like watercolours or gouache paints, and so I am trying to find my way.

I would be glad if you'd like to follow me in my experiments with them!

Having moved!

Stabilo 68 pens on watercolour paper

I did it - I moved to blogger with my English blog. Well, not with all the posts which I wrote through the many years I used wordpress. The old blog will still exist, and you can see them here.

Just to introduce myself to new readers: I am living in Berlin, Germany, have been working at the Berlin University of the Arts for more than 30 years and experimenting with all kinds of mediums for over three years now. The only medium I haven't tried so far is oils because of the smell and the fact that I am doing art in my living room.

Just now I am having lots of fun with my neocolorII watersoluble wax crayons which can be used in different ways, one of them being similar to painting with watercolours or gouache paints.

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