Capelin study

Capelin study I
watercolour and ink

I have been playing around with thumbnails of capelin to get a feel for a larger piece that I want to do in watercolour. With these little fish, a very enlarged view of them should be interesting. I like the shapes and colours as well as the ability to work on detail in addition to broader washes of colour that this will provide.

This sketch is done in my earthbound sketchbook and in watercolour with a touch of white ink (more on why I have that tomorrow). This sketchbook isn't made for watercolour, and the paper shows it by rippling. However, I had it at hand and it was a sketch to work out colours and lines, so I am not worried about it. I may do another sketch onwhite watercolour paper to see how it shows there and start drawing the image onto a half sheet of Arches paper tomorrow.

I'm still waiting for some art supplies to arrive, but delays in ferry services at the moment have everything delayed and is causing some frustration. I can get some inks locally, but not the pen nibs that I want and the local inks aren't the type I can use in my Rapidograph.

I will just have to be patient.

Awards and fish

At long, long last, the capelin are in and I have been given some, as I never have time to get to the beach and through the throngs of people there to capture my own. I don't like to eat them personally as I find they have a strong flavour but I have some fresh and some in the freezer for my gyotaku experiments when things slow down a bit.

I took some photos of the fresh fish and have some plans for a painting but that will have to be on hold until visitors have gone and I have some time to devote to planning it.


Maree Clarkson of Art & Creativity has so kindly given me the Kreativ Blogger Award. Thank you Maree! In return I am supposed to reveal seven things about myself and tag seven other bloggers. I have done this previously and don't know if there's a lot more about me that people don't know, however, I'll try. I won't be tagging other bloggers, as there tends to be some fatigue around memes and I think all other artist blogs are wonderful anyway!

1. I once drove from Tarragona, Spain to Andorra. And it snowed. A lot. Mountain roads. Say no more.

2. I hate taking off in airplanes and can't look out the window until we're levelled off.

3. I am addicted to coffee. It doesn't have to be full caff even, decaf's good. I just love the taste.

4. I adore donkeys and would love to have one. Or two, or three...

5. I love visiting old cemeteries and looking at monuments and headstones. Perfect drawing opportunities.

6. I have an emergency stash of imported German dark chocolate in my desk drawer at work.

7. I always use crystal glasses to drink from. Even water tastes better then.

Savage Cove Rocks III

I can't seem to leave this rock alone and wanted to try it in oils. I made a start on it tonight and this is about an hour's worth of painting. The lighting is unique and quite bright though not in sun. The day was very foggy and the horizon merged with the sea. The shadow of the steep rock face and the smaller sheared off rock were the only real contrasts in the brightness.

The other versions of this rock are here and here.

I have visitors for a few days as of tomorrow, so I may not be able to do as much as I hoped but there will be updates as and when I can.