If I had to choose one color medium to work with, watercolors would be my first choice. It has it’s limitations (always protect behind glass/plexi) and may fade sooner that oils, pastels and acrylics if not placed correctly, but I do love their versatility.

There is a spontinaity of attitude and will that watercolors makes me exercise compared to the graphite drawings I like to do. “Winter Brook” is a good example of what I mean. I just kept playing with color and adding depth to pull in different hues that my client wanted.

Then there are times I want the tightness of graphite and also color to show the subject in all the detail wanted. A race horse officianato comissioned a color work of the racehorse Cigar. (Great racer horse but he proved sterile to his investor’s dismay!) So I usually do a two step process where I apply a base of watercolor as shown below with my reference photo.

After I am done with this process then it’s time to go over the entire picture with india ink. This part may take quite a while, depending on the amount of detail.

This is the same style I used for the “Study of a Wood Duck” and the post “Roots Part 1” where I explain the process in more detail.

If you like things in black and white check my new post on Busy Pencils.