I found a lovely book in a second hand store that I remember from when I was young. “The country diary of an Edwardian lady” by Edith Holden. I always wanted to have it and so I grabbed the opportunity. It was written in 1906 but only published in 1977. It was an enormous success and often given as a gift. According to the Sunday Times newspaper, it was the best selling book in the 1970’s and remains number 4 of the overall best seller list for the last 40 years.
Each month has notes about the important days in the month, interesting information about the month, together with some poetry, entries about the things she did, and sketches and paintings of birds, insects and animals she came across on her regular walks.
It is a beautiful example of how important a journal is. This was obviously done for her own pleasure, but someone (an artist) realized just how inspiring it was and had it published. I find this so interesting. Just think about it, of all the books in the world, one of the best selling books happens to be a beautiful copy of a sketch book! A sketch book that was never intended to be published.
This book gave me lots inspiration, and by the way, it is easy to find a second hand version on Amazon or ebay.
The winter is ending, the plants and flowers are waking up. So now is a great time to get out there and look for them. Show us all what the new spring is bringing in your area, by drawing and painting what you find for us.
The materials I use in the video are:
- Pentel color brush #101 (water solvent)
- Pentel brush GFKP Japan (water proof)
- Molotow masking liquid.
- Raphail brush “softaqua” imitation squirrel -0
- Da vinci brush, harbin-kolinsky- 6
- Habico brush – 0.3
- Atelier scrub brush -8
Two professional secrets for you...
The Molotow masking is the best I have ever had for protecting the page from colour. It is very delicate and is easy to use for details.
I also have to say that the Atelier scrub brush is the best I have found to rub out the masking liquid. It doesn’t leave the residue of an eraser and doesn’t risk oil stains from using a finger. Even more important, it can remove a water colour stain quickly and easily, even the next day. It is only a brush, but it is also one of the secret tools used by professional artists for corrections…
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