koukla carolyn

Shell Interior, Derwent watercolor pencils (water added), Carolyn Pappas 2008

Shell Interior, Derwent watercolor pencils (dry pencils), Carolyn Pappas 2008

I was looking through my sketchbooks this afternoon and saw that a lot of my drawings for the past few weeks/months have been very dull and colorless. Even though I am not really in the mood for doing really bright and colorful pieces, I thought that I should make the effort to do something in color. Years ago I bought a set of 12 Derwent watercolor colored pencils, but have only used them a handful of times. I didn’t really like that I wasn’t able to get a really sharp tip on the pencils when I sharpened them. Today I decided that I might as well give it another shot.

I made this sketch of a seashell that has been sawn in half so as to expose the inside. First I sketched the whole thing with the pencils and I had the foresight to scan it first in case I really screwed it up somehow by adding water. I was a little nervous about adding water because I was just working in my regular sketchbook and even though it says it is fine for light washes, I was worried about too much buckling and/or water soaking though the page. I put a paper towel underneath the page to absorb any excess water and I wasn’t too heavy handed with the water. It ended up turning out just fine and it also dried very fast as well. I am glad I had the courage to add the water because I think I like that version better.