What's in your field-kit ???

There have been some fantastic blogposts lately about drawing and painting field-kits.  The two that most impressed me are by Shevaun Doherty and Polly O'Leary

I find that the contents and method of carrying the field-kit can vary dependant on where you are going to be working.  Shevaun's blogpost is about sketching whilst in a museum and Polly's about studying plants in an area of marsh in the summer heat.

© Shevaun Doherty.  Sketching in Dublin Museum of Natural History

Having worked as an Ecologist in the past I was always used to having a survey field-kit pre-packed according to the survey type.  The kit I used for the woodland, hedgerow and grassland surveys contains many of the same items that I use in my current field-kit for drawing and painting.  More about that later.

Looking back through some images from the last few years I came across a few that show previous field-kits.

2011  A trip to New Hampshire and Maine.  Travelling from England meant that room was limited in my luggage.  Contents: A small A6 sketchbook, palette, Faber Castell fine liners, Pentell brush pen, propelling pencil, cotton rag, waterbrush (that I didn't use), travel sable brush and small folio with individual sheets of watercolour paper within.

2012 A trip to Wales and the Isle of Skomer.  I love this foldaway zip up pouch.  I can fit so much in there, but it folds and zips up completely.  As we were travelling around Wales by car, I could be a bit more extravagant and take a few more materials !

Now to the present .......

 

Recently, I have been sketching woodland plants.  Even though I have visited woods relatively close to home I still wanted to have a compact field-kit with the added addition of a firm surface to work on.

 

 

My present field-kit: An A3 'Weather Writer' (see below), paint palette, H & F pencils, water pot, small rule, scissors, specimen bags, hand lens (several of different magnifications), travel paintbrush, waterbrush (still trying to get used to using these), heavy-weight cartridge paper, ID charts (this one for ferns), Wild Flower Key by Francis Rose (my original one is in pieces, so this is a shiny new one) and finally, a zip up wallet which will contain all of my drawing and painting bits.

 

 



Now to the Weather Writer.  An ingenious invention, that I used non-stop during fieldwork as an ecologist.  It has a flap that closes with studs, which means everything can be contained in the dry.  This can then pop open and if the weather is a bit dodgy, you have a covered area to work under.  In addition on the reverse are two clips to make it into a clip board.  There is also a hole either side (on the A4 model), so that you can string a cord through it and hang it around your neck, which then leaves your hands free.

 

 

I now have a busy few days ahead, so no fieldwork for me.  I am off to London to see the Society of Botanical Artists Exhibition at Westminster Central Hall.  It is a fabulous opportunity to meet up with friends from all over the world.  Four of my paintings are being exhibited too.

 

 

© Sarah Morrish 2014.  A View Inside - Echinacea purpurea

© Sarah Morrish 2014.  A View Inside - Rosa rugosa hips

© Sarah Morrish 2014.  Quercus robur - New life

 

 

 



© Sarah Morrish 2014.  Galls of Quercus species

Choosing watercolour paper for botanical drawing and painting - part 1

EDIT JANUARY 2019.  THIS HAS PROVEN TO BE A VERY POPULAR BLOGPOST.  IN RECENT TIMES THERE HAS BEEN SOME CHANGES IN THE QUALITY OF SOME WATERCOLOUR PAPERS THAT ARE USED FOR BOTANICAL ART.  SO WHILST STILL USEFUL, THE FINDINGS OF THIS BLOGPOST MAY NOT BE AS ACCURATE TODAY.


How do you choose the right paper for botanical drawing and painting ? 

The most obvious answer is to try them all - but this can be a huge expense, unless of course you try different watercolour papers over many years, as I have.  A few weeks ago I gave my students the opportunity to try 6 different hot-pressed watercolour papers.

Firstly, we covered a few facts about watercolour paper in general:

● The highest quality papers are made of 100% cotton fibre (rag paper).

● They have good durability, can handle a lot of working and last an extremely long time.
● Other papers are made of cellulose or wood pulp or a mixture of these with cotton.
● Not always as durable as the rag paper.
● Cheaper papers of the kind found in discount shops, will not necessarily be acid free and will therefore yellow and deteriorate over time.

Types of paper
● Cold pressed or NOT - this has a medium surface texture and a slight ‘tooth’.  The surface holds colour well and it is a very popular texture for both amateur and professional artists.
● Rough or Extra rough - has a more pronounced texture.  Great for looser styles of painting and creates wonderful textures as the paint settles into the surface.
● Hot pressed - extremely smooth, although some makes of hot pressed paper will vary in texture.  This is the best paper for botanical art and more controlled styles of painting and pen and ink work.  The paper is made smooth by passing it through heated rollers in the manufacturing process.

Weights of paper

● Watercolour papers come in different weights, which refers to the weight of a ream of paper.
● The greater the weight of the paper, the more moisture the paper can take without it buckling or cockling.
● The most commonly used is 300 g/m (per square metre) or 140lb.

Colour of paper

The colour of watercolour paper from different brands and within individual brands can vary.  Some brands of watercolour paper will provide a natural white and an extra white paper.

Right or wrong side

Yes, believe it or not there is a right and a wrong side to hot-pressed watercolour paper.  For most HP papers I use either side as to me there is not a huge difference.

One paper where this does seem to make a difference is Fabriano Artistico HP paper.  If you buy you watercolour paper in sheets the watermark, which is often the brand name of paper is visible and is often located next to the deckle edge.  If this is viewed back to front, ie in reverse, this is the right side of the paper to use in regard to Fabriano Artistico. 

But what if you do not buy it in sheets, but in a block or pad, where there is no watermark ?  If you look closely at either side, and perhaps get a magnifying glass out, you will see that one side has a grid like pattern to the surface of the paper - this is the wrong side.  I hope in the photo above you can see this pattern.

The second part to my student's paper trial session included trying different painting techniques on each sample of paper, to see how receptive the paper was.  These were my examples:

As a guide I decided the best painting techniques to try were (left to right):

* applying a wash and then lifting off a small area with a clean moist brush

* blending two colours together and applying a small area of wash on top

* applying a wash and softening the edge with a clean moist brush

* fine brush strokes applied

Each of these techniques helped me to gain answers to several questions, which I will answer in part 2, following soon ! 

Something a little different ........... and now to wood !

In my last post I mentioned about having a break from my normal creative streak.  Sometimes this can be an enforced break due to health reasons, but it can also be because we have just been so busy with painting commitments and we need time to refresh our creative juices.  Either way, it can be a struggle to find ourselves creatively again. Shevaun Doherty has just written a brilliant blog post about this, and the pointers given in it will certainly help many an artist.

During one of my enforced breaks, I had the opportunity to play around with some wood.  I have always loved the look of wooden boxes filled with pans of paint.  I know many of them are very old and artists have had them for some time.  The more modern versions come with a full set of paints (which I certainly don't need !) and can be rather expensive.

So my thinking cap became very active and I tracked down a company that sold plywood boxes for under £5.  I eventually found one the right size and after a few days I started to adapt it.

The dimensions of the box are: 

EXTERNAL - 27 X 16 X 4 CM

INTERNAL - 26 x 14.5 x 2.4 CM (lower part of the box) Lid inside is 1.7cm deep

 

 

 

Prior to varnishing I cut down some lengths of wooden beading to fit inside the box and glued these in with wood glue.

To work out the right measurement between divisions, I used several of the half-pans.

Once these were dry I set to and varnished the box, inside and out with an oak coloured varnish.

 

 

 

Because the pans sat too low in the box, I used some strips of foam board to make them higher and also glued these in.  The pans are held in place by a small piece of double-sided tape on the base of each.  The space at the top is to hold brushes.

Because of the depth of the lid, there is also room to store a small plastic foldaway palette.

 

I've still got my six key colours in this palette, but it has also given me room to add a line of handy opaque watercolours and some of my favourite Daniel Smith paints.

 

 

Another box adapted.  This one also came with the wooden divisions.  Once varnished, I lined it with some material and it is perfect for storing my tubes in.

 

 

Another box (the same size as the palette box), useful for those bits and pieces !

 

 

Half way through my painting break I received some exciting news.  Five of my paintings have been accepted by the Society of Botanical Artists, and four of them will be hung at their forthcoming London exhibition in May entitled the Botanical Garden.  The exhibition is taking place at Central Hall in Westminster, opposite Westminster Abbey.  If you get the chance to go there will be many botanical art paintings to see, along with a lovely shop to purchase cards, books etc.

 

 

Botanical Garden by Angeline de Meester (c) 2014 

Re-cycling Picture Frames - using Liming Wax

Over time an artist can accumulate spare frames and they are often left in a corner of the studio gathering dust.

On the other hand several artists I know always paint to a set size, and therefore they can re-use the frames more readily and buy ready made frames in a standard size.  There is nothing at all wrong with this, but it is something I struggle with.

I like to have the freedom when painting a subject, knowing that I have more than enough space to use on the watercolour paper.  Of course, I plan my compositions, but not knowing the mount and/or frame size beforehand gives me this freedom and some flexibility too.

What happens is that if a painting does not sell, I am left with frames of a variety of sizes.

I have decided to be more pro-active and over the last week or so I have started to re-vamp some of the oak frames that I have, and several of them will be used to frame forthcoming paintings.

I have always liked the oak frame and the majority of my artwork is framed using this.  I consider the colour a warm but neutral tone that generally compliments the natural subject matter in the paintings.  I therefore didn't want to venture too far from this.

The decision was made and I am using a liming wax made by Liberon.  This wax gives an almost bleached effect to the wood grain.

Step 1: was to lightly sand the frame surface using an extra fine grain sanding pad.  This is not meant to be a heavy sanding, but more to remove any coating, grease or dirt.

Step 2: apply the liming wax using a lint free cloth, rubbing the wax into the grain.  Leave for 3-5 minutes.

Step 3: wipe off the white haze or coating.  To protect the frame further a neutral coloured wax can be applied and then polished.  Alternatively, if a more durable and water resistant finish is required, finishing oil can be applied.  This is put on the frame using a lint free cloth, left to dry and then buffed.  I will be using the latter approach once the finishing oil arrives from the suppliers.

Here you can see the final result prior to applying the finishing oil.  I have placed the frames next to our oak dresser so you can see the difference in tone.