- Hi, I'm Kath Macaulay and this is Pocket Sketching.

What are we gonna do today?

It's basically experimental.

I'm going to be using some equipment I don't use.

And I don't use it because it doesn't travel easily, but I want you to see it anyway, because it's very, very popular.

So we're gonna do a little bit of experiment to see what we think of this, and maybe it's for you.

Come join me.

(upbeat music) We're gonna do some things that are, in my mind, experimental.

How experimental?

Well, there's several I've never used, so that's pretty experimental.

To begin with, I do wanna remind you that everything I do use goes in my bag.

Everything.

I mean, I've got my ID and my healthcare card and my money in here, and all of my equipment, and it's all inexpensive, so that I have no problem using it.

If it's too expensive or too nice, I wouldn't use it, because I'd save it for good.

You know, like we were trained as children to save clothes for good, and so we outgrew them and we never wore 'em.

Well, it's the same idea.

If you are bothered by that, you won't use something that's really expensive.

You'll just leave it for when you are good.

Now, let me tell you, it's probably not ever gonna happen.

If what you buy to use is inexpensive and easy to travel with and compact and not a problem, you'll use it.

You'll use it a lot.

And the whole idea is to have the fun of doing this.

So everything is relatively inexpensive and it all fits in here.

Now, I'm gonna start with a technique that not only do other people love, it happens to be my favorite technique.

It is not a good technique for travel, because of the time involved, which is why I'm starting with it.

This is the wet in wet technique.

Whether I can use my regular pen with it, it's not compatible.

I'll show you why.

There's a lot of water in this technique.

So I'm going to try putting in a tree.

And I would expect, normally, to be able to work with this.

Now let me show you what happens next, because you're gonna be using a lot of water.

You can't get the results... Well, maybe with a lot of practice you could, because some of these things I've been doing, there are areas of wet in wet, but not a whole wet in wet painting.

A whole wet in wet painting, normally, the paper is completely wet to begin with, and you get some wonderful results because of it.

Note, I'm not going near that tree yet.

Clouds are perfect in this.

Clouds are just wonderful, because it just automatically runs.

Oh, there's another thing.

Usually the paper is tilted, so everything runs down.

I can't show you that, but I'll do it down and then you'll get to see it.

And it moves.

It's a wonderful, wonderful way to use watercolor.

And there are so many variations on this, that just put up color to be used.

Watch it go.

Oh, graininess, like this, you may not like that.

I certainly don't.

That's overworked.

If you're getting mud, it's because you're overworking it.

The clean brush stroke is a delight.

That's a clean brush stroke.

That's overworked, but that's just a quickie.

Okay, I wanna make this come running down, so I am going to lead it down with water.

Now what happens with...

Normally, I would make this into a tree.

What happens when I hit it with water?

Notice, they're not compatible, but the results can be fabulous.

So I'm gonna see if I can just turn that into, probably, a cliff face.

So I want some yellow ochre, not a ton, a bit of red, and probably I'm gonna infuse it with, it's too much, with a bit of green.

And let's see if it works.

And I'm gonna do this in more than one stage, because I want one stage to run.

Now I'm running out of water down here.

The whole piece of paper gets wet.

When are you going to have time for this to dry?

If you're traveling, this is not the best, unless you have a lot of time, and I don't like to spend a lot of time.

If you have plenty of time, yes.

If you have plenty of time to sit there and spend a couple of hours on a single sketch, the effects can be gorgeous.

If you don't, you're gonna get mud.

I'm getting mud.

(Kath chuckles) Oh, well.

But you get the idea?

This is not something to take where you wanna go fast, because you're gonna have all this.

Okay, now, how do you handle it and get details?

You wait for this to get to just the exact amount of dryness.

It's a beautiful way to work in watercolor.

I will put a little stream up here, so you can see it run, and I may not come back to this at all.

This is pretty wet.

Stick some color up here, hold it vertically.

Hold it vertically, and it'll run.

It'll keep running.

And if you leave it alone, if you leave it alone... Keep working over it, you get muck.

Leave it alone, and you're gonna get some gorgeous color effects, and they can't be got any other way.

And what happens is, as it dries, it will hold details, and you have to watch the drying time.

And when it's ready, then you know how much water and how much pigment you have in your brush, and how much water is on the paper.

This takes a long time to learn.

It is a fabulous way to work, but it is really...

I see it as a studio method, not as a field method.

I don't have time to sit here with this.

And when I get done, it hasn't even finished running.

I don't mind carrying a regular sketch, 'cause they dry really fast.

This is not gonna dry fast.

And if I were to do what I do with a regular sketch, I put it over off the end and let it dry, it's gonna run, 'cause it's still running.

It is not compatible with traveling and sketching on the fly.

It just isn't.

And I am not gonna go back to this, because I'm not.

So much for that.

Now, other things that I don't use, let's go through a little bit more.

I'm asked why I don't use colored pencils.

So I brought a bunch, and they're brand new, because I don't use colored pencils.

So I have no idea what colors I'm gonna grab.

And there are very high quality colored pencils out there.

John Muir, who illustrated the national parks, and his illustrations are why we have Yosemite.

Actually, it's why we have the national parks, because those illustrations were shown to Congress before we had 'em.

This is a colored pencil.

Now this will give you pencil lines, which you'd expect.

This is a water soluble colored pencil.

And you can add other colors.

Let's see if I can find something that's sort of compatible with...

This is purple.

There's not a lot to it, is there?

That's a red.

It's an orange actually.

Now, when you add water, this runs.

Sort of, not really well.

Not really well at all.

Really?

Really?

Okay, you're seeing...

I do not take this stuff with me, but some people love 'em.

Some people love 'em, and they've got the patience to sit there for hours and build this up.

I do not have any patience and I'm not gonna do that.

And what is gonna turn me off even faster, is you wear these down, you're gonna have to sharpen 'em, and am I carrying a sharpener with me in the field?

No.

And when I want it to work, and it's not sharp, let me tell you, I throw things at the wall.

It's gotta work.

It's gotta work.

Why would you take it if it doesn't work?

Now, working at home with lots of time, they're wonderful.

People who love 'em absolutely love 'em.

There's not a heck of a lot of color in here.

Let's see, if I wanted to draw something.

Yeah, they draw.

They work really well.

And the same thing is true of the gray scale water soluble pencils.

They're a great quality.

They're a wonderful pencil.

I'm gonna blow up the minute I have to sharpen something.

I am not gonna sit there and try to figure out which one am I picking out of his group.

How am I gonna get the... Oh, I guess you could look at the bottom end here, but on the grays, they don't have that.

And it's your whole range of grays, and a whole range of pencils.

And you've got all this extra stuff.

And are you gonna carry this in a little bag?

Really?

Maybe a rubber band around it.

No, this is not compatible with traveling fast.

It's not compatible with being able to sketch on the... Would you stand in line?

Let's say you're going to the theater, and you've got your sketch kit, and you've got those, and you're standing in line, would you pull those out to use?

I don't think so.

I'd pull out something that's gonna work.

I want something that's really gonna work now.

Now here's another one that I don't use and I will rethink this.

A lot of people love these.

They are called water brushes.

Three of 'em came in a package.

Slide it out.

These were kind of fascinating.

Ooh, did I bring a blotter?

'Cause you gotta have a blotter.

This'll do.

Now, I saw a guy in my last workshop.

I teach workshops.

A guy in my last workshop had one of these.

Lid goes on the back end.

It's already loaded.

It's ready to go.

You put this in the paint, and I'm gonna pick something that's relatively light to start with.

And it works pretty much like a brush.

It doesn't have the feel of a brush, but pretty much like a brush.

And there it is, laying it down.

Oh, you squeeze.

Squeeze the tube and you get more water, so you can get a really watery effect.

This is pretty nice.

I can't resist this.

I just can't resist this.

Get the speed, (Kath chuckles) the flexibility of a brush.

Now, I know a lot of people use these and they love 'em.

When you wanna change color, I put this in water.

This has water inside.

So what you do is you have a blotter, and you squeeze, and the water comes through the brush, and the stuff goes onto the blotter till it's clean.

This is another big problem for me, but it wouldn't be for somebody else.

I have no cartilage here.

I can do this motion with pressure very little, then that gets very painful and I can't use it.

But let's go a little farther with this.

And the guy I watched do this did it bit by bit, and he built something up, and it was really very nice.

And I know a lot of people are just devoted to these.

So it comes out like that.

And I've gotta remember that I'm not just playing, that I actually wanna do something with this.

So let's build them a mountain.

And I forget to squeeze.

That's my fault.

Like I said, this is an experimental day.

Now, I'm using watercolor, so I should be able to move it for up to 20 years before it becomes one with the paper.

That's rather pleasant.

That's supposed to be the edge of a mountain.

And I'm gonna try to get a slightly different color next.

And I've got to remember to blot.

Okay?

That's not something I'm familiar with.

Okay, a little bit of different color here.

Just try a couple of these.

Let's see what happens.

And you're not gonna put it in there, because the color is wrong, and rinse it.

The water is in here.

It's relatively clean.

Now this comes in different tips.

I'm out of color.

I've gotta do it again.

And I'd have to do it again anyway.

I wanna test it over there, and I'm used to testing it right on the paper and dealing with it.

Okay, that's effective.

Now let's say I want some shadows.

Get rid of that color.

And come pick up some shadow color.

I'm constantly pressing to get water to go through here.

It gives you somewhat of the effect of a brush.

Not as fast as the other one.

The guy I watched had a lot more color in his water brush.

Ouch.

I can't do this anymore.

Ouch (chuckles).

Okay.

This is not for me.

Yes, I can see that it works.

And I'm also being very mousy on the color.

I think you could probably get a lot more color than this.

I'll try it one more time with a whole lot more color.

Whole lot more color.

Okay.

It does that.

And I'm really pressing to get the water to pull through.

Okay, this is my limitation, not yours.

I can't do this.

I would not be able to tolerate doing this, because I can't press here.

Now, somebody else could.

And I don't know if I can adapt.

No, this is not gonna work.

That won't work, 'cause I get more power there.

Can't do it.

Now, among the other things for this, this comes in different widths.

And, you know, I forget I have to wash it off over here.

And I haven't had much color on it, so I'm not using a lot.

There are other widths.

This one is a flat.

Oh, and it doesn't doesn't go on.

Huh?

Okay.

Oh, it does if you really... No, it doesn't.

Okay, that doesn't work.

So this is a big brush to be using on half pans.

This is a very big brush.

Brush size, if you're working with half pans this size and paper this size, number six, this is a number six, and the brush makers are fairly standardized.

This is as big a brush as I would use on this paper.

The next size up is a bit much for this size pad.

And as you get bigger, brushes get more expensive.

Well, that's a gorgeous effect, but, again, I'm gonna have to squeeze.

That's wet in wet.

It's a gorgeous effect.

Would it be worth taking that along?

Oops.

Mistake.

I've just carried paint from here to over there, and you're supposed to put it over here and squeeze water through the brush.

There.

But I can say that's a just marvelously beautiful effect.

And, oh, I can see something else.

This is something I tell people about in my workshops.

And there's usually not time to do it.

And perhaps with this brush, there is.

There is a way of working in watercolor, where you put a thin film over a thin film of color, and the light goes through and reflects off the paper.

And the colors you get are totally brilliant and very unusual.

J.M.W.

Turner, the Brit, perfected it.

And his early work was not at all like his late work.

His late work was just marvelous, and he did this.

And these thin films that she put over, you can get it with this brush.

Gonna go into this very same color.

And now squeeze.

Gotta remember to squeeze.

That for me is a killer, but the thin film bit is just lovely.

Oh, and you can mix.

I'm squeezing.

Squeezing to get water.

I don't think this would work for me.

There's one more thing I happen to know about these.

Some of them leak.

Now they're gonna get that off the brush.

In order to do a different color, unless I... See, I'm mix colors all the time, so it wouldn't bother me to go from one color to another, that I don't know what happens.

Let's give that a try.

If I went from, let's say...

This is cadmium red.

Now, I'm gonna go from cadmium red to cobalt blue.

And I don't mind having the far side of the colors dirty.

Eh.

Okay.

I like the flat brush.

Often in my bag, I carry a flat brush.

It's not this wide.

It's not this artificial.

It's actually a sable.

And it has a lid.

It's a travel brush.

And now and then I use it, and it's a lovely brush.

Absolutely love using it.

And this is a flat brush.

Okay, you can use this differently.

We haven't done this before.

Flat brush.

You can use a flat brush, obviously, this way, but you can also use it this way, on the edge.

And you can use it part way, and it fills in places fast, because it's got a broad brush tip.

So you get the idea.

It's a nice extra thing to have in your equipment.

But once again, if this leaked in my equipment, if I had this in my bag, there's a brand that doesn't leak, but I don't remember what it is.

And you'd have to find out or ask people who use these.

I can see the fun of playing with it.

And maybe it's fun with kids.

I don't know.

If kids couldn't put the pressure on the tube, kids with small hands couldn't do this.

So to me, I couldn't use it.

But the people who use it often use it with a ballpoint, so we'll do that.

I mean, this is all quite experimental for me.

Excuse me.

We'll do one of my usual.

Yeah, this is a ballpoint.

It's not gonna run.

I have to think about this.

It's a ballpoint.

So here's a tree.

And then maybe mountains in the background.

And the way I see this used frequently is just as a wash over a good line drawing.

Get the right tool here.

No, I don't have to dip it.

Yes, I have to squeeze.

But I pull that out.

Out of bullets.

Okay, I think if it works for you, it's really a fabulous tool, but it's not gonna be for me.

So that's that.

Now the lid, I put it away somewhere else, and I gotta remember to put it back on, and then... And I didn't go back to the wet in wet, but I wanted to show you some of the effects you get with wet in wet, because it's a wonderful way to work, but you kind of have to perfect it, I'd say, at home, if you're gonna use it.

And it doesn't have to be throughout the whole thing.

This sketch, and it happens to be one of my absolute favorites, the sky was wet.

That was wet.

That was transferring these up to there.

The water is very, very wet.

And you just put in some marks here and there, and let 'em run on purpose.

This is wet in wet, and this is from the car by the way.

So, yes, you can do this fast.

We were driving and I wanted to catch the sky.

The sky is totally wet in wet, and then waited a little bit longer.

Not really long, 'cause it would've held edges if I'd waited longer.

In fact, I can show you how that works right now.

When it is dryer, you can put in anything you want.

So I'm gonna get a sort of a greenish brown color.

And I rather like this, but I want you to see... Let's try...

I want more pigment.

It's interesting changing equipment, because you carry over whatever you were just doing.

This will now hold because the paper is dry.

See the difference?

That didn't hold.

These are very, very soft, but this will hold.

And I could also, should I wish to, with either pen over this wet in wet, put in whatever.

Let's do a few buildings.

This is the water soluble pen.

And yes, you can mix everything.

This will also hold, because it is done when the paper is dry.

And if you're working with wet in wet, you just wait on the drying time.

Just a little bit more of this.

This is truly wet in wet.

Now this where you get these very soft effects.

When it's totally wet you draw a bit with color and it blooms out, so you get this very soft effect.

As it's getting dryer, then you add more details.

This last one was also wet in wet.

It's on the highway near San Antonio.

That's wax This all is very wet.

This is detail added at the end.

See the lines?

Added at the end.

And then this was added.

It was drawn in originally and wet, but it was done toward the end.

And you get these wonderful effects.

When are you gonna find time to sketch and where?

You're gonna have to make time.

One of my favorites is 20 minutes before dinner.

I don't care whether you're the person fixing or the person eating it.

If you can get all the stuff that's gonna go into dinner and put it on a platter, and then sketch it.

You got 20 minutes.

You haven't had a drink of anything yet.

20 minutes to sketch it.

You can do this every day.

Not hard to find that 20 minutes, because you're changing over from your day to your evening.

It's a great time to practice sketching.

Only 20 minutes.

You can do 25.

Don't go too much, 'cause you won't find the time.

Keep it really, really short.

Use a timer.

I use a kitchen timer or my great big watch.

And you get that sketch in.

Regular practice, you'll get very, very good.

Then where can you sketch?

Anywhere you go.

Standing in line, in the car, waiting for somebody to shop.

With time that you actually have, you can find time, but they're bizarre little times.

Because your stuff is so transportable, you pull it out, use it and put it away.

No cleanup, no bother.

This is what I love about pocket sketching.

What I really love about it is the fact that I can get it out, use it when I'm inspired, put it away, don't clean up, and walk off, and then I'm ready to go again some other time, but I can get on with my life.

And that's the fun part of it.

It goes anywhere you go, and you can use it any place you are.

And I've loved having you come with me today.

And that's Pocket Sketching.

Happy sketching.

Want to learn more about the wonderful world of Pocket Sketching?

Then visit my website at pocketsketching.com.

We have so much there for you to explore, including free tips and training videos, the Pocket Sketching supplies, photo galleries, and how to access additional training.

All this and more is available at pocketsketching.com.

Learn enough to play for a lifetime.

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