This is a pen & wash of The Shambles in the City of York. For any who don't know, this is a well-preserved medieval street of timber houses. Though I'm very pleased with the end result the painting hasn't turned out as I'd wanted. What I had intended from the outset was to draw the scene with a pen and then add only a minimal amount of colour, leaving the pen lines to do the 'talking'. Regrettably, as is so often the case, I didn't know when to stop and I've applied a lot more colour than I'd ever intended. I wouldn't have thought it would be so hard to NOT paint up to the lines and to leave some white spaces here and there. I also think the picture lacks a focal point.
So, I had a second go at this scene. The first thing I decided was to draw in the people jostling past the shop windows. This helped with the focal point issue. The other thing I did was force myself to use weaker colours and put my brush down once I'd laid in some washes. This still isn't the 'minimal colour' effect I was aiming for, but it's much closer. I would really welcome any comments with regards to which version works best.
Yes I think the second version is much better.
ReplyDeleteI have the same trouble when I do line-and-wash. I put on the colour too strongly and overpower the pen drawing.
Thank you Keith. It's nice to know I'm not the only one. LOL
ReplyDeleteHi John.
ReplyDeleteI think at one time you said that you were not very good with figures, well these ones are spot on mate. I prefer the second one also because of the figures. All the best John.
Vic.
Thank you for this Vic, I really appreciate it. All the best.
DeleteI like the second one, the lighter washes and the activity in the street. Well done.
ReplyDelete