I’ve done more pencil work on this and then added both watercolour and just water.
First, I continued the garden on the right hand side in watercolour pencil. The deep shadow at the foot of the arch anchored it to the earth while the flowering bush was a welcome contrast to the very green border on the other side. The absence of any distance beyond the trellis fence emphasises that this is my garden, with only the oak as a borrowed landscape.
The addition of water to the pencil marks increases their density so that they are darker or brighter than the untouched marks. It’s a very entertaining thing to do – It feels a bit like those e-cards growing colour before your very eyes! I was able to thin the branches of the spindly lilac on the left. I had added dark blue pencil to increase the depth of the shadow. it scarcely showed until water was added. The lawn and the oak foliage were watercolour paint laid in with a brush.
I’m reasonably pleased with it.
And well you may be! I must admit to finding watercolour pencils very tricksy beasts..
Yes, you definitely should be. One of the things I like about watercolour pencils is the magical effect when you add the water. It can do anything – softening, blending or emphasising. It is definitely like the e-cards appearing before your eyes. This is a good welcome to your garden – definitely an invitation to see more.