Ref 886; Another;  soluble graphite / watercolor /liquid masking; and gouache painting exersize over cold press previously texturized with molding paste
This time the white gouache painting , it was used to enhance the misty fog diluted with additional wáter in some áreas;.--- to make additiona texture I added also in leaves and stubble, modeling paste, trunks were initiated with soluble graphite spread with a wet brush and with a knife help;  to also texturize accordingly
The heavy fog (white gouche it was mixed with a dab of violet in the lower part and without towards the upper part diluted and blended above the trunks made with graphite & masking fluid left on it

                                                Ref 886

Ref 885 / 886  Working with graphite pencil in a mixed media (watercolor and/or gouache in either cold or hot press paper ) 
I use to use just for the initial sketch, to plan out a composition, and not further in the artwork's development. But with all the variations an 'ordinary' pencil comes in, you'll be missing out so many possibilities, so now I´m working with it.
Let the Initial Lines Show Through: Don't feel compelled to hide all traces of your initial pencil drawing, go over it with a brush and water, then the graphite turns into grey transparent paint, like a watercolor wash. Working with it onto wet paper produces a soft, broad line, that spreads out at the edges
In my following example after initial sketch and after partially brushed adding wáter, I splashing masking liquid already diluted with wáter with a fan brush help in a horizontal position, tapping with my fingers and after the transfer to the paper has been done, either with help gravity or with a small and/or same brush put in a vertical way to mimic the rain (waiting to dry)
Always around the painted objects I try to left paper without touch to conform a final brigth
2nd stage is to paint above the masking fluid with watercolor paint either to markers and/or brush, sometimes the paint goes around the little masking fluid droplets and sometimes I lef them or take it away in accordance results, Finally I added again White gouche with the fan brush technique to make brights were I need it most, with the same technique I did the following couple of paintings
In the first painting (ref 885) I didn´t use markers and it is above cold press in my second one I used markers and it is above hot press paper (ref 886) are the only differences, and again soluble graphite worked pretty good



                             Ref 885 Strollig at the park in August

                                       Ref 886 McLaren F1 concept car under heavy rain

Note regarding wáter soluble graphite pencils; If you work into still-wet areas, the line spreads or bleeds a bit. If you work onto areas that have dried, it's as if you were working on a 'normal' pencil artwork.
If you like the look of graphite, but prefer painting, you might try Liquid Pencil, which as the name suggests is graphite in paint form. It comes in two versions, permanent (once dried that's it, like ink) and rewettable (removable, like watercolor).

Ref 884.- Mixed media .- Water soluble graphitone / markers & watercolor.
There are so many things you can do with Derwent Watersoluble Graphitone; use it like a graphite pencil, peel off the wrapper to use the stick whole, or break it into chunks to create broad sweeps of tone really quickly. Just sketch and add water and watch the graphite dissolve to create line and wash sketches, I blended my painting with some color markers to reinforce some color tones above my graphite wash and I complete some lines with 2B pencil lines, the sketch work pretty well the wáter soluble graphitone use it was médium wash 4B all over 140 Lb cold press paper 
I´m very happy with this first experience result

                                    Ref 884 " Love over the Roof"

Ref 883; watercolor .-- Tips for working with masking fluid

 My method of painting is to allow the colour to flow and mix on the paper and from that to add detail and structure as the painting develops. I use a great deal of water, sometimes pouring colour onto the paper from a small jar and then responding to its progress with further washes as it begins to dry. The use of masking fluid to reserve areas of untouched paper allows me to work in this dynamic way.
Main tips;
1. Plan Thoroughly.- Making a careful sketch before proceed to masking

2. Dilute to Taste.- Through experience, I have learnt that sometimes masking fluid can be too thick if used straight from the bottle. I often water it down to aid the flow of the masking fluid onto the paper, which is useful for creating finer lines or more finely spattered areas in the painting than are possible using thicker fluid

3. Handle with Care.- Never shake the bottle of masking fluid. This can cause the masking fluid to coagulate, resulting in a ‘stringy’ lump of masking fluid that, if used directly from the jar, can land in a blobby mess right where you don’t want it!

4.Choose Different ToolsI use a variety of tools to apply the masking fluid to the paper, dependent on the effects that I wish to achieve. It can be applied using a brush, dip pen, a colour shaper, toothbrush, stencil brush or rolled up paper. Allow masking fluid to build up on a ‘grotty brush’ and you will end up with a unique tool that offers the artist a number of exciting application possibilities, useful for adding sky holes to trees or highlights to stones or pebbles on seashores and riverbanks.

5. Soapy wáter.- When choosing a brush to apply the masking fluid, I will go for an old brush that has lost both spring and point; a nylon-haired brush will stay cleaner than one made from natural fibres. I will also have a jar of soapy water to hand, into which I dip my brush, removing any excess

6. Vary your Application.- Masking fluid can be painted, drawn, spattered, dabbed or flicked on to your painting surface. Spend some time experimenting with some of the effects and marks that you can make with the different tools that you have at your disposal, and consider how they might be used in a painting

7. Don'tWork Wet.- Make certain that the paper is thoroughly dry before applying the masking fluid, otherwise you run the risk of the masking fluid penetrating the top layer of the paper. This could result in the paper being torn when the masking fluid is removed

8. Remove it Carefully.- Some artists use a soft rubber to remove the masking fluid from the paper. I remove it by gently rubbing with my fingertips, but only when I have checked that the paint and paper are both completely dry. Touch the paper with the back of your fingers; if it is still cold to the touch then the work is too damp to safely remove the masking fluid.

9. Soften the Edges.-Masking fluid can leave hard-edged marks on your work. If the wash painted over a masked area is not a staining colour, then once the masking fluid is removed the edges of these marks can, if desired, be softened by gently lifting out with a damp brush.

10.- Option.-Leaving masking fluid on the paper .- Through out my last paintings I´m leaving the masking fluid as part of the painting and the following painting is an example of that


                                   "The painting speak, in the way we can not"
                                                 Ref 883

Ref 882    watercolor/gouache and masking fluid

1st.- masking liquid, diluted 5: 1 and apply with an old brush on the drawing, previously sketched with graphite

2nd.- Gouache.- dark paint diluted gray Payne and ocré the it will shade part of the painting, the color masking remains uncovered .- the shirt, arms and hat figure are painted with watercolor (note, do not remove the masking, is part of the trick.-another important point is that this is over hot pressed paper 140 lbs

3rd.- dark undiluted gouache cover pimples that we do not want to.-after that give them a pass with blue on the edges of the largest dotted and again  re-paint the whites with undiluted gouache and add different shades of colors with watercolor. - wait to complete dry,  and then fix with plastic lacquer spray, wait to dry again and then brush with a fan "White gouache adding  splashes of white to represent  the fine particles accordingly

                          Final result;

Ref 881.- Achieving a "luminous glow" in a painting
Use high-key, pastel tints, very clean and bright, surrounded by middle-key (not dark) low-intensity (gray) neutrals. In the illustration I've surrounded yellow and pale red with a grayed violet. Because the violet is complementary to the yellow, the glow of the center is enhanced.  Avoid hard edges and let the colors blend to enhance the effect of the glow. In addition for the rainbow, and after underpainting I raised the painting with a wet brush through out the section I needed to.

                       "Something beautiful, always will be on the horizon"

Ref 880 Mixed media (watercolor + phosphorescent markers)  -- Achieving a luminous glow in a painting
Use high-key, tints, very clean and bright, surrounded by middle-key (not dark) low-intensity (gray) neutrals. In the painting I've surrounded yellow and pale red with a grayed violet. Because the violet is complementary to the yellow, the glow of the center is enhanced.  Avoid hard edges and let the colors blend to enhance the effect of the glow
Some tips;

Learn to test paints for transparency, intensity and tinting strength.

Mix the color you want every time with the split-primary color-mixing

      system.

Mix livelier, more exciting colors for every painting.

Develop your own unique personal palette.

Plan with color schemes and eliminate trial and error.

Learn to use color contrasts effectively.

Understand how to put the principles of color design to work.

As this is a mixed technique, I went further applying within the protected glares phosporescent colors. but there are also iridescent medium-- that gives pearlescent or glitter effects when mixed with paints

                   "Less information often leads to more interpretation"

 

Ref 879 Mixed technique; pencil, watercolor pencil, phosphorescent markers, gouache over hot press paper.- Is it okay to use black or white in watercolors?
There used to be strict taboos against using black or white, . My personal preference is not purist watercolor, without either black or white, but I've seen marvelous paintings that have both in them. The trick in watercolor is to make these neutrals look like they belong, and this can be tricky, as they have a tendency to come off pretty opaque and may contrast too strongly with the transparency of the transparent watercolors. Keep in mind if you do use them that there are exhibitions that accept only pure transparent watercolors, and you can't enter a painting that has graphite / gouache black or white in it.
In addition; I enhanced my painting with phosphorecent markers to make the color glow, so from time to time I feel that wonderful paintings can be achieved with mixed techniques and I´m trying to experiment and/or develop my own technique as the time goes by.

          
                              "To enjoy nature, it is an art by itself"

 

Ref 878.-   Mixed media.- Watercolor pencils /graphite pencils

There are differences in the watercolor pencils. I have the Staedtler and the Derwent Graphitint and really like both.  I use ALL of these and find that it depends on the paper I'm using, the subject I'm painting and sometimes just the mood I'm in as to which pencils I use. The ones I tend to use the most are the Derwents. I would recommend getting small sets to start (no larger than a set of 24) and experiment. Don't forget that you can mix pigments just as you do with tube paints -- so you really don't need a huge number of pencils Final result of this painting Warning.- Yoga has been known to cause health and hapiness

  How I did it;
The tonal blend of pencil watercolor on dry paper without water and then with water added. You can see from this painting the strength of tone you can achieve.

Step 1 watercolor area, brush painting basically with flesh and orange
and then watercolor pencil sketching --- in the lightest spots I raised the paint with a clean-wet, round hard brush

Step 2  with a wet brush I start to paint the dark áreas, where the pencil below also start to dissolve and blend with it

Step 3.- As the painting progress, I start to spray wáter in a selective way, raising the paint where I need the lightest zones with a dry paper/napkin

 

Step 4.- I re-define the main basic edges of the figure with pencil watercolor again and wet selectively accordingly

 

Step 5.- I start to add light into the figure with opaque watercolor (gouache) and remarking with graphite pencils mixing and blending  accordingly

 

Step 6.- The final stage is the artistic touch, I spray wáter blending with gouache color to mist the paint , which inmediately I clean with a napkin, in zones I do not want to, and add additional complemetary colors to make it more vivid and interesting

 

 

 

Ref 877; "Watercolor / Gouache" mixed media paintings
               over texturized carboard

Watercolor is a wonderfully versatile medium, and you can change its look quite easily with additives and other materials to give it a more textural appearance. The sample   below demonstrate these textural effect. with modeling paste as a primary base.-Some work better with staining pigments, or with pigments that have sediment.  
 I've also recently begun to premix tints and shades of my favorite watercolors with white and black gouache (MGraham because it stays moist). I use the results like pan watercolors, mostly wet-in-wet, and I find they handle almost exactly like regular watercolors but with a wonderful expansion of possibilities.
 You can use Gouache like regular transparent watercolor, except it is opaque....
with or without transparent in the same painting...Strong bright colors with dramatic washes for more graphic like art .- You can use it like acrylic or oil, using it thick and mix colors with black and white...And anywhere between.
My following painting was made through transparent watercolor, but completed with opaque watercolor (gouache) within  vegetation and wáter cascade - lights effects

Ref 877 Final Result

How I did;
                1st.- sketch over canvas - cardboard--- and framed with tape

 

2nd:_ Add with an spatula; modeling paste previously colored and blending with watercolor paint accordingly

 

 

3rd:- Start to paint with watercolor over the texturid surface once is completely dry from previous stage

 

 

4th:- Once you´re happy with the result, start to paint with gouache .- the color is more intense and regarding the amount of wáter on it you can make it transparent in some spots or leave it, like that

 

 

5th Start working all details until you be satisfied, At the end you can use a fixative to protect your painting either gloss or mate (I use gloss because my painting show humity all around, take away the tape and that´s all

 

 

 

Ref 876  Gouache.- High contrast paintings

Contrast is the distance of a value range, the contrast can be from black to White or anywhere in between, strong contrast allow to see the image it is formed, the higher the contrast the more basic the shape becomes, a strong light source creates a distinctive subject with strong shadow pattern
The gouache cover deeper, so the color difference  gave us a big advantage for this purpose
You have many options with color contrast, because the color have so many properties like:
Value.- light to dark
Hue.- complementary colors from the opposite side in the color Wheel
Intensity.- brigth to grey
Obviously black next to White is the strongest value, but middle dark to middle light will also créate contrast, just more a subltle one , the same is true for hue, of course you don´t need to go that far, as long as the strongest contrast is reached in your painting either with warm to cool contrast
In my painting I took advantage of gouache pigment properties of covering so the tres were made with dark Green blending with burnt umber, while the wáter was made with cerulean and high contrast shadows of ultramarine wit burnt umber , the yellow always it´s a good option to enhance bright color and even the small rainbow gives more life to this painting

 
                   Ref 876      Contrasting color is a way to integrate
                                  the dramatic effects of light in a painting