Recently I picked a new medium for drawing and painting – Watercolor Crayons. The reason was to try some medium and method that might be practical for drawing and painting outdoors and in public spaces. A medium and technique that would be usable for daily sketching in color. Since I love using a brush and paint it is often tricky to open a watercolor or gouache paint set in a cafe or outdoors. The process is too wet and messy to use in public spaces. But not with WATERCOLOR CRAYONS! 🙂
When using Watercolor Crayons you can combine a rough drawing with brushwork. How I do it is first I draw in color and then I use water and brush to apply washes over the drawing. After the wet layer dries I sometimes use the crayons again to add details, lines, and a new overlay of colors. It can be quite quick and definitely a very fun process.
It is great for sketching and for noting down visual ideas you might have while outdoors or on the way. There are other ways as well. You can draw on the spot and then work with the brush later at home. Or you can use another water-based medium over the color drawing such as watercolor or gouache paints. It is definitely a great technique to experiment with.
Outdoor Watercolor Crayon Sketching – what you need
What you need:
- A small sketchbook A5
- A set of watercolor crayons
- A brush of medium size – ideally a flat one that enables you to apply a thinner line as well as thicker one depending on the angle you hold it
- a small rug or a packet of handkerchiefs to wash away accessive water
- a small water container
It can all fit in a small A5 size bag 🙂
Some of my watercolor crayons sketchings
