My artwork

Hand painted

Lyn Stone20th September 2019

Spoiler Alert – I create hand painted art with my actual hands too!

I recently had an enquiry from someone, who loved my pencil sketches, but is really looking for someone who illustrates conventionally. But I do, folks, I do! In fact I prefer hand painted illustrations. It’s just that with all the wondrous forms of communication available these days, from social media to interactive on-line games, sometimes you have to work digitally.

Conventional painting techniques

However to prove I do actually work conventionally to, I thought I’d share a piece of artwork with you today, from my studio archive that shows my conventional painting techniques. Having said that, all artists are very fluid about these things and are constantly trying out new techniques and new ways of expressing themselves. So I will try and create something conventionally again very soon and share that with you too.

I prefer to hand draw, using coloured pencils and sometimes just plain old lead pencils and then paint using artist’s quality watercolour paints. Don’t let the UK paint makers know this, but I prefer German and French watercolour paint. I’m quite fussy about the paper I work on too. Italian hand made, hot pressed smooth watercolour paper is wonderful to paint on, if you need to be very detailed. Knotted, artists quality, watercolour paper is also a great to work, but you don’t want too thin.

Me? Fussy?

I use UK knotted watercolour paper. German, French, Italian? I sound very pro-Europe don’t I … never really thought about that in great depth. I’m actually very traditional about how I use watercolour paper too. Most illustrators that work conventionally, use very heavy paper and never stretch it. I use a pretty heavy paper myself (but not board), and like to stretch my paper first. That way I can throw as much watercolour and paint at it, as I like and it dries completely flat, which you kind of need if you then need to scan your artwork. hand painted