Watercolor pencils

It turns out that I have three separate sets of watercolor pencils, two somewhat venerable, with the third purchased in Germany, along with a small brush, a pencil, two fine-lined black pigment pens, and an inexpensive notebook.  A wonderfully creative friend had just given me a nudge -- why not start now?  This post describes a first foray back into drawing on my own, in response to her question.

watercolor pencil collection

So it wasn't surprising that I chose buying watercolor pencils again.  They're light (so portable), relatively simple to use, and easy to manipulate dry or wet. I did a lot of pen and ink drawings in my teens and 20's, with the last few sketches being illustrations for a botanical garden newsletter in a pre-digital time, so drawing with color washes feels about as comfortable as any other medium (although I've always been drawn to watercolor and pastels, too.)

pussy willow stem

We have several vases on the main floor filled with various mixes of dried pussy willows, wheat, and lotus pods  (I had access to a large bunch of nice pussy willow branches a few years back!)

So I thought a very quick sketch of one of the stems would be my drawing subject this afternoon.