Characters

Capturing the personality and gesture of a model fascinates me. Drawing is critical for the figure in watercolor. People can get away with poor drawing with bold and free work, but for me, the drawing has to be right for the figure and portraits.

I don’t use glazing, and I work directly. Sometimes I apply a light wash for skin tones, and then I lay in the middle to dark values and work to the lighter values, softening edges as I go.

I always add at least the mid-darks early on. I use the same palette of colors in oil and watercolor, and I’ve never worried about transparent or opaque pigments.