Little house: Rookery Lane

Series: Little House Portraits #001

Anyone who has followed this blog for any length of time will be well aware of my enjoyment of trying different things… different crafts, different mediums, different styles. I love my Copic markers and will always come back to them, but I would be bored senseless if they were my only creative outlet. And I am fortunate enough, at the moment, to be in a position where I can afford to treat myself to new supplies every now and again (either that or drop hints to my other half, especially around birthdays and Christmas).

And I am trying to be good and not put new supplies on the shelf to be forgotten. So, a mere couple of weeks after buying myself a set of Albrecht Dürer watercolour markers, I actually used them. And I do have a good reason for buying these: unlike my other watercolour markers, these are actually lightfast so they won’t fade if someone puts a picture made with them up on the wall.

Somewhere along the way, I seem to have got stuck on the idea of working in series rather than everything being a one-off piece — I think it started with the Square-a-thon challenge earlier this year — and so, this is the first in a series of little house portraits.

I started out by randomly wandering Google Streetview to find interesting buildings in places I’ve lived, then decided to make it more personal and pick houses I’ve lived in or where friends and family live. So this is a flattering portrait of my brother’s house (which is actually a semi-detached).

The process is simple, although not particularly quick. First I find a reference to work from, either from my own photographs or Google Streetview. Then I sketch a version in pencil, which I refine with a waterproof pen and erase the pencil lines. Colour is added with the markers and blended out with a damp brush. Finally, once it is completely dry, I add a bit of fine detail and texture with coloured pencil.

Not bad for a first try. And I’ve already had someone say that they would like a version of their house done in this style.

Supplies:

• Colour:
  Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer watercolour markers
  Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils
• Pens & Pencils:
  Faber-Castell PITT artist pens – black
• Paper & Fabric:
  Hahnemühle Bamboo 265 mixed media paper