- What's next?
Next we're gonna have fun with a great technique that my mentors used.
It's scraping.
And guess what?
You can use a credit card that you can't buy anything with.
And you can have dirty water.
And we're not gonna be using the pen.
And you'll be amazed at the flexibility.
This is one of the most relaxed, fun things.
You could do it with your kids.
You can do it anytime.
Come join us.
(light upbeat music) Hi and welcome back to Pocket Sketching.
This is gonna be kind of fun today.
It's a tad different.
We've done a bit of discipline, so now let's go see the other side.
I had a couple of mentors years ago who used this next technique.
And at first it took a minute to learn it.
But once you learned it, man, is it fun.
It's relaxing.
Great for when you have a few minutes.
We start with, you can have dirty water.
You don't need clean water.
This is just an awful lot of fun.
Pick up that brush.
And I'm gonna want a wash. A wash is just watercolor in solution.
I'm finding that it's quite wet today.
The humidity is a little more than I'm used to.
So, I'm gonna be watching to not get it too terribly, terribly wet.
I'm after rock color.
Now, this just looks sort of like a mess.
Which it should.
I'm watching it.
Now, now change to get the rock color.
What I'm using is my favorite combination.
This is Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna.
It's coming out a little bit wishy-washy.
I'd like it to be darker.
You never know.
Watercolor's always a movable feast.
It's looking pretty good now.
Now the next thing I'm gonna do, I'm gonna look at it sideways.
I am looking for the extreme shine to leave.
And it's already left.
Timing is relatively critical.
Credit card.
Hold it like a club.
I'll go over this again and again.
Watch behind the card.
And I'll do it another time so you'll see it.
Pretty good.
Rocks in water.
I don't like the bottom of that.
Here's one of the strange things about this.
You can do this over three times on the same piece of paper before you go through.
And then the part back here.
Now the next thing I'm gonna show you is the angles on the card.
Because this looks difficult and it's hard to catch.
So I'm gonna do this again and again, so you see it.
The angle on the card is critical.
Not straight up or down, not real flat.
As you're moving the card, look behind it, it's scraping to get the cracks in the rock, you back off a little bit.
There's a little more pressure here than back here.
But you're not digging into this paper.
Little bit more pressure, that's all.
And you'll look behind and see that it is clearing.
Now I'll show you what you don't want.
'Cause I got two I set up for this.
If it's too dry, you're not gonna get anywhere.
That won't work.
If it's too wet, you get backflow.
See how this edge and I can't get a crisp edge.
That was too wet.
It's a matter of getting the feel.
You'll feel the texture of the paper.
I'm using a cold press.
There are three finishes on paper.
Hot press, which is smooth, like your computer paper.
Used for technical things and portraits, usually.
Like botanical sketches, scientific illustrations.
Then there's rough.
Rough has a real nubby, nubby surface.
It'll work for this.
Your computer paper won't work well.
The cold press is working beautifully.
If you got some paper under it, like I have, there's a little bit of cushion.
If you do it directly on a hard surface, you'll probably get the texture of that hard surface too, won't work quite as well.
It's very nice to have it in a pad, like this.
So that when you press down there's a little bit of give.
Another thing, something that's good to know.
This is 80 weight paper.
When I say 80 weight, 500 sheets of paper, this quality weights 80 pounds in a full sheet.
Full sheet's about 22 by 29 inches.
It's a big sheet of paper.
Paper runs from usually about 72 weight to 300 weight.
300 weight is expensive, like 15 dollars a sheet.
You'll look at that, you won't do anything.
Keep the price down, keep the quality where you can use it to where you can have fun.
Don't be trying to use stuff that's so fancy.
You won't use it.
Now let's do this again.
This time I'm gonna go more slowly.
So you have a chance to really catch on.
Because this is just too much fun not to catch.
So, I'm gonna go back and use my ultramarine blue.
I want more pigment this time.
I didn't put much on last time.
All the equipment is so inexpensive.
I like to say cheap.
Don't be afraid to use it.
If you're afraid to use it you won't have any fun.
So use it.
Don't matter that the water's dirty.
Everything I'm doing this time is dirty.
Here's another thing, there's no pen involved this time.
This can be changed for up to 20 years.
Watercolor paintings at about 20 years of age become one with the paper.
So I can do this again and again.
If I do it a third time on the same piece of paper, I'll probably go through.
If you use too much pressure, you'll probably go through.
This is no big deal.
This is fun.
This is for when, let's say you got some spare time.
And you wanted to use it.
Now I'm looking for the shine.
Put that brush down.
Don't even be concerned about cleaning it up.
I'm looking for the shine.
If it's too shiny it's gonna backflow.
If it's dry, nothing's gonna happen.
Pick up the card.
I'm looking, it's still a little-- Okay, it's just about right right now.
So I'm gonna start right here.
I'm right-handed, if you're left-handed start on the other side.
Ah, it's working.
I'm looking behind it.
Ooh, nice.
Nice.
I like it.
Come across the bottom.
There's your waterline.
Might get a little bit more.
Okay, how about another pile of rocks.
You can bring it lower.
New waterline.
Okay, the stuff in the back.
Now, Carl and Bob used their thumbnails.
I can try.
Thumbnail's short.
Nah, edge of the credit card works better.
Look at that.
It's making things.
Making things in the background.
But, butt of the pen, anything that will scrape.
Don't be afraid to try different things.
I want a tree.
Bet it got some ink on that already.
There's a tree.
Cool.
Oh, I'd like the background to have different color.
Didn't think of that.
I've got plants back there.
Why wouldn't I have green?
You're not locked in.
Change the colors.
Now if I've pushed into the paper, they call it torturing.
If you've pushed hard, anything I go over right now, with liquid, the liquid's gonna go in the cracks.
And they're gonna get dark.
That's okay.
What if there were yellows in this?
What if?
Remember, you can go over this again and again.
Not gonna hurt a thing.
What if there are yellows?
What if there's blue sky?
Oh, what about that area over there?
How about some plants over there?
This is play.
Don't take yourself seriously on this one, for goodness sake.
Put some of that color down there.
Oh, this color should be down here too.
It should if it's up there.
Some of it would be down here.
And oh, if you wonder what colors so far-- Ooh, almost tip the water.
Sap Green.
Little bit of red, why not.
I mean, you could throw anything into this.
Now that's too wet to work with.
This is probably too dry.
How about over here?
How about a little bit more stuff over here?
I wanna get some things over there.
A bit of red.
That's kind of a neat color.
I'm gonna put a plant right here.
So I've used Sap Green and Cadmium Red.
Unusual combination.
But the Cad Red will neutralize this and put some of it down here, 'cause it's gonna be down here.
It's gonna reflect on the water.
Here comes the yucca, I hope.
You never know.
Like I said, it's livable feast.
There's probably some on the edge of the card.
See the different angle I'm going that way, or this way, or that way.
Now this is all pretty wet up here.
And it's ready to scrape.
Okay, it's too wet, it's back flowing.
Does it matter?
Not that much.
What did I want back in there?
I want the butt of the pen.
Make sure it will have a bunch of color on it already.
Some branches.
Okay, I gotta wait for this.
Okay and I don't like that place right there.
Do you realize that there's time?
There's time.
Time to play.
This, by the way, is fun with children.
This is fun when you've got a few minutes.
It is a tad messy.
Just a tad.
Is it getting dryer?
Yeah.
Get rid of some of that stuff.
Come through here.
It's getting dryer.
I want another one of these tree branches.
Big tree branches.
First time I ever did this I was in a studio with Carl Krueger.
I wanted to go home.
He said, "Do one more painting before you leave."
And believe me, I didn't wanna do it.
So I colored a piece of paper with Indigo Blue.
I'm gonna come and play with that a bit more.
Little bit more water down here.
Colored a piece of paper with some Indigo Blue.
And then scraped out a cowboy on a bull.
And it turned out to be really good.
I did not expect it.
Now I've picked up some of these same colors.
I'm just gonna put some water in here.
Water.
Water.
How hard was that?
I'm gonna go through those angles again.
'Cause you've got time for this.
And this has to be hidden a little bit.
That's a bad edge.
I don't like that.
So, let's see how-- Add a little bit more, little bit more plant life up there.
So.
I want a stem.
Don't think I've done this one before.
I want a tree branch that looks natural.
Back way off on your brush.
So that it wiggles and bring in a tree branch.
Because it will be quite natural this way.
Bring in another one.
You're coming across a dry surface.
Isn't it cool?
Yeah.
That's pretty cool.
Now you could get back down here, lower the brush, now we're in control.
Put in some foliage.
Nice, dark foliage, like it's coming off the side.
And now you can see-- And I don't know if I'll still get away with this, I'm gonna try it.
I've got an edge that back flowed.
On this rock, see it right there.
Can I clean that edge up?
I don't know.
And if I don't, does it matter?
No.
So yep, it's a little cleaner.
Just a little cleaner.
And I'm okay with this.
Ooh, that was nice.
That was an accident.
Why not?
And then I forgot to put some of the stuff down in here.
I still got that paint on this brush.
So why wouldn't it come up like that?
Do you get the idea of how flexible this is?
Now, the last thing I'm gonna do-- Oh, this line should continue because it doesn't just stop when you get to the end.
And I need it to be a little bit darker.
That line of the water, water's edge.
There you go.
That worked.
If that is that light and dark up there, wouldn't it be down here?
Would it be?
I mean, this takes so little time, we've got time to fix things.
I need some of the colors that are in the woods.
So that's Sep Green and a bit of Burnt Sienna.
'Cause that would be in here.
Go for that dark, more Burnt Sienna.
Because those big tree branches are back there.
They oughta be reflecting in the water.
I kind of forgot that.
Is it a problem?
No.
Okay.
Now come back in.
And I'm gonna have to wait just a second for this.
'Cause this is pretty wet.
It will backflow.
Meanwhile, the angles on the credit card.
Oh, and how to get a credit card.
I didn't tell you this one.
While I'm waiting for that I can do this.
I brought one.
Take a credit card that is no longer going to this year's account.
Take a candle, light the candle, hold it under the credit card.
You're gonna obliterate the last numbers here.
Your name if you want to.
Anything that's important.
You hold the card under it.
Then you take a table knife and scrape it off.
I actually scraped through on that.
Get the code on the back.
This cut, don't use the cut edge, that's too sharp.
This cut was here to let me know that this is a disposable credit card.
Not one to a live account.
So now you've got one.
Some room cards work, some gift cards work.
They have to be as hard as a regular credit card.
But just obliterate those numbers.
So if you leave it behind somewhere, nobody can use it.
And take the code off.
So that's how you get those.
Now this should be ready by this time.
Should be able to just come in here and get that tree branch.
It is sort of the-- Oops.
There.
Those go up.
Just enough.
Go through it, then the other one.
Just enough.
Doctor it up.
That's okay.
It's a tool.
Enjoy using it as a tool.
Any scraping tool will work.
Your thumbnails will definitely work and they would definitely use.
But I hate gunsh under my thumbnails.
I mean, they're pretty right now.
I don't wanna put this flat on the table.
Incidentally, if you are gonna put something like this flat on a table, you don't wanna get paint on the table, or wreck the painting, put something very uneven under it, like that.
Now it's not touching the table, it's not gonna hurt the sketch either.
So the angle that I was using.
Maybe it's gonna be easier to see when I hold it up right on the paper.
The angle, first place I'm holding it like a club.
Don't hold it from underneath.
You're not gonna get anywhere.
Little more pressure here than back here.
Angle that I'm using.
I think you can see that, it leans over.
This is what's important.
Look behind it.
Is it clearing the edge?
Look behind it.
And every time you stop, the stuff that's been ganging up, dumps, that's where you get those cracks in the rock.
Now I'll do it one more time with the paint down there.
So you get to see it again.
But you come down, stop, go forward, stop, go forward again, stop.
Come down to the bottom.
The last stroke is parallel to the bottom of the paper.
So you get the water's surface.
Then your paint's down here.
Now you turn the card over.
It was this way.
Turn it over and go back across to get the water's edge.
Then you can do all of the rest of the stuff.
And you'll have some stuff ganged up, go back across, go back across again.
Now, very quickly I'm gonna do it one more time with paint.
Oh, by the way, you can make abstracts with this.
You can do anything with this.
You can actually get good enough to do pictures of people and animals.
It's all about something that's fun and extra.
Something that you didn't have to take yourself seriously.
Something for play.
I like to call it a yapa.
It's the Greek word for something extra.
This is a yapa.
And it's really good when you've just plain had enough.
And you just wanna be lose.
Maybe a little bit.
And your humidity is gonna make a difference too.
That's something else I can tell you while I'm doing this.
Humidity.
If it's really, really wet, and you go to turn this paper over, it may gang in the spiral.
If it does that, pull it all the way out to clear.
If you don't, the next one that comes gangs in a little further.
And you get them all jammed up in the spiral.
Just a little extra.
This is all full of extras.
I want it darker.
(laughing) Okay.
Then you watch for how much water's on the paper.
You watch for the high shine to go.
I'm gonna get some other color up in here for fun.
I don't know if you remember, but I dirty the far side of the paint, not the near side.
So that the near side I've got clean paint when I want it.
There's another color.
You don't bother to clean the brush.
Don't bother.
Pick up the card.
This by the way is a Triple A card.
It doesn't matter if you do leave it behind.
This is ready, really ready.
Come down, watch.
Each time you stop it's gonna give a crack in the rock.
Stop here.
Those cracks, see how heavy they are.
Come over here and come across the bottom.
There's your waterline.
Doesn't matter how bad this looks.
Clean it up later.
Now, this part's ready.
It's doing okay.
See?
I'm just using the tip.
At this point you could do it with your thumbnail.
You could do it with anything that will scrape.
By this point, the painting that I laid face down, probably dry.
Yeah, dry.
So now I can use this.
This end works beautifully.
And I'm watching for it to get a little bit dryer.
I'm gonna start, make sure it doesn't have any extra paint on it.
There goes that tree.
And the branches.
Ooh, I like that one.
When you like something, notice it.
Were there other rocks in the background?
I don't know.
Are there any back there?
I don't know, let's see.
Nope, there aren't.
Whoops, there was one.
It was just wet enough to do that.
The fun of this is really quite amazing.
Now the bottom.
Look at that reflection.
See the reflection of the rock?
Now come down.
I want some color down in here.
Ooh, that's good.
Some of the color from the woods.
And there's a little bit of this brown in there.
Looking up there, there's brown.
Little bit more.
Why wouldn't some of that be in here?
And then the water itself.
Pick up a bit of your original colors.
I'm assume it's gonna work, you never know.
(laughing) Just taking a look at it.
I love that reflection, I don't wanna hide it.
Some of it come over here.
Nope, not enough pigment.
I wanna get that look of a little bit of wave on the water.
This is quite wet, that's sort of what I'm waiting for.
That just about did it, right there.
One slush there.
There.
And then if you wanted that weird plant, the one that I threw in, the extra.
I'm picking up Sap Green and Burnt Sienna this time.
Change the color a tad.
Find a place to put it.
How about right in here.
Then put some down here.
'Cause it's gonna reflect.
Take the card.
Wait a second for it.
Yeah.
Oh, what I'm doing this time, I'm pushing up and pushing to the side each time.
That gives me a yucca plant.
Then come across the bottom like that.
(scraping) I want it in the plant.
Do I have any extra paint on the edge of the card?
Not much.
But what a cool plant.
(laughing) That is a cool plant.
Do I need a couple of little points down here?
Just a couple of points.
Will I do one?
Oh, where are you gonna use this?
That's really important.
Where would you use this?
Where can you use this technique?
A rock wall.
All rock wall.
Like a canyon.
You do the canyon lighter in the back.
'Cause you know about contrast.
And bluer in the back.
Then as you're coming forward to the color that you really got on the rocks.
And then scrape out the front rocks.
Just the front ones with a credit card.
Works perfectly.
A fence.
Put in the color that's behind it and scrape out.
This is a beauty.
Scrape out the fence posts.
It works like a jet.
A banister.
Put the top on, put the bottom on.
It's got a background.
Scrape out the banister.
This has so many uses.
Anytime you need something like a detail like that branches, just scrape them out.
Use your thumbnail if you're in a hurry.
This scraping technique is invaluable for so many different places.
And I particularly like it with doing a rock wall.
Because we have canyons everywhere where I live.
And so, I wanna use it for the rock wall.
Tree trunk.
Paint it on the way you did as a little kid.
Brown tree trunk.
Then come back and scrape out the bark.
So easy.
Or use it, again, use it for abstracts.
It's gonna do everything.
So, just have fun with it.
Relax, this is a fun thing to do.
And I really wanna thank you again for coming and joining us.
And hope that you enjoyed playing with this as much as I do.
But it's also a pretty serious thing to use in a regular painting, when you just need a little bit of scraping to get that texture and get that feeling.
I mean, this looks like granite.
This is because it was on the cold-press paper.
And the paper came through.
That's a very hard texture to get by hand.
But with scraping it's absolutely a snap.
So, thank you for being along and enjoy doing this on your own.
Happy sketching.
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Then visit my website at pocketsketching.com.
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All this and more is available at pocketsketching.com.
Learn enough to play for a lifetime.
(light upbeat music)