Inktober 2023: prompts 1-7
I’m participating in Inktober – a challenge to create 31 drawings/paintings in October based on a list of prompt words - again this year as I always enjoy the challenge of coming up with ideas that both fit the prompt list and match my style of artwork.
Like in previous years, I’ve swapped a few prompts from the official list for different ones where it really didn’t fit my style of artwork.
All of the paintings were done in watercolour, and many of
them use Tombow Fudenosuke brush pens in either black or brown to bring out the
details.
Prompt 1 - Dream
[Image ID] Watercolour painting of an imaginary tree with purply-pink foliage and streamers hanging down from the branches. [description end]
This prompt felt very vague, and I struggled to come up with
an idea for it. Eventually I decided to interpret it as ‘something which is not
real’ and painted this colourful tree with branches draped in streamers and
shiny bead strings.
I used a brown brush pen to add detail lines to the trunk,
leaves, and decorations, but I left the grass as it was to aid the feeling of
thin foliage blowing in the breeze.
Prompt 2 - Wisp
[Image ID] Watercolour painting of a monk’s apothecary. There are some herbs hanging to dry, and five lidded apothecary bottles stand in arched alcoves on a shelf. In the foreground is a black cauldron style pot, containing a yellowy brown liquid, from which a wisp of steam is rising. [description end]
The thought behind this painting was a ‘wisp of steam’
coming from a pot of boiling herbs in a medieval apothecary. I used both
colours of brush pen on this piece as the black helped to give a solidity to
the cabinet, desk, and pot, whilst the brown enabled the details on the papers
and drying herbs to be visible but not overstated.
Prompt 3 – Path
[Image ID] Watercolour painting of a long, stone set of steps curving away out of sight. The steps are flanked on both sides by bushes and arched architecture carved like walls in the remains of a priory. [description end]
There were numerous ways to interpret this prompt, and I
opted for one that let me draw some architectural elements. The details on the
’walls’ either side of the path were inspired by the design of cathedral
interiors.
Prompt 4 – Slippery
[Image ID] Watercolour of a cold winter seascape. A lighthouse on the left has snow and icicles on it. [description end]
After much consideration, I decided that the best solution
to the prompt word was to paint a winter scene. In this case I chose a close up
view of an ice and snow covered walkway round the lantern room of a lighthouse.
The design of the lighthouse is based on a setting for Candle of Ice (my
fantasy novel project) which I have painted on a few occasions previously.
Prompt 5 – Map
[Image ID] Watercolour in brown and yellow tones. The scene depicts a view over a waterway from one bridge to another, with buildings either side of the second bridge. There is a sign with a map on in the foreground. [description end]
Having painted a map as the main subject for an Inktober
painting in 2021, I was determined not to do so again despite it making it much
harder to come up with an idea for the prompt. Having thought through all the
different situations where one might find or use a map I remembered those ‘map
boards’ often seen in large cities or at tourist attractions. By choosing this
style of map, I could meet the prompt but focus on the surrounding architecture
rather than the map itself.
Prompt 6 – Golden
[Image ID] Watercolour painting of a golden sun rising above the horizon, behind an ancient stone circle. [description end]
This was one of the more ‘open ended’ prompts, so I chose to
paint a ‘recumbent’ stone circle – which is a type found only in one area of
Scotland – illuminated by the rising sun.
I didn’t use any pen on this piece, as I felt the harsh lines would have detracted from the softly lit effect of the painting.
Prompt 7 – Drip
[Image ID] Watercolour painting of a working waterwheel. [description end]
My first thought for the prompt was a waterwheel as the
water is always dripping back down off the wheel. In particular, I was inspired
by some of the large waterwheels I saw at Morwhellham Quay, Devon, when I
visited the museum there several years ago. The subtler structure in the
background is based on the metal mining infrastructure remnants which are
commonly visible in that area of the country.
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Watercolour paints – Windsor & newton Cotman range
Watercolour paper – Daler Rowney Aquafine in textured (cold
pressed) or smooth (hot pressed) depending on the painting.
Brush pens – Tombow Fudenosuke in black and brown
Brushes – DaVinchi Cosmotop-Spin (red handle) round brushes in sizes 14,
8, & 5
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Artwork ©Dragonsflyatsunset 2023, all rights reserved.