ONLINE ART COURSE – CAMPER VAN IN A DESERT LANDSCAPE

We are now approaching the end of the landscapes module, with only the self-directed challenge to go. This is proving to be a great module to do, although I didn’t enjoy the first one (the clouds in graphite). This particular project was worked in pen and watercolour.

Drawing the camper van

Because vehicles are notoriously difficult to draw, Phil, the teacher, instructed us to draw the camper van first on a piece of normal paper. The drawing would inevitably involve a lot of erasing to get it right, and he said that if we did this direct onto the watercolour paper, it would end up damaging the surface.

Although most vehicles can be broken down into simple shapes, mostly squares and rectangles, getting the proportions right is quite difficult. The initial drawing did indeed involve a lot of erasing. My hubby and I worked on this project together, and he made two attempts – his first one looked like a double-decker bus! We got there eventually, and when we were happy with it, we were instructed to go over the pencil lines with a pen.

I drew mine on a piece of scrap A4 printer paper, which was slightly smaller than the watercolour paper.

Transferring the drawing

We scribbled on the back with a soft pencil, and then laid the drawing over the watercolour paper and traced it off. Doing it this way, we were able to place the camper van where we wanted on the drawing. I taped mine along the top with masking tape, so that I could lift it up and make sure I hadn’t missed anything.

Once this was done, we again went over it with a pen.

Drawing the landscape

The next step was to draw the background. Phil went direct to pen but he suggested that if we felt less confident, we should do it in pencil first, which is what I did.

At one point I wondered whether I would ever come to the end of drawing those rocks! There was a huge amount of shading to be done, and a lot of detail.

Colouring the camper van

It’s funny working on a picture like this. At first glance, you think, “Ah yes, yellow camper van. Easy peasy.” However, there is a lot of subtle shading involved, to make it look realistic, and the process took some time. It was a very enjoyable part of the project, though.

Here’s a detail shot of the camper van at this stage.

While I had the yellow paint on my palette, I also coloured in the yellow lines in the centre of the road.

It was at this point that I realised that I’d made a mistake on the left-hand side of the drawing, and had brought the vegetation right down to the centre of the road, obliterating the left-hand lane! Out with the Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White for a bit of repair work, which is why the paper looks a bit odd at that point, and the greenery is now too large, but it all came together in the end.

Painting the landscape

This was the final stage of the project.

Again, at first glance, one was tempted to think, “Ah yes, red rocks,” but there were so many subtle shades in these rocks! We mixed up several different colours for the different values, and began with a light wash which would be the colour of the highlights once the rest was done. This wash went over much of the flat grassland on the right, and the patch of bare earth to the right of the road.

After the painting was done, I added a bit of texture with the pen and a bit more paint in this bare earth area, and also on the road itself. I struggled a bit with the grassland beyond the foreground part, and when it was at its “ugly stage” I wondered if I would ever get it right! However, I persevered, and was not displeased with the result in the end.

The final part of the painting, apart from my few additional details, was to add the sky. This was done with a single colour wash of cobalt blue, after wetting the paper first, and dabbing the paint off to indicate some clouds.

On the whole I am pleased with my painting. It speaks of adventure, fun and exploration, in that iconic vehicle of the 1960s, the VW Camper Van. My uncle had one of these, and we used to go on great holidays all together, with all of us kids in the back, and my uncle leading us in endless long songs like “Green Grow the Rushes-Oh” – such fond memories!