Fractured rock

This beautiful photo was at https://evrymom.tumblr.com/post/95315216678/isis0isis-fractured-slate

I chose this image of fractured slate to work on today because:

There are only two colours, both of which are in my palate.

I wanted to practice drawing sharp lines.

The overlapping slates of different sizes and shapes are interesting in their own right, and keep the eye moving

Fine lines

Adding the base colour blue using watercolour pencils

I didn't have exactly the same blue as the image,

so made it using this colour for the base and a more turquoise blue (see left of sketchbook) on top.

Adding the second colour I discovered the need for yellow and bright salmon pink as well

What I learned:

Using the colour intensities for perspective works well

I need a pale sky blue pencil!

Part of the appeal of the image was the overall intensity of colour, which is missing in my sketch

The shadows work a lot better in brown than black or grey.

The lines aren't sharp enough, and the pencil lines detract.

Next time:

Pick a smaller region of the image

Abstractify

Use gouache for the colours, with intensity all over

What it looked like when I did this:

I like the way this looks (apart from the poorly focussed blur). The fractured geometry looks almost 1930s.