Blue Landscape and Lyra Aquacolor Crayons

Yesterday instead of my favorite liquid watercolors (Dr. Ph. Martin's radiant concentrated watercolors), I pulled out my barely touched box of 24 Lyra Aquacolor crayons. I used them to paint the background first, and when it was dry, I added the black lines with Copic multiliner and did some shading with my Copic markers. But then my black lines looked too dark, as did the sky area. So with a tiny brush, I applied streaks and dots of Copic Opaque White, smudging and feathering the white with a small wet brush.

I like the finished drawing. The Lyra Aquacolors were easy to work with. I used a wet (but not dripping) brush to pick up the color directly from the crayons and apply it to my wet watercolor paper. The colors are more opaque than my Dr. Ph. Martin's colors, which look very transparent. Both are beautiful in different ways.

Updated February 16, 2010: Click here for my color chart and more information on both types of watercolors.

• Copic marker colors used: B63, W5, BV23.
• Watercolor wash background: Lyra Aquacolor crayon numbers 5610034, 37, 47, 51, 83, 87
• Paper: Canson Montval watercolor block, 140 lb. cold press, 4x6"