Painting a Maui Nix for Fun

I’m temporarily moving away from creating floral paintings in my sketchbook. I’ve been wanting to create a few whimsical pieces as I continue to explore my watercolor painting style.

I went back and looked at my pen & ink wash sketches that I completed the last few years. I was looking for inspiration and found a few lovely sketches. I decided to recreate a few pieces with my own watercolor interpretations.

When Hubby and I were visiting Fort Lauderdale, we stumbled into a fun clothing shop called Maui Nix. Inside the front entrance was a lovely enormous statue called Maui Nix. I took a few pictures and I knew it would become a future sketch.

I’ve talked about creating my “coloring book” of sketches. Well, here’s an example of what I sketched so far.

I leave them as incomplete sketches until I’m ready to apply my permanent lines using my permanent ink pen. This gives me some time to think about changes I might need to make before applying the permanent ink to paper.

Once I completed the sketch of Maui Nix, I almost immediately wanted to paint this piece.

Here’s the first layer of colors or light washes I painted.

My sketching lines are a bit off, but that’s okay. This is a part of my whimsical watercolor pieces.

I also wanted to show that I purposely sketched Maui Nix in the center of my sketchbook. Once I applied my layers of colorful mixes I hardly notice my Maui Nix was sitting in the middle of my two page spread. Right in the middle of the gutter area.

Here is what my whimsical two page spread looks like. I’m also giving you a glimpse into my next painting piece and one of the props I’m working from.

I also started painting my left piece which I’m calling the Boot House. Since I’m using the same watercolor palette for all three pieces, I’m okay with not finishing one piece before I move onto the next one. I’m taking my time. Figuring out what details I need to add and knowing when to stop overworking a piece.

For now, Maui Nix is not finished. I still need to add more details to his hat, mustache, jacket, and feet.

All is well in my creative world.

Pencil: Lamy Studio pencil with 0.5mm HB lead

Pen: Uni PinFine Line in 01 size with Light Grey ink

Paint: Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors in Yellow Ochre, Indian Yellow, Quinacridone Rose, Pyrrol Scarlet, Manganese Blue, Prussian Blue, Hooker’s Green, Burnt Sienna, and Burnt Umber

Brushes: Rosemary & Co R13-Sable Blend Pointed #8. This brush can be found at Art Toolkit at this link.

Journal: Luchetti True Flat Sketchbook. Mixed Media. 100% cotton. Cold Press. 8″x8″ with 22 sheets/44 pages. 600gsm (300lb). Archival. Acid-Free. Gelatin-free vegan sizing. Vegan PU leather covers. The sketchbook can be found at this link.

Palette: Winsor & Newton. There is an empty palette with an included small travel brush available on Amazon.