(work in progress on a Lapwing)
I bought a small bottle of Zest-It a long time ago but didn’t experiment with it.
That is…up to yesterday.
I thought my drawing of the black wings of my Lapwing (Peewit, Dutch: Kievit) needed something extra.
Lapwings have these beautiful iridescent wing-colours in which shiny black becomes green-bluish. Using my Derwent blender only made the black dull. With not much to lose I decided to use Zest-It. I’m certainly happy with the result.
For my coloured pencil colleagues…try Zest It (if you didn’t already).
Here is more info.
Paula
I’m so glad you posted about this. I looked up zest-it and discovered that it’s made from natural products, biodegradable and can be used for thinning oils as well.
The lapwing is stunning! You’ve definitely captured the iridescent quality of it’s feathers!
Zest It has a nice citron smell too. It dissolves the wax of the pencils and let the pigments sink in the paper. Your pencil drawings will look more painterly or like a water-paint.
Your Lapwing is so beautiful, Paula!!