I did a fun little exercise today. Thanks to some very timely watercolor pencil tips from Kal Barteski, I felt rejuvenated and went right back to playing with my old Faber-Castells. (Note: the “unsatisfactory dogwood” is pictured peaking out from beneath my pocket notebook.)
Things I did differently this time:
+ relaxed my attitude/approached it as a doodle
+ used good paper: Strathmore, watercolor 90 lb. (what do I think I'm saving it for?)
+ did not illustrate in pen and ink. Used pencil to sketch out plan
+ chose a different subject from our daily walk. A neighbor's peony.
+ borrowed Kal's subject-overlapping-border style. (love that) It's absolutely a take-off on her work. Hope that's okay.
+ remembered from college art classes to use to variation in depth of color. Was always timid about laying down too much color and consequently never had as much contrast as I would like. Not so this time 'round.
+ could not help myselft, blended with brush a little too much. Oh well, no harsh critisism today.
+ looking at this reminds me of the peonies from the south side of my Granma's house by the cellar door. Jotted down a few words about that memory. (Used a black, Zig Millenium .03 point)
I did this outside while the kids rode their bikes and kicked balls in the yard. I made time to fit in a little project and Joan (5) really enjoyed (& learned from) seeing me do this. I had to be outside to watch over them anyway, so it worked out well that I got to do something fun for me at the same time. Although I see things that I will do differently going forward, I am only thinking those things as a result of having done this piece. Gotta walk before you can run!
Overall I'm happy just having put the color down. Happy day.
