Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.
How often do we get to slow down? To be tranquil is to relax, to be in the moment, to be calm, to be-here-now.
My contributions for the day! First, a rock “duck” – that intriguingly simple pile of rocks, small or large, by the beach, a stream, or on a mountain top. To me, the epitome of zen.
And then, the peace and comfort of a good friend or loved one.
I used a water brush and water-soluble graphite, specifically as illustrated below.
Inktober is here! Time to get out the ink and pen and brush and paper and work in black and white and shades of grey. You can find more about it here! And here is the official list to work from.
Now let’s think about this – it’s October, Halloween is creeping up on us, evil is in our thoughts (maybe). So – poisonous and apples. Here are first contributions – a day late – but we shall persevere!
Keeping along the lines of the pear I painted the other day, using a workshop / sample class from Anna Mason, I decided to take a prime point from her lesson and apply it to a gourd. For me, the most important takeaway point was to settle the lightest and then move to the darkest, filling in the midtones once these two painting extremes are settled. And then settle these again as the painting progresses.
Traditional watercolor dictates paint from light to dark. For me, this is elusive. It may be difficult for me as I have no depth perception (yeah, really! I still function!). So, this one little step helps me here – will it help doing plein air or other subject matter?
Finally, I am slowing down. The pear I did earlier this week, and today’s gourd above – and even the pumpkin from the other day – took a couple to several hours. It meant looking carefully, seeing light and dark, texture, gradations, and so many other things. It will be interesting to see how these lessons affect future painting endeavors.
One of the absolute best things about having a blog, on any subject, is that the world comes to you and, if you look, those who read and look at what you write often provide support and care and concern. Even if you haven’t met, relationships develop. There are a lot of people who inspire me, and who send me off in other directions. Reading others’ blogs, too, even if they don’t read mine, are still forms of connection in areas of common interest.
Today, I want to thank Breathing Deeply because she has said some very encouraging things – but, more – she has mentioned on her blog that she is taking classes online from Anna Mason who is a botanical watercolorist. Well, I have seen Anna Mason’s work. She is a self-taught botanical artist. Botanical art is detailed and realistic, and in some ways, not really what I aim for. Anna’s work is refreshing and beautiful. And, she has online courses. A free one to show you her teaching style, one in which she walks you through how she approaches a simple D’Anjou pear. Clearly stated, simply done, I decided “what the hell!” and dived in.
I think I might sign up! I really enjoyed what I learned, and to my way of thinking, perhaps a realistic approach will slow me down when it comes to painting. I am hasty and careless, don’t think ahead as much as I would like to when painting. My impatience leads to frustration.
So, thank you Breathing Deeply for your kind words and for your own bloggy inspiration, and to Anna Mason for providing a very nice approach to painting.
Today I dug out my old Pelikan opaque watercolor paints – they are so much fun! What is it about something that looks like it is for kids that lets you kick back and just play? In reality, this is a very well-designed set of paints – a balance of warm and cold variations of colors, along with a tube of Chinese white.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 