A LITTLE BIT OF THIS AND THAT

The mixed media (Canson XL) sketchbook is not good for pure watercolor (top painting).  I think the paper is too thin and it doesn’t accept the water.

Seond little sketchbook works well, has quite a bit of texture.

Third painting is on mineral paper and hard to get darks because it’s almost (but not quite) like Yupo paper.  

Just playing around and testing what I have and what works with each one.  I have so many sketchbooks.  I used to buy Arches and Fabriano in full sheets but have changed to sketchbooks more often since I don’t paint large anymore.  

Still having issues with Blogger asking me to sign in over and over and not downloading my photos until the 3rd or 4th try and sometimes I give up.  And sometimes cannot post to friends’ blogs, either!!  I still haven’t gone to Instagram and learned anything there to post something - just look at artwork there for pleasure.

INSPIRATION

 Going through a beautiful little book about various art styles and saw a painting by a botanical artist, Marie Burke (marieburke-art.com) which inspired me to try it.  

(You can see her gorgeous painting in the left/bottom side of the book cover.)

I have never had the patience to be a botanical painter - so precise and small increments of change don’t make me happy - but I am not unhappy about the finished painting (quarter sheet watercolor).

I can see now that I look at it here that I did not get the flowing look of the one in the book, nor did I get the rounded shape in the top edges.  

HALLOWEEN 2025

 

Having issues with Blogger - I go through all the steps to load a photo and it tells me it cannot do it and then I try again and get an Oops message and then I try one more time and it lets me do it - this has been happening for about a month now so if I disappear for a while it’s because Blogger is giving me fits at times.  Anyone else having problems or am I just the lucky one?

THE BEAUTY OF THE FALLEN LEAVES

 

WHEN SIMPLE IS GOOD

 I am always signing up for short courses online - could be printmaking, sketchbooking, just anything at all, some more involved.  Every one brings me something simple - and good.  Here is what I did in the latest Jessica Swift Art Oasis course offered recently (a one week only freebie with various teachers).  A lot of the things were very simple (too simple and perhaps too crafty?) but some were just enough to peak my interest so I did them.

The first two are just colored/painted/drawn plain papers glued onto another paper and added to (if needed) later with markers, colored crayons, etc.  This was so fun to just make patterns and then cut them up and use them in other ways.  Playing and creating.

The next ones were just painting a mandala/circle shape while holding a thought or emotion and seeing what colors represented that thought/emotion.  I put the words in last.  

And then making patterns in waterproof ink/marker inside circles (a small, a medium and a large), cutting out the circles and placing them on colored matboard to make something else.  I really like this (and added a watercolor painted one in the blue set).  This is a nice way to slow down, stop thinking, just make a repetitive pattern - and see what you have at the end.