Saturday, January 7, 2012

MARK MAKING

My new Shirley Trevena DVD (Breaking the Rules of Watercolour) talks about mark-making and just making marks on a good sheet of paper and playing with your rhythm and style.  So that's what I did on this small (1/4 sheet) piece of Arches.  Used graphite, watercolor, oil pastel, candle (for a resist, which Shirley uses a lot), a combing tool and even a squeegee to clean windows (that was cut down to half size so not too big to work on a small sheet).  I can't remember everything I used; I just picked up everything handy.  There's a certain freedom doing this type of thing and using whatever is handy. 



I didn't plan the 2 people in there - they just showed up.  That's the fun thing about no plan, just playing; you never know who will show up :)  There may even be a crow or two in there - if I look for them :)






I also brought out my new sumi-e ink set and brushes and started making marks on newsprint (the book suggests you start with newsprint because you won't make anything elegant for a while - and they were right about that!).


The brushes in this kit are very small (about 5 inches in length) so it's a bit hard to get used to that - perhaps I'd have more freedom with a larger brush but I'll work with these for a while longer until I can at least get a nice, delicate leaf (which is much harder to get right than you'd think).












I've begun another exercise/lesson in the Ewa Karpinska book, too.  So I guess I told my muse that she could stay away but I was still going to work :)  Sometimes that's what you have to do and also, try not to get too attached to anything (one of my goals for this year) - it's just paper and pigment and water.

10 comments:

Carol Blackburn said...

I'm taking a page from your book and I bought myself a few watercolor books and one about sketching pets. Time for some lessons of my own I think!

Anonymous said...

ST's DVD is so nice, isn't it? I love her quiet voice, and think she is an inspiration throughout. She uses plenty of water, but it is very controlled colour in an abstract kind of way.....

Anonymous said...

Boy! I sure know what you mean about getting attached to our works. Love your play day; it looks quite successful and quite full of fun!

Ann Buckner said...

Like this Rhonda. It reminds me of reflections caught in a curved reflective surface. Fun, fun.

laura said...

You are really in a mood to experiment! How much fun. I like your mark-making exercise: great colors! I have tried to do such things but always find myself too self-conscious to really let go.
I was thinking of buying the Trevena DVD too--I love her books!

RH Carpenter said...

Carol, I try to get one book a year and do exercises and follow along - something I really want to learn; it helps to have a guide but still incorporate everything into your own style and painting personality.

Maggie, yes, she does have a lovely voice although I had a problem at first getting past just staring at her hair! ha ha Very artsy but...a bit distracting?

Sherry, we get so attached to everything - our artwork, even our shoes! ha ha

Thanks, Ann.

Laura, when I can't think of anything to paint and want to paint but don't have a goal, it's fun to just play a bit until something clicks again. The brush painting is harder than it looks - I guess it's a matter of releasing my grip on the brush (and on everything else I hold too tightly in my life!). You just reminded me that I think I have one of her books, too, and will have to find it!

JANE MINTER said...

great marks..i can see a fish rhonda ...sumi-e ink set lucky you enjoy !

RH Carpenter said...

Thanks, Jane - yes the swirl of a fish is there :)

Pam Johnson Brickell said...

Fun play! I find it liberating and somewhat scary to hold the sumi brush at the very end. Newsprint.... a very good idea :)

RH Carpenter said...

Pam, thanks - you can hold it close to the end or in the middle or at the brush end - but holding it between thumb and forefinger with second finger supporting and in an upright position feels really strange - it will take some time to get the feel of this with these little brushes (I used to have larger sumi brushes but seem to have gotten rid of them).