Irish Blessing Sketch with Color

It has been awhile since my last post, hasn't it? Well, I have been busy being creative. I promise! Besides spending some of my tax refund money on art supplies for Altered Art, I brought out my watercolors and finally added some color to my latest Moleskine sketch.

What do I absolutely love about watercoloring? It is such a challenge, but at the same time it is so relaxing. I'd say the end result is as rewarding as finishing a challenging Crossword Puzzle or even a Jumble where you spent 15 minutes of your lunch break trying to solve the super-lame clue without looking at the upside-down answers. (Wink...wink Tickpuppy.)

This little flower pot, the two birds, and the shamrocks were quite the challenge. I even dug out my Masking Fluid and covered all the little flowers in the pot before touching my brush to my paints. I always feel like I should get out a clothes pin or wear a SARS mask when I crack open that little bottle of masking fluid. Stinky! But what would we do with out it?

After masking while holding my breath (OK maybe not), I attacked the greens. After the greens were done and I let it dry for awhile, and of course I had fun pulling off the masking with my eraser. However, after I removed the masking fluid, I always get a bit steamed because the brand I use has a slight yellowish tint to it. I like this color when working on white paper because it is easy to see where I've masked. But after pulling off the glue, it leaves a slight yellowish hue to where it was applied on my paper/canvas. I suppose it doesn't really matter because I covered everything up with paint. Even though, maybe I didn't want it to turn that nasty color underneath.

Next were the flowers. I also did the leaves in the flower pot and spattered a bit. (I "heart" spattering! My first painting when I was about 4 years-old was a spattering project. My Grandma clad me in an old shirt, covered the table and floor around me, and gave me a paint brush and some some watercolors. I remember being in awe at the different colors I could create. I guess that is when you could say I got hooked with watercolors. Later she had my spatters framed. That silly painting always made me feel proud. I think my mom has it now, I'll have to check.)

After the plant and flowers were finished, next came the pot and finally the little birds. In my mind I thought the birds were going to give me problems -- but they weren't too bad.

For whatever I work on next, I need to slow down a bit more and take the time to blend more. I naturally want to make my colors bright, but it also takes talent to really use the water in the colors in order to blend and create contrasts and shading. This worked out in a few areas here. It is a goal of mine to be able to create more details with the paints rather than to rely on my pen or pencil. Wouldn't that be wonderous?

Happy watercoloring!

"A little amateur painting in water-color shows the innocent and quiet mind."

~Robert Louis Stevenson

**Any comments or tips for improvement always welcomed!

Springtime Sketching - An Irish Blessing

I thought I'd take a moment to share my latest Moleskine Journal Sketch. Watercoloring my sketch is next. I asked my Everydaymatters Yahoo Group about using Masking Fluid in my Watercolor Moleskine and several people assured me that it would be ok. So my plan is to mask the flowers and create a cool splash of greens in the background of the plant and add a bit of purple here and there. Here's what the sketch looks like before color... color coming soon!

Hopefully this will be one of my last photos of my artwork because I just purchased an Epson RX595 Photo All-in-One, complete with scanning capabilties. The only problem is my computer is a little bit sick right now. It has a virus (or two or three) and is running really slowly. I'm hoping to take it in somewhere this week and have it fixed so I can load the software for my new All-in-One! Oh the fun I plan on having with my new Epson! Just wait and see.... :)

This has been a crazy busy week and everything finally caught up with me because now I'm sick. That's right. I waited all winter long to catch a cold first thing Spring arrives! Now I'm going to curl up on my couch and continue to drink fluids so I can beat this cold and finally enjoy Springtime!! It is finally here!!

Springtime Sketches

So, I have Spring Fever! For the last couple days I've been walking to work. This is the plan now. I only live across the street from where I work. And now that the weather is getting nice and that it is actually light out at around 7am when I go to work, the short walk is beautiful. And this morning I saw and heard my first Robin -- a sure sign of Spring! Soon the tree outside my patio will have leaves and that Robin I saw on my way to work this morning will probably try to start building a nest on the drain pipe on my patio. I live on the 3rd and top floor of my apartment building. Birds seem to try this every spring, and it never really works out well because there is no protection from that harsh Fargo wind. So as soon as they have a small patch of muddy grass plastered on the nook of the drain pipe connected to the roof, the wind picks up and blows all of their hard work to the ground below. But who knows, maybe this year will be different for the hopeful family of birds?

Over the weekend, my spring fever travelled to my sketchbook. I was looking at a gardening book at my parents' house and found some neat quotes that helped spark this sketch and made me remember my Grandpa's backyard/garden. When I was little, I remember my Grandpa planting Sweet Peas in March -- probably just around St. Patrick's Day. He had a trellis in his backyard, by the garden. Whenver I was playing outside, I used to check on delicate blooms and watch their progress up the little fence. I thought they were the most beautiful flowers -- and still do, really.

Yesterday I journeyed to Starbucks with my sketchbook, my Watercolor Moleskine, and I resketched so I can add a little bit of color with my new Winsor & Newton Half Pan set. I haven't gotten as far as painting yet, but will be sure to add the aftershot when I do! I want to try and make the color appear aged (on the packet of seeds and on the book), so we'll see how that goes. Below is my Moleskine sketch. Since this sketchbook is a bit smaller, I couldn't fit all of the quotes. I also realized that I need to practice lettering or Calligraphy.

What will I be sketching next? Here's a preview of my furry model... I want to do a sketch of my puppy, Kali Mazoo! Her side profile is so charming. Her fuzzy ears and teddy-bear button nose can melt anyone's heart! More to come later... Happy Sketching!