I am feeling poorly today (very bad cold) and stayed home from work. I have recently ordered a slew of books from Amazon. BTW I very rarely ever pay full price for any of my books and am more than happy to buy a used book as long as it is in good condition. It is even better when you can get a new one for the price of a used one too! So, I spent the morning in bed reading through a bunch of Art books that I have purchased. One that stands out is Painting Watercolour Flowers from PhotographsPaperback– 2 Nov 2010, by Robin Berry. The photographs are stunning and the paintings will make you feel inadequate as a watercolorist. The book is in A4 Format, which means that it is possible to copy or transfer the images onto A4 paper. I am also considering using the photos as references for acrylic painting. There are vague instructions for completing the paintings. How you want to paint the image is really up to you. I might also use them for practicing my drawing.
I’ve also purchased a craft light. I used it over the weekend and it worked beautifully. It is also larger than I thought it would be, but I am not finding that a problem. It is great to be able to see what I am doing. My dining room, where I paint, is at the back of the house and can be quite dim, especially in the winter. So the daylight bulb is my new best friend. Without it I wouldn’t have been able to paint this tulip:
Tulip – A4 – Watercolor on Bockingford
I finished it this afternoon. Basically, I needed to tidy it up. This is from Tulips in Watercolour (Ready to Paint) by Peart, Fiona (2012). The drawings are already done for you on re-usable tracing paper in A3 format. I am not ready to paint that large, so I scaled down this painting to one large tulip only onto A4 paper, freehand. There are step by step instructions. I don’t have all of the same colors, so I improvised. I also used a bit of white gouache as I had some issues with paint staining the white I had masked out. I think painting from books is a good way to learn when starting out – especially if you don’t have a clue as to what you are doing. You don’t have to follow the lessons slavishly so you can choose different colors if you want to. Mine doesn’t look anything like the tutorial, but I like it.
Hello people. Working for a living can sometimes sap your energy for doing anything creative. By the time I get home, maybe walk the dog, make dinner, regroup with the hubby, etc., the light has gone and so has my mojo. Weekends have been a time of catching up and maybe getting a chance to paint. I have a painting on the go that I am hoping to finish this weekend. In order to help me paint more this winter, I have ordered a craft light with a daylight bulb as my eyesight is really terrible when the light is dim. So I shall endeavor to paint something every evening.
I have quite a few journals that I have started but have not quite filled up. I am not really a journal person but I am trying to be one. I have never been one for doodling. I am beginning to think I am only good at copying things, and not at creating. I do think some people are naturally creative and great at making stuff up. I don’t know if you can learn that. I bought some flowers recently and decided to draw and paint them in my journal.
This isn’t 100% accurate as I left some leaves out. The rose was done in pencil and watercolor. Same for the Iris bud below.
I’m not crazy about the paper. It is 90lb and quite absorbent. It is probably better for pencils. I will take this journal to work and take my water color pencils and see what happens. Til next time.
Having a new dog and having finished my second week into a new contract leaves me very little time for painting now. I have managed to snatch some time on the weekends to play with some of my water solubles. I have a book,(yes another book!) by Fiona Peart about using water solubles. I also took the time to make color charts from what I have so that I could also mix/match colours. I may have 3 boxes of water color pencils, but they all have different colors. I found the book, and the DVD very helpful in giving me ideas on how to use what I have.
Arlene's New Beginning 