Rainbow Bisque

An experiment in sketching from my monitor. A friend set up this still life at his place across the country, we both tried to create what we saw. The difference - he was sketching out a song with his guitar while I put paint down on the paper. There was something strangely inspiring about hearing the bits of song inspired by the mountain of marbles, scissors, and candles before me. The music informed the mood I tried to create - a somber procession up a black mountain. I would definitely try this again - but I need to rethink the position of my monitor relative to my easel next time. Too much time was spent whipping my head around trying to get a loose measurement of things.

Note to self: mix up some darker colors ahead of time to add more definition to the shapes.

Lots of wet-into-wet here: an unintentional test of the resilience of this mixed-media paper. The paper held up really well. I am unsure about using water-soluble graphite to cover large areas though. It seems its strength is in creating variable width lines.

I am still trying out different methods for bringing my watercolors out with me. Part of the process is figuring out which tools I should pack. After this sketch, I think my giant water soluble pencil will always make the cut. I am a big fan of the different marks it makes - especially when it hits an area of wet paper.

I am experimenting with a more loose watercolor style. I want to do more with wet paint and allow the water to do its own thing. It is difficult to let go of that control intentionally, but it results in more happy accidents and playful discoveries. Here, I've also tried to incorporate some watercolor pencils. There is so much more to watercolor pencils than I had imagined! The variety of marks I have been able to make with just one pencil and a little water is very exciting.

An experiment using watercolor pencils on a grid. I wanted to create some sprite art with subtle color shifts. It takes a long time to build up the overall effect, but it seems like there is something special here. The sprite is Link's standing pose from The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (the Gameboy one). If I can think up a better way to do this kind of sprite art with my watercolor materials, I have something more grand in mind for the technique.