Rules and requirements (mostly for me)

Initially, I was taking a look at my scanner for the maximum dimensions of a painting. I realize now that archiving paintings is a bit more involved than posting 300x300 pixel GIFs. So, some of these pieces will need to be photographed. Others will be scanned (provided the paper doesn't curl too badly).
Here is the rough draft of my proposed project:

I will create 2-3 finished watercolor pieces every week for the year 2014
The minimum dimensions for each piece will be 4x6" (no maximum)
Materials list: Watercolor paint (in tubes or cakes), watercolor pencils, brushes, India Ink, bamboo pen, white gouache, and gold paint pen.
Subject matter will change with every painting. I know there is a lot a person can learn from painting the same subject over and over, but this is not that project.
New paintings will be posted on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Expect extra posts to occur between those days.

Since the whole purpose of this project is to learn, I plan on reading and researching a great deal. There will also be experiments. These experiments could lead to really great breakthroughs and insights into the creative process, or they could be really embarrassing. Either way, they will be posted.
This seems like a good start. Now I think this blog could use some sprucing up before people arrive.

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Inktober Day 3 - "Bait"

Old school pen and ink. I haven't used a crow quill pen since high school - and, even then, I remember struggling to get it to work. This time, I thought I would try to create something using only cross-hatching. The prompt word today is "bait". This word took me into a lot of different ideas, but the one I ultimately landed on is based on the will-o-wisp. In my head, I imagined glowing orbs in front of a copse of swamp trees all created with layers of cross-hatching. Things had to be scaled back a bit. There are still two trees in the background if you look hard enough. Success? Sort of. It forced me to use a different kind of pen and, in doing so, made me want to keep going and get better with it.

Storm

Attempting to create lightning using masking fluid, glazes, and lifting. White gouache was used for more subtle bolts and rain. When all has been said and done, this was a success in a lot of ways. Watercolor painting is difficult. Learning can be a challenge because it seems like the materials are all working against you. With varied drying times, opacity, flow, etc. I wouldn't blame anyone for turning to other media. I think I stick around because of the perceived challenge - I'm a weirdo like that. This piece was inspired by The Legend of Zelda: A link to the Past comic series by Shotaro Ishinomori . The first chapter of the book featured a lot of lightning, and I wanted to see if I could recreate the effect in watercolor. Little challenges like this keep me thinking all day; they remind me how much I love art. I'll leave you with a preview of my weekend project. Enjoy!

What is this place?

A couple years back, I started a daily creative project . I was inspired by Noah Scalin's " 365: A Daily Creativity Journal " and his Skull-A-Day project to try and create something new on a daily basis. I devoted myself to learning Inkscape and creating a series of 365 unique vector illustrations styled after Chiquita banana stickers. In retrospect, I fell short of my goal by about 120 stickers. Life hit me pretty hard in the midst of my project - even now, it is difficult for me to go back without being reminded of some pretty miserable times. I do not, however, look at the project as a waste of time. I improved everyday. I learned how to really use the pen tool and create really complicated vector pieces. I figured out how to make effective use of my printer, scanner, and the tools that blogger makes available to everyone for free. I learned how to work. I learned how to temporarily switch off the procrastinating part of my brain (sort of). So what now? I want

Rainbow Bisque

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