Rainbow Bisque

Earlier in the day, I sketched some blackberries. Their leaves were brown and curling in some interesting ways. The final sketch was a bit light, and didn't fill the page quite enough. I decided to layer a new sketch on top of the old one - ignoring the lines I made before and letting the two compositions overlap. I tried not to let my decisions in the previous sketch inform the look and decisions of the new sketch. The two unintentionally created something unique and better than the sum of its parts.

Attempting to incorporate different ways of seeing and sketching into my daily practice. This time, I focused on creating an outside skeleton shape that would allow me to draw the leaves of this plant at the correct lengths. Flair tip pen lines with warm grey marker for shadows.

Created in Illustrator from an earlier sketch. I was able to use a series of techniques I learned about brushes and live symmetry creation. I would like to try this again soon!

I am trying out a new set of travel watercolors. With the expanded range of colors available to me, I thought it would be a great idea to try mixing them together in different ways. It is pretty amazing how adding the tiniest drop of a color can dramatically change a mix in progress.

I was unsatisfied with the face and neck on this one, so I went back and made something a little more accurate. The head is still a little more skinny than I would have liked, but the features are much closer to the reference.

As I continue to work on color mixing and trying to incorporate new tools into my sketching, I've been hitting a couple creative roadblocks. Too much time gets spent trying to come up with the perfect colors - and I never seem to mix enough of those colors anyway. Somewhere, there is another step I have yet to find. I can't wait to get back out there and find it.

My daily drawings continue on. I haven't skipped out on any drawing opportunities at work - and I feel like I've had more confidence to experiment with more gestural pieces. The theory behind these drawings is I can keep adding lines and color until I arrive at something that captures the spirit and energy of the reference material. The resulting sketch is chaotic and crazy in a way that really reflects the scene. Thinking about the process and the result, I can see why it's incredibly difficult to emulate some artist's styles.

Watercolor, water-soluble pencil and watercolor pencils on multimedia paper. It looks chaotic because the process was chaotic. I almost backed off a dozen times. Instead of giving up, I layered on more media and tried to make something that looked finished. I'm glad I kept going.

A handful crumpled leaves that had fallen off a poinsettia in the kitchen (the flowers weren't long for this world either). I used modified contour drawing techniques with a micron pen to get the outlines (it's like blind contour drawing, but you are allowed to look at your paper whenever you start to get lost). Finally, I hastily mixed some paint and applied it wet-into-wet. The leaves were a fun subject, and the process I used will definitely be one to try again.

I tried using more water than usual this time. I think the results are some really great lines interacting with color washes. The curls of the hair are my favorite part of this sketch - I really enjoyed the way the marks bled into one another.

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.