Dried Maple Leaves, watercolor and ink (5×7), Carolyn Pappas 2008
I have been putting off trying my new M Graham watercolors for weeks now. I think it was the same sort of thing that people face when they start a brand new sketchbook. I think I was afraid that I would somehow screw something up or forget everything I’ve learned about watercolor thus far. Last weekend I just bit the bullet and did this little painting of some leaves I found in my parking lot. They were dried to a crisp and the colors that I ended up were hardly realistic, but I wanted it to look sunny and happy. I painted this on a watercolor greeting card and am going to send it as a thank you card for someone who gave me a very nice gift.
I am excited about this weekend because I am anticipating a lot of time to spend on my artwork. I also have a few days off from work coming up this month, so I am planning on doing a lot on some of the behind the scenes projects that I’ve been working on.
I was looking at a photo of the inside of someone’s house and I saw this saying on a poster on the wall. I did a little reading and found that it was on a British propaganda poster made just before WWII. Right now it is the perfect piece of propaganda for me. I seem to be very depressed lately and when that happens my usual tendency is to just mope around and do nothing. But this time, I have been trying to keep working on my art and trying to be as productive as I can. This weekend I’ve done more artwork than I usually do:
Magnolia, staedler pigment liners in kraft paper sketchbook, 2008
Guest House View, Dhanbad; dip pen and watercolor wash on 5×7 Strathmore watercolor greeting card, 2008
Onion Sketch (EDM 179), graphite in kraft paper sketchbook, 2008
Balcony View, dip pen and watercolor wash (5×7), 2008
This past weekend I spent some time reorganizing my Flickr page. I have things in there from 3 years ago and I haven’t looked at my old drawings in ages. I was very surprised that I have improved so much since I have really started drawing seriously three years ago. What surprises me the most is how much more colorful my artwork has become since then.
The above piece is a pen and watercolor wash sketch of the view from my sister-in-law’s balcony. I painted it on a watercolor greeting card and I am planning on sending it to India as a thank you card for our trip. I’m really happy with the way it came out because I was not very serious about it and I had no expectations of what the results would be. I didn’t even sketch the scene out in pencil first, which what I usually do when I work in pen and ink.
Pansies, watercolor (4×6), 2008
This is a small watercolor painting that I made last weekend. It was tough to do, especially being so small. I painted it from a photo of a planter near the entrance of my apartment complex. One good thing I like about the place I live is that it has nice landscaping and they really maintain it well. Right now I am getting a bit stressed out about my upcoming trip. The preparations have been the most stressful part because I am afraid that I’ll forget something. I hope to have a lot of amazing drawings when I get back though!
I took full advantage of the tulips while they were out. Now, most of the petals have blown away thanks to a lot of wind and rain. I am most proud of the top drawing, which is the largest (9×12) and which I drew from life. It was a little chilly outside and the wind was blowing around a lot, but I think the drawing came out really nice. Click on each image to view at full size.
Magnolia, watercolor and ink (7.5” x 4.5”), 2008
This is based on a photo I took of the magnolia tree in front of my apartment building. I spent a Sunday afternoon working on it and I am happy with how delicate the flowers look. Now that it is spring, I am excited about getting outside more and drawing nature.
Nesting Cups, watercolor (10×7), 2008
Lately, I have been trying to improve my skills by choosing subjects that are more challenging. This painting was a real challenge for me but I am especially proud the way it came out, even though there are things I would change about it if I were to do it again. I like the way the background came out and the inside of the top cup. The hardest part were all the elipses.
Spring Drive, Watercolor (5×7), 2008
This is a watercolor that I did for my aunt, based on this photo: Blue Ridge Parkway on Flickr. I wanted to do another landscape based on the Blue Ridge Parkway but I didn’t have any more good photos that I took myself. I did change it around a bit, by adding more shadows and making the road a dirt road instead of asphalt. I also made things more green in the painting. I am pleased with the overall piece and I want to do more landscapes like this in the future.
This week I failed miserably at my art goals, mostly because I was just dead tired when I came home from work every day. My job is not physically taxing, but it certainly is mentally exhausting. This week I am going to try to do small sketches when I come home from work. I think one of the reasons why I put it off this week is because I didn’t have enough time to get involved in a big finished piece. I think I will just do small things so I at least get going on something.
Mixed Floral on Aquabord, watercolor (6×6), 2008
I tried out watercolor on aquabord for the first time here. In a lot of ways I really like aquabord. I like that I have more to play around with the paint once I apply it. It is also easier to “scrub out” mistake or cover over paint in general. I do think that I should have tried an easier composition though because I felt a little overwhelmed trying to paint all those flowers.
Happy Easter everyone!
Multicolor Rose, watercolor and pitt pen, 2008
Rose against Violet Background, watercolor, 2008
These are some roses from the bouquet that Jeet gave me some time ago. The top one was the front of Jeet’s Valentine’s Day card and I did the second one in my watercolor sketchbook. I am not happy with either of them but I also don’t have much experience with white and light colored roses because they are so much more challenging to me. Usually I just draw them in graphite or pass them over all together in favor of the pink and red ones. The multicolored rose was originally cream colored with peach edges. I bungled it up however and added blue in for shadows which was the wrong color to use. The bottom rose was all white but I did the shadows in blues and purples there too and I think I overdid it. All in all though, I think it was okay that I got the practice and I know my next attempts will be a lot better.
