…. And It Comes Out Here, 1992
Talk about scratching an itch! We have heard from quite a number of people who are excited to be pouring paint (see February technique) and are eager to do more. If you haven’t already read Pouring Paint before now, go back and work you way through the February entry first.
Technique Corner
You are going to have some fun.
You are going to make a mess. You are going to be able to scratch your thrifty itch. And you may find yourself excitedly heading off in new directions.
My office -studio- guest quarters
This is the time of year to be making resolutions. Perhaps yours is to make a permanent place to paint. Let me share with you some solutions I have learned over the years.
I know, you have been meaning to getting around to the glazed cards/gifts described in November’s Technique but here it is December and they aren’t even started!
Just in time for the holidays — I am going to suggest two ways to make watercolor cards, You will end up with little watercolors that you can paste onto blank cards or you can cut them and send them as postcards — writing you message, addressing and stamping the backs. So start by working backwards: decide what size envelopes or post cards you wish to have.
I was reminded again last month of the journal of a long distance runner. That journal was described in The New York Times around the time years ago when I was trying to learn to paint. Every day after the long distance runner returned from a run, he jotted down a little bit about that day’s run. It didn’t take much time before the runs blurred together in his mind but he when returned to his journal he was able to see growth and remember things he would have otherwise forgotten.
Have you noticed how dark and rich shadows are in summer? Do you get flat ugly color when you try to get darks? How do you get colors dark enough? How do you get dark enough without getting mud or an ugly color that does not look right? Getting good darks are a natural next step to last month’s green problem.
Summer is here and greens abound. As part of our long wet spring, grasses have never been thicker, trees and shrubs more luxuriant. Are you moaning about the green?
Let’s face it — a really good set up for painting outdoors has not been invented.
You need to decide how far you are planning to walk from your car. You need to take into consideration if you are planning on flying. If you are really on the go, check the equipment suggestions in the Island Hopping class. We used this set up on a hiking-painting-sketching trip to Cornwall.
Today I am going to suggest a drawing habit that can be extremely rewarding.
Choose a plant that is going to be changing over the summer and make an appointment with yourself to draw it once a week.