Blue for Hawaii

Some days when I didn't manage to get up and do a quick sketch before the daily crazies started happening, I'll just take an old one and "enhance" it. You know, add lines, outlines, or whatever to make it go from being bleh to uh huh. 😜  I usually only do that to sketches that were just bleh, or were obviously begging for some help. I can't decide on this one! I actually painted this on the wonderful Hawaiian sand back in December. I can almost smell the sweet air...no, not really. But I wish I could! Already the sketch is kinda cool, or do I just think that because of the memories? And would black lines make it cooler? Hmm...

Do You Wanna Go Straight to Hawaii?

My watercolor journal is made of this really awesome handmade paper that has dreamy, ruffly edges. However while the paper is devilishly handsome, it is...less than ideal to paint on. You can't go over anything more than a few times or layers of paper start to come off. And there's absolutely no scrubbing anything off or changing the paint's mind if it's decided to slowly bleed into somewhere else. So quick landscapes are challenging. I had done this very unsatisfying sketch when I was on the extremely satisfying beaches of Hawaii in December. But inspired by some artists I see combining watercolor and ink, I thought I'd give it a try and it saved the sketch! The black lines made it go from being all blurry and wishy-washy to sharp and flowy. Can I pleeeeeease go back to Hawaii now that I know how to sketch it better while lying on the warm sand, eating fresh tropical fruit, in between snorkeling swims? Sigh.