Not Big Enough for the Two of Us

Since that went well the other day, I grabbed another old photo that was lying around. This one though I already had plans to paint bigger - in my series of 16x20 aquabord panels. So this was basically just a warm-up to see how it would go. I'll probably bring the horizon line either up or down as it's pretty squarely in the middle right now. It's just so hard to decide which! I love having plenty of sky to work with, but the reflection is a huge part of what makes this interesting... Sky or reflection? Which should be the star?

Dusting Off Old Inspiration

I have a large, holey plastic bag overflowing with old photos that I occasionally flip through for inspiration (I have an even larger number of unprinted photos on the computer that supposedly I'll someday get around to painting). So I pulled one out at random and went for it. The photo shows so little detail that I've never been sure if I could pull it off, which makes it perfect for a simple, small-scale sketch. The design made by the strong contrasts have always called to me. I left the birds out this time as that would have kept me from painting quickly. Kinda love it. Might have to get brave and try it big! What do you think though? Birds or no birds?

Second Chances

My new thing - I really enjoy cutting up unsuccessful old paintings to put back together in a new way. Having virtually no experience with it though, I can lose myself in it for hours. And my carpel tunnel doesn't really love me cutting for long. So I'm not sure how often I'll get to do them, but it's fun to try something totally different sometimes, with no pressure. 

This was an old, huge landscape with a cool sky that had gotten too muddy and dark in the middle. Can't really go back from that with watercolor! I ended up gluing these down on some black cardstock for a more stained glass look, but now wish I'd painted a dark background instead to keep the watercolor variation look. A good idea for next time!

They're back!

And yellow fields with a white fence! I know, I'm really shaking things up. Ha! But there is something to playing with the same idea and trying it again and again to see what comes out. Which is my way of saying, I'm not stopping yet! The yellow fields will be back.

"It looks like Monette, but it's Moneigh"

Ha! Cracked me up so much when my 6 year-old son explained that to my 5 year-old daughter (who's just starting to read) without any prompting. Makes me so proud 😜  You know their mom is an artist when...

But I've been wanting to play around painting people more, in fact, I am considering filling a whole sketchbook with artists I admire. This was my first attempt to see if it's feasible - the man in the yellow hat and a sunburnt face. Ha. I love the blue outline! And "the whole thing, it just works." Or at least was super fun! I think I'm going to need more gouache. 

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.  

With a little Help from my Friends

Again I just dropped some paint on a page, let it dry and took it with me to doodle on later. After I'd made all the suns and was just getting started on the lines and dots of the background, one daughter became dreadfully bored while another one desperately needed me. So I broke my "mommy's sketchbook is only for mommy" rule and let the 10 year-old fill in the rest with her friend while I comforted the 3 year-old. So we'll call today's sketch a collaboration. A silly, playful little thing for no other purpose than to be creative.