A 365 day art project… one drawing a day
I love Groundhogs Day… unusual, huh?? But I do. I don’t know… it’s a weird un-holiday and I love it. So this messy little marigold munching groundhog is for you. Happy Day!
It’s also my wedding anniversary… so watch for day 33 B. 🙂
Watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper, with uniball micro pen.
Love that Peter Sheeler!
A full month already!! I am 1/12th of the way to my goal. I’m amazed by how much I have learned in just a month. Mostly from youtube tutorials. And I’m back today with another two youtube studies… one watercolor ocean scene, and one water droplet pencil study. Definitely didn’t want to post the droplets, I even tried them three times. First with charcoal on toned paper. Then on pencil on white paper. Then pencil on toned (posted) Well, I’ll keep trying. And while the watercolor was fun to do, I’m not crazy about it either…  but hey I can’t just post stuff I like, right?
Following a youtube tutorial about two toned edges, by Scarlett Damon, I practiced using two colors to create an edge without outlining. Each of these shapes was painted with just two straight washes, the second pushing the first outward.
Using what I learned there, I tried to copy a leaf of my own, which I had found walking Emmett. (More about Emmett at Allthecrazyworld.blogspot.com) I had some problems with it, but am satisfied with my end result, and feel good about the technique.
I really like Peter Sheeler’s style… his quick loose sketches are exactly what watercolor is noted for AND exactly what I’m worst at (I think. I may not have found my worst yet) And I love the look. I’m going to continue to try his tutorials. There’s a lot I can learn from them. (I won’t do this every day, though… I’ll try to mix things up for you!)
I am finding that my lower grade paints and papers do not react the same way his artist grade supplies do. The end result is ok, but not the same. Some of this, I know, is skill, but since I am watching what happens as he applies the wet paint, I can see that some of it is materials. They simply act differently. I’m not prepared to drop several hundred dollars on paint. Or paper. Right now. But this is something I’ll need to adjust over time if I plan to pass a certain point, and maybe purchase even one or two colors at a time of some superior line. Regarding paper, some artists recommend purchasing student grade paper on which to learn and practice (that’s what I’ve done, and it made sense to me, since some of what I produce will be useless, and none of it will be “art” I plan to display.) Steeler suggests purchasing high quality paper from the beginning, and says you’ll have to relearn skills when upgrading from less expensive to professional paper because it feels and acts differently. This makes sense to me, too. I’ll think about it over the next few days.
These were sky studies.
I’ve never thought myself able to paint things like this, and it’s very different from my usual style, so am pretty excited to post today’s art, courtesy of another Peter Sheeler tutorial. This is from a photo he took of the Gooderham Building in Toronto. If I take mine independently and don’t compare it to his, I’m very pleased.
Micron pen .005, Winsor and Newton ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, and sap green, Derwent water brush 2, on Arches hot pressed 140 lb paper.
Following a tutorial by Peter Sheeler, around 12:30 am I came up with this watercolor sketch. It isn’t perfect, but I learned several skills from it, and am pleased with the results.
A fun pen and ink doodle. Not my idea, but my interpretation. Micron pen on Canson 9×12 mixed media pad.
For this submission, I followed a youtube video by Alphonso Dunn, here, studying how to create shape and depth with a single color in watercolor, and ending with a quick daisy done all in blue. I definitely learned some things, including start with the darkest shadowed areas, but with vague broad strokes in an extremely light wash. Add pigment with each layer, finishing with darkest details… also that with watercolor you can suggest shadowed areas, don’t need to finish them accurately like you do with pencil. I then painted my own monochromatic flower, trying to employ all of the things the video taught me. I’m very happy with my poppy. It’s better than I could have done last week, and I like it better even than the daisy I did following the tutorial. I can see things in it that could be executed more professionally, and it took me longer than I anticipated… I’d like to be able to sketch more quickly in watercolor. (since that is one of the strengths of the medium!!) But I am pleased that I can already see a lot of progress in just three and a half weeks.
(Also developed some pretty little flowers using salt, and practiced a couple other watercolor bits in the extra space)
My poppy:
I went to Michaels last night to get supplies for the drawing class. I spent like two hours staring at a row of pencils. PENCILS. Weird because A) I had no idea there were so many choices and B) I really had fun staring. It’s hard to find the right place between awesome quality supplies, and fun stuff, and a reasonable budget. My 50% off one item helped a little. (Really little. Because while it was an item I wanted, it was not an item I was planning to purchase yet)
My little haul: Charcoal… I’ve never enjoyed charcoal. But maybe I just wasn’t taught how to use it properly. A mixed media book and a watercolor book, $8 each, a pretty good deal. A leather chamois. Too expensive for a tiny scrap. Two drawing pencils… that you can use a paintbrush on as well! I’ve been wanting these. AND 6 alcohol markers!! (Illustrator, by Spectrum Noir.) I’ve been planning to get copics but they are so expensive that I keep putting it off. And I don’t like the colors in the little sets at Michaels. I decided to try these while I had the coupon, and I love them! (So far.) I can tell I’ll be wanting the next set asap. That’s the trouble with trying new things. It leads to buying even more new things.
(drawn for day 15, colored for day 24) I did more art than this, but I will post it tomorrow!
ThreeSixFiveArt 