Blue eyes

"Why have women such eyes of witchery? Gerty’s were of the bluest Irish blue, set off by lustrous lashes and dark expressive brows…..But Gerty’s crowning glory was her wealth of wonderful hair. It was dark brown with a natural wave in it. "

Continuing with the Bloomsday sketching project. My approach this year, as it's a much more prolonged affair, is to take every sketching opportunity as a Bloomsday inspiration. So, every time I use my Moleskine sketchbook, it's a Bloomsday sketch. Since Ulysses contains references to more or less everything in the universe, it is not hard to create connections. On this occasion, a friend was over for an afternoon of sketching, tea and chat. She happens to have blue eyes and dark hair! I sketched this directly to watercolour. Not even a pencil line (except for keeping my handwriting straight - I cannot write in a straight line to save my life). Portrait done in less than 15 minutes (we set a timer!). Watercolour swatches done as we were discussing various pigments I use for skin tone and other favourite colours (PG50 - I wouldn't use it for skin, but it's a fabulous colour, Cerulean Blue Chromium - a newcomer to my palette, Buff Titanium x2, Perylene Maroon x2, Monte Amiata Natural Sienna). I then added the quote and Japanese origami paper and washi tape. Why the Japanese elements?, might you ask. Just because I like them. And they help my page composition. And they contribute to the feeling I'm trying to evoke on each page. But mostly because I like them.