Camden Street

 It was early November and the sun was shining like a perfect summer's day. Definitely something wrong with the climate. But I couldn't help enjoy the nice weather. And we had shadows!!

FYJ Week 8 Day 3 - different paper

I had paint left in my palette and just wanted to splash it around. Perfect opportunity to use my Seawhite of Brighton cartridge paper. Just love how watercolour mixes on this surface - it's like the paper fibers are soaking the colours into each other and create lovely soft effects.

 

FYJ Week 8 Day 3

Feeling the need to be more representational. Using some darker tones to add volume. Also muting the colours to achieve an autumnal feel. Looking back on these postcard-sized watercolours, I feel I should have added more variety between them, but I like harmony and unity and I don't like change, so maybe this is perfect for me?

FYJ Week 8 - Day 2 - Muted vs vivid and warm vs cool

Cobalt turquoise, definitely vivid, muted with some burnt umber. And a dash of Quin Burn Scarlet to add warmth. All postcard size.

FYJ Week 8 - Day 2

Exploring how vivid colours shine even more when they are surrounded by muted colours. And also diluting watercolours to achieve very light values. But also introducing tonal contrast. I hope I have done enough to avoid the bullseye effect, while actually painting a dartboard!

FYJ Week 8 - Day 1

Value, Temperature, Saturation. It's a lot to take in. Maybe I just need to let it flow over me and trust that I practise colour every day.

Vivid versus muted

Back of Holles Street

Back sketching. It felt good. Still tired though. But I had enough energy to sketch this little street at the back of Holles Street. I often prefer these alleyways to the more formal front of buildings. And in case you're wondering what the box in the corner behind the car is, it's a box for a baby car-seat. Holles Street is one of our maternity hospitals!

Before adding text. I always leave room for text.

Pencils4tea

I had been meaning to connect with @Pencils4tea for quite some time. It's clashing with yoga, well not really, it starts at 6 on a Thursday evening. Yoga starts at 7pm. But I'm not good at switching from one task to the next just like that. On this occasion, it was Halloween, and my yoga teacher was probably trick-or-treating with her children. It was my first time meeting all these people (virtually of course). As a newbie, I didn't have to pose. Thankfully, as the lighting in my room is really poor. I must get Brendan to change that bulb.

Let's see how long it takes me to get this to Instagram!

 

Objects as a connection

My house is full of things, but not so many objects. Art supplies, clothes, bags, shoes (ooh, maybe I could draw those!). But I don't have many heirlooms. I don't really have anywhere to store or display them. But I have this willow-pattern coffee pot that I brought back from my parents' house some time. I don't think it was ever used. Still, it's a connection to all the things that my mother could never part with. Now she is in a nursing-home, and she couldn't care less about those things. It's hard to imagine that there was a time when she would nearly have a panic attack if I wanted to throw out some cotton knickers from when I was 12! Still, these objects are a connection. I do hope they will keep my brain anchored in the present if Alzheimer's hits me at some stage. But more importantly, I hope that I will draw till the day I die, even if my brain is frazzled!

Drawing as a connection

I love mindmapping. It helps me think and come up with ideas. And it also helps me reconnect with my art after a bad cold, high blood pressure, a painful headache and a visit to A&E!

I was just exploring what my connection to the universe is. Came up with lots of ideas, but the one that interested me at that moment was line and drawing. A line being the shortest way between two points. Or not, if you have a meandering line like I have.

I cleaned up the converters in my Sailor Fudes, and decided to try one of the original cartridges instead, as the converters are so small. I'm not sure the cartridge is much bigger, but it's worth trying anyway. But before that, I had to empty it of its original water-soluble ink. A great excuse for drawing. Since I came back from Belgium, I haven't been far from the house, from the sofa or the bed even. So it felt good to record myself at my desk with random objects that I like to draw.

It was Halloween, so of course, I had a few mini pumpkins

Before that, even more random things. 

And also, trying a block of sumi ink from Daiso. Not the best quality. I think I will try ao-sumi next time I'm in Japan. I would definitely prefer a blue tint to a brown-reddish tint.

FYJ Week 6 - Diary painting

This looks a bit like a monster with a ghost of light inside. Yesterday, I added dark layers on top of most of it, avoiding the bits that I thought were glowing. Now they're glowing even more, thanks to the darks. No idea where this is going, but I think that's the point. Maybe I'm just learning that painting in layers is something I could do, some day? Or I could use the idea of these glowing areas in a crazy sky for another painting? Ideas generate ideas. I like that. 

FYJ Week 6 - fix an old painting with tonal value

Before and After. Went back over a little piece I did years ago. Just strengthened the darks and it's made a huge difference already. It’s one of those things that I thought I knew, but it only really makes sense when you apply it to a painting!

FYJ Week 6 - Representational

One view, infinite possibilities. After a couple of days of no painting due to a cold, I did the representational version. Trying to influence the mood and guide the eye. I think I might do some more next week. Watercolour. I added gouache to one of them. Exploring gouache is on my list of things I want to do. Some day.

FYJ Week 6 - Day 2

Had a great time with this. Trying to set different moods and moving the eye around the page. Done on full sheet watercolour, with masking tape to divide it into 6 pieces. Marks done with a white resist pencil, Peach Black watercolour, Grey of Grey watercolour, and a touch of white gouache (which I removed straight away!). Some of the words that come to mind are somber, dynamic, soft sunrise, veil of tears, dancing, tunnel of joy. Would love to hear what moods you see in these!  The idea was to use tonal contrast to create a mood, or to guide the eye around the page.

Next, will do the representational version, probably inspired by my pencil tree!

Here is the original layer done on full sheet watercolour paper

Travel Sketching

Finding it hard to sketch on this trip. Just not in the mood. It wasn't a "let's have fun exploring the world" kind of trip. And on the one morning I had hoped to go sketching around Brussels, it was pissing rain. Still, I got to sketch my mother while she was sleeping, which she does a lot these days. I did some colour swatches with a watercolour dot sheet I had brought with me. And I drew a plane!