Today’s watercolor experiment: I bought a new brush today. I never had one like it before. It a 3/4″ oval wash brush. The bristles are about an inch long and they area smooth and flexible. I started today’s watercolor by using this brush to see how it works. After I soaked the paper with water, […]
Today’s watercolor experiment: I started today’s sketch with a wash of perinone orange. I proceeded, after drying, painting a Winsor red circular patch in the middle of the paper. The red did not extend all the way around. I painted the other side with orange and brightened the a small section to give a bulbous impression. What […]
Have you ever seen a chain smoker light a cigarette from the one he is just finishing? I am doing the equivalent with my blog. Yesterday I was trying to explain the thought process I use when I am painting. This is unsettled territory for me. My process has changed significantly from when I began; even […]
I am more aware of how I think when I paint these days. For yesterday’s experiment, I began with a premise as a starting point. Months ago I used a different method: I would randomly brush or splatter paint or latex resist, sit back and wonder what to do next with what I saw on the paper. Today’s […]
Today’s watercolor experiment: I took my own advice from yesterday and tried to combine the square, frame-like organization with a more organic (meaning smooth or natural), looser composition. I began painting today, as yesterday, with simple, flat brushstrokes. Today, I allowed the horizontal ultramarine blue and Winsor red swaths, painted at the top of the […]
Today’s watercolor experiment: In keeping with my quest to change the way I begin my watercolor sketches, today I started with dry paper and a 2″ brush loaded with Prussian blue. I swept across the paper twice horizontally at the top and bottom (to form 4″ swaths) and once vertically on each side to form a 2″-wide […]
Today’s watercolor experiment: I don’t have intermediate stages of today’s study to show you (as I presented in yesterday’s study). To tell you the truth, I was a little disappointed by my process and by the resulting overall muddiness. Process: I can’t very well regale you with my successful studies and omit the ones that are […]
I want to be a better writer. I dusted of some of the writing books I bought years ago and reacquainted myself with the basics. The first one I looked at was Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg. Even though the book is 30 years old, the advice is still fresh. She recommends that the […]
Today’s watercolor experiment: Today I began with a light wash of English yellow. I prepared too much of it from a previous painting and had enough left over to use. I broke away from my habit of applying swooshes of color across the page in arcs and used a number 16 round brush to outline a […]
I recently posted about aging (Diminishment) and disability (Comfort Zone). Some reduction of faculties are gradual and can be tolerated I imagine, much as one gets used to the shock of jumping into a pool of cold water. Although frightening, this aspect of the human condition is often a topic that people in older age groups can […]
