A few weeks ago (in my post, Nostalgia), I mentioned purchasing a slide scanner. I have been taking photographs for a very long time, nearly all of them on film. I was able to go back in time to 1988 and 89, though my photographs and relive some of my experiences. It was painful to see my photos that were underexposed or overexposed, out of focus and those which were poorly composed. In addition to the technical problems, I saw apartments I used to live in and people I used to know and with whom I used to work… That unleashed some feelings as well.  At any rate, I persisted and now, since I started the 1990s I am more comfortable with my pictures. Some of them look very good.  I started a “10%” folder. I chose that name in homage of Sturgeon’s Law. Theodore Sturgeon was a science fiction writer who coined the phrase, “90% of everything is crap.”

Today’s experiment:

I chose one of my photos from 1991 to paint today. I took it on a walking while visiting my Aunt and Uncle’s house. It was interesting enough to cause me to snap the shutter at the time; I chose it now because of our recent trip to LA and the visit to Disneyland.

Mickey’s Party House – Reference Photo

I started my composition with a pencil sketch. It took me several attempts to get the proper spacing for the signs, but I made the necessary adjustments before I inked in the lines permanently.

Mickey’s Party House
6″x4″ 140# Cold Pressed Watercolor Block

Comment:

I like this watercolor sketch. Even though I didn’t get all the details of the merchandise in the window, my drawing and coloration preserves the sense of the original photo, and the feeling of exploration I had when I snapped the shutter.