#213 Playing and Practising

Another week in my journal playing with an “Etegami” type of sketch. It’s not a genuine Etegami because it is in a book and not a postcard, but I like doing them and it’s my journal! I like doing them because it is such a meditative way to draw, slows you right down, and its almost a blind contour way of drawing which makes you think about the shape and edges of the subject, then applying the colour in a hit and miss kind of way.

The only trouble with these, is drawing so slowly with the ink pen it really messes up the following page. So……. a coat of gesso cleans it all up and gives me a clean white surface which is good for a watercolour. It’s interesting to paint watercolour over gesso as it behaves very different to watercolour paper. The colour lifts very easily which can be both a blessing and a curse but sometimes fun to play with. The photo reference was from Lisilk on Wetcanvas.

Another quick sketch. I love Picasso’s line drawings so I used that as inspiration for the next one. He had that genius ability to say so much with so little. Mine is definitely not in his league but you get the idea? I always do a Google search for an appropriate quote and also found his signature and something that supposedly resembles his handwriting.

The weekly challenge on Wetcanvas this week was to include text or lettering in your art. Well, that’s a no-brainer for me, so I decided to do something completely different. Lisilk, who is the contributor of many superb photo references provided a super image of a drag queen dancer, so I played around with the letters of his/her name. It was fun to do, using Copic markers, ink and black gouache. I photograph the images when I finish them which is just as well because flipping back through the book today I found that some of the black has transferred to the adjacent page. I don’t know if I should put a protective coating over gouache to prevent this. Any ideas?

There’s nothing I like better than curling up in bed at night with a good book. It’s one of the pleasures in life being able to immerse yourself in the story and live that life. I love books that entertain and educate at the same time like this one. It is a part of Western Australian history that I knew a little about but only the basic facts. Batavia is about the making, voyage and brutal and tragic consequences after the wrecking of the ship in the 1600’s. It’s a very good read.

Playing again with another “Etegami” like sketch, quick and easy, and fun to do, but the consequences are that I have to gesso the following page…….. again!

And because I went to the trouble of gessoing the page I thought I could get away with a watercolour. Just a quick little glimpse of the blue skies and white sand at our local beach for all those still in the depths of winter : )

Finally, one not in my daily diary/journal. I picked up Charles Reid Watercolor Solutions at the local library last week and thought I should do a couple of exercises from it before it’s due back. I always have good intentions of doing this but more often than not I don’t get around to it.
His work is amazing and I’m envious of anyone who has had the opportunity to be in one of his workshops.

  
It reminds me of how much I love playing with watercolour, which I will do more of when I finish this journal.