Watercolor

The story behind a painting

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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I’m participating in World Watercolor Group’s November daily painting prompts. I worked in my sketchbook all through October for InkTober, so I thought the prompts would motivate me to continue.

As I posted my “croissants” on November 1st, I thought about Charlie O’Shields’ (the founder of World Watercolor Group) posts. Charlie seems to always tell a story about his “doodlewashes.” They often make me laugh and make me think of stories of my own. Here’s what I posted on the 1st:

“In the spirit of Charlie the founder of the World Watercolor Group, here’s a story to go with my croissant. In my early 20s my friend and I were backpacking in Europe and went to a small town in the south of France. At an outdoor cafe I ordered a croissant. With my New York accent it sounded more like “crescent.” The waiter insisted we pronounce it correctly before he would bring them. If I remember correctly croissant is pronounce more like qua-sant. It wasn’t a bad lesson for me. At the time I honestly thought everyone must speak some English. By the way the waiter in Czechoslovakia didn’t speak any. We had no idea what we were ordering when we pointed to the menu. Imagine how happy we were when we found the McDonalds!”

Today as I was catching up on yesterday’s painting, I was sneaking some of my son’s Halloween candy. It was totally ironic that today’s prompt is sugar candies.

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I recently interviewed Charlie O’Shields. Check it our here.

If you want to particpate in the World Watercolor Group’s November prompts you can see them here. Be sure to tell the story. 😉

With Digital Design the Possibilities are Endless

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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As I sat down at the computer to design a pattern around my elf sketches, I quickly realized the sketches were just the tip of the iceberg. What kind of background did I want? A snowy scene? Or maybe a plaid background? When working with pens, paper, watercolor – basically any tools not on the computer – we have choices and options but once we move forward with a decision, things can only be changed so much. On the computer anything can be undone, changed, resized, rotated, colors altered, layers overlayed, etc. It’s a bit overwhelming! And I work as a graphic designer for a living. It must be the blending of the two – the hand drawn and the computer – that has my head swimming!

I started with the elves from my sketchbook and added this snowy night background behind them. It was interesting, but the dark sky didn’t seem right for Christmas gift wrap. I tried the plaid background, but I didn’t like the computer drawn plaid behind the watercolor. But, I ordered a fabric swatch of the snowy night out of curiosity.
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Another day I went back to the sketchbook and drew Christmas elements, and eventually added watercolor to them. I also painted stripes in red and green. Back at the computer (on another day), I scanned and played around with the different elements. I liked using the watercolor stripes much better than the computer plaid. Although it was a challenge to get the stripes to look right when I repeated the pattern. I’ve order a swatch of this pattern, so I’ll keep you posted!

Here’s the Christmas Watercolor Stripes design without the repeat:
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I’m interested in your thoughts! Out of the 3 designs, which do you like the best?

  1. Christmas Watercolor Stripes
  2. Snowy night at the North Pole
  3. Elves on plaid

Leave me a comment and let me know. Thanks!! 🙂

If you’d like to see my other gift wrap and fabric designs, please click here.

 

Waiting for the leaves to change

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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Here in New York the leaves are beginning to change. Only a few have fallen. I am so looking forward to the bright colors and to walking through the leaves – that “swish swish” and the beautiful reds, purples, and yellows everywhere. Cleaning up the leaves I am not looking forward to!

In years past, the leaves have been a huge inspiration to me.

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See how I made this watercolor leaf here.
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Paint Regularly

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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I’ve been missing watercolor lately. I’ve been busy doing other creative things: working in ink for InkTober, and playing around on the iPad with a stylus pen in Adobe Sketch and Adobe Draw.

When I finally sat down with my paints the other day it wasn’t easy. But I’ve learned not to give up, and as I worked I started having some success and was inspired to pull out two unfinished paintings. I went from struggling to learning to painting with confidence.

It had been 2 weeks since I last painted – way too much time! It reminded me of getting back into running after my third child was born. I was running once a week (and doing yoga and other things the other days). I realized that running once a week wasn’t enough. Every time I ran, I felt like I was starting over. It’s similar with painting, drawing, or any craft. The more you do it, the more your skills and confidence build. When too much time passes you start to lose those same things you worked so hard to build up.

So here’s to a more regular painting schedule. 🙂

A new painting on an old watercolor wash

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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This morning I came across a couple of one color washes I painted a couple of years ago. The watercolor washes were backgrounds for a product photo shoot for a client’s Etsy page. I decided I would reuse the washes.
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I thought it would be interesting to use one as the background of a painting. I selected the yellow one and pulled up a photo on my phone that I had taken several weeks ago. At the time, I was out for a run and I was passing an old house surrounded by hedges. I thought it would be a good reference photo if I decided to do any haunted house paintings this year.
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I started by drawing in pen and ink on the yellow. Then I painted the hedges and the trees, and then some of the other areas. Lastly the details on the house. I decided not to turn the house into a haunted house because as it turns out, the house had a secret of it’s own. Not even a week after I took the photo, my husband said to me, “Did you hear about the house in town with the pigeons? They found 350 pigeons living inside the house. The house didn’t even have running water.” I knew right away it was the house I had taken the photo of.

I decided to paint the house the way I saw it. No extra spooky details. Just an old house hidden by overgrown hedges.

Finally a quiet house :)

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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The kids are back at school and the house is quiet. It’s the perfect time to get back to painting. Once I set up, I accomplished a lot in a short amount of time.

I took a unfinished painting – a wash of colors – and added a lighthouse. And I started a painting of a little girl at the beach. Looking forward to much more painting time this fall! 😀

“Paint quick and don’t overwork it” (note to self)

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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There is inspiration everywhere you look at the beach – the sand, sea, and sky. Lately I’ve been noticing the endless supply of figures – in all shapes and sizes. Occasionally I’ll pull out a small sketchbook, but usually I take photos to draw later.

The female lifeguard caught my eye, because that was me 30 years ago! I’m trying to work fast and loose. This is the type of painting that paralyzes me. Afraid to ruin it, I take forever, and if I finish, it looks stiff and lifeless. So, my goal is to push through and finish today whatever the result.

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Going with the flow

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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I ordered new watercolor pads in the 8″ x 8″ size I love. Somehow I ended up with 12″ x 12″. Of course I could return them, but I thought maybe I’d give it a try. Maybe I’m ready for a change? The 8″ x  8″ was starting to seem small and a bit restrictive.

This morning I started doing my normal ink work in my sketchbook, intent on filling the page with starfish. After one starfish, I stopped and grabbed the 12″ x 12″. So much more room to repeat shapes! So far I’ve painted some of the starfish and parts of the sandy background.

I’m loving the 12″ x 12″! The final product will be such a substantial size. It’s funny how we work in a certain way, develop habits, but one thing can set us on a new path, new work habits.

Painting the Beach

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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After painting a few flowers, I wanted a new subject. The beach is my favorite place. I’m always trying to paint it but struggle to really capture it – the shadows and waves in the water, the changing color of the sand. When I put too much detail in the water it just doesn’t look right. When I work quicker and looser it looks better, but seems to be missing something. After a few attempts at painting the beach, I needed a new subject (again). Right in front of me were shells we collected at the beach. Ah! Still the beach, but now I’m zooming in on the details. This one was fun and I like how it came out.