Last week the rainy weather inspired the black and white doodle below. Yesterday I colored it in Photoshop. Perfect timing for today’s downpour.
sketchbook
Artist’s Setup
Very quickly into my creative resolution, without really thinking about it, I started setting up my paints and supplies a certain way. A few brushes on a paper towel to the right (I’m right handed), water and cup of brushes above that. Paper or sketchbook in front of me. Above the paper is my watercolor palette. To the left of the palette is the mixing tray. If the table is smaller (like in the illustration) the mixing tray is to the left of the paper. Above the brushes and water is my bin of paint tubes, markers, watercolored pencils, scrap paper, etc. Pretty much anything else I may need. A coffee cup is usually placed near the water, which often leads to mix ups. Fortunately the mix up is I clean the brush in the coffee, not that I drink the dirty water.
Do you have a certain way you set up your painting supplies?
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Digging deeper within a theme
Sometimes when working within a theme, after you get the obvious stuff out of the way, you can surprise yourself.
I first experienced this when I decided to create and post on Instagram “14 Days of Valentine’s Day” artwork. The first couple of days were easy – hearts! red! Then it started to get a little harder. “What am I going to paint?!” But even though it was harder I found that some of the later pieces were the best ones. (My favorite is the “He loves me…” one.)
The same thing happened with my “17 Days of St. Patrick’s Day” posts on Instagram. At first it was easy – shamrocks! green! Then it got hard. I started thinking, “17 Days is a long time!!” But again, some of my favorite illustrations were created in those later days. When I had to dig a little deeper into the theme. (My favorite is the grouchy leprechaun.)
Yesterday I posted my watercolor American flag for the 4th of July. The weather wasn’t great – cloudy and rainy – so I started to think about what else I could draw. Hmmm. “What do people do on the 4th of July?” BBQ! And so another idea was born.
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Sewing project with my own fabric design
I’m not much of a sewer, but I’m excited to try and make something with the pattern I designed. Seeing a pattern as a fabric is much different than seeing it on the computer monitor. You start to think about what you can make with it. If I printed this pattern again, I’d make the pattern much smaller, so it could be used as a band of detail on a bag, or something like that. At this size, I’m thinking of making a pillow or even a pillowcase. Any sewers out there? Any ideas?
I’m excited to have the sewing machine set up in my studio. My daughter has to show me how to use it. I’d love it if she would take the reins and start sewing tons of cute things with fabric I design. We’d be a great team. She seems to have other plans for the summer. Ah teenagers! 🙂
BTW – I didn’t win the “Sandcastles” Spoonflower.com contest. I still feel a sense of accomplishment – I finally uploaded a design and ordered fabric with my own pattern. I’ve wanted to do that for years!
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Goodbye Spring!
This Spring I’ve been inspired by so many beautiful flowers! Here are 15 of the flower paintings I’ve created:
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Poppies & Practice
A few years ago, I went with my husband to MOMA (The Museum of Modern Art) to see an exhibit of Georges Seurat’s drawings and sketches. I was amazed at how many “studies” he did before he painted the famous “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte.” He painted the lake and the lady with the parasol separately several times. He also did many sketches of the people in the painting.
Yesterday I painted a pattern of Poppies in my sketchbook. Then I did one Poppy on watercolor paper. There were things I wanted to change and improve upon, so I did another version (above) of a single Poppy. I’m really happy with it which shows me that sometimes you have to study and practice a subject to get it right.
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Sandcastles (My May Pattern)
Sandcastles is the theme of my May pattern (I know, I know it’s already June). I’ve been working extra hard on this pattern because I’m entering it in a Spoonflower contest. This week’s theme is sandcastles and it’s so fitting this time of year!
With Memorial Day behind us, I can’t help but think of beach days! We are counting down to the end of the school year and making our Summer plans. We are lucky enough to live 10 minutes from the ocean. I grew up in a nearby beach town and as a kid, I spent my entire Summer on the beach. When I was old enough to work, it was as a ocean lifeguard.
When I saw that Spoonflower’s pattern contest was a sandcastle theme, I had to give it a try. You know I’m obsessed with creating patterns these days! This would be my first entry into a Spoonflower contest.
Below is my first draft. I made some edits, because I felt there was too much sand and it needed more details. Voting opens Thursday (spoonflower.com). 🙂
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Love this Sketchbook!
Since I bought this sketchbook I’ve been busy filling it! I love the heavy paper. It works so well with watercolor. If you follow me on Instagram (@mycreativeresolution), you’ve probably seen some of these illustrations. Lately I’ve been posting everyday which helps keep me motivated. I setup my sketchbook and paints in the morning. Throughout the day I sit down to tweak or add to my painting. I’m going to need a new book soon!
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Many Versions…
For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been creating illustrations for St. Patrick’s Day and posting to Instagram. For each idea I have, I draw/paint multiple versions to see which one I like the best. It dawned on me, the it isn’t just hand-lettering that takes “Practice, practice, practice.” I have to draw several “takes” before I create an illustration that I like. I also take pictures along the way to see how the illustration will look when it’s finished, and to make sure I like the background and how it fits in the shot.
This way of working is new to me. In the past, I’d sit down to create a painting, and try to make it work. I began working in this way since starting my themed postings (first Valentine’s Day, then St. Patrick’s Day). I doodle, I paint, I plan in pencil. I try again. I wouldn’t say it’s about getting it perfect, it’s more about warming up and trying different things.
I really enjoy following one theme. The first couple of days are easy. After that, there is the period where I’m like, “What am I going to do now?” In both cases, the more creative ideas came to me towards the end of the campaign. I guess it’s the time when I dig a little deeper. All the obvious ideas are out of the way, so I have to think harder.
This Valentine’s Day post was one of my favorites:
This grumpy guy is my favorite St. Patrick’s Day post so far:
mycreativeresolution.com 