July is #WorldwideWatercolorMonth!

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July is #WorldwideWatercolorMonth, as proposed by Doodlewash. In that spirit and in hopes of reenergizing my daily practice, I'm going to try to do one small (4x4 in) watercolor a day. The sources will vary, some from life, some from photos, and some from my imagination. I'm usually not good at following through with this kind of thing. I'm like a magpie, (Ooo good idea, Oh look at that idea, Wow, that's inspiring, etc.)  so wish me luck! 

Surprise!

Pods like these fall all around our neighborhood. The other day I picked up these two. My intention was to practice painting subtle dark values. I accidently step on one. Whoa! What a surprise! It's incredible how something can appear so plain on the outside and, on the inside, be so colorful and bright. I think people are often the same way.

Thumbs Up

A quick thumbnail of the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco as seen from Starbucks in the Persidio. Actually, I scribbled a few lines while waiting for my Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte and splashed on the color later. This little doodle is also exercise #12 in One Watercolor a Day!

#9, #9, #9 One Watercolor (Um Every Two Weeks?) a Day

Maybe it's a cop-out but I've decided to just enjoy the process of the exercises in One Watercolor a Day and not make myself crazy. So I'm on #9.  I took a walk to Washington Square Park on this gray, 28° spring-day. Pigeons provided just about the only color but it was beautiful and iridescent and I'm smiling as I write this.

#8 Seeing the Color

Exercise #8 in One Watercolor a Day-  This little succulent had some subtle coloration going on in its leaves. Hmm, or are they petals? It's really hard to find color these days in gray Chicago!

One Watercolor a Day! I'm not even doing these at a rate of one a week but I'm having a good time with this book.

#7 Play with Your Food

These were such fun to do!. The seventh exercise in One Watercolor a Day was to freely draw and paint the color, form and volume of some foods that catch your eye. I used watercolor and TomBow markers. I will do more of these I'm sure!

#6 Catching Up – Almost!

Navy Pier from Lake Shore Drive

I had an early appointment the other day on Lake Shore Drive. Well, actually my husband did, I just went along for the walk. This is what I saw. It almost looks as cold as it felt!

The task at hand was a layered landscape using glazes.

Resisting #5!

Exercise #5 involved using masking fluid or wax crayon to save the white of the paper. I never use a resist method when I paint but I had so much fun doing this I think I'll reconsider!

I know it's a fish knife  but we use it for butter and cheese just so I can see and use it often. I just love it. I found in a local shop called P.O.S.H. 

What a Difference a Day Makes in Watercolor

Just a quick catch up on my One Watercolor a Day exercises-

This part one of the "Day"2 – wet into wet. It was great fun watching the colors ebb, flow and react to the paper.

Here's the second part – dry paper and wet color.  Far more controlled but still has a loose quality that I like.

The "Day 3" exercise involved painting a dream like vision with red using other colors to change the tone of the red. I was playing with the red, trying to make it a cold vision of these last few weeks in Chicago.

I'm really enjoying this. Seeing other people's work in the FaceBook group is a fun added dimension to the learning experience!