Each stroke is a learning process…
Yes, light colours can be layered over top of dark.
Dark ones do not have to cast out the light ones beneath.
Can I draw hands and feet to save my life? Certainly not when pressed for time and without reference materials. But that wasn’t the point of the exercise. The point is to lay down paint and observe what it does.
And to be happy. Continue reading “Spring Gives Way To Fall…”
I can’t remember a time picking up watercolors when they weren’t pressed into cakes for children, or when there wasn’t fear and refusal to marr a watercolour pencil drawing with water.
I am blessed and humbled with this simple gift of paper, and supplies. Today marks the third – and final – morning of camaraderie and advice needed to finish such a whimsical piece.
My art training causes me to wince at composition. See the petals? At least the movement sweeps the eye across the page before it dumps you right off… Perhaps my skepticism will melt before the finished product. I’m enjoying this learning exercise and appreciate being free of the burden of “wasting XYZ (money, materials, and therefore my time)” because it wasn’t ‘perfect.’
Anyhow, the children are clamouring for breakfast and I’m excited to get back to it, so off I go!
A photographer (and good friend) once said to me, “Why would you use Photoshop? Wouldn’t you use Illustrator instead?” and I wondered why she jumped to that conclusion.
But it doesn’t do what I want it to do, I thought. And, as far as I know, it still doesn’t. ::laughs:: But that’s not to say it does not have its uses…. just none I was interested until yesterday.
A family member of mine wanted me to produce a logo to print onto t-shirts and I knew right away, Illustrator was the answer, so I dabbled in it for the first time in, oh… six years I’d say. I took a course in university that displayed it as a tool for graphic design… totally not my interest. A lot has changed with the software in that time and I floundered, bewildered, for simple tools such as “fill” and “trace.” (Make me a logo from [this] … why would I do it from scratch?)
An evening of effort and already it’s sent off for approval. It’s a satisfying feeling to be able to boast, “I can do that for you; it’s easy,” and be able to back up what you say.
In related news, I have a friend that feels confident they know someone who’d like to pay for my art. Time to put it out into the universe that I want it to be true, and may I be worthy of the praise and confidence.
I’m still plodding away and drawing, so that’s positive, even if the road along the way has been bumpy.
I missed the deadline to that contest – I felt two weeks wasn’t enough time to perfect my artwork to my liking – but that’s ok. I did hit a wall once the deadline passed – in part, loss of impetus, in part no solid grasp of what direction to take my work in – but I think I’m finally back at it.
One large hurdle has been seamlessly transferring my work between desktop and cellphone. May I take a moment to laud Sketchbook Pro for mobile. It is everything Photoshop Touch should be, but isn’t. ::rolls eyes:: Although I have to gripe that their update a couple of days ago now enforces maximum file sizes, so I can no longer move my million-layer files directly to my Samsung Note 3, and port it back. Three is a very annoying maxim. I’ll deal with it because I have to, however. There are no pen presents in Photoshop Touch, and worse, they don’t explicitly tell you that your mobile work is read-only on the desktop. Any work you save, is flattened on re-import. ::shakes head:: Ridiculous, to put it mildly.
It’s just been so hard to feel happy. I’ve been listening to a  Trance radio station via my cable tv provider, as it’s way better (in my opinion) than the tripe on the radio. Every where I turn, life – especially music – echoes the hole inside. That missing someone everyone has. And music which is so intrinsic to my joy, is forever tied up both of our identities. So I cannot escape within my deepest solace. So happiness is hard.
But I found this at Etsy the other week.
(Actually, I found it on Facebook, but I hunted down where it originated from.) The Canadian artist currently is “on vacation” at the moment and has closed her shop, but I have a spot above my desk earmarked for a paid print when it’s for sale again.
A good reminder that happiness is a choice, and there’s more than one way to choose it.
Well, here’s to another year.