Bexhall

Whimsical watercolors messy but fun

March 28, 2023

In one of today’s Sketchbook Revival sessions, mixed media artist, Toni Burt, shared her world of bold color, “messy” lines, and whimsical imagery.

The goal is to practice loosely creating a perfectly imperfect, vibrant sketch of an old building full of charm.

She suggested sketching first with pen instead of pencil and so I did. She was right. When you use a pen, you kind of commit as you go.

She used water soluble pens for shadowing as (I think) a third layer and that was messy. It was all messy. But by the time I made it to my third drawing (on nice paper, even), I felt more comfortable with the tools.

Practice, practice, practice!

xoxo

Watercolor of the waterside beach huts

March 27, 2023

An artist friend made a post about going to see the sea and I fell in love with the row of colorful beach huts she captured in a photo and I did my best recreating it in a tiny watercolor.

Thanks for the inspiration, Allison.

Cause and effect of joy

March 26, 2023

My friend, Eliza, had last Friday off from work and was on her way to get a mani-pedi when she called.

It was a “Me Day” for her and the first time out of the house in a while.

During the entire conversation, all I could picture was her leaping for joy in the air, a rose held in her mouth.

Had to get that out of my head. 😂

Advice to my inner beginner artist

March 25, 2023

Early yesterday I wrote in my morning pages “…what do I want to work on art-wise?” A little later, I took a class from the Sketchbook Revival/Tamara Laporte about painting in an unfamiliar-to-me style. It was wildly uncomfortable and far from my comfort zone.

This morning I wrote about how yesterday I did something scary (art related) and it turned out to be one of the best experiences I’ve ever had with painting.

I drew a line in the journal across the facing pages between the two comments, connecting them with a note about how if I had not put into action what I had been thinking about, the painting and experience would have never happened.

It’s in the doing the fear dissipates and miracles occur.

A respectful salute and nod to the legendary Dan Wieden and his iconic tagline “Just do it.” 😊

I gave myself the grace to practice some more today, knowing the results would be amateurish and look like a beginner’s work. But I AM a beginner with this technique and I’ll only get better with practice.

So I did it.

Keep practicing. You never know what will come or what you’ll find. Be open. Just do it.

💕

Note: The watercolors here are not my designs; I used reference photos.