The 1973 hit song Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree popped for this prompt.
Watercolor on Micron pen sketch. Song recorded by Tony Orlando and Dawn, written by Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown.
Index Card A Day prompt: ribbon
Art Projects
Index Card A Day prompt: ampersand
An ‘and’ is simply an ‘and’ but an ampersand is grand.
Sharpies.
Use online tutorial for guidance
Improvise with supplies on hand
Saw this “technique” online so I had a go with the supplies in my closet. Black chalk paint on the base, acrylic paints for the umbrella. For the drips, I diluted the acrylic with about 30% water as I didn’t have any GAC 800 on hand.
Nor did I have a splatter brush, so I improvised with an old toothbrush, but the vibrancy of the paint was too diluted to make an impact.
Overall, a fun exercise.
Practice and preparation make a difference
Don’t live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable.”
— Wendy Wasserstein
Early morning, October 5, 2019 we converged on the Cumberland River at the Big South Fork Recreation area for a kayak race.
I didn’t win. I didn’t even finish. I was not prepared, but it was a remarkable time.
Big South Fork National Recreation Area, Cumberland River, Kentucky, USA.
P R O C E S S N O T E S
Just like I wasn’t ready to compete in a kayak race, I wasn’t ready for painting with new (to me) tube watercolors for this series of kayaking adventure cards. But like the race, I tried.
Unlike the race, I finished the cards.
Both experiences brought new skills and deeper appreciation for practice and preparation.
Experimentation is one way to learn
I now know one way to create a faux verdigris finish on paper
Day 5: verdigris
Pencil sketch—>craft paint, masking fluid—>pen—>watercolors.
P R O C E S S N O T E S
I went in search of something as a reference image for verdigris. Google gave me the Statue of Liberty, some skeleton keys, and lots of door hardware. I then flipped through my old photos and found The Thing To Draw.
An old garden marker poked in the dirt of a spent flower box covered in what some consider to be weeds: morning glories.
The marker had a fine patina of verdigris and to replicate this on paper, I experimented with metallic copper craft paint, masking fluid for the letters, with a film of paint dabbed on then wiped off.
Dark turquoise was the winner out of five possible shades for the overcoat. I dabbed some white watercolor over the dried paint and that seemed to give it a more realistic verdigris finish.
Finished it with watercolors and a photo of the card nestled in some weeds.
Done. Until next time, may your paint flow freely, your brush bristles have no strays, and your blank canvas beckon you to create.