ICAD

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.

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.

Youtube tutorials and experimentation help

Today’s prompt is “snow globe” for the Index Card A Day art challenge. Day 4.

If art is the bridge between what you see in your mind and what the world sees, then skill is how you build that bridge.”

—Twyla Tharp

P R O C E S S   N O T E S

I saw this scene but had no idea how to create the glass globe or an ambience in the room from the fireplace glow. I *still* don’t know how exactly, but I’m closer than I was before I experimented.

This prompt had me digging out my pencil box. I spent time getting reacquainted by making a sample card with the assortment on hand.

I tried different whites for the snow and I like Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White for the task.

As far as the reason for an oversized girl stuck within a snow globe filled with little pink houses, your guess is as good as mine. This was another image I “saw” in my mind’s eye, so I did my best to translate that onto an index card.

Next time I’m called to create a glass globe or make some snow fly, my muscles will remember what worked and what didn’t. 

And maybe the next one will look a little more how I’d like it to look. xox