Unused Background

There was a plan for this background. I was experimenting with the joys of watercolour pencil and water splattering before it got dry...then forgot all about what was supposed to go on top of it. Clearly, my memory needs a little more work than my art.

I might try printing on it using my computer and printer and seeing how an inkjet deals with the rough texture of Gesso...basically, doing something I haven't tried yet. If it works it should help me with a few other ideas I have that are not easily accomplished with my scratchy handwriting.

Many Hearts

I'd like to think I was inspired by Valentine's Day but it was a long way away when I did this. I liked the idea of having many hearts but after I was done with it, I realized it would have come out a little better if I had used a stencil.

Clearly the learning process is just that...a process. I'll probably redo this one at some point and maybe next time I'll try for less brush strokes as well. They drive me a little crazy and I'm currently experimenting with a few ideas to stop it from being so...obvious.

Haiku on Display

The first few pages I did were inspired by the Haiku I was writing (and still am working on). I wanted to put the simple poems in a place that gave them the fullness of their character. Again, it was a desire born of hope rather than skill and this was what came of it:

This time I used Gesso to put in the words and it was slightly better but it still wasn't the effect I wanted. The branches were a little thin so the words are kinda squashed together - okay representationally but really hard to read. I did like how the swirls turned out in the sky but they were so easily obscured...

Learning on the job has its perks and I guess this is just part of the process but do I ever wish it was easier.

My First Art Page

I like art and I like that it doesn't matter my level of skill as long as I keep at it. That is why I started making art pages even though I wasn't very good at it. Now, I've decided to share. It's not because my skills are suddenly stupendous and I can wow an audience with everything I imagine but because I really want to share. So, this is the first page I made:

I like that my initial idea was pretty sound but the execution was lacking. A gesso base with water colour on top was great but I discovered (by accident) that nothing really goes on top of oil pastel even though it gives a wonderful textured finish. I had to scrub it off in places I wanted the words to stick but it wasn't as good as I had hoped anyway.

The haiku was written as part of the years 100 Haiku Challenge while the blurry lyrics are from a song by Celine Dion. I'd have to say it wasn't too bad…for a first attempt.