The ups and downs of not putting your toys away…

The ups and downs of not putting your toys away…
Last year, I started leaving out a tray of pan colors, some brushes, and several bits of paper to deface next to my desk in a quest to actually get Something Done™.  Whenever I have the urge to check a webpage or whatever, I try and channel that into painting instead. Once back from holiday break, I modified my routines somewhat, and here’s what I’ve found.
Leaving trays of fry pans covered is one thing, dried tube colors uncovered is quite another, dust becomes a problem. Plastic palettes are a thing of the devil, and stain entirely too easily.
Paper matters, a lot – especially when scrubbing or blending. Some paints will affect absorbency on the other side of the paper, which only matters if you decide to use both sides.
This brings us to materials in general – you should get the best stuff you can (which may not always be the most expensive), it will help when you’re painting, it really will. Not struggling to make a light wash or mix your colors can make all the difference.
The faster you can pick up and execute, the more likely you are to do so. Execution starts the moment you start thinking about an image. The more heinous cleanup is, the less likely you are to get started.
In my case, the larger the image size, the more “precious” I get. Its easier to throw out the 1″ study than it is to ditch the 6×9 mess. It is generally better to throw out than it is to try to fix, at least in my case, with painting. I take the lesson and try to be thankful. I’m trying to get over the precious thing, honestly.
Pan colors are awesome for sketching, portability and speed. They are terrible for larger images, mixing colors, and large light washes. YMMV, but tubes are better for “studio” work.
Painting from live subjects is invaluable! It seems like my best (and worst) images come from life studies. I’m only now becoming confident enough to forgo doing a light pencil sketch first.
This is probably obvious to anyone who’s been serious about watercolor, or had some training. Since I’ve been kind of winging it, I figure it’s good to take notes :-)

Last year, I started leaving out a tray of pan colors, some brushes, and several bits of paper to deface next to my desk in a quest to actually get Something Done™.  Whenever I have the urge to check a webpage or whatever, I try and channel that into painting instead. Once back from holiday break, I modified my routines somewhat, and here’s what I’ve found.

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so much to learn…

Kae1I literally cannot imagine what it must be like to grow up with all this knowledge available on tap. The past few weeks while painting, coding or doing anything near my computer, even gaming, I’ve been catching up on podcasts, reading real (gasp) physical books and checking out all of the amazing information that contemporary artists are willing to share.

At work, our visiting artists series has returned, providing another source of inspiration. Read the rest of this entry »

 

paint studies update

2009-12-11-13.04.05

Here’s what my space was looking like part way through December. It seems as though painting feeds on itself, or it has for me recently. This time around I had more severe failures and what I hope are more coherent successes. I’ve been trying new colors on my palette, and testing various pigments. Not reflected here are the numerous sketchbook images I’ve been doing. I’ve been reading voraciously anything I can find on the subject of painting in general and watercolor in particular. More details and images after the jump!

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preparing for celebrations

2009-11-19 10.02.27 World of Warcraft turns 5 today! And Warcraft itself is going strong after 15 years.

 

In the valley…

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My first ‘comic shop’ before I knew such things existed was this place. It’s changed hands a few times, but the store is the same, and they still sell comics.