The Look

I just finished an online mini workshop with Margariet Aasman on Sktchy. I’ve wanted to learn her method for a long time, and it was so worth the wait.

Mixed media (ink, watercolor, pastel pencil) on blue toned mixed media paper

Hangin’ Out

I wasn’t happy with my drawing so I used it to experiment with ink, liquid charcoal, watercolor, and a permanent ink brush pen. I sprayed fixative between the ink drawing and charcoal layers first so it wouldn’t smear, and glazed over it with the watercolor, adding final detail with the brush pen.

Parrot

Ink and wash, 5x7

Gorilla, Munching

ink and wash in my sketchbook

Harpies

ok, maybe the paper is NOT magic. Paint wouldn’t stay in the intended areas, moving into already painted areas for no particular reason. Very puzzling.

Rooster

The late, great master watercolorist Irving Shapiro once said “there is no magic paintbrush,” but for me there may be a magic paper. I recently rediscovered watercolor board and am loving the way it responds to my brushes and paint. So happy to have rediscovered my old friend!

Totem

I have long felt a special affinity for herons. I had never seen one until about 20 years ago when my marriage was breaking up and they started showing up frequently, both in Hawaii where I lived and on the mainland when I would visit family. It was sort of uncanny, but in a good away. When I researched the species, I learned herons are determined, patient and independent. As an artist, I can identify with those qualities. When I see one, I feel a happy tug in my heart, like there you are.