I have a Strathmore black drawing paper pad that I bought for colored pencil drawings. Unfortunately after a few attempts, I came to the conclusion that colored pencil is too testing for my patience and on black paper, that’s even more so. A drawing like the following, to reach the desired effect (smoother skin, brighter color etc.), would need probably another 20 to 50 layers of coloring (or skills I don’t have to begin with):
Lily, colored pencil, 9 x 12 in, 2020
So what to do with the rest of the paper? Gouache came to mind because the colors come thick and don’t need much water (or at least you can use it that way).
Jazmine, gouache on paper, 9 x 12 in, 2020
I very much like the effect, but as you can see there are wrinkles on paper caused by accidental water drops.
Here’s another one:
Monique, gouache on paper, 9 x 12 in, 2020
After I did these paintings, I found out that Stonehenge actually has a line of black watercolor paper. Order placed already, and stay tuned!
If you are on the west coast you know what I am talking about. The sky is literally orange the whole day, from Oregon to California! I painted this scenery a while ago, as a sunset scene. I mounted to a cradled wood panel, and varnished it (see my previous post about hanging with frame). I believe the varnish darkened the painting a bit, and the result is a perfect depiction of today:
Orange Day, watercolor on paper,11 x 14 in, 2020
As much as I enjoy being a prophet, I miss my neighborhood’s normal color:
Neighborhood walk 1, watercolor on paper, 9 x 12 in, 2020
I recently submitted a couple of artworks to an online exhibition “Patterns” at Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery. One of the submissions received an honorable mention and was selected into Top 15 Artists in the “Painting & Other Media category.”
This is the painting that received the recognition:
Marching, watercolor on paper, 22 x 30 in, 2019
I also submitted one to a different category, “Photography and Digital.” I don’t really have any experience with digital art. I took a watercolor doodle and manipulated it in Photoshop Express and Procreate. It failed to enter the show, understandably, but I had a lot of fun making it:
Bubbly Dance, digital, 2020
Maybe I’ll make a carpet out of it some day!
I am taking a 2D design class this fall and learning some basics about Photoshop. Hopefully I will have some better stuffs to submit next time! 🙂
Light, Space & Time has online exhibitions of various themes and it is cheap to enter. Highly recommend for emerging artists.