There is a fair bit of texture around the studio this morning,
an interesting shadow or two,
and no shortage of neutral/ natural shades,
but not much in the way of bright color.
This should not be a surprise as,
with the odd exception,
an ever quieter palette has been an ongoing trend,
in my yarnish life.
with the odd exception,
an ever quieter palette has been an ongoing trend,
in my yarnish life.
The idea of applying this freedom of limitation
to my comics, however,
came as a bit of a surprise.
to my comics, however,
came as a bit of a surprise.
But the new comic diary, with its sheets of textured paper
seemed to eschew the pinks and purples and bright greens
that have been delighting me for the last year,
so I thought I'd go with it.
seemed to eschew the pinks and purples and bright greens
that have been delighting me for the last year,
so I thought I'd go with it.
The first idea was to use only Walnut Ink
(though of course I had to debate whether or not
this would include the line work).
(though of course I had to debate whether or not
this would include the line work).
But when push came to shove
(or brush touched paper)
I realized that the pleasurable pull
of crow quill, black ink and watercolor
was too important to set aside.
(or brush touched paper)
I realized that the pleasurable pull
of crow quill, black ink and watercolor
was too important to set aside.
Besides, after trying this Redwood Willow watercolor sampler,
I'd been longing for some indigo watercolor
to go with all the other indigo in my life.
And ever since Jodi
(who made the exquisite tiny watercolor sets I've been using for the past year)
showed me the Greenleaf & Blueberry web site
I had been seeking an excuse (and a spare moment),
to make some of my own.
I'd been longing for some indigo watercolor
to go with all the other indigo in my life.
And ever since Jodi
(who made the exquisite tiny watercolor sets I've been using for the past year)
showed me the Greenleaf & Blueberry web site
I had been seeking an excuse (and a spare moment),
to make some of my own.
So....since I happened to have plenty of pigment
(left over from my egg tempera flirtation in 2005)
some liquid Gum Arabic
(leftover from the Chemistry and Art class my husband taught for years before he retired)
and honey (because --how not to have honey in the kitchen?)
I googled 'making watercolor paint",
half-assedly followed some directions I found out in cyber land
and made two colors: yellow ochre and indigo.
I really like how they turned out.
(left over from my egg tempera flirtation in 2005)
some liquid Gum Arabic
(leftover from the Chemistry and Art class my husband taught for years before he retired)
and honey (because --how not to have honey in the kitchen?)
I googled 'making watercolor paint",
half-assedly followed some directions I found out in cyber land
and made two colors: yellow ochre and indigo.
I really like how they turned out.
In fact, I liked them so much that i waswas going to use only those two,
but then added two little half pans there were floating around:
first burnt sienna for the reds (and lovely greys with indigo)
and burnt umber because I use brown a lot
and it is easier to use paint than open the bottle of walnut ink.
but then added two little half pans there were floating around:
first burnt sienna for the reds (and lovely greys with indigo)
and burnt umber because I use brown a lot
and it is easier to use paint than open the bottle of walnut ink.
As ever,
it's just an experiment.
But experiments with materials (esp those lying around the house), are the best!
Indeed, though many things in the world can induce me to quivering jelly
(elevators, airplanes, merging, politics, Stephen King books, the internet, meanness, movies...),
it is good to know that for some of us
(here's looking at you Nicole and Jodi and Rebecca and Patti and Bonnie and... and ... and...maybe most of you reading this?)
art supplies are our friends.
Of course part of me wants to make a couple of more colors,
but the internal majority is so enamored of this simple set of colors,
that am going to hold off.
At least for today.
it's just an experiment.
But experiments with materials (esp those lying around the house), are the best!
Indeed, though many things in the world can induce me to quivering jelly
(elevators, airplanes, merging, politics, Stephen King books, the internet, meanness, movies...),
it is good to know that for some of us
(here's looking at you Nicole and Jodi and Rebecca and Patti and Bonnie and... and ... and...maybe most of you reading this?)
art supplies are our friends.
Of course part of me wants to make a couple of more colors,
but the internal majority is so enamored of this simple set of colors,
that am going to hold off.
At least for today.
