Watching Paint Dry

I did a lot of that today. A week ago I was convinced that I wouldn't have an idea of how to fill up the rest of the pages in my watercolor sketchbook and for the last two days I can't fill them up fast enough. I have to paint one and then find something to do while the paint dries. I meant for today's first pages to be monochrome wet-in-wet but when I realized that I had used violet for the fish I knew that I didn't want to use violet for the water. That would be too weird. So I used a smidge of turquoise for the water. Since it's my sketchbook I get to say what happens on each page.

While that was drying I did boring things like take a shower and get dressed. Do you ever get so eager to do something that you just put off getting dressed? I do that a lot. Most of the time I do the Investment Cooking in my pajamas. Today I did the first painting in my pjs.

 

I noticed that yesterday's warm temperature of 43 degrees (!!!) melted quite a bit of the backyard snow. It only got up to 16 today so no melting happened. There are no birds in this picture--again. The only bird I saw today was a Mourning Dove in the birdbath when it was too dark to take a picture. Where are my birds?

The second two-page spread in the sketchbook today is transparent layers on geometric shapes. I mixed up some colors that I took from a picture of a view from one of our Caribbean vacations and used those colors for my squares. I was very proud of myself because I drew all of the squares and rectangles, and one triangle, freehand and they turned out pretty darned square. *pats self on back* This one had a lot of built in waiting time so I watched more course videos online. Once everything on the pages was dry I perched a little bird on one of the blocks. See, the idea is to use the techniques, colors, and images to link the pages through the book to make a cohesive unit. I'm trying.

I watched the first video of the "Illustrated Journal" course that I signed up for and bought brush markers, watercolor pencils, and bound sketchbooks for. Her first challenge was to empty your bag or purse, lay it out, and draw and color it all. I was a little trepidatious but I grabbed a black fine line pen and dived in. I did it. I guess all of the drawing I've done in the last three months is paying off.  I'm still not very good at drawing from my imagination but if something is in front of me I can do an okay job of it. (Unless it's that $#%@& spiral seashell I tried to draw last week, that is.) Anyway, here's my bag (bought at the Fort Myers Goodwill two years ago for $1) and its contents. The first pages of my illustrated journal.

Drawing today consisted of a recap of the subjects and techniques that we've used in the watercolor class. I also filled two pages of a small sketchbook with attempts to draw a decent frog. I even found a picture of one on my phone to try to copy. It didn't go well. Oh, I guess that drawing my purse contents counts as drawing too, doesn't it?

I finished the Black & White Sock toe while watching TV after supper which means that now I need to find another knitting project before Friday Night Knitting. Never fear, I have a crap-ton of yarn to choose from.

Today's toss was some more dive guides. I refrained from paging through them, I just put them in the box.

DD called this afternoon so I got to talk to her for nearly an hour. She's working to figure out when she can come see me since COVID got in the way last month. Fingers crossed.

--Barbara