Watercolor Sketching and White Whales- Patreon Newsletter January 30th (Patreon)

Published:

2023-01-31 01:14:27

Imported:

2026-10

Tags:

Backer Newsletter Backer Update Patreon newsletter Patreon update art projects watercolor sketchbook watercolor sketches

Content

Hey Artnerds!

How have yall been? Things around here have been kinda quiet-its been nice!

My Youtube hiatus has been nice- I've been working on some loose watercolor studies for fun- no pencil sketch, straight to watercolor, working from reference, trying to capture the essence of whatever I'm painting that day, and trying to fill up a small Canson XL watercolor sketchbook. I wanted to do something that wasn't supposed to be perfect- that couldn't fail to meet expectations because the only expectation was to learn and play and practice.

For many years- most of my years of watercolor- I couldn't sketch like this. First, I lacked the knowledge, then I lacked the confidence, then I lacked a good brush. But slowly, those three aspects have come together, and while these sketches are...well...sketches, I like how many of them have turned out, and I enjoy the kismet of randomly producing something really nice, or something really lively.

For the curious, the solution that's working for me is the Da Vinci mixing palette, Paul Ruben's larger quill and a couple Silver Black Velvet Brushes, and a cheapo Canson watercolor sketchbook, plus various flat ceramic plates and palettes. The paper isn't great- its very limited in what it is willing to take, but that limit is an important part of the project. The colors, for the most part, dry vibrant despite the cheap paper, and I've gotten some lovely granulation splits.

Part of the hiatus is about decoupling what I create from social media, and to decouple the value of what I create from how it's received on social media. These sketches are loose, rough, imperfect- a nice antidote to the direction my art was going.

White Whale Project

I've also been working on a project I've put off for two years- making an extra large custom watercolor palette. I wanted something that could easily hold more than the normal 48 half pans, something that made it easy to switch pans out, and something that had a cover that wasn't hinged- it could be placed beneath the palette itself to save space.

My plan was was to utilize an empty Derwent tin, spray paint the interior with a high gloss white that'd be easy to clean, the exterior with something bright and shiny, and use magnets to hold my existing half pans in place. Lots of room to expand all those convenience colors, could add in some of my other palettes that I frequently use, and would be easy to swap out what isn't working for me. This would give me a chance to clean things up, reorganize what I've got, and document what paints are in the palette.

I've had the tins since before we moved from Nashville, but I wanted to spray paint them and use magnets to secure my halfpans. It sounds like a super simple project right? I even had the spraypaint for it left over from other projects, the magnets, and the super glue, all I needed was the time to gut my old palette.

For such a simple project, there's been so many hiccups. The white gloss enamel I'd gotten from a family member was DOA. Ace Hardware was out of the same, only had semi gloss, and were out of all clear gloss, so I had to order it. My semi-gloss was taking days to dry, leaving wrinkling and cracking, and I was unable to chip or sand it out, had to start over, and now I've run out of high gloss red enamel and am waiting for more to come in. For such a simple, cheap project, it sure ended up costing me a lot of time and money, but now I'm really invested. I can't wait to see the finished palette, glossy candy apple red and covered in stickers. That said, I really want to finish this palette up, so I can start painting pages again and work on a couple Year of the Rabbit illustrations that are sitting stretched, waiting for paint.

What's your white whale project?

I Need Another Set of Eyes

Joseph and I have been working on an addition to the existing Studio mailing list designed to get people who'd like to start making art motivated! We want to encourage people who are excited about the tutorials and art educational content available but haven't ever made time to get started on pursuing their own artistic dreams.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qR7j_Y_3uVaHaI7mAtn-ibxGGI9nvl0VRsjvZynL-C0/edit?usp=sharing

My suggestions are in the comments. Joseph made some of those changes (and disagreed with others) and put them in the Mailerlite posts linked under the titles.

It'd be really helpful to get some feedback on this- Joseph and I are at a standstill, and some additional opinions would be really helpful, particularly if you're already on the mailing list! The main body was initially written by Joseph, who asked that I not just rewrite it willy-nilly in doc. My rewrites are all in the comments. Which do you prefer? Which do you find more inspiring or helpful?

Since we're diametrically opposed in how this encouragement should be handled, your input is super helpful because I'm not sending it out until we've reached some sort of resolution. I would love to hear your thoughts- you can comment here, in The Paintbox, or email me!

In Other News

This week I'm setting up a library display on comics in Livingston Parish. Last year, I set up a display at the St Charles Parish Library, and it was nice to be able to share my art and the art of comics with the public. On the 11th, I'll be teaching Make a Minicomic at their Library Comic Con and spending the rest of the day tabling.

Looking for Suggestions

What are your must-have studio supplies? The more unusual, the better. Your teflon baking sheets as desk covers, your Chinese watercolor weights, your sauce bowls as wash palettes- let me know what I'm missing out on! I'm working on a short series on my favorite studio supplies and great studio supplies on a budget, and I'd love to hear your suggestions!