Watercolor crayons

20 x 30 cm  Watercolor Crayons and Watercolor on Arches 140 WCP

I am back in the saddle again and decided to jump in at the last minute to try the latest challenge from Karin Jurick - drawing from a photo of a statue.

I used 3 Caran dAche watercolor crayons to make the drawing:  Royal Blue, Bordeaux Red and Golden Ochre. Then I used a brush full of water and blended these colors to define my shadow areas. While it was still wet I dropped in some regular watercolor (yellow ochre, ultramarine blue and permanent rose) to finish it off. My friend Hillary Miller sent the crayons to me as a surprise after I admired some drawings she had done with them.

These crayons are such a joy to work with!  I can't wait to take them with me to my life study group next week!

Today

Transparent Watercolor on Yupo paper  13 x 18 cm

It's not as though I haven't been painting. It is just that everything has been ending up in the trash.  I have become increasingly frustrated with my lack of understanding of the characteristics of watercolor and seem to be incapable of discerning values. Over the last 2 weeks I have reread all my watercolor books, color theory and drawing books.  I made color charts, value scales and tested all my watercolors for transparency and staining characteristics.  I took on as a student a very nice person who wants to learn watercolor. 

(Teaching is the best teacher?)

I signed up for 2 watercolor workshops in the U.S. and made plane reservations. (Any one else going to the Charles Reid workshop in South Carolina or the Pat Weaver in Oklahoma?)

Today I really wanted to paint something besides little pie-shaped swatches of watercolor, so I pulled out the Yupo again :-) and did this quick painting (?) of the same girl I did a drawing of a few weeks ago.  Yupo is so fun. And, magically, in the mail, I received a wonderful package from a wonderful artist full of info about how to use Yupo!

Thank you Hillary!!

I know what I will be doing tonight!

Also, something else I have been preoccupied with... my baby daughter began her mandatory service as a soldier in the IDF a little over a week ago.  

This is an extraordinary challenge for her,beyond the usual reasons,  as she only began learning Hebrew about 5  years ago.  But, she has gone in with a good attitude and is really moved by feeling a part of something larger than herself.  

Look at how wonderful she is.