SusieG Studio

My plan for the month of July was to get back into painting with watercolors. There was a daily watercolor challenge called World Watercolor Month and I’ve been wanting to participate for the last few years. It’s held every July and runs for 31 days. That means there are 31 daily prompts to get folks to create artwork using watercolors and/or gouache.

I discovered on social media that Daniel Smith was also providing daily prompts using their colors to coincide with the WWM challenge. That’s two prompts each day! Note: there were colors I did not have in my DS inventory and the only thing I could do was skip those colors.

I’m still enjoy using my Funto 100% cotton watercolor journal for my pen & ink wash daily sketches. I decided to break out another new Funto journal I had on hand and try it out with my watercolor paints. I was curious to see how this paper would handle my watercolor sketches.

Let me show you what I painted along with some notes about my painting adventures.

Day 1 prompts: Radiant and the color Quinacridone Gold. I naturally thought about lemons. The shapes were quick and easy to sketch out. I did not want to spend too much time with the details. The paper in my Funto journal has a lot of texture.

Day 2 prompts: Expresso and the color Burnt Umber. Now I’m not a big fan of burnt umber unless I’m mixing it with another color. To me, it can be a dull brown color. Naturally, I sketched a cup of coffee and tried to manipulate the burnt umber color for the expresso. My heart was not into this sketch. To brighten up my painting, I added a layer of yellow in the background.

Day 3 prompts: Ripple and the color Cobalt Teal Blue. This prompt combination made me think of the Caribbean waters. I thought a beach scene would be a fun sketch. Before I started to paint, I applied some washi tape to create this border or edge around my painting. Once my painting was finished and the layers were completely dry, I removed the tape. The tape pulled away nicely without tearing my paper.

I was quite happy to start the month with a few finished pieces in my journal. Then I hit a glitch. I took a peek at the future color prompts and let’s just say I did not have an extensive Daniel Smith inventory of colors. So, I went with my flow and continued on with just a single daily prompt from WWM.

Day 4 prompt: Fade. Since it was the 4th of July, it made a lot of sense to paint a few fireworks. Here’s what I came up with:

I had fun painting the fireworks. I finally had the chance to use my new rigger brush. I could not believe how much control I had and how the lines of paint stayed where I placed them. Now I know why artists keep a rigger brush in their toolkit.

Day 5 prompt: Lock. I thought I would grab my round dial lock I used at my local gym, but that would have been too easy to sketch. I decided to create something fun.

Day 6 prompts: Hat and the color Deep Scarlet. I automatically thought about the Red Hat Society red hats that ladies wear when they get together for their social events. I sketched a basic hat and added a flower.

Day 9 prompt: Home. I decided to create something whimsical and came up with this house boot.

This piece took me awhile to finish. I was having an “off” day and the colors I chose were not too exciting. I also decided to skip the previous two daily prompts because I wasn’t in the mood. That was a sign that I was losing interest.

What Happened?

My watercolor journey was short-lived. It started out as a fun adventure and then slowly turned into a frustrating journey. There were several things that came into play here. Let me explain.

Painting with watercolors takes a lot of practice. Did I mix too much water or not enough water? Was my brush too wet or too dry? Did I let each layer of color dry before applying the next one? I am at the point in my life where I am not able to sit for extended periods of time. I’ll admit I want instant gratification and also complete my artwork in a timely manner. I’m sure sometime in the future I’ll come around and revisit the joy of watercolors.

I’ve been using my fountain pens and fountain pen inks for the last six years and I’ve enjoyed using this medium to create my artwork. I’ve developed my pen & ink wash techniques so that my artwork looks similar to a watercolor painting.

For six years, I’ve also used a Pentel water brush to create my pen & ink wash artwork. It’s a brush tool that is quick and easy to use, extremely portable, and holds quite a bit of water. When I need to clean the brush between colors, I just take the brush tip and run it over a towel until the tip looks clean.

After working through the daily watercolor prompts, I ended up going back to using my Pentel water brushes.

Layers of colors & drying time in between. I noticed when I was painting with my watercolors, I had to wait for the paper to dry completely before I could work on the next layers of colors. Some daily prompts would take me two days to complete. When I work with my pen & ink wash, I can complete a sketch within an hour or two. I still work in layers of colors, but I noticed the ink dries faster. Even when my sketch is still damp, the previous ink does not move or create “blooms” on my paper.

Tips and Tricks:

Water brushes. I use one set (fine, medium, and large) for my pen & ink wash medium and I use a different set for my watercolor paints. I use a sharpie and write “ink” or “wc” on my water brushes. This prevents cross-contamination between the two mediums.

Daily prompts-schedule. I’ve learned to pace myself with the daily prompts. I sketch at my own pace. My own time. It makes my sketching adventures more enjoyable.

Daily prompts-the challenge. Some daily prompts are fun. Some are challenging. Some can be frustrating. When I come across a prompt I don’t like, I will skip it. Sometimes, I will find another prompt that I like and sketch it. I will keep two or three lists of prompts on my desk. I will also keep a short list of three prompts in my sketchbook. Find something you like and sketch it. This definitely helps me become motivated to draw/sketch on a daily basis.

Note: I’m still continuing with the WWM prompts, but using my pen & ink wash instead of watercolors. I’m working on a future blog post to include my new sketches.