Sunday, January 7, 2024

Creativity interruptus and overcoming

 

Well, a day late and a dollar short, as they say!!! 

Seems like cooking, chores and life were loud this week, demanding all my attention. It took a force of will to return to art. 

The above is a close up of a painting exercise I did this week. I discovered a video of watercolor techniques and sent it as a group exercise to some of my online painting friends. It is good to learn, and after learning to process what you've learned, what you liked/enjoyed and what didn't work. 

We are in process of comparing our experiences with each other and it has fed my colorful spirit!!! 

I will divide my post between painting and quilt making this week, starting with watching paint dry.

The video is HERE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6ORJqjR27E)  

the photo above is the finished experiment. This is how it looked before I went back with ink to define some areas, bringing some order to the chaos

We were to choose three colors, experiencing many many techniques, mainly blending one color to the next in many ways, and seeing how our brushes, colors and paper as well as control of the tools work. 

* I got the  mud when I mixed red and blue. That's why there are so many paint manufacturers... they all include different pigments and carriers and they all mix differently. I remember some videos where the person compares Daniel smith colors over Schmincke over others... they all mix and granulate differently. Shades too. 

 My Kuretake blue was a mix in the pan already, some green seemed to be in it, so when it mixed with the chosen red which may have had a bit of yellow mixed in IT, then I got a muddy gray purple I hated, but I see uses for in a background or shadow...  

*for my quilting friends, this goes when mixing fabrics too... a bit of yellow in the green, an orangish red VS blue red... just like in lipsticks.

* while the paper was still wet I "drew" circles with the hard handle to make texture. I added in dashes of black ink, and white lines the next day


 * my brush when the tip was pushed into the paper created the little "tree tops" and I'll try that again. I like dropping new wet drops of the same color into dried areas, he didn't because it made a line, but I think that might be useful texture sometime.

* overall, I learned a lot despite having a lot of experience already. I LOVED the group response and how different everyone's work is. I like talking over what I will use again or not. 

* when evaluating your own work..... I know each of us has an inner critic, but it's really helpful to tell her to sit in the backseat while we look at it objectively. 

She's always there but doesn't need to " drive" our mental car.

This goes for art quilting too... for my fiber-loving friends!!! Now to the quilt making portion of this post: 

 I made another (slightly flimsy) box this week from last year's calendar page:
it's holding the supplies and papers for this year's EPP blocks done in rainbow scrap challenge colors


I saw this online and paperpieces has the shapes but paying nearly more for shipping than the papers so... I drafted my own pieces and cut them out of cardstock. It would be much easier to order them...

This site published the block: https://thecraftycreek.com/2023/07/16/owl-and-hare-hollow-hqal-2/.

on the left is the image I used to make this year's block
but I just saw the google image, and thought I've never used that shape in all my EPP work!!!

I started covering my "coffin" shapes with green scraps for January's dark green focus color

I needed hand work for nights in front of the TV. I think I might put the black with lime spots on all my hexies for this block. I also suspect I'll applique this finished shape to a background eventually.

Project Quilting starts today( link HERE )... one week to design and make a finished quilt 

Stay at home round robin starts next week... I have done my center and will follow Wendy (https://www.piecefulthoughts.com/) when she tells us the first round to add

Linking with:

design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts

https://songbirddesigns.blog/monday-musings-6-26-23/ 

finished or not

https://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/ 

 

10 comments:

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

I love your painting, and this mix of colors, so pretty! Love the box too ;) and the EPP projects. I'm looking forward to seeing what you will do for Project Quilting and SAHRR :)
Thank you for sharing your art, and linking up!

Deb said...

The EPP quilt block is very interesting, I look forward to seeing more of these blocks.

Erin the Cat Princess said...

The art turned out well, we think.
Cutting out your own pieces will be quite rewarding in the long run, though always these mundane tasks seem a waste of time when others sell them.
ERin

Kathleen said...

The painting you do is so lovely and fun to hear about the class experience. I am loving the new EPP you found, so many different shapes out there. Right now I need to focus on what is in front of me - SAHRR and the Feb Blog hop, but maybe I will pull out my old La Passacagalia soon. I really liked do it.

Sandy said...

LOVE the painting, the colors jump right off the page and make me smile. This time of year with all the gray blah that abounds we need color. In my opinion you can't have too much of color. And you've started another fun fabric project. Go LeAnn Go!
Sandy's Space

Jennifer Fulton Inquiring Quilter said...

That Coffin Wheel block is beautiful! If you quilted the edges down as you appliqued the block to the background you could finish this as a Quilt as You Go. Wouldn't these blocks in RSC colors make a lovely quilt? Anyway, can't wait to see what you do with them as you are so creative. Thanks for sharing on my weekly show and tell, Wednesday Wait Loss.
https://www.inquiringquilter.com/questions/2024/01/10/wednesday-wait-loss-362

DVArtist said...

Yes, life does get in the way of arting. In your 5 painting a see a fast flying dragon head. I think you did a great job on all of these. Water color is a hard medium. Thank you for joining FFO and have a lovely day.

Christine said...

Nice work

Gwyned Trefethen said...

You are such an inspiration with your fearless approach to art. I want to do every playful exercise and class you challenge yourself. What a fabulous watercolor playdate. You did it justice.

Love your EPP shape choice for green. It does make up to stunning leaf petals.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Interruptus is a great word!!!!
Your watercolor is very pretty!