Painting 21 - Er, Sort Of. And Some Inspiration

A treat to myself arrived today. Of course it arrived right as I had to leave for work, so no time to do anything but open the box and admire my goodies. But knowing it was there, waiting for me when I got home gave me a buzz to get me through the work day (but sadly didn't make the clock go any faster).

When I started on the 100 Painting Challenge back in May, I did not intend to complete the whole thing in watercolor. I looked at the Challenge as a way to kick-start my painting again, not necessarily to master a particular medium. I started out with watercolor because it was easier to use in my little studio space. Acrylics and canvases take up so much room. Plus if watercolors dry out, you can wet them again. Acrylics are much harder to save from day to day. (One time I did manage to keep them moist for a while but they eventually grew mold) But here I am having completed 20 paintings and I am finding that watercolor is really growing on me. I find myself curious about watercolor and its potential. I even bought a watercolor instruction book this weekend. I am pleasantly surprised by this turn of events. And what was my gift to myself that arrived today? A new set of watercolors, paper, and watercolor brushes! And not the student grade watercolors I've been using to "save money". I've got Big Girl watercolors now.

So Painting 21 is actually me testing out the new paints. I don't know if this counts as a painting really, but...

Ooo, look at me getting all fancy with the color testing.

The palette I chose to purchase consists of a warm and a cool version of the 3 primary colors taken from an exercise in Nita Leland's book "Exploring Color". As you can see in the photo, I tried mixing them into a color wheel and then checked their transparency (Cadmium Red Light is definitely NOT transparent!). It's a shame the photo washed out a little, but I love the richness of the colors already! I can't wait to use these new paints in a formal painting.

I also wanted to share a post from Christine Kane's motivational blog. I've bookmarked her blog for myself and I check on every few days. I originally found it through a link on Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo's blog, and today I noticed a post about inspiration and how to do things even when you don't feel like it. You'll have to weed through her workshop self-promotions, but I thought the essence of the post worth sharing.

As for the big box that my art supplies came in, once I unpacked it, it was put to good use...

Mmm, it still has that new box smell!