Structure

"And all the colors mix together, to gray." said Dave Mathews. 

And I really miss the colors. 

This scheme and black and white has become too serious for me because it's almost spring and time to greet color. Yet, it really does help me appreciate the hues past the gray. 

The thing is, I used to work solely in charcoal and pencil and now prefer watercolor and acrylic. Pencil drawings take me back to high school and even middle school. In eighth grade, I found a way to work an Ebony pencil that would help me define the values of black in a gentle gradation from the finest tint to the deepest shade. 

It was never just a sketch for me. Rather, it was a fully formed and rich piece of personal expression on paper. I used a picture as a model to draw a sharpei dog onto paper with only Ebony pencil. I never really liked the blending stubs and would sharpen that pencil often in order to get it to work evenly on the surface of the paper. I took so much care to get every fold from the dog's skin just right. There were so many folds and it was an amazing experience that set me up for further work with colored pencil and even portraiture a few years later. The sharpei took first place in our middle school art show.

My sketchbook always looked like perfection. What a kid I was. I wanted to show what I could do in order to do well in the class and also get a good grade. I knew I wanted to pursue more art and prepared each piece as if it would be a show piece for the Festival of the Arts in the high school. The ultimate goal was a spot in the permanent collection. I went on to get two of them. 

I am not seeking perfection with the pieces I create this year. I am doing my best to have fun. But the same perfectionistic qualities creep up now and then and it's awful. It squashes inspiration and I choose to be more spontaneous these days. Nobody is perfect.

"I've lost that lovin' feelin'." Man. I just want to have fun and paint. And draw. I am not working for a prize other than to give myself some joy and share my gifts.

To that end, Structure appeared tonight. It's perfectly imperfect for today. There is some good balance and some remnants of fiber-looking hatches in black paint.

And I've almost sunk on the Bead Challenge, but there are some new days ahead. It will be a good time to start again in the morning. 

Materials:

Artist's Loft 90Lb Watercolor Paper

Faber Castell Watercolor Cakes