Paper and Threads

I had a few minutes this morning and decided I should do this sketch before Karen posts the next EDM challenge.  We renovated the 1920s bathroom off the master bedroom in our apartment and had to decide how to handle the area above the sink if we moved it below the window in a wood and marble built-in.  I was able to find lovely translucent glass that allows the sun and light in but gives us some privacy from the avenue below.  The bathroom is wood, marble, and mirrors but I have no idea how to depict marble in a watercolor wash!  I also haven't mastered shiny brass, so the lights and fixtures are not reflective.  Ah, so much more to learn!

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This was my month to try to replicate yellows, using cadmium yellow and winsor lemon as my two primary tube paints.  My yellow daffodils and yellow NY Checker cab paintings were already posted as EDM challenges 61 and 60 respectively and can be found in the archives.  I have now completed 3 primary colors and one secondary color.  I liked mixing shades of green and next month I will look for purples!

 

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This week we are staying at our daughter's apartment with our 2 year old and 1 year old grandchildren while they are out of town.  Even though we could have gone on a nature walk in Riverside Park, we somehow only managed to walk around several blocks in the neighborhood before naptime.  We did find lots of stuff: a dried seed pod, green flower petals on a branch that fell from a tree, several peanuts that were left for the squirrels under a bench. a small pebble that my grandson loved, a dried piece of tree branch left over from autumn, two pigeon feathers, and the ubiquitous yellow caution tape that is around every sidewalk project in New York City.  We had so much fun on our outing that I wanted this to be my EDM Challenge #63.

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When EDM Challenge #59 (Draw the first signs of spring) was announced, the tulip plants in front of my apartment were only about 4-6 inches tall and very uninteresting.  I sketched and painted one and then followed that plant through the growth cycle.  Yesterday it bloomed and the pink color is breathtaking.   Here is my romance with one specific tulip plant.  It's not the one that bloomed first and was captured in yesterday's entry.

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Yesterday we had a planter full of green tulip buds with only one flower open - a beautiful pink one.  This morning this is the view from my window.  It is glorious to finally have spring arrive - it is just erupting everywhere you look.  It's always a surprise to see the "color of the year."  The tulip bulbs are planted by an organization (unknown to me) and each year the little plants just appear.  It has taken more than a month from first sighting to blooming.  I sketched and painted the full planter from my window, but took a milk crate, my pen, and my palette of watercolor paints to the sidewalk to draw the individual plant.  Many families and single pedestrians on cell phones walked by during the time I was there and there was not a single comment.  New Yorkers don't find anything strange!  The tree in the planter still has no buds, but we have flowering trees at window level in all directions. 

Posted by Shirley at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

                  

I joined the EDM group in September and slowly worked through earlier challenges using Pigma micron pens.  In December, I pledged to myself to do a daily ink/watercolor wash drawing every day during 2006.  For challenge #62 I decided to repeat my sketch of mugs - and to add a watercolor wash because I'm not ready yet to move beyond these pens and my limited watercolor palette.  The perspective is still wonky and I continue to wonder "Why are circles and ovals so hard for me to draw?"

Posted by Shirley at 9:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

 

My springtime allergies are bothering me, so I sketched my steroid nasal spray medication yesterday.  Then I remembered that I sketched it almost 3 years ago when I was drawing only occasionally.   It was fun to compare the two journal pages and realize that I now add a watercolor wash to every sketch - adding color has become a really important part of every journal entry.

Posted by Shirley at 7:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

                                                

Yesterday was a beautiful day in New York City and everyone was outside enjoying the early spring weather.  Central Park was full- many ball games, bike riders, walkers, runners, sun bathers and just plain folks sitting on the benches.  There were several beds of daffodils at the park entrance on E 86th Street and I stopped to sketch a few while I was walking with my granddaughter in her stroller.  I was delighted to see the EDM challenge for this week because I already had my grouping of 4 different daffodils and just needed to finish painting them today.  Within the next 2 weeks there will be many beds of tulips in bloom as spring definitely arrives in the Northeast.  I'm watching and periodically sketching one specific tulip plant that is growing in a flower bed in front of my building.  I can't wait to see what color it is!  This daffodil painting was going to be one of my series of Color projects since I'm exploring YELLOW this month.  Now there will be one less to add at the end of the month.

Posted by Shirley at 2:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)