Captivated by watercolor studies in a whole new way

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Captivated by watercolor studies in a whole new way

This is a spread of thumbnail studies in my art journal that I made from photos during my recent trip to Loreto. They really surprised me!

I’m not a landscape artist. I love vistas and views, but when I’m out in the world my eye tends to zoom in to the particulars. Like when I entered the Posado Las Flores on this same trip last week. It was immediate. I had to draw the entryway. I had no real desire to draw the town plaza or the foreign desert landscape all around me.

I do take pictures, though. And I enjoy painting abstracts.

So one afternoon

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Soft landing — 52 Cards Project #17

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Soft landing — 52 Cards Project #17

This week for my 52 Cards Project I knew my theme immediately. Having come home from a trip to Mexico Sunday, I was surprised to find that I experienced an uncommonly soft landing as I eased back to home life. This is not normally true when I go away as I’ve mentioned before, and from what I understand most people also have difficulty transitioning home from vacation.

So from that standpoint, it was an unusual week and the theme idea was easy.

But then, I struggled with

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First 16 weeks of my 52 Cards Project

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First 16 weeks of my 52 Cards Project

Four months and 16 cards into the year for my 52 Cards Project. Whoop whoop!

So far, I'm pleased with this little passion project. Surprisingly, it's taken 0 self discipline to complete it every week—unlike art challenges where I always seem to lose steam midway through and really have to push myself to complete.

I often wonder about that aspect of art challenges. On the one hand, art challenges are SO useful. I’ve

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Posada De Las Flores — Urban Sketch

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Posada De Las Flores — Urban Sketch

I did it! I actually took one hour of my vacation in Loreto, sat myself down and in my art journal drew the lobby of this lovely hotel where we stayed that night. Then, still on vacation, I took another block of time a few days later, sat myself down and finished it with watercolor and linework. As I said last week, I have such a hard time carving out time for art while traveling so this is a huge accomplishment.

And the drawing isn’t half bad either. Ha ha.

All kidding aside, as soon as I stepped into the lobby of the Posada de Las Flores — Inn of Flowers — I knew I had to draw it! All those angles! That circular staircase to floors two and three! The water fountain! the colors! It was a great drawing challenge. I certainly didn’t get it all right — at all — but I’m pleased. My urban sketching is making progress, I think.

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In and Out of Time - 52 Cards Project #16

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In and Out of Time - 52 Cards Project #16

It’s week 16 of my 52 Week Cards Project and this is the first time so far that I really struggled to find a theme—AND it’s the first week that I didn’t meet my self-imposed deadline (Mondays). Oh well—I gave myself a break and wha la, it’s Tuesday and I’m done.

I found it curious that I just couldn’t find my theme. Normally at week’s end, when I think about my experiences and emotions that week, the theme quickly comes to me—in words. Then I find the visual composition to express those words, generally by brainstorming in my sketchbook with quick thumbnails until I hit on something I like.

This week, though, the words just didn’t come—and instead I found my way entirely with image.

First—briefly—my week:

I spent it with

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On the road again

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On the road again

It seems the world is opening up a bit and I am traveling a little more than I have over the last two years. I have so far avoided covid and I hope to remain virus free, but I am vaccinated so I have a pretty good chance I won’t die if I do get it. Others with compromised immunity don’t have my luxury, which is another very good reason to avoid getting covid myself so I don’t inadvertently spread it to others. Therefore I have decided for myself—regardless of public mandates—to wear a good KN95 mask indoors to avoid long exposure anyone who doesn’t care if they get—or spread—covid.

In the meantime, I have to make the very difficult decision about what art supplies to bring with me. I think this is the bare minimum. Except that small daily bag will definitely get switched out for a much larger one.

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Art making teaches us how to leap into the unknown

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Art making teaches us how to leap into the unknown

There was a time when first starting out on my art journey that I “had no ideas.” I didn’t know what to create next. These days, I have the opposite problem. Too many ideas crowd by head space. But you know what? Both lead to the same problem. Whether I approach the blank page with “no ideas” or “too many ideas”, I don’t know what to create next.

Intellectually I understand that it all comes from the same place—fear.

Fear of the blank page. What will I fill it with? What choices will I make? Will they be the “right” ones?

Bah! I have to catch myself in my own game. I find myself forgetting what I know to be true: “too many ideas” is a tricky cover for the same fear of not being good enough to pull off any any idea.

And the longer I’m paralyzed by fear of choosing, the longer

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