Selective memory.

Pencil and Watercolor on Laloran sketchbook 5.5" x 5.5"

A cute corner was on my view while we had lunch. The patio of the restaurant was next to a high traffic road, but just looking at this serene corner, the mind focused on it and the noise of traffic disappeared. Selective memory, I choose to remember this image. 

Watercolor Palettes 2019

I got this Cotman watercolor palette years ago for studio work because of the big size. It came with whole pans of Cotman watercolor paint, which is nice but the student quality doesn't compare with the professional paint. Now that I have collected higher quality paint over time, it is time to set this palette. I was getting tired of using my travel size palettes with limited mixing area in my studio, so I was looking forward to fill and organize a bigger palette with paint I am familiar with. The paints I included are from Winsor & Newton (WN) and Daniel Smith (DS).

This is the first tin palette I ever bought. It was a Maimeri set. It is time to retire it.

I replaced the old one for this cutie, a bijou. Super small, quite convenient to carry on everyday. Perfect for small sketchbooks. This fits in the palm of my open hand!

               

Now I have to do a lot of work to empty them, ha!
Correction: It's not Payroll but Pyrrol Scarlet. That autocorrection....

Evidence of breakfast

Pencil and gouache on watercolor sketchbook Laloran 5.5” x 5.5”

We ate eggs for breakfast today. The beautiful color of the brown egg shells looked so pretty on the green cutting board, I couldn’t wait to sketch it, it was such beautiful contrast. My first choice would be to use watercolor but I cleaned and refilled all my watercolor palettes yesterday, actually I discarded one with a lot of rust, it was damaged beyond cleaning. The new paint was still wet, I decided to use gouache today for this sketch. I used a 1/2 in flat brush entirely, I was aiming for bold brush strokes look.

Lockport St. in Plainfield

Pen & Ink and watercolor on Laloran Sketchbook 5.5" x 5.5"

After lunch, a beautiful shade tree eased my time in a hot but comfortable day. I keep this small sketchbook in my everyday purse but it wasn't easy to do this sketch today. Although I sat on a bench, I raised both my arms to figure out the scale and proportions of this scene and with both hands in the air the ink lines came out crooked, but that's all right, I like it. I think I'm out of practice on location. Ha! Listening to the music coming out of the speakers in the lamp posts echoing along Lockport St in historic downtown Plainfield was also nice. I'm enjoying the sun, the shade, the music and my handy portable sketching tools in late summer.

Safety first.

Pen&Ink and watercolor on 5.5” x 5.5” Laloran sketchbook 

Even the tinniest public room must cover all the safety regulations. For what I see, the size of the room doesn’t matter. As I was waiting in a very small room without windows, with just a couple of chairs, two doors and a window to another room, I looked to what was around. The fire extinguisher, a fire alarm, a hand sanitizer dispenser, emergency lights, an exit sign, a wall mounted coat rack and a calendar. There was also a fire sprinkler head which I didn’t include. Safety first, no doubt this tiny room covers it all.

Pure brain laziness.

Pencil and Watercolor on Arches CP 10" x 11"

The paint above was made with a leaf from a neighbor's tree. I used the leaf to trace the shape all over the paper, then I watercolor it using the negative painting technique. The same was used in the painting below. Have you ever felt your brain is drained or exhausted to use? That your hand is demanding some action yet your brain is on strike? These pieces were made without any strategy, it was like doodling really. Should I blame it to the heat of July? Ha! The one above  came out as a wall paper from the 70's,  and for the one below, I draw what I thought would look like flowers but ended up looking like pink popcorn, that's why I added the yellow/orange center.... I'm not sure it made any difference. What a pair. An advice to myself: plan properly. Anyway, I had fun and it was entertaining doing it. 

Pencil and Watercolor on Arches CP 10" x 11"