Strides: January 17, 2025
An update on an in-progress watercolor sketch
An update on my latest works-in-progress when notable Strides have been made.
I want to preface this post by saying that I tend to bounce around in terms of art projects, spacing out the time in which I come back to them to finish. This one, however, winded up having a more linear path with a defined start-and-end.
Last week, I started a sketch with my Sakura Pigma Micron pens that I ultimately wanted to finish with watercolors.
This also gave me an opportunity to use some watercolors I spent a pretty penny on way back when, but have barely touched since buying them. At one point, I was big into all things Culture Hustle (by Stuart Semple). I’ve cooled off since then, but this set was a part of my buying spree back in the day.
The end result turned out better than I imagined it would, given the number of pitfalls I fell into along the way (namely, using too much water).
I’m far too used to time being of the essence, as acrylics are typically what I work with in terms of paint. There is still much to be learned in terms of technique — which I plan to do, namely because in the end, I felt so challenged by the task that I want to continue improving.
As I had done while sketching the trees and branches, I spent a lot of time observing the flow and movement of the water and paint with every brushstroke. I also think I need to do some digging in terms of brushes. I could tell that the ones I chose (based on my use of acrylics alone) may not have been best for what I was trying to accomplish with watercolors.
I’m trying not to be too hard on myself for how this turned out or let it dissuade me. For now, though, at least I have this colorful sunrise to look at.