New Dimensions

  Yesterday was Sunday and we were relaxing at home. I decided to do a quick sketch and paint it with watercolour paint. I didn't want to create a masterpiece or do something complex. I chose a picture on Pinterest because it looked easy to practise with. I also didn't want to use expensive paper either. The picture above is the result of my efforts. I first did the sketch in pencil and then added the blue and grey watercolour paint. Since it was just a little exercise I grabbed my Faber-Castell paints and added the colours. As I said, the aim was to practise and not to create a wonderful painting. I still get satisfaction from doing things like that. I have just watched a YouTube video on Atomic Habits by James Clear. Near the end he said that if you want to become a writer, you must not just write a book. That does not make you a writer. If you want to become a writer, you must write! Therefore, if you want to become a painter/artist, you must paint. You need to do that often...

  Daniel Smith Watercolor Paints always intrigued me. When I started my watercolor painting journey I had never heard that name. That was because I just jumped in and bought the wrong paints that caught my eye. Where I live we only have PNA stationery and art supply shops. I visited one and looked for the most impressive looking box of paints and purchased acrylic paints instead of watercolor paints. When I looked on YouTube for something to get started I then realised that I should be trying watercolors to paint something I saw there. The people presenting their tutorials were forever mentioning the best brands and Daniel Smith was usually mentioned. When I visited the PNA again, they did not have that brand in stock - only oil paints. Since I heard them usually talking about Daniel Smith watercolors, I decided to search for it online. There I discovered that Artsavingsclub stocked what I was looking for. Unfortunately, by then I had invested in Mont Marte watercolors. That was no...

  One day I watched a video where a gifted artist sketched a building and used alcohol markers to colour the sketch in. There was no messing around with water and paints and the paper did not buckle because no water was used. I thought that it would be wonderful if I could do the same. I proceeded to buy some alcohol markers to experiment with. That was where I learned that it was much harder than I thought. For one thing I found it difficult to avoid making marks when I coloured in with my new markers without creating lines when I moved them back and forth on the paper. It looked aweful. Then I also saw that my marker ink was far too bright on the paper. Another thing that I disliked was that ther ink bled right through the paper to the other side. All my efforts looked far worse than my watercolour paintings. I hated them. To find the right markers and paper became an obsession but no matter what I bought I could not get satisfaction. I was about to give up when I recently decide...

  There are times when you want to doodle but you want it to look like something. Seated on a Lazy Boy chair is not the best way to draw and create art. However, I could not wait to do it properly and I was just feeling like practicing with my many markers which I found rather difficult to master. The best way to create is to just create no matter what the result looks like. After all, we all need some practice. So, I just drew something very basic to colour in. It is an opportunity to get away from the large computer where I design websites or create eBooks. Painting or art with markers is my way of escaping from my usual work on a computer. It is my free time. So, the little house I made with alcohol markers my fit in a children's book since it looks so basic and plein but when I practice it doesn't matter to me what it looks like as long as I have some small creative time. Thanks for reading.