Work in progress

My week in the playground

As my several years of diary-posting winds down, I am transforming this space into a personal playground/studio for learning new things. The pace will be slower; just once post per week (unless I am seized with inspiration that can’t be put off.) This is Art Week.

I am ridiculously pleased with myself today, because I have finally overcome my impulse to rush through art projects. A pen and ink drawing on a 3x5 index card in half an hour? Sign me up. A week spent on a large painting? No, thank you. This makes no sense, because I knit. Not only have I produced large shawls that take months to finish, but I have spent hours (days!) unraveling projects that weren’t going well.

So this week, I took my time. I sketched, I experimented, I PLAYED until I felt done.

The plan. The beginning. Pen play. Pencil play. Pencil sketch. What color? Purple pen drawing. Watercolor pencil wash. Finally, colored pencil and a soft pencil shadow.

The final picture is satisfying, but nowhere near as satisfying as the time I spent creating it. Lesson learned.