As previously noted, one of my "extracurricular" activities during River Restoration Week was poking around the farm's woodland trash heap. Like many well-established (=old) farms, Rivermede had a spot in the woods at the edge of the property where generations of family members had thrown, tossed, heaped their discards. Of course, the decomposables decompose, and the metal rusts and the glass and ceramics break. Especially when excavators and skidders drive over them.
I had a good time walking through the woods and looking down, and scavenging interesting bits of glass and ceramic, and imagining their past lives. Then I washed the bits up, and drew an array of them, and I've been painting them with watercolors.
I'm relatively new to watercolors, but I can see why people like them. I can also see that the paper choice is important, because I should have used a hot press (I think that's the smooth one) paper instead of what I had on hand, which was an old spiral-bound watercolor sketchbook with rough textured paper. The slick texture of the glass isn't coming through. But practice is always good, and learning through practice is even better.
Another lesson learned: Remember to leave whites unpainted! I think there will be masking fluid in my future.
Back to work!
I had a good time walking through the woods and looking down, and scavenging interesting bits of glass and ceramic, and imagining their past lives. Then I washed the bits up, and drew an array of them, and I've been painting them with watercolors.
I'm relatively new to watercolors, but I can see why people like them. I can also see that the paper choice is important, because I should have used a hot press (I think that's the smooth one) paper instead of what I had on hand, which was an old spiral-bound watercolor sketchbook with rough textured paper. The slick texture of the glass isn't coming through. But practice is always good, and learning through practice is even better.
Another lesson learned: Remember to leave whites unpainted! I think there will be masking fluid in my future.
Back to work!
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