I think this post should have the subtitle of: Learning to leisurely stroll before you can run!
The thoughts, as usual, for this months
Being Creative topic have been whirring away at speed for more than a month... I think the process of this creation is just as important as the final result..so please bear with me!!
Following a comment I made on someone's lovely ocean creation last month I began thinking about the composition of most of my projects... I like to make things colourful, bright, cheerful and warm....things that I suppose other people would like to look at...the fish I make are
orange, the sea, blue....and I do know from holiday photos on people's
blogs it can be beautifully blue...but its not always!
So I decided I should be a bit more realistic in my choice of subject matter for summer.....
I still thought of flowers...poppies.... but where they grow....on waste ground or by the roadside....
after a motorway journey last week observing the roadside flora (and what an amazing array there is..such a positive and pretty colour pallette bordering the ribbon of tarmac)..I picked
Rosebay Willowherb...(for the picture - in my head - not on the hard shoulder)
In the true spirit of Being Creative I decided to try something new and out of my comfort zone...
I enthusiastically ripped the plastic off a new set of watercolour pencils and opened the watercolour sketchbook with trepidation! (Yes, it was a mixture of emotions!!)
I began with a few sketch ideas to get a feel of the media, and the dived in headfirst!!
That's the point where I especially should have strolled....
As a first attempt I'm quite pleased..it certainly ticks the 'I've tried something different' box
and it has reminded me of some other factors: I like to race with the wind in my hair before I have even taken a few wobbly steps; I'd love the finished article on paper to look identical to the beautiful image in my head; I am so enthusiastic to keep the momentum going I power onto the next stage before the last one dries; I am aware of the benefits of relaxation and going with the flow; I am still trying to disguise all my 'could try harder's into positives!
It looks a bit more peaceful country garden than gritty roadside ...but again...thats what makes me appreciate even more the talents of people who can make a picture look like how they had imagined it to be, or what the viewer would like to see!
I have enjoyed this whole process once again, Thank you to Julia for the inspirational topics and to all the wonderful comments that flutter across the ether and land here. Its so great to be able to share everyone's creations.
I will leave you with one of my rough sketches which, because I was still fairly relaxed, turned out more like what I had in my head than the real thing!
