©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, New Zealand Hills. Watercolor, 6 x 9 inches.
After taking a break from the Virtual Paintout for five months, I decided to give it another go. This month, the location is New Zealand, which is a great place for finding beautiful landscape scenery. I’m really happy with how this painting turned out because it seemed so easy for me to paint, which is rarely the case. I almost completely forgot about the time and just had fun painting.
©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, 6-5-2011 Sketchbook Page (At the Edge of the Woods). Pen and marker in large handbook sketchbook.
This past weekend I went outside and attempted nature sketching again. I am trying not to expose myself to a lot of chemicals, which makes repelling mosquitoes kind of difficult. I read somewhere that mosquitoes do not like the smell of vanilla, so I tried using some vanilla perfume that I have from the Body Shop. It seemed to work well because I did not get any bites while I was out (about 45 minutes). It also was not a windy day, so I know it wasn’t the wind that was keeping them away. I also read that mosquitoes are repelled by Listerine sprayed on the ground in a little spray bottle, so I will try this if the vanilla thing starts to fail me.
This past Saturday I took a three hour workshop, Learn to Use the Potter’s Wheel, at the Worcester Center for Crafts. It was something that was on my mental “bucket list” and I’m glad that I took the opportunity. I have always loved watching videos of pottery being made, and thought it would be a lot of fun to get my hands dirty. I have also heard that it is much harder than it looks, and this is true, but I’m glad that I had that expectation from the onset. I’m also glad that I took this one day workshop instead of a six week course because I knew it wasn’t something I seriously wanted to take up, but I still wanted to give it a try.
The instructor was Rose Esson-Dawson, who is a really nice and knowledgeable teacher. When taking a class like this it is very important to have an instructor who is patient and alright with being repetitive, because otherwise the whole experience could be easily ruined.
Some things I learned from this class:
1. I’m not built to be a potter. Apparently, it is advisable to be a tall person to be able to sit at the wheel comfortably. The next day after my class I was very sore, probably because of incorrect posture. I believe that if I took this up as a long-term interest and didn’t correct the ergonomic issue, I would most likely develop some kind of major repetitive strain injury.
2. I seem to be allergic to the clay. When I was working, I noticed that my hands started burning and when I washed the clay off, I noticed that I broke out into a red rash wherever the clay touched me.
Although it was difficult to get the clay to behave as I wanted, I do think that with enough practice I could eventually learn it. Using the wheel is very repetitive by nature, and in time I know that “muscle memory” would kick in and I would not be so frustrated. I actually didn’t even care if I came home with anything tangible from the class, but the instructor helped me out and I got to make two small bowl/ashtray looking dishes. I’ll be sure to draw a nice picture of them when I get them back from being fired.
Conclusion: I think long and hard before picking up a new medium, because of the cost and the learning curve involved. For now, I’ve decided to stick with watercolors, because it is low tech and relatively inexpensive, and I’m just getting skilled enough to be able to enjoy it. But taking a short-term class or workshop (especially one that provides the materials) is advisable because it gives you the chance to sample it without jumping in headlong.
©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, Mexico City. Ink and watercolor, apx 3.5 x 8.5 inches.
While looking through my paper collection yesterday, I found a pad of watercolor paper that had an old drawing in it, from over a year ago. I had made an ink drawing of a Mexico City street, originally intended for the Virtual Paintout, but I had abandoned the whole piece because the drawing had many errors in perspective. I never ended up starting over and submitting anything that month, so it kind of felt like a failure to me. When I looked it over yesterday though, I still liked one part of the drawing, so I decided to do something with it. I painted it in watercolor and then cropped out the part that I liked. Now I have this colorful mini painting sitting next to my drafting table.
About halfway through May I quit my drawing project, because I got bored with it and wanted to do my own thing. I realize now that I don’t like being “told” what to draw. Instead, I started a new watercolor floral painting. I’m still working on it, but I might not post it because I’m not sure if I like the progress thus far. The plus side is that I spent quite a bit of time making a preliminary line drawing and working out the composition, SO if it comes out horrible I will still be able to start over again on a fresh piece of watercolor paper.
Here are some other random pages from my sketchbooks (with my remarks) to show you in the meantime. Yesterday, I also posted this sketch of a rhododendron blossom on Sketching in Nature.
I sketched this dried up tulip (below) and chatted with my husband as he changed the oil and the brake pads on my car.
©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, 5-13-11 sketchbook (Tulip Remnants). Pitt pen in large handbook sketchbook.
This morning I tried to go outside to do some sketching, but the mosquitoes were too much so I had to come inside early. I don’t think I can go out again until I pick up some bug spray.
©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, Assorted Leaves (sketching attempt). Various pitt pens in large handbook sketchbook.
On my way inside I picked up this flower sprig and sketched it indoors. It came from a large tree covered in these purple blossoms. I have no idea what it is called though.
©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, 5-31-11 sketchbook (Unknown Purple Flower). Graphite and watersoluble colored pencil in large handbook sketchbook.
Later on, I sketched these random objects while waiting for the mailman to come and deliver a package.
©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, Some Things I Have. Pitt pens in 8.5 x 11 inch sketchbook.
©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, Bowls (stacked). Watercolor in 5.5 x 8 inch sketchbook.
I feel really good to be making progress after such a long time doing nothing. I’ve still been working on Every Day in May, having only skipped two days because the topics weren’t something I had access to (and I didn’t feel like drawing from a photo).
One benefit of this project is that I’ve been able to quickly fill up the remaining pages of my Pen and Ink | watercolor brand sketchbook. The paper of this book didn’t really suit me, as it disintegrated with washes and buckled a lot.
The top painting was done in the old sketchbook and the bottom one was done in my new watercolor moleskine. Even though I know there are people who complain about the watercolor moleskine paper, I am a lot happier with it. The paper surface is much better to work on, and there is less buckling (as you can see from the scan).
©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, Green Bell Pepper. Watercolor in large moleskine watercolor sketchbook.
©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, EDM 104 (salt and pepper shakers). Watercolor in 5.5 x 8 inch sketchbook.
I needed something to get me back into the swing of things, so I thought I would participate in Every Day in May this year. Granted, I started a few days late, and then it took me a few more days to scan the drawings, but I am all caught up now. I don’t think I’ll scan my drawings every single day, but I’ll do my best to get them up in a timely manner. I’ll have them all posted in this flickr set.
©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, Imaginary Landscapes. Watercolor in 8 x 5.5 inch sketchbook.
Although I dislike when bloggers constantly apologize and make excuses, I do feel bad for not posting sooner. I haven’t been sick, per se, but I’ve certainly been feeling “sickly” for the past month or so. Even though I still have pretty much no energy, I decided that it was time that I try to get back into my normal routine again. I took out my watercolors today, and had more fun than I remember in a long time.
©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, Katie in Profile. Graphite in 8.5 x 11 inch sketchbook.
©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, Winter Mix. Ink in 8 x 5.5 inch sketchbook.
Today is the first time in over a week that I have sat down to do any sketching. I am taking full responsibility for my lapse, as I’ve done a terrible job with self discipline these days. Starting today, I hope I’ll be able to make the sketching habit stick again.