ADVENTURES IN COLOURING IN

A  JUMP INTO THE WORLD OF WATER COLOUR

"Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things."

Steve Jobs 

So here I go on a tangent. Today's drawing is not part of my initial drawing challenge that I set myself but a nice little segue into a new piece that I created on the weekend. My lovely friend Bekky had an art night in her new home studio with a group of like minded creative friends. Bekky made a large "Welcome" poster with a few creative challenges on it for us all to have a go at. One of the challenges was to "Challenge yourself! Use a medium you are not familiar with". So technically this IS a drawing challenge....

I have had a packet of water colour paints unopened for about two years. I guess I think the mess and the set up and clean up is just too much to be bothered with. Pen's are instant, clean and there's zero pack up. Yep. Lazy! But I took them along with all my art equipment anyway. And I love a challenge. So I got to work. Actually, more accurately, I got to play!

I can't believe I had never used water colours before! The feeling of painting with smooth, silk like strokes was so relaxing that I didn't really stop to think what I was painting. The image sort of just appeared.  And the colours seemed to pop more than any coloured pencil I had used in the past. 

It's a wonderful thing to try new things. I think since I have started this blog my eyes have become a little more open. I am noticing more of the world around me and it's intricacies. This is affecting my work habits and my want to experiment and explore and push myself to see just what I might be capable of achieving. I have gone back to design college in the last week or so (after a much needed term break) so my schedule is quite a jam packed one. I have a mountain of assignments and readings and exercises to get through in the coming months. But with each class and with each assignment I am challenging myself to push my own boundaries and to let this new feeling of experiencing the world influence the creative work I am engaging in.

So here is my first attempt at water colours that I created on a beautiful piece of A3 water colour paper. I call it "Bear/Bare Legs".