watercolor sketch approx. 8" x 5"
I can't speak for other artists, but I know I constantly carry around paintings in my head. I see things every day that make me think, "Oh, someday I have to paint that!" Normally these "things" aren't unique, for instance aliens landing in my yard. No, the "things" which catch my attention are typically everyday objects which the play of light has turned beautiful. I have so many of these paintings in my head, I should never run out of material.
On the flip side, I have so many paintings in my head that I worry about missing out on one. If I see a beautiful moment and don't have my sketching materials or camera with me, all I have is the memory of it. I wonder how many gigs of memory my brain has and when it will start to overwrite images.
Yesterday morning I woke up and looked out my bedroom window. There I saw one of the "someday" paintings. As the morning light falls on my neighbor's house, it gives their gray siding a fabulous yellow glow. The tree in their side yard lights up to a gorgeous orange as it stretches it limbs to greet the morning sun. Together they can create rich purple shadows using the side of the house as their canvas.
So many days I have seen this and thought "Someday..." I decided someday was now and started my day with a quick watercolor sketch (no drawing!). The sun moves fast in the morning, so I actually put in the finishing touches first thing today during the encore performance.
The sketch may not be perfect, but I captured the essence (in this case color) and got my day off to a satisfying start. And now I have one image that I'm not worried about over-writing.
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6 comments:
You are so right - those someday moments are numerous and I fear my hard-drive is already overwriting images! I had one of those images yesterday morning with the sunlight on a eucalyptus tree turning the silvery bark apricot. Well done for having the drive to get up early and do this.
I believe many artists have similar thoughts and heads filled with a wish list of drawings and paintings.
I drive past a picture perfect scene every morning and rarely have my camera when its extra perfect or am not willing to stop and fight traffic to get back to my route. But the other morning I did and am happy that I took the time.
You've made a good step towards reducing the image load in your brain by tackling this one. Well done.
i'm lovin' the purples and oranges in this one, Stacy!
I too have those moments Stacy. Good for you for capturing it. I think training our eye to see it first though, is very important.
Anita, I fear my hard-drive is already overwriting images too! I try to snap pictures when the camera is handy, but nothing works as well as a sketch.
Jeanette, good for you for stopping. Why is it that when we have a camera we don't see those "extra perfect" scenes, but the first day without it...! I need to find a way to carry my sketching stuff and a camera and my purse, coat, umbrella, etc without causing my shoulders to ache. Then I could have it all with me all the time.
Thanks Billie! For me it was all about the purple, orange, yellow combination.
Glad I'm not alone in this Robin. And so true about training the eye. For so long I struggled to see color in shadows and in white objects. Just recently I've noticed I am able to see them with much less effort. That was a happy discovery!
Stacy, this seems to be the story of my life lately and as much as I would like to carry my camera everywhere it is not possible, but I should learn to carry a sketch book and maybe jot down colors, too. Keep the good work up!
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