New discovery

Few days ago, I was checking the web for vacation packages and such. I haven't found anything with my name on it, so to speak. Instead, I found touchrawing. I would not be me if I did not give it a try.

I used my old oil paints, rice paper and a piece of transparency - that's all I had handy. I only cut five pieces of pape, but next time I will have prepare more papers. The recommandation seems to be to do one hour sessions.

I spread the paint and started moving my hands. I ended up with four self-portraits of sorts and one flower doodle.

I added a touch of white and some black with oil pastels, but the drawings were not dry. They still aren't.
Touching the paper felt very much like sculpting in clay. I could just keep moving my hands over the paper for a while, eyes closed too. But my papers were small - maybe 9 x 12. Hardly enough room to move.
I will definetely do this again,but I need to find a bigger printing plate and a variation of papers. Red paint over newspaper could produce interesting results. This would probably work with acrylics too - especially the open ones from Golden. The problem I am having with these more intuitive approaches is that I don't know how to interpret the result. It is as if they drawings become dream images with a hidden meaning.

This reminded me of an orchid painting I did a while back where I used only my fingers - it is the one at the bottom of this post. It was so much fun and I still like it. To be continued ...

Crusade no. 53 - Mad Scientist

This month crusade was an easy one. Hmmm ...maybe not as easy as I thought. Or maybe that was because I missed all  the other crusades of the year!

As I was planning to sketch my cactus garden anyway, I decided to use the sketch for the crusade. I must say that I had some difficulty coming up with names, and they are kinda boring anyway. Maybe next time I will do better.

I don't like wasting paint, so whatever I had left on the palette I used on the left page. The plan was to look for abstract shapes in the mix of colors. But instead of abstract shapes, I ended up with that figure. To me, it looks like a girl with a dog on a swing. OK. The dog looks more like a pig. The thing is I was looking for abstract shapes ...and I ended up somewhere else. Such if life after all, often we do not end up where we thought we would ...

 Here are the names: stormy sky, pomegranate juice, saguaro, spring grass. Hmm ... I forgot to write the colors I started with. This must be a senior moment ...

Fabric inspired

This doodle was inspired by the pattern on a summer blouse.

It was very time consuming. As I was sitting in my rocking chair working on it, I kept wondering what's the point. A six years old does a much better job I am sure. I am not a doodler. It does not improve my drawing skills. It does not improve any skills. I should do something more "meaningful", more productive, more usefull. Like learn a new trade, or skill for work, or something tangible...

Remains of the fridge

Hidden at the bottom of the veggie drawer I found an old potato, a lemon at the end of its life and a pear. Only when I got to drawing the pear did I realize that I placed it in a foreshortened position. Ahhhhhh ... but I was too lazy to change it. And too unskilled to draw it corectly ... maybe next time ...

Pocahontas

A woman caught my eye in the metro. She was tall, black, and wore a traditional long fuchsia dress and a head scrarf the same color. When I got home, I tried to draw her from memory. The results resembles more Pocahontas. Watercolor washes and colored pencil.

Groceries

What to  sketch ... what to sketch...hmmm ... I know! The groceries!

 

Hot and humid weekend it was. Now there is a severe thunderstorm alert and I think the downpour is just around the corner. The long run yesterday deserved the name - "long". And painful. And hot. I decided I deserved a reward after all that struggle and I bought a rocking chair for the patio. There ... now I have a place to read and paint outside.

Journal page

I saw so many nice journal pages done in public places that I decided to give it a try. Halas, my result is nowhere near the ones I saw.

 

I drew the figures standing on the platform or in the moving train. I get it! Not my fault, it's the moving train!

Insomnia

I am still having trouble sleeping. I woke up at 3AM, tried to fall back asleep till 5AM., then decided that this is a lost cause and I took out the watercolor set. I drew my key chain and a flower pot.

 

Some more gerberas. I really "killed" those flowers.

I am going to do some pen doodles over the petals as soon as I figure out where my pens are. And no more gerberas for a while!

New place

I posted some pics of my new place before the renovations here. And here are the pics after the renovations:

 

Very different, don't you think?

Out and about

Today I went for a walk from my home to the Old Port. Half way there, I stopped at Atwater Market for a green papaya, pork satay and coconut water at the Satay Brothers. Here are some of the pics I took one the way:

The Circus is in town - this is the tent for Cirque du Soleil.

This is Daniel McAlister - the oldest tugboat in Canada.

 I find it funny that they installed a metro sign like in Paris. 

It's about 8 km from here to the Old Port I figured. I am planning to do it in the reverse - take the metro all the way there so I can check all the boutiques and then walk back. 

Gerbera

Things are slowly getting back to normal. Or so I like to believe. I don't know yet where will be my "studio", so for now all the artsy stuff stays in black bags. I tried to hang some pictures only to have them tumbling down as soon as finished putting the last screw. I did not know that in concrete walls I cannot put screws. Only nails. One damaged picture later, I know.

The cat ventured outside. Finally. He is on a tight leash, he sneaked out of it once already. How he managed, I haven't a clue. Most of the time he does what he is best at: snoring.

I wanted to test the Internet connexion from the rooftop - and it works!This means that once my patio will be finished, I could work outside. Lovely! Now I have to keep an eye on patio furniture sales. I want a patio set that folds, but it is hard to  find these days. Everybody seems to want lounge chairs and other paraphernalia. They are all great, but what am I supposed to do with them in the winter?

And while I wait for the patio, I decided to buy flowers anyway. Gerberas. This is the left handed version:

And the right hand version - can anyone say that there is a real difference between the two?! I say they are equally childish. But I like using my left hand, it is more liberating in a way. Less judgement.