Learning with watercolors

I have been spending any free time in the past few months on learning the nuances of watercolors. To imitate is to learn - and so I have been trying to learn by painting a bunch of watercolors I have seen on Pinterest. Here are a few of them. Obviously none as good as the originals I tried to copy - but I am making consistent progress!

Open Paint nights at Redwood City

Redwood City has an vibrant community with a lot of events and initiatives to bring folks together. One recent event I attended was Open Paint night. I had a fun evening amidst food, drink and a bunch of creative strangers! Here is the acrylic painting I made that evening, that now hangs in my bathroom :)

Acrylic on canvas, for Open Paint night

A white Zentangle

Sketching/painting on a black base, either paper or canvas, always looks way more dramatic than on a white base. I recently got these new white Sakura gelly roll pens and decided to try out the pens for a white Zentangle on black paper. I had a great time making this and will definitely try more. Zentangles are very appropriately called "Zen"tangles. Nothing better to achieve a meditative state of mind than art!

A white Zentangle - Hamsa

Urban sketching - workshops and a travel kit

I have always been fascinated by artists who draw and paint plein air. Whenever I see one, I stop to peek at their sketchbooks and marvel at their skill. It has been a particular daydream of mine - to sketch at quaint little cafes, or by the beach, or on vacation. To bring home a sketchbook full of memories! Wouldn't that be sweet?

I found this group called Urban Sketchers who meet regularly to sketch and paint on location. And this year, in celebration of their 10 year anniversary they are conducting 10 workshops in their various chapters, including the Bay Area chapter. I signed up for 5 of those workshops. And now I am bubbling over with excitement!!

Sketching out and about requires some planning. So I gathered up all my art supplies (including a few that I bought specifically for the workshop) and shortlisted what I would like to carry through a day of walking and sketching. The criteria was that it had to fulfill all my sketching needs, while at the same time be light enough to carry around for hours. Here is what I am finally planning to pack for the workshops:

My travel sketching kit

• Sketchbook: Based on inputs from my workshop instructors, I chose the Canson mixed media 5.5X8.5 sketchbook. It has spiral binding and a hardbound cover, and pages can be folded back for ease of holding with one hand. This sketchbook comes with 224 gsm paper weight which is pretty good for simple watercolor washes
• Travel watercolor kit: I already own Derwent watercolor pencils which I love. However, they are not the best suited for sketching on the go (imagine fumbling around with a bunch of pencils trying to find the right one). So I got this W&N Cotman Sketchers Pocket Box - its a neat little kit and is well recommended for watercolor beginners. And its only as big as my smartphone - I can literally carry this around in my jeans pockets
• Drawing/painting instruments: In my pouch, I packed my Pigma Micron waterproof pens, a couple of graphite pencils, a mechanical pencil for backup, my Pentel Aquash waterbrushes, a couple of travel watercolor brushes, an eraser and a sharpener
• Miscellaneous: I also packed a few other things to make life on the road easy. Some tissues (to clean up the brushes and any spills), binder clips (to hold pages or to clip on the watercolor kit to the sketchbook if required), a small plastic cup (to pour out some water if I need to use the regular watercolor brushes) and a small medicine dropper (to pour water into my waterbrushes without spilling it everywhere)

And that's it - that's all you need to get started with urban sketching! Now that I have packed my supplies (a week ahead of time!), all that's left to do is wait till the date of the workshop. I am soo excited, I can hardly wait!

Update: I did a sketch of some of the supplies in my travel kit using those very supplies :) And here is my sketch:

A sketch of my travel sketching kit

Jewelry making of a different kind

The latest fashion/craft trend amongst my folks is silk thread jewelry. If you have been anywhere near Pinterest, you would have seen these gorgeous, bright silk jewelry pieces. I fell in love with them as soon as I saw them. I ordered a bangle making kit which had all the supplies nicely curated already, so I didnt need to search for each of them by myself. Guess what, I plan to make customized sets for each of my pattu sarees! Ambitious much?

Anyhoo, here are some bangles that I made recently as gifts. Don't you love them? ;)

Silk thread bangles

A cozy blanket for my sweetums

The husband and I were blessed with a precious little gift a while ago. And a gift as precious as this should be wrapped in something nice, don't you think? Ergo baby blanket.

Baby blanket for my precious little pumpkin

I made this baby blanket with Bernat Baby Blanket yarn using this pattern. The crochet pattern is pretty easy on the fingers and fun too - what with the big needle and the speed at which you can get this done. The yarn is so so soft and warm and fuzzy, that I am really tempted to crochet a bigger blanket to use as a throw for us adults. The next time you are in the yarn section of your local craft store, do give this bundle of yarn a squeeze, and you will know what I mean ;) 

A crochet project

I have started a lot of knitting projects over the years. The operative word being started - my mom usually picks up where I leave off and finishes them. I always pick scarves hoping that they would be easy. No need to keep track of patterns, no need to really focus.. just get started and keep going till you hit the required length. But what I always forget is that scarves are long, and take a lot of time and effort to finish.

This time, for a change, I tried crochet. I had heard from others that crochet is faster than knitting. Just a little more complicated to pick up. But easy enough once you pick up the basic moves. Now that I have tried both knitting and crochet, I totally agree! I started and finished this cute pink scarf. It is a simple double crochet scarf, made with Red Heart worsted weight yarn.

Pearls and Jades

My husband has always encouraged me to try new artsy-craftsy pursuits. And thanks to him, I have now taken an interest in making jewelry. I started out thinking stringing beads on chord was all there was to it. Now I know better - I know when to use flat nose pliers and when to use round nose ones, I know how to use crimp beads, jump rings, and all those thingamajigs, and I can almost work with jewelry wire without poking myself in the eye.

This weekend I sat down to complete two jewelry projects. The first is a bracelet of pink pearls and crystal bicones, along with matching earrings. The second is a necklace and bracelet made of jades that my BFF gifted me (earrings for the jade set are WIP).

Pretty, ain't it? All I need now is an occasion to show off :)

Pearl bracelet and ear rings

Jade necklace and bracelet

Drapery - Still life in Charcoal

Drapery seems to be a popular still life subject amongst art teachers - it is easy to set up in a studio, and a tough assignment to keep students occupied with :)

Here is my charcoal drawing of some drapery from my art class. I know it looks a little like a Halloween ghost, but I swear thats how my art teacher set it up!!

Drapery - Still life in Charcoal

White on black

As a part of my recent class assignments, I have been trying out drawings in white charcoal. And here is one that I really liked. I loved the way the vertical white lines give the violin a woody texture, and how the bright of the white charcoal in the violin strings seems to glint in the light.

The Violin (White charcoal on black paper)

I used Generals white charcoal pencils on Strathmore Artagain black pad - the black pad is a gorgeous black, and the white charcoal pencils were a charm to use.

One challenge I have been facing has been the question of preserving this drawing. Whenever I have tried fixative spray in the past (and I have tried both the workable fixative as well as the permanent kind) , it has caused my white charcoal to turn bluish/greyish, and also eventually fade. Which is weird, because it totally defies the purpose of using a fixative! Feedback and any suggestions to preserve the drawing are very welcome.

Drawing with an eraser

There are some interesting effects to be had when you start with a charcoal blackened paper and then use your eraser to lift off some of the charcoal. This is called the Additive - Reductive technique. A kneaded eraser works best, and can be used to erase a (relatively) thin line or a vast area. White charcoal could be used afterwards to add highlights. Do note that it is much more difficult to draw precise details with this technique. Not to mention, it can get quite messy as you first need to get enough charcoal on the paper and rub it in thoroughly to achieve a uniform blackness (latex gloves are highly recommended!)

Here are some drawings I did using the Additive - Reductive technique for a recent class assignment. Any feedback is welcome!

Additive reductive technique using charcoal

Still life (Charcoal)

On a related note, I discovered the importance of quality art supplies when doing this assignment. I had a charcoal stub from before which was of inferior quality. Even though the charcoal looked blacker, I had such trouble achieving a gradual shading and gray tones in this drawing here. Lesson learnt!

Still life (Charcoal)

Back to school

The husband and I have decided to start our art education from the basics - we have both signed up for art classes at the local community college. I chose Basic Drawing (of course) and my husband chose Basic Guitar.

I have been dabbling in arts for the longest time, and have also attended a few classes. But art classes in India tend to be unstructured and mostly guided studio sessions, rather than classes. So when I saw weekend drawing classes on the Spring calendar at the Mission College, I jumped at the chance.

I am sure I will be posting a lot more blogs tagged under "Artsy-Craftsy" going forward - keep an eye out! 

Quick-n-easy acrylic painting

So I decided to go out and buy some acrylic paints for myself. The faster drying time was a clincher, but not having to use turpentine helped too. I am sure I will use the oils too, but I think I am leaning more towards acrylics right now.

I came across this painting of two love birds silhouetted against the evening sky on Pinterest, and loved the simplicity of it. It was a perfect painting to try in acrylics too - the entire painting just took a few hours to finish.

"The fat one looks like me" said my husband. I couldn't agree more.

Lovebirds (Acrylic on canvas)

A new abstract oil on canvas

This is my latest creation. I wanted to paint a cheerful looking piece for a long time and this one caught my eye. I loved the way the colors, shades and shadows come into play and most of all love the music instrument theme.  I used an unframed canvas sheet so it could be some time before it goes on the wall. I'd love to get some feedback on this - actually thought of asking my husband but what does he know about music :P

An abstract (Oil on canvas)

The unforgiving medium: My first watercolour

I finally tried the Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils  on this painting of an Italian cafe. Not too bad for a first attempt, right? I loved the cafe, and the interiors, and the flowers, and the orange bike (I got restless to finish the painting towards the end, and you can see the impact on the background wall. Oh well, that will teach me to be more patient in the future.)

The cafe (Watercolour)

Watercolor can be a difficult medium. It doesn't forgive mistakes very easily, unlike graphite/charcoal where you can erase or like acrylics where you can paint over. These pencils were easier than the watercolour tubes I tried before, since they give a better control over the painting. On the negative side, Inktense pencils are permanent. Once you mix them with water and let it dry, it is permanent and can't be undone with water. Another thing about the Inktense pencils is that they are really intense and brighten up any painting. Might not have been the best choice of medium for this particular painting given the light shades it required. I am sure it is possible to use the Inktense pencils for a more subtle color palette too, but I will need to work on that. 

The green eyed monster

I knew he had loved her before I became a part of his life. I knew she took up a large portion of his past. But like most brides, I hoped that getting married to me would change everything. That he would gradually forget her. Alas, it didn't happen. Whenever he is with me, I see it in his eyes that he misses her. He wants her. Don't get me wrong, he loves me. But he loves her too. He feels such a connection with her, that he cant let go of her even for a single day. They understand each other without a single word being spoken. Maybe he likes the fact that he has total control over her. Maybe it is their shared interest in soccer. Maybe something else, I don't know. But I have come to accept the fact that she will be a part of our lives and he will continue to love her.

Damn you, Xbox One!

My new toy and a trip down the memory lane

I recently saw a Spirograph at a store, and was immediately transported back to my childhood days. 

My new Spirograph kit

This was one of the many fun geeky things my brothers taught me (among other things such as an introduction to the big bang theory and the fact that you can locate the centre of a circle using just a compass.) Those were the days when I didn't even know what the Spirograph was called, and could barely coordinate my hands to get a decent design. But I do remember requesting my brothers to draw a bunch of spirographs for some greeting card or bookmark that I might have been working on at that time.

So when I saw this Spirograph at the store, I was hit by a wave of nostalgia. Of course, I had to buy it again - no matter that it said in bold letters on the cover "Ages: 8+". I am 8+, aint I?!

Check out those curves!

A brush with acrylics

My husband recently signed me up for a 2 hour painting class, to help me kickstart my painting projects again (and also to give himself 2 uninterrupted hours playing video games). When it comes to art, I have always been a Jill of all media, and this class was the perfect opportunity for me to dabble in a new media - acrylics!

Berger daisies - Acrylic on canvas

I had heard of all the pros of acrylics before and always wanted to try. But I had also heard of how quickly it dries up, and wondered if this was a media for me. I am pleased to report that I did indeed enjoy working with acrylics. It dries up faster than oils, but not so fast that you cant work with it. While an oil painting would take weeks to completely dry and progress layer by layer, acrylics reduce that process to a matter of days. And the fact that you don't have to put up with smelly paint thinners (acrylics are water based) is a huge plus!

I will definitely try acrylics again. That is, once I am through all the watercolour and oil painting projects I promised my husband ;)

Thanksgiving weekend

For the Thanksgiving weekend, we made a lot of plans - Santa Cruz, Monterey and Point Reyes. But of course its the holiday season, its cold outside and we got lazy. So we ended up doing only one of those - Santa Cruz! We got lots of rest and an appropriate dose of fun ;)

We picked a pleasant sunny day for our trip and took the longer, but more scenic, California State Route 1. And WOW, what an awesome drive! Running along the beautiful Pacific coastline, it is THE most scenic route I have ever been on.

En route pics of the coastline

Picnic benches en route

On the way we spotted the Pigeon Point lighthouse and stopped to soak in the view. Visitors aren't allowed inside the lighthouse, so we had to content ourselves with the beautiful views outside. Right beside the lighthouse are the ex-housing quarters, which have now been converted to a Hostelling International hostel. Apparently, the highlight of the hostel is this nice hot tub right on the cliff edge overlooking the lighthouse. Tempting, isn't it? The husband and I immediately decided to come back and stay here a weekend.

Pigeon Point lighthouse

View at Pigeon Point

Pier at Pigeon Point

From here we went on to the Santa Cruz wharf. We had our lunch at a seafood restaurant on the wharf with pretty views of the ocean through porthole shaped windows. With happy bellies, we went exploring the wharf. And this is when I fell in love with sea lions.

My first sighting of the Sea Lion

Sea Lions lazing around

It was a nice calm afternoon we spent on that wharf, filled only with sounds of the sea, barking sea lions, squeaking sea gulls and squealing kids. I know I mentioned in my last post that the bark of the seals was annoying. No longer do I find it annoying. On this trip I fell in love with that bark, so much that I recorded some of it!


  

Barking sea lions at Santa Cruz

We saw some solo, we saw a herd. Some were floating around lazily in the water. Some were napping on the platforms below the wharf. Plonking themselves on one another to find a comfortable sleeping place. Yawning. Scratching themselves behind the ears. Sniffing and sneezing. Even peeing! 

Some of them were squabbling amongst themselves - we saw a rogue sea lion push away others off the platform. Cute, aren't they? All in all, I found them so charming that I spent most part of the day looking for them, watching them, listening to them. 

After I had my fill of sea lions for the day, we went on to see what else the city had to offer. We spent what was left of our day at the amusement park right on the coast. We got into some scary mazes, some rides and then settled down to play some arcade games (we won some bouncy balls! :P) After a nice fun day, we bade goodbye to this lovely city and the adorable sea lions to head back home. 

Newfound love

I love the Redwood City public library. One of the first things I did after moving here was to sign up for a library card. Over the last couple of months, it has become my second favorite place in the city (the first, of course, is home). It has kept me company during all those lonely hours when the husband was at work. It has introduced me to new pleasures and new things to learn. The vast collection of books on every imaginable topic is, of course, a given. Whether it is my regular dose of fiction, or learning resources to improve my painting skills or a learn-woodworking book that piqued the hubby's interest. When I wanted to learn Spanish, where did I go look for resources? Or that one time when we maxed out our broadband limit and couldn't use Netflix anymore, so I went and discovered the movie collection at the library. As a newbie in this city, when I wanted to meet new people and make friends, I went volunteering for Project Read at the library. The library has been there for me for everything I needed, and I am glad we live only a block away. Three cheers for the library!