Week 1: Watercolor
I've decided that I am going to take the next 52 weeks and go on an art adventure! It will be a year of art. I have tried several mediums of art over the years, but there are plenty that I've always wanted to try and never got around to. So, my plan for the next 52 weeks will be to create a piece of art in a different medium each week.
I thought about how I was going to go about doing this. Should I start with mediums I already know and work my way up to ones I've never tried? Should I do the mediums by type? In the end, I just decided to go random. I put all the different mediums in an app and randomized it.
Week 1: Watercolor!
Because I will be doing a new medium each week, every piece of art will be tiny. Who doesn't love tiny? I'm going with 3" x 3". I know, it's not super tiny, but hey, I think it's pretty tiny still.
I will also be collaborating on this epic art adventure with the amazingly talented Rebecca Johnson. You can find her on Instagram @RebeccaJohnsonArtwork. She's also my best friend, sister-in-law, and neighbor! Win, win win!
I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm a little afraid to start with watercolor. While I have done watercolor before, I am no expert.
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| Past watercolor artwork - untitled |
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| Past watercolor artwork - also untitled. It's my oldest dressed as the black swan for Halloween. |
Why am I afraid to start with watercolor, you ask? Well, because Rebecca Johnson is a watercolor artist. THIS is her medium. She's amazing! So yeah, it's a little intimidating to be doing this with her knowing that she's pretty awesome at it.
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| Watercolor painting by Rebecca Johnson - Black Swan This was a gift she made for my oldest |
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| Watercolor painting by Rebecca Johnson - The Happy Couple This was a gift for our family, my kids' grandparents |
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| Watercolor painting by Rebecca Johnson - Bob Another gift for our family, our dog. His name is Bob. |
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| All set up and ready to paint! I know, my palette is a mess! |
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| Close up of my tiny sketch. Unfortunately, you can't really see the sketch so well here. Sorry about that. |
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| Photo reference for my watercolor painting. It's a photo I took on our trip to Oregon. |
Who thinks I'll be able to pull this off? Keep scrolling for the big reveal!
Before we get to the finished painting, let's talk. For this adventure I didn't want to just check off each medium - especially the ones I've done before. I wanted to push myself, grow a little, you know? My standard go-to for watercolor is basically just splash some paint on there and then draw over it with pen. This time I went for something different.
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| My finished painting still taped to the board. |
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| Watercolor - Oregon Coast |
Well, what do you think? How'd I do? As nervous as I was to do this project with a REAL watercolor artist, I'm glad that I did. It was fun. It got me out of my comfort zone. Did it suddenly make me a world class watercolor artist? Ha! Absolutely not! But it was fun. I don't have a title for it yet, though. Any ideas?
If you have never tried watercolor yourself, I highly recommend it! You don't have to go all out and buy the expensive brand name paints and brushes. You can always get the student grade Crayola stuff and still experiment and have fun. Did you know that you can also make your own watercolor paints? It's super easy and can be made with simple household ingredients! You can find some instructions to make your own here. I haven't made my own yet, but it's on my bucket list of things to try some day. If you make your own, let me know how it goes!
I've decided that I am going to rate each medium on four different criteria on a scale of 1-5 for a total of 20 points possible. The different criteria are:
Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.
Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.
Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?
Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium
So, for watercolor my rating is: 18
Ease of use: 3
I really feel like this is a medium that anyone can try. The only downside is the waiting. If you're not a patient person, waiting for the paint to dry before you apply your next layer can be frustrating.
Affordability: 5
While the name brand paints, brushes, and papers can be quite costly, watercolor can still be affordable. There are many inexpensive paints out there, and you can even make your own at almost no cost. Inexpensive brushes can also be purchased, as well as paper. Unless you plan on becoming a professional watercolor artist, supplies for this medium can be purchased at any price level.
Accessibility: 5
It seems like watercolor paints, brushes and paper can be purchased anywhere. I have even seen them available in grocery stores. So yeah, watercolor supplies are very accessible.
Fun to Use: 5
I really enjoy watercolor painting, even if I don't know what I'm doing. There's just something about watching the paint spread across the wet paper that is really enjoyable. If you don't know what I mean, you'll have to give it a try.
If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...
If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!
1 comment:
I need to follow this. I think you so talented and it makes me feel comforted that you don't think your as good as Rebecca. Thanks for being so brave. Your inspiring me.
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