Baby Blue Heron Watercolor and lots and lots of ink Stillman and Birn Zeta Sketchbook 5.5 x 8.5 inches

My brother went down to the Venice Rookery over the weekend and came home with some fabulous shots. This one of the baby Blue Heron just captured my heart. I decided on the spur of the moment—did you know moment's had spurs?—to create a sketch out of this cute, little bugger.

I had originally planned to sketch the bird much bigger with a lot less nest showing. How I managed to wind up with a small bird and lots of nest showing beats me, but I did it.

Beginning with the bird, I sketch him out in pencil and then added general outlines of the nest without a lot of detail (my first miscalculation). Since the background is all suggested shapes, I didn't draw anything back there.

Next, I painted the bird. Since he was my COI (center of interest), I knew if I messed him up the rest of the sketch wouldn't matter.

With the main sections of the bird painted (details to be added last), I moved on to the background. It was easy to do by just mingling colors.

Then it was time to do the nest.

If I had drawn in even a partial bit of the nest, I think I would have realized the chore I had set for myself. But I didn't.

I was using a waterbrush and those do NOT have a fine tips and so don't do fine details easily. Choosing to save my sanity, I grabbed a traditional brush to tackle those finer details.

In short order, I realized my sanity was still in question because if I continued to sketch the nest with a brush, I would have HOURS invested in this page.

Not ideal and not what I was going for. It's a sketch for goodness sake!

Rather than lavish hours on a sketch, I went to the studio and gathered up markers and pens in colors that would harmonize with the colors in the image. Then I went to work.

Some of the tools I used in the creation of the page

On the right page, you can see a few of the tools I used. Pens, markers, and two brushes.

All told I have about two hours in this and I'm itching to go back in and make a few more "adjustments."

If I had continued to work in just paint, I'm guessing I'd still be working on it and you might have seen it tomorrow.

Editing "Perfect Images"
As you can see, the photo is a pretty darn good one and who am I to fool around with a great image?

The artist with a creative license!

I edited the photo to make a more compact sketch. I moved the baby to the edge of the nest and moved the support underneath him so it didn't look lopsided. I also simplified the nest details greatly and it's still very busy.

When I set out to sketch, I generally have a goal in mind of being quick, of capturing the essence of a place, thing, etc. However, I do occasionally get into something that can't be "created" as quickly as I'd like. At least, not by me.

That's when I change up my method of working. I'm not a big pen and ink artist. I like it, but it's rare for me to work this way.

Realizing I was going to have to make a choice of abandoning my goal of quick or change my method of creating, I opted for the latter.

Is there anything wrong with spending several hours on a sketch/page? No.

Why was it a problem? It's not, but because I wanted this to be a quick sketch and not a painting I had to make a choice.

The longer I work on something, the more detail I tend to put into something and the greater chance I have of overworking the piece and regretting the hours I invested. 

There is a constant decision process going on when we create. The more aware we become of our choices, the more freedom we have when we're in the flow. Realizing we have more than one way to create goes a long way towards helping us to tackle subject matter that we would otherwise avoid.

Do you vary your approach and/or the tools when you're sketching? How so?

Graphic used courtesy of © JetPens.com

Every once in a while I come across a fabulously useful post about tools we all have in our collections.

Sometimes those tools are underutilized because we purchased a so-so tool and we can't figure out what all the big noise is about.

White pens fall directly into that category. If you don't have a great one, they're hard to get excited about.

All white pens are not created equally and being the owner of a number of the so-so pens that are now collecting dust in my studio, I was thrilled to see this marvelous post about all different types of white pens from JetPens.com.

They list different uses as well as their favs (which happens to be the Uniball Signo Broad* which just happens to be my favorite!).

Bookmark it the post, print it, read it and you too will have more info than ever before on which white been works best for each project!

Speaking of using white pens, Warren Ludwig just posted an awesome tutorial on his blog, LUDstuff! on using a white Sharpie Poster Pen for painting silver eating utensils (spoons).

*If you're new to watercolor and how you might use the Uniball Signo Broad Pen read on. I use the pens to recover whites lost in the painting process or to create sparkle in a sketch. Since the ink is water-soluble, it can be softened to eliminate hard edges or to complete lift or melt if I get the ink in the wrong spot.

If I need more coverage (opacity) or permanent coverage, I opt for the Sharpie Poster Pen as the ink in this pen is acrylic and once it's down, it's down! If you opt for this route just be aware that it does alter the paper surface.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to dust off my white pens and do a little creating!

Walking in the mall shortly after the new year, I saw this sign in a store window.

It pretty much sums up the way I feel about 2012. I will own it.

So why am I just now posting about word-of-the-year, goals and such....on February 1st?

Well, if you read the blog, you know 2011 ended on a sad note and 2012 started on a sad, worried note.

“The days are long, but 

the years short. ”

Since time has continued its relentless march forward, I find that I need/want/must go with it.

A Glance Back

Looking back at 2011, I can say the year was truly a year of challenge. Highest highs, lowest lows, outrageously good times and unable-to-breathe scary. I am pleased to have survived as well as by all that I accomplished.

Finally, as I face 2012, to go farther, higher and deeper.

When I look forward, I see new challenges to take on and overcome, new highs to aspire to, new delights to celebrate, accomplishments to revel in, new places to see and new friendships to build.

The Speed of Forward

I am learning there are many speeds to forward. My plan had been to hit 2012 with the throttle open as wide as it would go. The Universe had other plans, plans to slow me down. Way down.

I fought it for a while. A fruitless activity and a waste of energy. I've settled down now into a much slow pace forward. I'm getting a lot of behind the scenes stuff done that if I were traveling at full throttle, wouldn't get done properly nor with the detail it needs.

I won't say I don't rail against the current speed. I do. I hear a soft chuckle in the nether regions of my mind. Perhaps a whisper that says "all in good time, child, all in good time."

A Wise Word

My word last year was move and boy, did I! I moved my body (exercise), I started the move of my business to a totally different host, set up, web site and more, I went to NOLA and had a blast! I moved my mind and myself past obstacles, challenges, and sadness.

What word could I possibly choose to guide me, ground me, be an advocate, and otherwise remind me to enjoy every minute of every day as much as possible?

That's a pretty tall order for one word.

At the very end of last year, I was trying on bodacious and audacious as my watchwords for 2012.

Then the sadness came along with some other obstacles. The slowing down I could do nothing about.

And I didn't feel audacious or bodacious anymore.....still, I wanted a word that would remind me of the present moment, to celebrate the accomplishments of the moment, to savor life in the moment while also keeping my eye on moving forward.

In the end, I chose two words, revel and best.

I chose revel to help me to enjoy every minute of the day as much as possible. Even set backs, slow downs, obstacles and challenges. They're often gifts. We just have to change our perspective sometimes to recognize the value they bring. I chose the word to remind me to revel in small things as well as big and to celebrate them rather than rushing to the next challenge, obstacle, or task.

Inspired by KJ's gentle wisdom over at Catching Happiness, I decided to choose a second word. When I settled on best, it was so I would ask myself the necessary questions so that I would stay aware of the choices, decisions, energy and resources I put into any situation....is this the best decision I can make? [Make it and move on.]

Is this the best thing for me to be eating right now? [No, put the donut down and go get an apple.]

Does this situation require my very best or is good enough okay? [Good enough is okay. Put the extra energy towards the next challenge.]

Own It

I believe revel and best will help me to own 2012 and to make it mine. There will be missteps, obstacles, failures, struggles, fear, celebration, joy, tears of sadness and happiness.

With any luck at all, when I look back over 2012, I'll be able to say that not only did I own it, I made it count. I made it a good one.

A Bonus

(Congratulations if you made it this far! I know this is a ridiculously long post and I promise to be more brief in the future!)

One of the things I did way back at the beginning of 2011 was to write a few sentences down using my word of the year move. These sentences were written as if it were already the end of the year and I was writing an overview in December of all my accomplishments. Some examples follow:

• I really moved forward with the business by changing the way I deliver the class material.
• Moving my body has really helped me to move towards better health.
• I finally get to move around and visit different parts of the country with Imaginary Trips Made Real!

I also wrote a few that didn't happen and that's okay. These did! By writing out these sentences using my WOTY, I was setting intentions, putting myself and the Universe on notice that I had things to do, places to be, people to meet!

I was just recently introduced to a new tool called futureme.org. It is a tool that allows you to write a letter to yourself and then have it delivered on whatever date in the future you want. You can even add a photo if you so choose. You can make it anonymous and public or keep it private.

The Challenge

So here is my challenge to each of you to help make 2012 your best year yet is to write a letter to yourself as if it were December 2012. Talk about all the things you accomplished, all the goals you met, the challenges you overcame. Set a powerful intention to yourself NOW.

The letter will help you to see what you accomplished in the 11 months to come.

Perhaps you'll want to send more frequent letters (I have mine set for the seasons' solstice).

Here's to our year. 2012. Let's own it—together!

Imagine my surprise when I happened to glance at my waterbrush the other day and saw all these black floaty things INSIDE the barrel of the brush! Yuck!

Click to enlarge

I usually wear the point off from the brush tip long before I get gunk in the barrel of a waterbrush. This brush has a very small tip that is used for detailing and I don't use it often. That may be the reason why I have the yucky stuff in the barrel.

Besides not wanting to contaminate my paper or paints with mold, this kind of trash will also plug up a waterbrush, rendering it useless because the water can't flow through to the tip.

Click to enlarge

I used a chenille stem, folded in half and twisted, to get down into the barrel and scrub out some of the sticky offending black spots. I didn't use any soap as I didn't need it to remove the gunk. If you choose to use soap, please make sure to use something like dish soap that doesn't have oils and moisturizers in it. (Oil and watercolor don't mix well and the soap could leave a residue!)

Click to enlarge

No more nasties! I'll keep an eye on this brush to make sure that all the gunk has been removed. If it comes back, I'll rinse just the barrel with a very, very weak water and bleach solution, dry it out thoroughly and then refill it. (Don't get bleach on the bristles!)

I'm not so concerned this will ruin the brush, even though it could, as I'm concerned I could contaminate my paper and paints. I'd had to find mold growing in a sketchbook sometime down the road!

Check your brushes!

When you find a new tool this good—you just have to tell everybody!!

Disclaimer: I nor Imaginary Trips are associate or affiliated with Duke Pens. Purchase and use at your own risk.