Painted Thoughts Blog: watercolor and ink

Journaling {Near} Daily

An lunch outing with a friend as well as my beloved "Almond Joy Cookies!"

Back in January, I decided I needed to knock the rust off from my daily journaling skills. With the holidays and other responsibilities vying for my attention, my sketchbook sat on the corner of my desk or in the bottom of my purse collecting dust.

The page where I drew out the schematic for my new Paris sketchbook cover along with a couple of swatches of material

To remedy this I picked up an inexpensive journal at Michael's. The soft-covered, Artist Loft journal is 6 x 8 inches closed and there wasn't much info on the cover with regard to the paper content. The web site says the paper is "wood-free" but not acid free. Since I paid less than $4 for two, I'm not to concerned about it.

My intent it to use these as a catch-all type of journal. I want to track my daily experiences as well as project plans, shopping lists, places I visit, cat antics, and outings with friends. It will be a place where I can play, practice and experiment with new ideas without worrying about the expense of wasting "good paper."

Plant City, Florida is a fun little town with a robust antique center in the downtown area, a train depot museum, and lots of quirkiness—a sketcher's dream!

Speaking of the paper, I was pleasantly surprised at well the paper handled watercolor and pen. It doesn't bleed through, but if I make a mark I do not like, there is no correcting it. In my attempts to make corrections I've either removed paper fibers or I've covered it up with a permanent white pen. I suspect more serious corrections will require gluing down a new piece of paper.

Daily Journaling or Journaling Daily

When I started this project, I thought I'd fill a page—all in one setting—at least once a week. Turns out that was delusional thinking. The first page happened all in one day, but not in one setting. The second page was mostly done in one setting. The third page was drawn one day and painted over the next few days. The Gasparilla spread, seen below, has taken the longest. Drawn in one day and it took me four days to paint it in small blocks of time.

This spread is all memory sketches as there was no way to do this the day of Gasparilla.

The last couple of pages were drawn in fits and starts and painted several days later as time allowed. Life has a way of getting in the way of my plans. Funny how that happens, huh?

Gotta rub da belly! At a favorite restaurant we only visit once in a while. Buddha looks Italian to me!

At first this bothered me, but then I realized that I was still working in my journal on a nearly daily basis even if I wasn't finishing one page at the time. Turns out that finishing a full journal page in one go isn't realistic for me. Working in small pockets of time still gets the page finished, still keeps my mind engaged and I'm strengthening my skills. (And when you're constantly on the go while traveling, this is actually a more realistic type of sketch "training" anyway.)

Valentine Day 2018 Memories. Capturing the memory before it gets lost in life's constant flow.

I've found that setting rigid rules that I most follow with regard to my journaling is almost always a non-starter. I do much, much better when I leave myself ~~some~~ lots of wiggle room. I can generally keep on track if I have some flexibility. Without it, I grow frustrated and chuck the project into the "not-gonna-happen" pile of unfinished projects.

Does any of this sound familiar to you? Have you let a project fall to the wayside because you didn't build in enough (or any) flexibility? Can you revive it by revising the "rules" you set for yourself?

I know I have several projects like that but something tells me this project won't be one of them.

By relaxing the rules around what I can and cannot put on the pages, by releasing my expectations of how much work I have to get done and when as well as the paper's allergy to corrections, I suspect these will be some of the most enjoyable journals I create!

What project can you breathe new life into if you change or relax the "rules?"

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3 Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

art journaling

The Mighty Sea Hedgehog (Live Art Journaling Class)

2 Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

art journaling

Interactive Journal Page

11 Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

classes

Upcoming Adventures and A Few Random Sketches

No Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

Bradenton

Simple Changes That Make A Big Difference

5 Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

beach

Saturday's Class and A Festive, New Header!

5 Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

holiday

Savoring The Season

12 Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

autumn

Seasonally Inspired Sketching!

5 Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

#winterinterrupted

Sometimes…Ya Gotta Go With What Works!!

Shoe Spoof from #WinterInterrupted
Stillman & Birn Zeta
Watercolor, Stamps, Ink

Is that color overload?! Yes? Good!! Mission accomplished.

While we were poking around in the shops of Pass-A-Grille Beach during Winter Interrupted, we happened upon a sign that said "Wild women wear outrageous shoes" that featured a pair of sky-high stilettos.

I seriously doubt my feet will ever see the inside of a pair of stilettos again, but the words still resonated with me because at the time, I was wearing those very shoes you see in the image. In fact, you can see them in the very first image in this post.

No one has to tell me they're ugly. I know it. No one has to tell me they're as comfortable as any shoes I've ever worn either. I usually wear them around the house or out in the yard. Just not in public. But here in Florida, well, let's just say you can wear just about anything at the beach and no one's going to so much as bat an eyelash.

But there's a reason—a very good reason I might add—why I opted to wear these outrageous shoes…back in the fall when we were in Maine, I slipped while climbing on a granite ledge below our cabin. It was slick with silt from the outgoing tide. I did quite the number on my knee and foot.

While they're mostly healed, my foot occasionally takes exception to overuse such as walking around all.day.long at the beach. When that happens, my foot swells and any other type of shoe becomes a torture device.

So, these were the shoes I wore all week long. Attractive? No! But they allowed me to continue to function through the week. Being raised on a strawberry farm as a teenager, I got over "looking cool" many long years ago. It was far more important to be practical and dress to be warm or cool, be able to move without binding or chafing, and to be able to stand on your feet for long periods of time.

There was simply no room for dressing cool for school. Besides, unlike at the beach, there was no one to see me on the farm and those that did weren't part of the school scene.

But I have to say, these shoes have one other feature that makes them perfect beach wear…they float and they dry in a hurry. Perfect for splashing in the water!

As for the color fest above, Florida beaches are nothing if not gaudy with all the bright colors and that was what I had in mind when I indulged in the neon colors! I gotta say, I kinda like it…it certainly chases away the gray days of winter.

Do you wear outrageous shoes?!

13 Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

Acadia

Sometimes, I Forget I'm Suppose To Be Sketching

13 Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

birds

Keeping A Sketch From Becoming A Painting

10 Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

music

Killing Time Before The Show

Jacaranda Tree across the Hillsborough River
Straz Performing Arts Center
Watercolor and Ink
Stillman & Birn Zeta Bound Sketchbook

I have the opportunity to go and see We Will Rock You, a musical featuring Queen's music. Somehow, we managed to arrive too early, so will my friend Celeste took a call I decided to pull out my sketchbook.

I wasn't sure how long I'd have to try and capture the gorgeous Jacaranda tree in bloom across the river, but since I had my iPhone with me, I knew I could always take a photo if it became necessary.

Once I had the bare bones down, I checked on Celeste to see if she was still on the phone. When I realized it was going to be a lengthy call, I pulled out my palette and started slinging (literally) paint—there's a big black smudge under the ticket on the right page!

Close up of page

Despite being a tad messy, it was fun and will always be remembered as the beginning of a super, fun night. The show was a blast. We clapped, sang along and would have danced if there had been room.

One of the things I often tell folks in the Imaginary Trip classes is that as artists we have to look for and seize those little pockets of time that are unexpected gifts. Seize the moment!

To take advantage of those golden moments, it is necessary to turn loose of perfection and expectations because you never know just how long you're going to have or how things are going to turn out.

For those few minutes when you're racing the clock and you're watching the image emerge on the page is pure gold and the image is just a bonus. It becomes part of a bigger experience. One that was made richer because of the sketching assuming you don't get caught up in the "is it good enough" mindset.

The first challenge comes in recognizing those pockets of time. The second challenge is scraping up the courage to sketch in front of people. I had several couples mosey by me while peeking at the page.

Because I knew my time was severely limited, I hung out a mental "Do Not Disturb" shingle and no one attempted to engage me in conversation. I didn't meet anyone's eyes, I didn't smile at anyone and as such, I was able to focus on the scene.

The third challenge is knowing your current skill level and how fast you can sketch. If the whole scene is too much to attempt, focus on a less ambitious sketch. There were fountains, row boats, ducks and gorgeous (non-moving) plants in bloom that could easily have been added to the page.

Even if you don't come away with a stellar sketch, give yourself kudos for making the attempt!

Have you sketched on location lately? What was your biggest challenge? And if you haven't, what's holding you back?

___________________________

Many thanks to Celeste for the invitation and ticket to the show and best of luck to you in DC!

3 Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

Florida

The Beach Visit That Almost Didn't Happen

Maderia Beach Visit with Terry and Jim
Watercolor, Ink and Gouache
5.5 x 8.5 inches in Stillman & Birn Zeta Sketchbook

Despite a cold front, rainy, gray skies, horrible (and I do mean horrible) traffic, a truck hitting a power pole and knocking over a live wire across the road, I finally managed to meet up with Terry and Jim for a visit at Maderia Beach.

I almost didn't. After getting stuck by the downed power line just blocks from where I needed to be, I nearly gave up. Instead, I parked illegally at a church and hiked down the beach to meet up with my friends. It took over two hours for us to connect!

By the way, I have to tell you it is NEVER a good idea to park illegally in a beach town…they will ticket and tow you! They're very aggressive about that kind of thing and it's because they have to be. Thank goodness, it didn't happen to my jeep!

Back to the visit...Terry and Jim come down to enjoy the warm weather and sea breezes will the great white North shivers under piles of snow and freezing temperatures. We started meeting up three years ago after Terry and I met in one of the ImaginaryTrip.com classes.

Last year, we sketched on location and had plans to do so again this year. Last year's post is here. Since it was spitting rain, we sketched from our table inside the restaurant that just happened to be out on a deck by the boardwalk and covered by clear plastic shades. Great planning on Terry and Jim's part!

My view from the restaurant.
You can see the reflections caused by the plastic
as well as the edge and grommets of the shade

The waves were rolling in a little stronger than usual as the front moved in and the glowering sky turned the water more gray than green. The weather folks had predicted a much rainier day, but luckily, it held off. The next day, however, was a totally different story—it monsoon-ed!

Maderia Beach, Florida

The sketch at the top of the post is collaged page of several different views. The birds were actually to my left and behind me. Just as I started sketching the neck of the egret, he turned and presented my with a gorgeous view of his mating plumage leaving me to guess at his body shape.

He looks like a bird so I'm calling it good enough!

The seagull was not a peg leg even though I only drew one leg. They often stand and sleep on just one leg.

Sculley's was the restaurant where we ate so I added there sign afterwards as I could not see it from where we sat and no, the lighthouse was not that crooked. I was vertically challenged that day!

All in all, despite the rain, lousy traffic and the downed power line, it was a great visit!

Thanks, Terry and Jim—I look forward to next year! Safe travels home.

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Out of curiosity, would you come to Florida for a workshop on the beach? I'm thinking of putting something together for next year…if you're interested, let me know if the comments below!