Day Eight : #30x30DirectWatercolor : Back to Basics : Black and White Miniatures

Day eight:

It’s going ok.

I’m happy, and the work is happening, but – I’m not excited enough yet.

Can’t quite put my finger on what I’m hoping for – except – I want to get back to the feeling of adventure and spontaneity that I’m used to with plein-air painting.

Which – given that I’m still at home, not ready to break quarantine – that’s a big ask.

So! Ok then! Maybe it’s not about traveling to exciting subjects – maybe it’s about making exciting paintings!

If you want to tune the sensitivity of the eye>hand>paint>brush loop – there’s nothing better than simplifying – and speeding up – at the same time.

You have to give yourself more chances to FEEL the paint. More opportunities to make a perfect brush stroke by accident, or instinct – and FEEL what it was like. REMEMBER the viscosity, the humidity, the exact angle and speed of the brush – everything you needed to pull together to make a bold confident piece happen under your fingertips.

These are painted about 10″ high. Sometimes I like to look at them reduced.

It’s a simulation of what they’d look like on the wall, performing as paintings – which are viewed at room-scale, as opposed to illustrations which we engage at arm’s length – or closer, now that we looking at most things on our phones.

I really like the look of this hey?

That’s a bang-up painting. It’s a little compact gem.

This is what I need to be doing – a few hundred more of these!