February vacation week. We hardly ever travel during this time. Between running a business, special needs dogs and teenagers that want to spend time with friends rather than travel with Mom and Dad, we typically do a stay-cation style February break. Plus I’m always nervous that we’ll make big plans and the Maine winter will interrupt our travels with canceled flights or delayed trips. My husband dreams of wintering somewhere warm. I on the other hand, love the cold and the snow. 

It’s how Winter Storm Arts got its name. There is something in the air during a snow storm at our house that makes everyone chill. Perhaps it’s because snow storms prevent plans from happening and we don’t fight against snuggling into to a cozy nest. I’ve always found winter storms to be so relaxing and therefore inviting creativity. When the girls were little we did art projects and snuggled around a cozy fire and read stories and watched movies. Now that the girls are older, they tend to nest in their rooms and it leaves me to create on my own. It’s one of the rare times in my house where all seems quiet and I get some alone time even with everyone at home. I LOVE it!

We did get a snow storm during break, but alas it was on a regular work day, a day-job work day and not an Art work day. Did I mention that my girls like to hang out with their friends more… well most of the week was spent taxi-ing teens around. So I did not post anything last week. I played some catch up over the weekend and worked more on light values, adding in some work around recognizing shapes to incorporate into Chinkok Tan’s “Three Step Process” of using shape and varying light values to watercolor paintings that give a three dimensional value to the work.

This weeks progress is, well, I’m not sure. I was dissatisfied with the results. I felt a little off from the change in routine and tired. I pushed myself to finish quickly and so the end result was rushed. I would stop in between layers to let the paint dry before the next step. But rather than rest or continue with creative energy, I was doing chores… not ideal for this brain…

I also picked up a couple of new watercolor art books and REALLY wanted to try some exercises out of those books. But I am trying to be disciplined in my studies and finish one book before moving on… Aghhh!  

Another exercise I tried out... Here I worked on painting shapes using only one color (black). Typically I outline or draw the shapes first and then paint. According to Chinkok Tan, "seeing the edge of a subject is only seeing part of the subject... The edge or the curve might seem right at the time, but it will look wrong when the painting is finished since it doesn't match the shape you see".  Seeing shapes first and then applying light values is a valuable tool for an artist. "If a subject /shape seems too busy, break it down into simpler shapes". -Tan