Yesterday was very busy with meetings. I was able to paint sporadically as I ran in and out of the house going from meeting to meeting. I wanted to experiment with the learnings I had earlier in the week so I tried painting Orchid with various materials and processes. In this first painting I sprayed my 140# Arches watercolor paper and splashed on some color after using a small amount of mask to put in some (hopefully) natural shapes. Then I tried to paint an orchid with the Sumi-e brushes and watercolor. My paper was cold press and this paper and the brushes were a mis-match. I would run out of paint right after starting and would lose my stroke. I had to do a final touch-up with watercolor brushes to finish.
Watercolor paper, Sumi-e brushes
For the second exercise I used watercolor paper, brushes and paint. I tried to use the Sumi-e grip and stroke throughout.
Watercolor paper, paint, brush - Sumi-e stroke and grip
I think I’ve decided to focus on learning Sumi-e and delay experimentation. This approach seems like it may be a more efficient use of time.
