I hope to have at least two main types of art practices while we’re on the road. 1) detailed botanical paintings in my perpetual journal 2) more loose landscape depicting places we’ve been. While I have a LOT to learn, I feel I’m on the right path with my botanical artwork. Not so much with my landscapes though…
When we were camping at Turkey Run in Indiana, I took a morning to walk a short trail with my portable art setup, painting several scenes. I didn’t let myself take more than 15 minutes with each, hoping it would result in a more loose style. The results were very disappointing.
The dark caves lack depth and look like blobs. (is that first one a path or a cave?) Overall things just aren’t working.
I took to YouTube, watching tutorials for how watercolor artists capture rocks, cliffs and rugged natural landscapes. This led to an afternoon of trying wax resists and scraping wet washes with part of a credit card. The techniques might merely require more practice, but for me they didn’t produce the desired results.
Out of frustration I started doodling on top of one of the partially-finished paintings and to my surprise, the scene suddenly developed some depth and character. Was linework the answer?
Enter a voice from my past. My last formal art instruction (aside from some adult art center classes) was in high school. And my much beloved art teacher would say:
“When you look around, do you see lines around everything? No? Then don’t draw them!”
Clearly, this was decades ago. But the harsh commentary still held sway.
Back to YouTube for insight. Certainly “ink and wash” is a thing…but could it be MY thing? This video was especially helpful (and also led me to Sandy Allnock’s art community, which has been an unexpected joy…highly recommended).
I went back to try it again. The left-hand image was drawn first but in the right-hand image I put down a watercolor wash before the ink. I think I might be able to achieve more of a loose look if I do the watercolor first.
I still have so much to learn, but an afternoon in a park with the dogs allowed time for further experimentation and I’m hopeful this might be a way forward. Predictably, I’ve decided to set aside the advice from my well-meaning high school teacher at least long enough that I can explore this idea. I’m hopeful.