A Day in the Lifie of a Weaver Trying to Color Inside the Lines

Which she never could, so she gave up coloring. True story.

We had a good meeting yesterday and I was able to see Sam's paintings. She does wonderful Impressionistic things with colors, and has lots of gentle curves. Annabelle uses a wide variety of marks to create moods. I'm more free-spirited in class, but for this exhibition I seem to be going for twee decorations. And the process I've concocted for this lot is a little convoluted so the liveliness of quick gesture drawings are lost.

Like this one. I don't mind the blocky original turning into a curvy, feminine form, and a little "type". And as a keen amateur, I'm satisfied up to the point I add highlights and shadows, but when it comes to coloring in the shapes, I can never get the kind of results I'm after because I don't know what that is. But watercolor paint is difficult and for e.g. the above version has too much blooming. And then there's the cutting into strips to best accentuate the gesture. 

This "shape" was an interesting exercise; I couldn't place/identify all the body parts in the original drawing, so I took a slightly Cubist perspective and connected shapes disregarding accuracy: the angle of the buttocks isn't consistent with the line of the back, and I exaggerated the twist of the neck/head; the left breast doesn't exist, and the line below the left arm is neither the stomach nor the top of the right leg; most hilariously, the left wrist connects to the right elbow, creating a loop of sorts.

I gave this a working title of "Double Take". I keep thinking of adding a clever description that defines these are not watercolor work, but shapes colored in using watercolor paints, because watercolor is a media requiring knowledge, skill and practice I don't have. And then I want to stop worrying about conventional perception and just have fun. 

The next drawing on the window has many interesting areas but I couldn't figure out the pose even after trying to imitate it. Tonight Ben showed me what goes where, so I have a better understanding of the drawing, but with my bung hip, I still couldn't do it. I also started playing around with my "I Hate Getting Old" idea. 

My buddy Simon has to go back to the library tomorrow. Luckily, I found an interview at the end where he describes magical moments in the making of the series; a great treat. I also worked on some postcards; I have so many in progress now! 

These are a fortnight-old and have mostly been delivered to their destinations. I think my favorite color this season is orange. Of all kinds.