I just wrote you a lengthy comment. Did you get it? I will rewrite if you didn't.

Love your sharing! You asked if we had drawn anything today and, if not, then draw our lunch. Well, today is still young (only 10:15 a.m. here), but I'll share something I did last night that was exciting--that makes me feel like I am on to something.

Because I have not the time these days to take many classes in person, I'm a sucker for a good technique book. The other day, I went into a nearby art store to buy some liquid frisket. This store is heaven for me. Whoever is choosing their merchandise is doing a GREAT job. It gets better every time I am there.

While in the watercolor section for the frisket, I saw and bought this oversized, spiral bound, chart-style watercolor lesson book. One of the early points the author makes is to lay a lot of color into the first wash across the page. You then go back in the second time and add darks...but his point was to get MULTI COLORS on there first.

Having read some really good watercolor technique books lately (Pour It On for example), I'm finding that there are as many ways of doing watercolor as there are watercolorists. And each technique has its own merit.

Well, I took some heavyweight WC paper and tried this "lay on the color" suggestion. I did a very elementary sketch first of a scene I drive along all the time...a road near my house that goes right along the airport.

I did not particularly like my sketch, but I was really surprised how it looked when the watercolors dried. It was "interesting", and definitely worth continuing to practice.

I had sectioned this piece of WC paper into three 4x6 segments. This morning, I was sending something to a friend and needed a scrap of paper to write a note on...and thought, that little scene is just perfect. It is not meant to be a finished painting, but it was way better than a post-it and conveyed a nice arty feel. (I wrote my message right on the painting.)

Last night, I tried the lay-on-the-color in my journal, but I already knew that the paper is not heavy enough and buckles badly from even just a little water. I like the paper because my pen rides nicely across the surface, and am reluctant to use heavier WC paper for journaling, but maybe I'll have to rethink this.

Have a great day!

(I thought I had lost these comments, but after I sent you the note asking if you got it, I found it still sitting here. So here 'tis.)

Rita — Thanks for your inspiring comment.
I am committed, and will start this week, to learning how to do watercolors properly, I tend to either use thm to slop color on, or occasionally to make a horrible puddle of brown.
My plan is to look at some books and do some exercises but I am doing it with some trepidations as I am not a frisket cutting, exercising doing sort of person.
(The Empire State Building thing on this page is colored with my beloved Dr. Ph. Martins.)

Danny, I loved the NYC view with Dr. Ph. Martins. Do you carry them around
in bottles? Put them in pens? (I sometimes put a couple colors in Niji
waterbrushes, but that's mostly for monochromatic stuff.)

I'm not sure about blog etiquette (or spell checkers!). Am I suppose to
introduce myself? If so this is Roz, who sketched Dottie every day for the
last five years of her life.

Oh, I forgot the other thing I liked was the grid pattern on the page. Did
you make this journal yourself or is it a commercial one?

And as for drawing lunch. Whenever anyone comes out to lunch with me I make
THEM draw in my journal!!!!

Roz:
I am so honored that you stopped by. Your Dot drawings are a regular inspiration to me. (Check em out folks at http://www.rozworks.com/dot.html and you may never bother with my scribblings again).
These pages have a wird orighin. We wre given an ancient stamp albumwhich had thesebnice thick pages with gridded pages each of which had a vellum page to protect it. The pages were mounted in a cover that was springloaded and we took the pages with us on our trips, then put them in the album wach night.
As for Dr. Martins, I've only used them with a brush or dip pen right out of the bottle but I just discovered waterbrushes and they are my favorite new thing. I've only ever loaded them with water to paint with but I will branch out immediately. I only have two ( they're a little pricy) but would love to have dozens, each loaded with a different nutty Synchromatic color.

hey dad
why did you put my drawing on the internet?
I also wanted to know how long you have been working on your web site?

I really enjoyed your vacation in New York. Sometimes I try to think visit rather than live and occasionally take the SI Ferry. I may get inspired by your NY journal and do another vacation later this month and start just outside my office door - the Empire State building.

I started with Dr. M's, too, but watercolours aren't that hard if you think "thin" and you can get some good books, occasionally, over on Carmine Street at the bookstore across from the Grey Dog Cafe for dirtcheap. Also if you haven't tried them, two helpmates are Niji watercolour brushes and Peerless watercolor pads (colour compressed on paper).

Happy New Year, fellow New Yorker and

Thanks.

That was a good vacation. MY Idea, Right? thought so! That's one of Jack's best, and certainly earliest drawings of the ESB. Sure wish I could draw like you two.

Oh, and I forgot to thank you for revisiting that trip journal here- as always, not only do you inspire, you also
RE-Inspire! (oxymoron-ish huh?)
This one also made me feel a sense of wonder at drawing's ability to evolve and get better and better with practice and time, HOWEVER, oldies but goodies do apply and that's why I like when you remind me and your drawing-friends not to over-judge or ex-out a drawing.
Maybe that's what makes ART so essential....it's one of those mysteries of life that often becomes better with age. Maybe especially true in a culture so obsessed with anti-aging.

Here's to Wine and Nature and Love and Art.
And to You, Danny, for reminding me
every moment matters.