My new watercolor box arrived.

Well, new to me. As I said earlier, it's ancient. I bought it on eBay and it's a bit beat up.

The ceramic half-pans are still caked with ancient paint; so caked that even after a couple of hours of soaking in warm water they're still not coming loose.

The lid closes real well, and the five little bowls inside are all in great shape.

I hope to win more of these in the future, as I just love working with them. I probably should've taken some "before" pictures to show what it looked like; but I will for sure take some after I have it all cleaned up. It looks like it good use a good coating of Rustoleum, but I'll know for sure once I get all the old paint and grunge off.

Overall, I'm happy with it...and I guess that's what counts. :)

No Donations!

I'm playing with a new template, and I see it has a link to make a donation. Please don't! I'll never see the money, and I'm planning to fix it as soon as I can figure out how.

My DS is drawing!

I can't believe it, but he is.

He used to draw all the time -every single day. He drew the most fantastical monsters and dragons and sea creatures. He drew warriors of every type, and with some of the most incredible armor ever devised. Some of his drawings were tiny -inchies, I think they're called. Some of them were huge. They were all 100 percent original and I loved, loved, loved them.

Then, he quit. My Dad gave him a hard time, telling him to "grow up and draw serious stuff" and tried to teach him the "right way" to do it. And so, of course, DS lost his enthusiasm, and lost his desire to draw at all.

I talked to him the other night, and told him how disappointed I was that he didn't draw anymore. I also promised him that if he would make some new drawings I would buy him some good art supplies.

And he's doing it! Last night he drew an island with a giant eyeball suspended overhead, watching the natives. And this evening he's working on a tree of some sort. Whatever it is, it's beautiful.

I just hope he keeps at it. I know it doesn't come easy any more; but I sure hope he doesn't stop ever again.

10,000 hours

I've been thinking about the many blog posts and editorials I've read about "10,000 hours" being the amount of time and work someone has to put in to truly master a skill. 

Van Gogh was a master, and I think he probably did put in a solid 10,000 hours.  He worked himself way too hard, though. 

Me...I've always had trouble with what Robert Genn calls "stickability".  That is, being able to continue working on a single skill 'till it's mastered despite all obstacles, setbacks and distractions.

I love to garden.  I love to sew.  I'm obsessed with growing my hair out to my ankles.  I have kids at home, a
husband who likes to eat now and then, too many pets, and am constantly worried about money.  Okay...me and everyone else.  But I don't feel I accomplish a third of what many other people do.  And I mean average people, not the driven and strident like Van Gogh.

I also tend to spend a lot of time fighting with my environment.  I want to sit and paint...first, I have to find a place.  Then I have to gather all the stuff I need.  Then I have to actually sit down and do it...and that's usually the hardest part.  I sit down, someone needs me.  I sit down, I have to get right back up.  I sit down, someone knocks on the door, the phone rings, the toilet overflows, the dog starts barking.... Yeah.  And if that's not enough, just wait 'till all those things happen right in the middle of a nice, flat wash.  :(  I've ruined several paintings because someone just can't wait 'till I've finished.

But...that's not the whole issue.  I know a lot of it is commitment issues.  As a child, I was not raised to see things through.  My parents certainly couldn't.  If anything took longer than three days to accomplish, all bets were off.  My father walked away from his jobs more often than anyone I've ever known.  He just couldn't stay with something if anything more attractive glittered in the distance.

Anyway...not here to whine.  Rather, here to try to figure out ways to put in the time.  I've been painting for about five years, but probably haven't put in 200 hours.  I let anything and everything get in the way; from simply "I'm not in the mood" to "I have no inspiration" to...you fill-in-the-blank.

10,000 hours?

Maybe I can do that. :)

Current Palette

I know it's almost protocol -artists (and wannabes) have to post their current palettes for the world to ogle.  And since I do a lot of ogling, I guess I should give back some.  So...here's my current palette, subject to change at any time. :)

1. Quin. Magenta (Winsor & Newton)
2. Perm. Madder Lake (Rembrandt)
3. Winsor Red (Winsor & Newton)
4. Pyrrol Orange (Daniel Smith)
5. New Gamboge (Winsor & Newton)
6. Nickel Titanate Yellow (Winsor & Newton)
7. Bismuth Yellow (Winsor & Newton)
8. Permanent Sap Green (Winsor & Newton)
9. Permanent Green (Rembrandt)
10. Viridian (Rembrandt)
11. Ultramarine Turquoise (Daniel Smith)
12. Peacock Blue (Holbein)
13. Cobalt Blue (Winsor & Newton)
14. Prussian Blue (Winsor & Newton)
15. French Ultramarine Blue (Winsor & Newton)
16. Indigo (Winsor & Newton)
17. Quin. Gold, Deep (Daniel Smith)
18. Burnt Sienna (Rembrandt)
19. Sepia (Rembrandt)
20. Payne's Gray (Winsor & Newton)

Well...that's the 20 I use most.  I have a "secondary" palette that cotains a few things I only use on occasion.  I intend to start doing more works using these extra colors so I can learn more about them.  After I do that, I just may make some changes to my list above.

1. Permanent Rose
2. Opera Rose
3. Cadmium Red, Medium
4. Indian Red
5. Cadmium Orange
6. Cadmium Yellow, Medium
7. Yellow Ochre
8. Raw Sienna
9. Green Gold
10. Olive Green
11. Terre Verte
12. Hooker's Green
13. Cerulean Blue
14. Cobalt Violet
15. Ultramarine Violet
16. Burnt Umber

I also have some metallic paints that I haven't really tried.  I keep gold and silver in my auxilliary palette, but almost never even think to get them wet.  Maybe I should try those this weekend, just to get a "feel" for them.  Honestly, I think I'm kind of afraid they might a) be addictive and b) mess up my brushes.  So I guess I should put those fears aside and just dip in.  Who knows?  I may love them.

I also have several watercolor "starter sets" that came pre-loaded with different colors, but so far I haven't really been fond of many of the choices.  I think they just load them up with a few colors they know everyone can use, then fill it out with cheap stuff.  The result looks good, but isn't really very practical.  And I don't understand filling slots with black or white...how many watercolorists really use those?  I only use white to cover a mistake, and black if I'm doing something monochromatic -and for that I prefer sepia.

One exception is my Yarka paints.  The set of 24 has a great color range that I found completely useful.  Sadly, most of their colors aren't lightfast.  If they would fix that, I would probably only use Yarka brand, as I love most of them.  They're grainy and moody and I love the "semi-moist" aspect.  They flow nicely and I always enjoy using them.

Making Changes.... New Beginnings?

I've been updating these pages.  Adding some of the gadgets and putting up links to stuff I've found interesting.  One thing I appreciate is the "blog list" which allows me to delete some of these off my favorites, and shows me at a glance which ones have been updated.  Sometimes just scrolling through my favorites list gives me a headache, and I love not having to open each page to see if something is new.  But, yeah...I do have a long list, so I've stuck it at the bottom.  I probably should break it up into several smaller lists, but...more work, less drawing time.

And speaking of drawing time...I didn't do much yesterday, and none so far today. :(  My Dad was supposed to come into town today so I could drive him to the bank. But...he never showed up so I spent my day waiting around for nothing. :(

I've found so many inspiring ideas online lately.  It makes me itch to get working on something...but I still get scattered and lose my sense of direction and find it hard to commit to one thing. 

I've been working on palettes.  I'm fascinated by other people's equipment and color choices.  Granted, most of them follow the popular standard "limited palette" of a warm and cool of each primary, and a couple of earth tones.  They're beautiful and I still see a lot of individuality in them.  But...I'm really fascinated by the ones that break the mold.  The people who carry around 72 colors; the folks who choose really off-beat pigments that I've never even seen in outside of art supply catalogs; the folks who manage with just three colors or do all their work in a single monochrome.  I love looking, and sometimes see something so breathtaking that the image stays with me all day.

(deep breath) My name is DragonLady, and I've become a color and paintbox junkie.  I'm completely addicted, and I have no intention of giving it up in any number of steps. 

There.  I said it. :)

I've said it before.... I hate eBay

I hate eBay, because I love it.  :(

There I was, just browsing around, when I found the cutest little antique watercolor box.  It has eight little pans (half pans, I think), and five little porcelain or ceramic mixing bowls in a 7x3" metal box.  It's old, and beat-up, but I think it has class.  I put it on "watch" and thought about it all night.

Today, I decided I'd better buy it.  I was a Buy It Now auction, and I was afraid someone would snap it up while I was thinking about it.  So...yep, it's mine now.  I'll try to take some pictures when it arrives.

But...as usual, I can't just buy one thing on eBay and be happy.  Oh, no...uh-huh.  As long as they know I have cash in my pocket, they just keep serving up stuff I can't live without.  So not 15 minutes after I bought the little box, I went back to the list of new items and found...a much larger antique water color box.  Yep.  Tin, with 26 (one is missing) little ceramic or porcelain (although...to be honest, in the picture they look like plastic) half pans, and a white tin mixing palette.  Of course...I had to bid.  Despite the fact it's in the UK and the shipping will be exhorbitant.

I love these little boxes.  And I do believe that cool art stuff is more inspiring then 'make it do' stuff.  Yes; I could use a white china plate from a thrift store to mix my paints.  But...where's the fun in that?  Yes; I do have a great palette system with my little metal gem trays -they work perfectly.  But, the sight of all those paints lined up in little open pans just waiting for anyone to dip in a damp brush wakes up my muse better than coffee and pancakes.  So...I'm indulging her.  I want to paint; I want to paint a lot.  So if this is part of the cost of motivating myself and the ticket to suddenly seeing "ART" in the mundane dust of my everyday life, so be it.

I probably won't win the second box.  But, I had to try. If I do, I'm not sure how to go about refurbishing it, or even if I should.  Maybe I'll just hang it on the wall for a while. :)

She's Alive!!!!

I know...I guess I'm not much of a blogger, really.  I keep thinking I'll post something, but then life just kinda gets in the way.  Maybe it's because I spend so much of my internet time reading and posting on the various forums that my little 'blog just doesn't seem to warrant much attention.

I've been wandering the halls of altered art.  I love some of it. I see beautiful, sometimes haunting images wrought from old junk mail, broken bits of machinery and tools, old books and little boxes.  I'm amazed.  But, some of it looks just like what it is -bits of old junk mail and broken stuff that belongs in the trash thoughtlessly stuck to other stuff that belongs in the trash.  Of course, I realize no one makes a masterpiece everytime, and my own "failures" at any project are often a huge majority.  I'd guess that I love about one finished item out of ten, and we won't talk about the stuff I don't bother to finish.

Anyway...my latest "project" is small journals handmade of cheap paper.  I'm loving this! 

I love it because:

1) I use up my cheap materials, of which I have so many that they've really become just clutter.  I have cheap watercolors -Cotman and Talens that otherwise wouldn't be used up at all.  I have old tubes of acrylics I've never opened and don't even know if they're any good.  I keep finding stuff I bought but have never used that can find a real purpose on these journals.

2) While using my cheap materials on cheap paper, I'm not so afraid of making mistakes that cause the whole project to end up in the trash.  That's one of my biggest hang-ups.  Everyone says "It's only paper" but for me that paper is expensive!!!  We have trouble just keeping our heads above water, so turning a $10.00 sheet of paper into trash is just too much for me.  So this cheap stuff lets me splash and spill without the crippling fears that come over me.


3) I feel more willing to try to experiement with things that I wouldn't even attempt on something I put more time or effort into.  This does lead to some disasters, though.  I made a awesome drawing of my art mannequin that really turned out great.  I loved it.  But I used a Micron pen to define it, and accidentally covered a place that should've remained white.  So, I got the brilliant idea to cover the area with a white paint thing that my Dad gave me...Yikes!...It smeared the Micron ink everywhere.  I didn't even know that ink could be smeared -nothing else ever has.  I tried to cover the smear with some Liquid Paper, which just made a bigger mess.  Finally, I used some white watercolor paint to cover it...that mostly worked.  Now, it still has a dark, smeary smudge on an otherwise pristine little drawing.  But...I've decided not to stress over it.  The whole point of these little journals will be to try new things, and see what works.  And I'm just going to keep reminding myself that if I can make an awesome drawing once, I can do it again.   It's in me somewhere, even if I do have trouble getting it out of me and on to the paper.

4) I love them because once a page is full, it really does look pretty awesome.   I have a space to do things I've never done before, and right next to something else I've never done before. :)  I can draw, paint, glue on stuff, play with everything and anything.  A bit of string, a picture from a magazine, an old envelope from a lost letter...it all works somewhere.  Or, if it doesn't, I haven't lost anything.  And, I've learned something one way or the other. :)

So...that's what I've been up to.  I've been buying old books from the thrift store and gathering free magazines for pictures and inspiration.  I haven't used any of them yet; they're still just lying around in stacks.  But I do intend to start ripping and cutting soon.  For one thing, I don't want to make another huge mess of unused stuff...so I guess I need to get off my computer and start sorting and trimming.