So, on the penultimate day, the weather during our Level II kayaking skills course, the weather continued beautiful, warm and sunny —and with dead flat water, which frankly I can access any time I go to the local beach to practise kayaking; on the other hand, Spider Island[1] featured fabulous pink orchids the like for which I might not get to see for another decade or two[2] —so I skipped the kayaking to paint them.
sketchbook page, 2026; lumix LX-100, natural light; unified transform, crop & color adjust applied in gimp
I started by making some preparatory sketches in the hope that I would become more familiar with the flower's anatomy. As you can see I got frustrated with my efforts and reverted to something easier, a nearby wild rose. Eventually, though, I decided it was time to stop farting around & attempt the real deal, below:
watercolours on rag paper; squared up and colour adjusted in gimp
It did not go well.[3]
Sketchbook page, impressionistic watercolour of the clump. lumix LX-100, natural light; unified transform, crop & color adjust applied in gimp (alas, not the same colour adjust curves as for the 2nd image)
See, the thing is, though not as time-sensitive as, say, performing music (or dance, or, hm, athletic activities), still drawing and painting do need consistent practise to maintain a level of quality. Beadmaking, as I've mentioned previously, is sort of between playing music and drawing, because you do have to keep your bead warm, and slow (i.e. out-of-practise) technique allows cold seals and other problems to propagate (sometimes literally, in the case of cracks...)
But even botanical illustration, which is a slow (extreeeeeemely s-l-o-o-w) technique, involving dozens or even hundreds of delicate washes (called glazes) still requires a robust mental checklist for what comes next; and only having sort-of mastered this skill, I typically get frustrated and revert to the faster styles for which Eastern painters are particularly renowned.
[1]not its real name, but more appropriate—never saw the density or variety of species in my life
[2]I mean, considering the years I likely have left, literally a once in a lifetime experience
[3]Admittedly I'm less unhappy with it now than when I had the subject, and thus the vision of exactly how I wanted it to turn out, right at hand.
Unless otherwise noted, text, image and objects depicted therein copyright 1996--present sylvus tarn.
