Tag: water

Watercolour Sketch a Day – That’s 5 Years!

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Painting

Today marks 5 years of doing a Watercolour Sketch a Day, every day, straight!

On 26 January 2019, I decided to aim to do a Watercolour Sketch a Day as I wanted to:

  • Create a daily Art practice
  • Improve my skills

I remember that after 7 days being happy that I had managed to get that far. Prior to setting my goal of a Watercolour Sketch a Day, I used to do one and then Life would get in the way, and before too long, 2 weeks had gone by. At that rate, it would take me a long time to improve.

Here is Watercolour Sketch a Day #1

It was done on cheap Monte Marte Watercolour paper with Winsor and Newton Cotman Half-Pan Watercolour paint.

About a month after I started, I was about to sign up for 10-week Watercolour course, then the first Covid lockdown hit, and so no course. Instead, I did 120 days straight of YouTube tutorials.

As time went by, gradually I improved however, I also noticed that I would ‘plateau’ and sometimes it seemed that I was going backwards…

Mostly, I endeavour to do the Watercolour Sketch a Day in the early morning before ork although due to various commitments, that is not always possible. The later in the day it gets done, of course the more tired I am so sometimes, the resulting sketch is not as good perhaps as it would have been if I had completed it earlier. Whatever I come up with I post on my Instagram page called ‘Communicating Creatively.’ All 5 years of Watercolour Sketch a Day’s are there.

The latest I have completed was 11.00pm at night.

Also, over time, I changed to using Artist quality Watercolours (Winsor & Newton; Daniel Smith and Schminke), and starting using Artist quality 300gsm/100% Cotton (Saunders Waterford; Winsor & Newton), and Art Spectrum 300gsm/35% Cotton materials.

Here is today’s Watercolour Sketch a Day.

So, where to from here?

I am looking forward to doing Watercolour Sketch a Day, 5 years 1 Day tomorrow. Yes, the journey will continue as I feel I have a long way to go to get to where I want to be as an Artist. I need to get outside my comfort zone more, too.

A few people have asked me, over time, what is the number you are heading for?

My reply is simple, all I am aiming to do is ‘a Watercolour Sketch a Day’ to practice and improve my skills. I just happened to have done that every day, for 5 years straight.

Happy painting!

Till next time!

Written by David Johnson

26 January 2024

https://www.instagram.com/communicatingcreatively/

Calmness Returning

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Haiku Poetry

Softest Of Rain

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Haiku Poetry

8 Minutes Away…

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Stories From Life

It’s been approximately 2 weeks since I last posted. It has been rather a frantic time of late. Packing up the house and moving day(s) always are, and particularly when we we moving in a range of temperatures from 35C to 43C (95F to 109F).

We have moved about 20 kilometres (12.4 miles) West of where we used to live in Camden, which was about 60 kilometres (37 miles) South-West of Sydney, Australia, and are living in an area that is classed as semi-rural.

One of, if not the major highlight out is Lake Burragorang (pictured below) which is part of the Warragamba Dam (Sydney’s largest) Catchment Area, and is part of the Blue Mountains National Park. Best of all it’s only 8 minutes drive away. 🙂

We have visited it a number of times over the years. To have it so close is wonderful. I look forward to sketching and painting up there.

Till next time!

Written by David Johnson

14 December 2023

Things That Attract My Eye Part 7

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Photography

I’ve often said that walking is a great way to clear the mind, do some exercise and I always come up with a few ideas, whether they be for our business, a poem, a painting, sketch etc.

It’s also a way to sharpen our senses and awareness. There is so much beauty around is, natural or man-made, and on my walks, I love to capture this. Here are some more examples of ‘things that attract my eye.’

Till next time! 🙂

Written by David Johnson

28 November 2023

Gentle Rays Fall

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Poetry

Stillness Of The Morn

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Poetry

At Last!!!

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Painting

Last Sunday, I completed my first A4 Watercolour painting for what seems like an eternity.

My Watercolour Sketch a Day continues to roll on…as of today it is 4 years and 216 days however, getting to do an A4 Watercolour has been a challenge over the last 13 months. With moving house, growing the business, family and personal health challenges and other projects it felt for a while there that it was almost impossible to do one.

I’m happy to say that ‘I have broken through that barrier.’

The first A4 painting I was doing on Sunday was going well…until it wasn’t. It was of receding mountain ranges and, after laying the relevant washes, I wrecked the mountains endeavouring to add detail.

The previous night I didn’t get a good night’s sleep and I was about to just walk away from my Art Room, when I thought, ‘maybe I could something simpler’, and at least I could come away with something. The image below is what I painted.

A much simpler scene to paint and I am pleased with the result given how tired I was. I do think in hindsight that the rocks are not punchy enough so I will work on that next time.

Still, as stated previously, I am pleased with the result and I had fun which is the main thing.

Till next time…happy painting!

Written by David Johnson

30 August 2023

Ocean Creatures – A New Adventure!

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Painting

Last year, as I was foraging through the Art section of the Argyle Emporium in Goulburn NSW Australia, (where they have 500,000 second-hand books), I came across a book, ‘Learn to Draw & Paint Ocean Creatures’ by Daniel DePierre. It cost the princely sum of $2.00, is A4 in size and is only 31 pages in length.

After the initial purchase, it sat on the shelf for some time. I would pick it up occasionally, look through it and think, ‘I should have a go at sketching/painting one of the subjects.’

I bought the book initially because I had never attempted to sketch/paint marine creatures and thought it would ‘get me out of my comfort zone.’ Every time I looked at attempting one though, I had thoughts like, ‘I really need to be less tired to do this’, or ‘I’m not in the mood to attempt this’ etc. This sort of thinking is not really helpful at all.

On the 23 January this year, I finally decided to attempt one, a Manta Ray. I am using the images as a reference to sketch from but I am not actually doing the tutorials. This was for Day 1,452 of a Watercolour Sketch a day. I was pretty happy with my attempt.

I had planned to do my next marine creature the week after (and do one a week) however, it didn’t work out that way. The next time I attempted one was on 14 May (4 years, 108 days of a Watercolour Sketch a Day). This time, I attempted the Walrus and am pleased with this one as well.

Third one attempted was a Dolphin. Love Dolphins! Such intelligent, friendly creatures. The Dolphin sketch was the most fun thus far. This one was done on the 9 July this year (4 years, 164 days of a Watercolour Sketch a Day). My Wife (who loves Dolphins even more than me), wants me to do an A4 version so we can get it framed and hung on the wall.

The final one I have attempted as at today was a Blue Whale which I did this morning as my, 4 years, 171 days of a Watercolour Sketch a Day. Very happy with this one!

There are 10 more marine creatures left to in the book and some of them appear quite challenging:

  • Clown Fish
  • Emperor Penguin
  • Great White Shark
  • Deep Sea Angler
  • Moray Eel
  • Whale Shark
  • Lobster
  • Sea Horse
  • Sea Turtle
  • Octopus

I’m sure that the above list will be as fun as they are challenging, which are two great reasons to do them. I shall be revisiting the ones that I have already done, over time as well to see if I can improve on them.

It is really enjoyable, ‘stepping out of one’s comfort zone.’ Stepping out of your comfort zone really is ‘where growth happens.’

When was the last time you stepped out of your comfort zone?

Till next time, happy sketching and painting! 🙂

Written, Sketched and Painting by David Johnson

16 July 2023

The Character of Trees

by communicatingcreatively, posted in Photography

When I go for a walk, I love looking at trees.

Each tree has its own special character. The branches often remind me of veins or arteries. Here are a few that I’ve come across recently. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. 🙂 All shot on an iPhone 8Plus.

Till next time!

Written & Photographed by David Johnson

3 July 2023