437 More Doodling, More Painting

My friend Tricia and I were talking about how we didn't like drawing people, so I had to give it a shot...

I really don't like drawing people. I want to be able to draw people that look lifelike, but that just isn't going to happen. I don't have the patiece for that kind of detail even if I possessed the skill. 

I had cut some small pieces of watercolor paper (I have had this paper for about 18 years, ever since I took a watercolor class with my friend Kathy when we were in high school), and I grabbed a piece about the size of a playing card.

I DO like her .... but she is still not exactly what I had in mind.

Katie has also been doodling, and she got so mad when she saw I had painted one of them. I was using it to test paint colors before I used them. I think her doodle is awesome!

I have had the idea of tree branches entwined to form a heart for a while, but I hadn't tried sketching it up. This one is about a 4"x6".  Most of the work on this one was done outside while Connor ran wild. The weather is slowly turning warmer, and it is hard to contain him on the good days.

My friend Kathleen suggested doing one of my doodles on canvas, and this is my first attempt. It is definitely a little harder to work on the canvas. The surface is more difficult to draw on for many reasons, but I think the effect is worth it in the end. The canvas is 6"x6"x2 3/8".

It was at this point I began to debate what I should do with all the white space. With the canvas being so deep that was A LOT of white. At first I thought I would just paint around it in black, which would make the circle pop .... but then I started thinking I could continue the doodle all the way around. I wasn't sure if it would be too much, so I seeked a second opinion. I went back to Kathleen and asked her what she thought, and she thought it would look good to continue the doodle.

So, I did ... And I LOVE HOW IT TURNED OUT!!

Next step .... sealing it. I painted this in watercolor, so I knew it had to be sealed. However, I wasn't too sure of what to use or exactly how to accomplish sealing it without ruining it. Once again I turned to my artist friends. I could Google the info all day, but I would prefer getting this info from someone I know who has worked with it. Linda Woods and Kathleen came through for me again. Linda gave me the name of the spray she uses, and Kathleen gave me moral support as I prepared to spray. Thank goodness for my friends... and the internet that introduced us ;)

I got it sealed without mishap ... and hopefully I will be adding it to my etsy shop soon.