When I came out of Costco last Sunday, I saw this lady sitting on the bumper of a van, reading the newspaper whiling away the time, waiting for someone who probably “just ran in” to the huge store. What attracted my attention at first, was her patience; then, I noticed that the sprig of leaves on her hat exactly matched the color of the van. I loved the shape and color of her hat and how the hat highlighted the colors of her floral skirt. I knew that I would have to try to draw her and that would require taking a photo.
Uh oh, I thought. Courtesy would require that I ask her permission before photographing her. I knew, however, that if I did that, I would lose the picture to self-consciousness. So, I “stole” the photo with the 3x telefoto lens on my digital camera as I drove out of the parking lot. Dear lady, wherever you are in the desert, I apologize for my rudeness; I hope you would be appeased by knowing that I found you lovely enough to paint.
Derwent inktense pencils with water in Canson sketchbook. I am not happy with how I used the pencils and with how the paper reacted when wet. I look at the talented watercolor artists who post to the Everyday Matters blog and love the simplicity of their watercolors. I always end up opting for too much detail and ruin the feel of water color. I will have to try to do some drawings and just apply a light wash for color. When I use the Inktense again, I will try another surface.
