I think it’s no secret that acrylics are my favourite art medium. I love the ability to texture and layer, to leave hidden messages and power symbols buried under layers of luscious paints. These characteristics of acrylics also make them a much more involved medium to work in: I can spend days fiddling with layers and styles; etching and writing; fixing and tweaking. And while I love it, I also wanted to explore the whimsicality of quicker illustrations and fewer layers of paint.
The best medium for this exploration is watercolours. So that was one of my goals for this year, to explore watercolour illustrations, which felt scarily exciting. And I’ve been doing just that all of last month.
The Power of a Daily Practice
I spent some time at the painty table each and every day in March (yay!); on most days, I created a watercolour illustration from start to finish as part of my oracle deck creation process. And the learning from just the art portion of this process has been immense.
I’m still somewhat scared of watercolours {a little less than I was at the start of the month}, and I cannot claim to know a great deal about them. But I have learnt quite a lot from creating with them almost every day. Not only have I have mastered some watercolour techniques, I have also figured out my preferred ways of using watercolours. For example, I love them for whimsical illustrations, but I don’t think I’m ever going to paint landscapes with them. I also loved mixing them up with acrylics in a mixed media piece I created last month, and I will be exploring more uses for watercolours in mixed media paintings. So exciting!
That’s the benefit of a daily practice, though, isn’t it? When you do something every day, you quickly figure out your strengths, weaknesses, and preferences when it comes to working with or on your chosen project. It can be art related, writing, meditation, exercise – anything at all!
Have you ever devoted an entire month to exploring a particular thing, and what did you learn from it?
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You are an organised person Modern Gypsy…. I love water colours and would love to try acrylics. But first I need to find time before I find that brush
I agree.. I somehow find it difficut to maitain a discipline of doing something daily. For days I have been planning to have a little journal of sorts on my blog, and write daily. I am still to get to it 🙁
Lovely to visit you here as well as in Moonshine! Always good to have a reminder about daily practice…especially with a time boundary ie a month. Again, LOVE your oracle deck. And all best wishes as you launch your ecourse! <3
Very cool practice and impressive discipline. I’m doing the 100 Day Project on Instagram, but I made my commitment general to improve my chances of completing the challenge.
I still haven’t quite figured out water-colours, though, like you, I prefer them for cute, whimsical things – smaller things, even.
Every time I try to do a month long thing, I bail out. Lol I’m glad you were able to do this for so long and I’m glad you learned a lot.
I wish I could practice daily. I often start with one sketch and then work on it on and off. Your artworks are so beautiful. I love the way you mix colors and creature textures that are colorful and appealing. Love your instagram feed.
Ahh..your post entices me to play with colours.
Practice is the key, isn’t it? In every sphere of life. I do try to work on my writing every day, for practice, a sort of meditation.
Loving your feed.
What a great post! When I was in art school a bit over a decade ago, I used to practice every day. It really helped me improve. Sadly I lost interest in art but it would be a great way to go about it if I wanted to get into it again. x
I love the rich colors I see here, which reminds me of the work produced by amateur artists at my daughter-in-law’s art therapy studio in Jacksonville, FL. She teaches her clients to simply play with colors. My husband is also an artist, blessing my blog with restored photos and original line drawings.
Not an artist, I ado ppreciate art in all its forms. Plus, I write daily in my gratitude book. The SIPB group introduced me to you, Shinjini
Very interesting. I might just pick up a paint brush. Thanks for sharing. #Ablogginggoodtime
I love both sides of the word “practice.”
I need to show up everyday and expect to produce something meaningful.
And I need to hone my skills by practicing, repeating, correcting, and growing.
Thanks for sharing your work here!
Your dedication is impressive! I’m such a flake, I never stick to anything… Thanks for linking up to #ablogginggoodtime