On the Road with Gouache

I recently made a driving trip, crossing from Texas to Alabama on I-10 with my husband at the wheel. I devised a tiny palette from an Altoids tin and purchased a waterbrush so I could pass the time painting.

Above you can see how I clipped it to my Moleskine sketchpad with a faux chamois (Shamwow, I think) cloth, and my waterbrush in the foreground. The whole kit, including the gouache paint tubes to refill my palette, fit into a pint bag.

Below are some of the paintings done on the road or sitting on beaches.

Animal #30

30 Animals in January

Animals #29

30 Animals in January

Animals #28

30 Animals in January

Animals #27

30 Animals in January

Animal #26

30 Animals in January

Animal #25

30 Animals in January

Animal #24

30 Animals in January

Animal #23

30 Animals in January

Animal #22

30 Animals in January

Animal #21

30 Animals in January

Animal #20

30 Animals in January

Animal #19

30 Animals in January

Animal #18

30 Animals in January

(As originally conceived:)

Animal #17

30 Animals in January

Animal #16

30 Animals in January

Animal #15

30 Animals in January

Animal #14

30 Animals in January

Animal #13

30 Animals in January

Animal #12

30 Animals in January

Animal #11

30 Animals in January

Animal #10

30 Animals in January

Animal #9

30 Animals in January

Animal #8

30 Animals in January

Animal #7

30 Animals in January

Animal #6

30 Animals in January

Animal #5

30 Animals in January

Animal #4

30 Animals in January

6x6", watercolor pencils, from a Sktchy App photo.

Animal #3

30 Animal Paintings in January

The planes of this cat's face pleased me. Such an attitude! Is she annoyed or disgusted or just fed up? The blue background added a little serenity to this piece.

Done in watercolor pencils, 6x6", from a photo found on the Sktchy App.

Animal #2

30 Animal Paintings in January

The jazzy green background seems to energize this pup's portrait. I used loose is lines to express his energy and that wiry coat. The paper is 6x6".

Animal #2

I have a set of 12 Derwent Watercolors Pencils and 24 Staedtler Watercolor Crayons that I used interchangeably, though for the most part this was done with the pencils. His bright eye pleases me most. 

30 Animals In January 2018--Animal #1

Too long away from regularly painting, in January 2018 I decided to paint 30 Animal Paintings in a month. I needed to challenge myself because I would be teaching a class that involved painting animals and needed to warm up. I chose many animal photos from a wide variety of sources, including ones from a great app called Sktchy (it's an iOS app only at present), and from friends who allowed me to use their pet pictures. I decided not to force anything except the act of drawing/painting. I wanted these to be fun, exploratory, and playful.

Animal #1

This little guy is 6x6", done in a sketchpad I had on hand. I used some watercolor pencils, exploring them anew after not having touched them in years. I like his jaunty, relaxed look. A little cartoonish, I decided not to judge myself too harshly, but to enjoy what there was to like about it.

It was a good start to a month long challenge, with room for growth and a little bit of fun.