Saturday, July 17, 2010

Saturday-1:45pm

Karma slept in the heat all afternoon on the porch next to her cat grass--hehe!
Beautiful "looking" day yesterday, but hot.
Supposed to be even hotter today--90s--with scattered thunderstorms. But right now we have blue sky and lots of white clouds here.
****
Karma--hidden behind the cat grass planter--hehe! You can see she likes to pull some of the grass out by the roots. I have noticed that since I haven't been trimming the grass it is doing much better for a longer period of time. I was always cutting it down a couple of inches and drying it to use in handmade paper. Guess I should leave it alone--hehe!
I got out the watercolor block again yesterday--just really restless. Don't have to concentrate too hard to play with abstract bookmarks--something I could do to help take my mind off the annoying mouth pain. Made this one with Winsor Newton paints. I was surprised at how it turned out when dry because it looks so rich with dark red and deep yellow color here.
Used the scrunched up saran wrap and left it to dry.
I have another watercolor block that's a little larger and I decided to use that one, too. Used Maimeri Blu paints and splattered Dr. Martin's (calligraphy colors) copperplate gold all over it...
...scrunched up saran wrap (my favorite method) and left it to dry overnight, too.
This morning I was surprised at how the Winsor Newton faded down to more of a pink and most of the yellow was kind of taken over by the pink. Interesting!
The Maimeri Blu paints retained their color better. Looked better dry than wet--hehe!
I hadn't used the Dr. Martin's copperplate gold before and it is nice and shimmery. Acts more like an acrylic, but I liked the effect.
Watercolors are so interesting to me because they do shift and change and move. They all fade, but some brands do keep their color better than others. I know I will go back and look at these pictures later and compare all my brands. This is a fun experiment--and I'm making bookmarks at the same time--tada! Always lifts my spirits.
****
Meanwhile...just hanging in here. Discovered that taking the pain pills again gave me diarrhea! Talk about an "Aha Moment"!! Here all along they have added to the IBS problem! Wow! Therefore--I haven't taken a pain pill since Thursday--and have been a bit more mouth miserable, shall we say. Only a couple more days... :)
****
"Difficulties strengthen the mind, as well as labor does the body."
Seneca

10 comments:

Toriz said...

Glad you're enjoying the experiments with the paints. :)

Sorry to hear you're in such pain. Hope the dentist can sort you out. :(

Rita said...

Tori--Sorry you can't see them, my friend. Not that they are anything spectacular--hehe! I don't know if you've noticed, but more often I have been describing the pictures I post a little more. Thinking of you, sweet lady! ;)

AliceKay said...

Karma looks like she's guarding her stash. :)

Beautiful skies. You have such wide open spaces out there.

The first watercolor really looked different after it dried. Hard to believe it's the same watercolor block. The second one turned out really nice. You're going to have a lot of bookmarks when you're finished. :)

I hope your trip to the dentist on Monday takes away your tooth pain. Hang in there...it's just a few more days.

akartisan said...

Keep painting - it will keep your mind off the pain. I wish we were having some sun. I just looked at the weather prediction - supposed to off and on rainy for the next week.
Boo! Not Happy!

Rebag said...

love this method...Ya never know the true outcome..but keep up the good work...
always love seeing what you are doing

Someday I am going to learn how!!

Have a great week

Rita said...

AliceKay--We do have wide open spaces up here. :) I know--I was kind of shocked at how different the Winsor Newton one was! :)

Sue--Painting is okay, but it has been working better for me to escape into a book or movie. We're sick of rain and stroms, too! :)

Reba--Yes, it is always a surprise as to what you end up with with the saran wrap. I think that's why I enjoy playing with it so much. :)

Anonymous said...

absolutely beautiful bookmarks and very pretty colors I love them!

akartisan said...

another way to do the saran wrap method is to tear it off in larger pieces, lay it flat on the wet paint, then "smoosh" it with your fingertips into patterns, then let it dry before taking it off. See if you like it like that. You will get more distinct, stained glass looking patterns that way.

Intense Guy said...

Willie Nelson Karma...

In fact, she probably wrote this song:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/157048/ill_never_smoke_weed_with_willie_again/

I hope your tooth(s) is made all better today!

Rita said...

Thanks, Lynn!

Sue--I know about that method, too. I just have preferred this way. I might not be as good at the sliding saran wrap around because I didn't like the looks of it as well in the end. But that was several years ago in a WC class--might give it a go again. :)

Iggy--OMG! That is so funny! Now I picture Karma stoned out of her mind sprawled next to her "grass". And I didn't even realize she knew Willie Nelson! ROFL!!