Explore, Sketch, Watercolor

Each morning I get up earlier than I need to. I let the dogs out, let the dogs back in, feed the dogs, start the fire, and start on my morning pages, write three full pages in a composition notebook. This is inspired by the “Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. I have had the book for years, I have never finished it. I found a used copy of the workbook here. After, I do a quick watercolor painting.

One thing I have found to make this work is preparation. First I cut up some Arch’s watercolor paper into 3×4 inch rectangles. I’ve placed them in a recipe box with dividers. Each week I pick a set of materials or color palette to work with. I often paint landscapes, but subjects can vary. Sometimes I paint things that I dreamed about, or colors I dreamed about.

Week one paintings I mainly used the Gansai Shadow colors (top row) and graphite Japanesque watercolors (bottom row)

Week one paintings. All with the colors mentioned except the yellow in the stacking rocks is the yellow ochre Art Graf.

After nearly a month of painting every day, here is what I have learned.

1. Keep your materials simple and ready to go. I think of ways to reduce the friction, what can I do to make it easy for me to sit and write and paint.
2. Use the good paper, you deserve to use good paper! Even if what you paint is not great. Use it! Keep the size small enough you can finish your painting in 15 minutes or less.
3. Pick a color palette or medium to work with. I choose a watercolor palette for the week. I thought of sticking with the same color palette for a month but I got bored.
4. If you need reference materials have them set out with your supplies. I am not using references because I tend to spend too much time looking for inspiration instead of painting. I do keep a couple of sketchbooks near for reference.
5. Just do it. Some days I just want to play with a color and see how it moves with water. Other days I work on color mixes. Keep it playful and low pressure. If what you paint is not great that’s okay, you still showed up and painted!

Week two I mainly used a palette I set up from a book I’m studying “Making Colors Sing” by Jeanne Dobie. The moon painting below is from a picture I took of the last moon rise on Jan. 16.

Creative Dice Roll: Unlocking Art Ideas

I’ve been stuck in a creative rut, struggling to come up with ideas to paint or draw. I’ve seen idea generators in books and websites and thought I’d make my own. Each category has six items, and I’ve made it a game of sorts. The idea is you pick a category and roll a dice…

by Emily’s colorful explorations August 16, 2025

Art on the Go: Building a Portable Art Kit

At the beginning of March I started going to work each day. For almost the past two years I have been working from home 3 out of 4 days a week as a technical writer/editor for a scientific laboratory. I can’t lie, working from home has been sweet especially during the cold winter days. And…

by Emily’s colorful explorations March 23, 2025

Mastering My Color Palette: A Journey Through Swatches

Looking back through the sketchbooks I have created, I found several pages of color swatches. Like most artists I’m always trying to perfect my color palette. In the past, I was easily influenced by other artists. I purchased many of the same colored pencils, markers, and paints. First I gathered up my most used (shortest)…

by Emily’s colorful explorations January 31, 2025

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