Bought myself a 12-piece set of watercolor pencils last weekend. Trying to tap into some of my creative energies again.
There were larger sets of watercolor pencils available--from the still rather modest 24 and going up to the substantial 36. I chose the smallest set because I wanted the fun (and challenge) of mixing my own colors, layering one over the other without sometimes not knowing what effect it would have. I sort of wanted to go back to the basics and re-familiarize with color theory, and working with a limited palette would force me to do that. (I wasn't one of those kids who went crazy over those big boxes of Crayola.) So, doing my first couple of sketches, I surprised even myself with how my technique has changed even if I haven't done any sketching in such a long time. My approach to color has also changed; I don't see objects or planes as big blobs of color anymore. Having studied and long admired Impressionist and post-Impressionist painters, one would think that their philosophy would have rubbed off on me, so to speak. I did try to copy them, but therein lay the problem. Copying was not the same as seeing.
I've recently come to depend on the computer to help me in many of my creative projects. It is rather nice to be able to hold hold something in my hands, other than a mouse, and have that familiar control over something more organic like a pencil.
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