Where Do I Go From Here?

I came into the studio Sunday morning filled with ideas and inspirations. Doing watercolor doodles on Saturday was fun, and I couldn’t wait to get started on more bookmark projects. These, though, would be a little bit different.

One of the first thoughts that occurred to me then was the nature of creativity itself. It grows. It starts with a spark of some sort, and takes off in a dozen different directions. I laughed a bit, thinking that I finally understood why I’ve always had problems following directions. I can only go so far before that creative streak takes over, urging me to try something different, wondering what would happen if I changed things up a bit.

I started playing with different colors, different designs, different doodles, and here’s a look at some of the projects — in varying stages of completion.

First, I played with doing watercolor doodles on cardstock. I liked the colors, but using cardstock was not a good idea. It warped very badly. But I did end up with a set of bookmarks. I’ll probably send these to Liz, my daughter in California.

Next, I played with colors — using watercolor paper — and came up with this combination of reds and violets. It reminded me of grapes growing on a vine, so when I deepened the colors and added a bit of doodling, I consciously tried to create grapes. I’m not sure how well I succeeded.

I saw a lot of possibilities here, but I actually got a little bored with it and didn’t want to spend a lot of time embellishing with the white gel pen. So I hurriedly scribbled my way through it. I decided this would be a perfect theme for a set of bookmarks for my wine-loving older sister.

Voila!

I have learned that good bookmarks are:

• Varnished
• Have rounded corners
• Have strings or ribbons attached

I’m all out of spray varnish, so I’ve ordered some, and I’ve ordered a rounded-corner punch. I do have a bit of crochet thread I can use as a tie. Once they’re all assembled, I’ll mail the blue set to my daughter and the grape set to my sister.

Another “work in progress” is this floral doodle.

And this one seems to have a few possibilities:

Plus, I still have two of my first watercolor doodles from Saturday. I’m not sure if I want to turn either of them into bookmarks. I’ve grown rather attached to them simply as watercolor paintings:

Doing these doodles has been a lot of fun, but it’s surprising to find myself playing with watercolors instead of my oil paints. I think it’s good, though, for us to dabble with different media from time to time. When I first began pursuing the study of art, I concentrated on graphite to learn a few basic skills, and then began exploring one medium after another. Everything was new.

I tried charcoals, colored pencils, oil pastels and soft pastels. I played with conte, tried acrylics, and made huge messes with watercolors. Oh, what fun I had!

Once I settled down with oil paints, however, I more or less stopped playing with anything else. Oh, I did pen-and-ink during Inktober, and I’ve done graphite drawings, but it’s been a long time since I’ve gotten out my colored pencils or pastels. As for watercolors… seriously? I’m awful with watercolors, and maybe that’s exactly why I’m having so much fun with them now.

So, where am I going next? Here, there, and everywhere! I’m going to set my oil paints aside for a time and get back to a more adventuresome approach to art, doing new things, trying out different media again, and most likely surprising myself a bit with all the fun I’m having.

It’s going to be quite an adventure!