30 in 30 - #16: Dirty Dog III

The third Dirty Dog.  I enjoyed painting the set!  See his friends here and here.  My scanner did not capture the sherbet orange of the background, so just imagine.  Then let your mouth water over the memory of a Push-Up orange sherbet pop.  Yes!

Watercolors on 140lb cold pressed paper

30 in 30 - #10: Dirty Dog II

Day 10 of Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days challenge is here!  And I made it too!  I'm glad you are here and appreciate your sweet comments.  :-)

This little guy is part two of the Dirty Dog series.  Did I mention when the dog gets wet the spots go away?  So cute for bath time with kids!  

Watercolor on 140lb cold pressed paper

30 in 30 - #2: Dirty Dog I

Day 2 of the Challenge hosted by Leslie Saeta and I'm showing up strong!  

My subject is a toy pup from my kids' Dirty Dogs bath set.  It is super cute and the brown spots "wash off" like dirt when they get wet!  Highly recommended for fun during bathtime...check it out here.  There are two other dogs in the bath set so once all three paintings are complete they will be offered as a set so stay tuned!  :-)

I needed portability today so I used my Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor Field Box.

The box fits in my purse and contains everything I need to paint: water bottle, brush, solid watercolor paints (called "pans"), and surfaces for mixing.  The lid holds water for rinsing the fine bristle brush.  I keep a few napkins or paper towels in a spare pocket in case I need to soak up any drips or smudges. 

I use the Arches Aquarelle Travel Album with 140 lbs cold pressed paper.  I bought it through Dick Blick Art but it seems they no longer carry the item.  Here is a supplier that carries it--I have not purchased through their site before. 

I enjoyed creating this piece today and look forward to using my portable paints many times during this challenge!  

6 x 10 watercolor on 140 lbs cold pressed paper

It's okay for practice to not make perfect.

I have never enjoyed practicing.  Anything.  I want what I do to be done and perfect when I do it.  First time.  Done.  Perfect!

Okay, back to reality.  It's true I have never enjoyed practicing.  I also am a recovering procrastinator.  So how to break through these barriers and continuously improve my creations?  Just do it.  Make the supplies simple and keep them in the main room of my house.  I use a 9" x 12" newsprint sketch book and willow sticks.  Sketch anything that doesn't move for a few minutes...like that plush dog sitting on the floor.  Oh, that was fun and looks good!  I'll turn it this way.  Now that way.  Nice...Rinse (the charcoal off my hands) and repeat the next day.  

What's important is that I practiced sketching, not how the sketch turned out.  Having the materials at hand, objects to sketch in my view and releasing the notion of perfection is what works for me.  


What works for you?