Marie WheelerThe prompt for this week on Journal 52 was a little distracting for me and I decided to go in a completely different direction than drawing real or imaginary creatures. This is how it goes.
I spent the majority of this past Saturday playing outdoors and wholly shirking my bloggerly duties, but did find inspiration for the prompt. In the garden, I found a cardinal feather. I didn’t know why I needed to save it, but I did, so I took the time to reflect on it and bring it indoors for safe keeping.
Though I didn’t realize it until Sunday morning, my subconscious must have hatched a plan.
That’s the funny thing about art and creativity. I plug something into my mind, review it periodically, and then something will pop up later and I have a solution. One could say that this is an expert form of procrastination, but I prefer to think that my brain is just working in the background.
The Creatures Found
So, as you can see, the feather I found is the centerpiece of my watercolor. I decided to stay pretty minimal and to just to a sketch of the feather using my Micron Pens and the used by new Windsor & Newton travel kit to fill in the color and highlight the differences in texture and light. I used some light watercolor to put interest in the background and also created a border using a quote I found online.
I liked the border idea as it frames the work while also providing some visual and intellectual interest to the simple drawing.
The best part of this project is that it is positive reinforcement for being mindful in the things I do, looking down, noticing the small things as well as being able to take in the big picture.
I think that often, we get lost in one area or the other and forget to switch perspectives regularly, remembering that there are important ideas and thoughts on both sides.
