A Time For New Growth
& Behind-the-Scenes Peek
As I have emerged from this winter, I have seen new growth in my life as well. I've always drawn my designs on a computer with my mouse and straight lines. Clean, straight, and easily fixable should a line go astray. It was actually a big step for me when I started drawing and finally after a few years I allowed myself to say that I am an artist. But it always felt like cheating. I mean, I'm not a fine artist. With paint and a canvas.
Worried About Making Mistakes
Trying Something New
This past year as we all had extra time we didn't expect, I sat down with my daughter and started painting. Oil paints again. And it was a nice afternoon activity, but it didn't pull me in and make me crave painting like I know some are prone. But then this fall I heard of a technique for the first time. Gouache (pronounced guwash) is like watercolor but with more pigment. I loved the look and the way the edges of painted objects had texture. I love color and the bold colors of gouache weren't washed out at all. Could I do it?
I had an idea percolating in my mind and it gave me a starting point of what to paint. My brand has always been about celebrating, especially our states and towns - where we love to live and visit. So I started with my home state of Michigan and the branches and cones of our state tree the White Pine. Then I added in our state fruits - apples and for this side of the state, blueberries and cherries. And I thought of our state wildflower the trillium which we should be seeing in the woods shortly this time of year.
