Did I “getcha” with that blog post title? Aren’t you intrigued? Aren’t we supposed to “Think Positive”? What can this mean?! Okay, maybe it’s not that much of a mind-bender, after all. Well, it was either this or another generic “This ‘n’ That” type title.
The reason behind the “negativity” is simple: Last time, I shared photos of a page made using the “negative painting” technique—the one with succulents doodled on a colorful background, with a darker shade filled in around them—but I didn’t think to use that term for the technique until I happened to see someone demonstrating it in a YouTube video, a day or two ago.
When I think of negative painting, I envision someone painting onto a blank page, adding a background around a white, unpainted shape (that will eventually be painted or otherwise decorated)—but evidently it’s still “negative painting” when you use the technique on any type of background, including one that’s bright and colorful. The key (as I understand it) is that you’re painting around at least some of the shapes/subjects of the piece.
Whatever you call it, this method is a lot of fun and can be very effective. Do a search online for “negative painting watercolor” to see more examples. Adding multiple layers of “background” in varying levels of contrast is particularly beautiful. Some people use it to create amazing depth in their paintings. (Something to try another day!)
Last time, I included a photo of another page I’d prepped with some random splotches of color, with the intention of doing more of the same—doodling a pattern in ink pen, then filling in the background with a darker color.
For the first one, I did something similar to the first one… And full disclosure, the real thing isn’t as pretty as my photo. It’s a little too busy, or maybe just a little lower in contrast than it needs to be (which could be corrected with another layer of paint or possible some simple parallel lines in pen). When I was editing the photo, the “auto” curves setting made it look better, and since this is my blog and not testimony in court, I decided to stretch the truth a little. This is what it could have looked like with a little extra intensity and contrast:
For the second half of the page, I decided to try a less busy pattern for doodling—less closely packed lines. The design is just free-hand doodled at random and could have been neater, but I do think it turned out better (in real life, at least) than the flower/succulent pattern above. Simple shapes are probably the way to go.
I think this next one was a background I made at the same time as the first one (shared last post), but I had waited too long to add the salt for texture, so it was less uniform.
I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it, but the blue green and lime suggested a sea theme, so I went with simple fish shapes. I used a more greenish (or at least less purplish) shade of paint to go over this one, and I really love the murky greenish blue in contrast with the yellow-green. It’s one of many favorite color combos.
I needed to clean my ceramic palette, but rather than wipe or rinse it away, I rewet the little paint remaining and made another background page with salt for texture. (I have mixed results with salt, but when it works, it’s beautiful! That bursting texture can make even dull colors so much more interesting!)
The colors in this one are much softer and more subtle, but I think that might be nice for a change. It could be a good candidate for multiple layers of negative painting, as mentioned before. (If I remember…)
Improving a Sketchbook Cover
This is actually something I did a while back, but I don’t think I wrote about it here. The sketchbook I finished earlier this year had a perfectly serviceable but boring cover (like the one on the right in the photo below). I wanted something more personalized and pretty, so I took one of my watercolor pages, cut it down to size, glued it down to the original cover, and covered it with Mod Podge to protect it.
It’s still very simple, but like it much better this way—well worth the time and little extra effort to make it nicer.
I do think I’ll wait until the current sketchbook is filled before doing anything to its cover, though. It may be less inspiring to use with the original cover, but this way I won’t risk damaging whatever prettier cover I might end up adding. It’s a trade-off, I guess.
"Something, Anything" Again
It was time for more “just TELL me what do doodle”, so I turned once again to the inspiration decks of cards. I wasn’t feeling interested in the wild cards I was drawing, so ended up just leaving it at two cards this time:
I felt like interpreting “Travel” to something more like “Transportation”, and the colors I ended up using aren’t a perfect match for the suggested palette, but it’s close enough for me.
I started with a very simple doodle in pencil. I’m not one for drawing realistic cars (or, let’s be honest, realistic anything), but I’m choosing to see the “5-year-old’s version of vehicles” as part of the charm (or at least naive aesthetic) of this page.
A photo of the “in-progress” phase of the page…
And finished, with details emphasized with ink pen:
Definitely one for the “if you had fun, it was worthwhile” category, but that’s fine. This type of doodling and painting certainly can be fun!
And Whatever THIS Is...
Then there was this… I think I started this page with something slightly different in mind, and it turned out a bit boring, but I’m probably just being too critical. It’s no worse than the silly “transportation”-themed doodle above, but it does feel boring in comparison.
Abstract
Sometimes when there’s a little paint left on the ceramic palette, it dries in interesting random patterns or textures that look almost like the view of a landscape from a great height.
I thought this one was pretty enough to photograph.
Cartoony Kitties
I have a specific future in mind for this one, but here’s where it stands now:
Just a simple doodle of “stacked cats”, tinted with the “Pale Black TAN” (or muted pastel) Boku-Undo e-sumi watercolors, then outlined in fineliner.
Visiting Cats
On the subject of cats, we’ve had a feline visitor for several months, off and on. It’s a cat with pure white fur. It’s a friendly cat, but we don’t interact with it much—and definitely don’t feed it—because with two dogs out in the yard, it didn’t seem wise to encourage it. I wouldn’t mind having a cat, but we don’t know for sure how Frodo would be with a cat. (Luna can’t see well enough to be a threat to any cat, at this point.)
Anyway, the cat looks well-fed, so we assume it has a more official home nearby and just likes to wander around.
Here’s a photo sneaked through the window of the kitchen door:
More recently, we’ve been seeing a couple more cats visiting—an orange cat and one that I guess is a combination of dark tabby and tuxedo. (The last actually came meowing at the door.) I’m happy enough to have them visiting, as long as they keep their distance from the dogs. We don’t want any unpleasantness!
