Looking Back

Do you ever look back at your old cards and cringe?

I do. I even cringe over some of my recent cards - especially those which are watercolored.

Since I spent two days talking about some really important and easy things you can do to make your watercolor pop this past weekend, I am criticizing today's card because I really should have done more.

I'm a chronic over-worker in watercolor. At some point, I make myself stop, but it's a struggle. I love to doodle around adding things forever. If my goal is not a finished card I could seriously spend a year on one leaf. It's a disease.

So I'm trying to catch up on blogging the cards I made for Creativation, and I still have a few to show you. This one was a no-line watercolor. I made two samples - one for Germany, and I tried hard to make them as identical as is possible with watercolor.

But now that it's been a month or two, I look at this, and I see a lot of missed opportunities.

The size of the image is perfect for no-line watercolor, because it's not one of those images that will take you ten hours to paint, and the shapes are fairly simple and repeatable.

Looking at it now, though - I should have put much darker darks in it. It looks flat to me. My favorite part of it is the touch of that rusty color on the shingles. It's such a peaceful image though - it almost looks like a children's book illustration.

Wishing Well | Hero Arts [ HA | ELH | SSS ] Wishing Well Frame Cuts (C) | Hero Arts [ HA | SSS | ELH ] Fadeout No Line coloring Detail Ink [ INK ] Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors [ BLIC ] Da Vinci Cosmotop Sable Mix F Brushes... [ BLIC | ELH ] Fabriano Artistico 140 lb. Cold Press... [ AMZUS ] Foliage Mix Layering Papers (12) |... [ HA ] Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock by... [ SUP ] MISTI Stamping Tool [ MSW | HA | SSS | ELH | MFT | SBC ] Hero Arts Intense Black Ink [ HA | ELH | SBC | SSS ] Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045 [ SSS | ELH | CST | ART | SBC ] Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -... [ BLIC ] Multipurpose Liquid Glue by Stampin' Up! [ SUP ] Nesting Porcelain Bowls - BLICK art... [ BLIC ]

I'm on a real no-line watercolor kick now that I found this amazing ink. I am in love and freaked out and bought several. I feel like I'll die if I ever run out.

But anyway - I thought it was important to show something I think could have been better, and how I think it could have been better, because one of the MOST important things I try to teach in my classes is to walk away from your project. We spend so much time coloring, that just like when you're reading something you've written - you know what you wanted to say, so you don't notice your mistakes. It's the same with watercolor. First - walk away and take a break, even if it's for a week. Then when you look at it - hold it at arm's length - changing the distance between your eye and your work can often help you spot things that can be better - like not enough darkness on the stones on the well here.

Guess what? My Sweet Petunia is having a flash sale on the Studio Bag in honor of her wedding anniversary, which is today! So for 24 hours on the 24th, the bag is $24! I take this with me everywhere - it holds so much. At my retreat, I fit all of the supplies for two days worth of classes into one bag! So grab one while it's at such a discount. It comes in three trim colors: turquoise, pink and grey.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Loveyameanitbye.