Exetazomichanophobia n.
Fear of using search engines. A word I invented to explain the phenomenon of posting a question on a forum to which you can Google the answer but you unaccountably do not, even though you are demonstrably on the Internet and you can use a computer and even a forum.
You heard it here first.
Using some stashed Kroy sock yarn, I knit up a design of a Turkish sock.
This is designed from Zilboorg's "Fancy Feet" and is done on the fly--a bit tight in the leg but very pretty. As with a lot of Turkish socks, hard to put on but the fit is fine once you get there. And pulling it off is best done by grabbing the heel.
The winter watercolor class ended 3/4/2009 at the Gibby Center for the Arts in Middletown, DE. In case you don't know, the Gibby is a combination teaching center, studio and gallery on Main Street, next to the venerable Everett Theater. If you've seen "Dead Poet's Society", a film with Robin Williams and Robert Sean Leonard, you've seen the Everett.
Five classes is just enough to get a taste of watercolor--the real learning happens when you repeatedly put BRUSH to PAPER and PAINT. We covered materials, paint characteristics, paper, how to draw if you don't know HOW to draw, washes,, successive layers of glazing, composition, and how to paint faces and figures (Jellybean figures and faces.) But we didn't even have time to get to color harmony, palettes, the chemistry of watercolor painting, and much more. We'll cover more of that in the Spring class, which will focus on getting what you envision from your head to the paper and dealing with the accident-prone nature of watercolor.
I posted a video of how to paint a small painting (ACEO or card-sized) of a watch. Funny, there was a billboard up on 95 in Wilmington some months after I posted this on Youtube, and it looked a LOT like my painting!
Until the Spring class, I'll be posting some lessons here, and eventually we'll move to a better website for the class, but my Blogger is handy right now.
Meanwhile, my class asked for a reading list and here it is:
This is an essential guide to learning about paint characteristics, from pigments to color harmonies. It's also really FUN to read.
This is a great book for learning about color, layers, and consistency of your paint washes and glazes. For some reason, it is out of print (!!!) and I suggest you get a copy even at this price before it becomes scarce.
This is Charles Reid's new book, has all kinds of stuff, from going from photo to painting, and Reid will LOOSEN you up like no other person and help you deal with accidents.
Charles Reid's Watercolor Solutions
FINALLY! A good ALL AROUND BASIC starter textbook with beautiful art.
Watercolor for the Serious Beginner
I'll post more demos, comments and other things in coming weeks, and if any of my STUDENTS want to post some of their work here (I saw some nice stuff from everyone!) email me and we'll do it.
The watercolor is a portrait I did for someone.
