Procrastination - Starting's really not so bad!

My botanical watercolor of a tulip is all done! I’m very pleased with both how it turned out and also for getting it done. I have so many unfinished drawings in my sketchbooks that part of what I’m doing with my dailies* is to work on some of them and get them finished before starting new drawings on empty pages. I’m hoping that will clear some of the clutter and distraction in my head.

What I found interesting about working on this tulip from a creativity point of view is how long I resisted and procrastinated working on it - 2 years. I was very good at coming up with excuses to avoid it. Many of my reasons had to do with color matching and blending colors. There was a lot of internal whining.

The funny thing was once I started, it was surprisingly simple and straightforward. Once I mixed a color and put it down, I could leave it or change it by adding another layer of color. It was that easy. And if I really messed up by spilling water across the page or big blobs of color got on the picture somehow, I could chose to continue or I could turn the page and draw it again and start over or not. The choices weren’t difficult but my mind before starting did a great job in over-complicating things.

Procrastination is all about fear but if somehow you can take a first step or action, then you have something to react to and make a decision on. It’s no longer the unknown. Progress is made.

What are you procrastinating on? How can you take a step forward with it? What will you do?

(* I am currently taking the online class, The Creative’s Workshop, and they encourage the participants to show up daily with something they’ve been working on. Rough and incomplete is fine. Just show up. I posted in the class for 4 days running with progress on this tulip.)

Travel Journaling in Ink and Watercolor

I like to travel journal after I get home from a trip using my photos and odds and ends that I bring back. This is from a trip to Porto, Portugal. The seagulls are happy to dive bomb unsuspecting diners to snatch treats away. Do watch out!

I use ink and watercolor in Stillman & Birn Zeta Sketchbooks. I choose pictures from a day that have the most meaning and significance to me and then edit and put them into an arrangement that seems pleasing. I make a rough sketch of the elements on scratch paper. Once I like how it looks, then I start drawing in my sketchbook. I use pencil first, then ink - often with a fountain pen but sometimes with a fine liner but always with permanent waterproof ink, and then I watercolor. I try to leave white space for a title and notes.

If you are interested in learning more of this process to create your own ink and watercolor travel journal from your own photos, check out my workshops to see when the next one will be offered. At the time of this post, my next Travel Journal 6-week workshop will be on Wednesday evenings, 6:15 - 8:45 pm, at Cloud 9 Art School in Bothell, WA.

Porto Travel Journal Page

This is an example of one of my travel journal pages that I do in ink and watercolor. Look at my Workshops page to see when my next Create an Ink and Travel Journal workshop will be held.

Porto Travel Journal Page

This is an example of one of my travel journal pages that I do in ink and watercolor. Look at my Workshops page to see when my next Create an Ink and Travel Journal workshop will be held.

Porto Travel Journal Page

This is an example of one of my travel journal pages that I do in ink and watercolor. Look at my Workshops page to see when my next Create an Ink and Travel Journal workshop will be held.

Drawing and Painting a Chocolate Wrapper

Here are the two steps when I do a drawing. First I draw in ink and then I paint. I rarely do it the other way round, paint first then ink. With a wrapper I will also use pencil before hand to get the placement of the lettering and larger elements. In this particular case you can see the chocolate wrapper I’m drawing from.

Everyday items in Cuba

I like to do travel journaling in my sketchbooks. This is a page from one of my Cuba sketchbooks that I completed recently with some of the bits and pieces brought home from my trips. I have fun with trying to make the items are realistic as I can within the ink and watercolor format. The coins, bills and card in this sketchbook spread (11"x8.5"/28cm x 21.6cm) are real size. I like to record the memorabilia of receipts, tickets, pamphlets, maps and odds and ends in my sketchbooks. I will usually mix them in with sketches related to the event. What do you like to record?

Lilly the Aussie

I like to draw and paint animals. I have three cats and a dog of my own. The trouble is they move around too much, so I rely on photos. However, my Australian Shepherd is somewhat camera shy and it's hard to get her to look at me when I'm taking the picture. I follow various Instagram accounts with dogs as the primary characters. I saw this of Lilly the Aussie (lillytheaussie) and asked her person for permission to draw a picture and she said yes. Here's the result. Such a happy looking dog. Contact me if you'd like an ink and watercolor drawing of your animal friend. 

Sketching with the Seattle Urban Sketchers

I met up with the Seattle Urban Sketchers last weekend at the Seattle Center Armory and got some sketching, people watching and meeting new people in. There were about 15-20 people who ended up there. It was fascinating, as always, to see how different all the sketchbooks were at the throw down at the end of the gathering. 

Fancy carved wooden door in Habana Vieja, Cuba

This was an amazingly detailed and carved wooden door that I came across on the main shopping street, Calle Obispo, in Habana Vieja, Cuba. Part of the attraction aside from the ornateness, was how tall and incredibly narrow it was. No grand pianos or sofas are going through that!