Here's a scene from the cliffs of Cornwall, done in watercolor pencil (bought and brought along since they don't run). Something I discovered about watercoloring on trips, though—it's a lot like trip photography. I want to get the big picture when I'm traveling—the building, the event, recording the obvious. When I'm home, I can take 20 closeups of Luna's ear, because I know the bigger picture will take care of itself. There's something very limiting in trying to capture a new place and something so much more comfortable in dealing with what's familiar. It made me understand what Andy Goldsworthy meant when he said that he much prefers making art in his hometown in Scotland, where he sees the changes. He said he can't see changes in other places because new places are all change to him—he doesn't know how they were yesterday or can't guess how they might be tomorrow. All this just to say that I found it difficult to pick subjects to paint on this trip and wasn't entirely satisfied with any of the results. Partly this was due to poor journal-paper and lack of brush & paint variety, now that I'd been thoroughly spoiled by my teacher's high-end provisions.
|
