CREATING ART THE AMATEUR WAY

The best pencil sharpener in the whole world (maybe that is a bit of a hyperbole, I don't know) which I bought as my annual Christmas present to myself a few years ago. It was an extravagance as I bought a special limited edition of it (without realising!) but rather amusingly, some time later, it is still available on Amazon and only a little more expensive than the standard red and grey. I am talking about the Caran d'Ache Metal Pencil Sharpener in 'Klein' blue, referring to the blue which artist Yves Klein uses so often in his work. How much do I like it? Well, I would buy it again. It sharpens my pencils to perfection whether I choose a sharp point or a rounded end and it has never broken a lead yet.  I'm going to add a YouTube video demonstration of it to my EXTERNAL LINKS Page available at the Home screen, if you want to check it out from there. I'll also add a link to the Museum of Modern Art webpage about Yves Klein.  Amazingly, I could not find a Caran ...

It's been a while as with one thing or another this painting got put on hold. Of course, the fact that I struggled with it has a lot to do with the reluctance to finish it. I totally messed up because, thinking I didn't need to use masking fluid, I managed to get some paint on the white paper area for the flowers and it wouldn't lift completely off so I then ended up having to resort to white gouache. Then I couldn't do the yellow and white stamens in the right flower (lack of know-how) and ended up roughly drawing in some pencil lines (which look rubbish!). After that I called it a day before I threw the album out of the window.  It actually looks better in the journal than on screen. Pulsatilla vulgaris Alba in watercolour and gouache I used Daniel Smith watercolours and a Schmincke Horadam white gouache. I had thought I would do the fine hairs on the flowers (pulsatillas are loaded with them) with a Caran C'Ache white 'Luminance' pencil but the effect was...