Art Supplies: Watercolors

Watercolors paints are made by mixing pigment with water. Because they aren’t made with oil, watercolors are easier to clean up but the colors aren’t as bright. Also, they aren’t shiny the way oil paints are.

Watercolors sometimes come in tubes and sometimes in tubs. You’ve probably used watercolors before. To paint with watercolors, just dip your brush in water and then rub it in the paint to pick up some of the color. But using more or less water you can create lighter or darker colors.

Watercolors are transparent paints. This means that when you paint with them you can still see some of the paper through the color. If you paint on top of another, dry color the colors will blend because you will be able to see through the top color to the bottom color.

Tomorrow I’ll post a watercolor project. For now, check out this illuminated manuscript project which also allows you to use watercolors. Or read about Winslow Homer who painted some amazing seascapes using watercolors.

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My Current NaNoWriMo Word Count.

16339 / 50000 words. 33% done!
(No, I didn’t double my word count...
I didn’t even catch up.
But I would like to point out that I am
one third finished with my novel!!)

Book: Of Flowers and Shadows

Of Flowers and Shadows by Anna Kirwan is the fictional story of one of Winslow Homer’s paintings, Girl and Laurel. It is meant for readers in grades 4-6 but I loved and I'm much older than a 6th grader!

Aurelia Sandborn was orphaned in a shipwreck and left with very few clues about her past. She wonders about her family often. Aurelia goes to work for a family in Boston, Massachusetts in order to support herself and it is here that she meets the artist, Winslow Homer, and becomes his model.

This is a finely drawn story of a girl, her first love, and her discovery of her past, set in a well-researched 1878 Boston. Kirwan does an excellent job creating a personality for Winslow Homer, and the story she crafted for a model we have no historical account of is extremely creative and engaging. I highly recommend this book.

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My Current NaNoWriMo Word Count:

12000 / 50000 words. 24% done!

I know... I wrote only 550 words today and that hardly warrants a new meter. I've been fizzling a little but I'm still not too far behind. I hope to double my word count in the next four days so wish me luck!

Winslow Homer

Born in 1836 in Boston, Mass., Winslow Homer became an important American painter. He began his career painting illustrations for magazines such as Harper’s Weekly. During the Civil War, Harper’s Weekly sent Homer to sketch battle scenes and capture artistically the daily lives of soldiers. When we returned to his studio he continued creating war-related scenes.

During the early part of his career as a painter, Homer mainly painted images of rural life. He began working in oil paint and focused on painting things exactly as they appeared: he was a realist. He lived in Paris France for a year among the Impressionists but was not directly influenced.
In 1873 Homer began to use watercolors. He fell in love with watercolor and after this time rarely left home without watercolor paints and paper. His loose style influenced many painters after him including N.C. Wyeth and Edward Hopper. (I’ll post on these artists at a later date.)

When Homer began traveling in 1875, he found that he loved the sea. He spent much of the rest of his life painting seascapes. It is his seascapes that are the most popular and famous of Homer’s works.
Tomorrow I’ll post a book review on a book featuring Winslow Homer.

(The paintings shown from top to bottom are The Adirondack Guide; Long Branch, New Jersey; Waiting for an Answer; The Gulf Stream)

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My NaNoWriMo Word Count:

11450 / 50000 words. 23% done!

Book: The Paint Brush Kid by Clyde Robert Bulla

The Paint Brush Kid by Clyde Robert Bulla is actually the sequel to the Chalk Box Kid but you can enjoy it on its own. This book for grades 2-4 is about a child-artist named Gregory who wants to do a huge, fun art project. When his friend Uncle Pancho finds out that he is about to lose his house, Gregory knows what his art project will be. He paints a huge mural all the way around Uncle Pancho’s house! You’ll have to read the book to find out if Gregory can save his friend’s house.

This is book is great for kids who can read on their own who like stories about friendship and painting.

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My NaNoWriMo Word Count:

10301 / 50000 words. 21% done!

Create Your Own Illumination Part 2

This illumination project is easier and produces a better result, in my opinion, than the project from yesterday; however, yesterday’s illumination project was closer to the process used when illuminators, like Fra Angelico, created illuminated manuscripts.

Supplies Needed:

Glitter-glue pens
Pencil
Heavy sketch paper
Paintbrush
Watercolors

Gather your materials. Use your pencil to draw the first letter of your name in the upper right corner of your paper. Make it decorative and ornate. You may also want to draw a small picture or design next to or around your letter. The simpler your design, the easier this project will be.

Go over your drawing with glitter-glue. Use any colors you want. Be creative. When you’re happy with your drawing, let the glitter-glue dry. This will take about an hour.
Fill in your drawing with watercolor paint. The glitter-glue will have created walls so it will be almost impossible to paint outside the lines. This will make your illumination look crisp.
Write the rest of your name in marker next to your illumination. I recommend writing it in pencil first or it my come out crooked like mine!

I recommend using this project to create a journal cover, scrapbook page, or book covers for your school books. If you decide to make book covers, make sure you take the book out of the cover before you paint. This will work well on brown paper bags, which is what I always used to make book covers.

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My Current NaNoWriMo Word Count:

8627 / 50000 words. 17% done!

It was a disappointingly slow writing day...
I'll do better tomorrow.