Every heard of that saying “April Showers bring May Flowers”? Well I certainly hope that will stay true! Strange how this Spring began in March: A week of warm sunny weather of 18℃, followed by an abnormal two days of snow, and now still cold but raining. We expect to face a week of more wet 10℃ weather which is also unusual. These confusing changes have certainly made us a bit worried about the new flowers we had recently planted in our garden. Having said that, I’ve been noticing how quickly some of the flowers started developing, thanks to some rain. Looks promising for now, but to put my mind at ease, how about doodling some flowers?
More Black Paper Art!
Following all the uncertainties about the recent weather and developments in the world (Covid and Ukraine) I have to say I was in a black paper mood. This black Shady sketchbook by Art Gecko is perfect! With its reasonably thick 200gsm papers, it works wonders for a lot of mediums. I further figured that doodling flowers in bright colors would further cheer me up, as the colors ought to really pop out against the black as we shall later discover.
Grabbing Some Gouache
It is not often I get to paint with gouache. Its matte chalky finish predictably works very well against a dark background. Of course, the more vivid the color the better! The doodling began with my pink trio collection of Holbein’s Gouache combined with pink Glitter Markers by DoCraft’s Papermania. I experimented with pastel pink, fluorescent pink and vivid pink as well as sparkly pink, all of which turned out stunning against the black. Then to break the monotony of the painting, colors were switched two-thirds of the way down to warmer shades of lemon yellow, fluorescent red and pure red along with some red Glitter Markers. Another great way to add some accent to the painting. And here we are!
What a fun and uplifting session this was. It certainly cheered me up! In between larger projects, I enjoy doing bursts of sketching, doodling or coloring to keep my mind stimulated. It’s also a good change from painting characters and instead just focussing on colors and shapes. Black paper art is also quite inspiring as it helps me appreciate colors and textures more. Furthermore, I began noticing much more how stunning gouache turns out as it is a medium I don’t use often. I shall definitely be producing more artwork with it!
My Kawaii Quarter 