Sunshine-Friendly Materials
Let's talk about making things just because. And if you need it, your permission slip is inside!
Each summer I tend to dive into some “just because” art. Why? Because the weather is suddenly beautiful, and all I want to do is be outside as much as possible! It turns out the iPad screen that I draw on most of the time isn’t ideal outdoors, so I tend to seek out traditional sunshine-friendly materials when I’m outside.
I recently stopped at Blick Art Materials with my friend Julia who is a super talented artist and loves art supplies as much as I do. There is something particularly fun about going to the art store with someone who matches your enthusiasm! (So many possibilities!) As usual, we fed off each other’s energy and encouraged purchases at every turn!
When I stumbled across these strangely alluring sticks of color I waved over Julia, “Look at these! What even are these?!” We tried them on test paper and were both like, “YES. THESE.”
They are called Derwent Inktense Blocks and the initial feel of them is somewhere between chalk and an oil pastel. They are really vibrant right when you lay them on the paper. But here’s what’s even better! You can add water and they blend together beautifully like paint! I guess they are supposed to look like ink, but honestly, I think they look more like gauche once you start getting painterly with it.
This is perfect for a drawing-focused person like me because I get to lay the colors exactly where I want with a dry medium first. Then I get to step a little outside my comfort zone with a paint brush.
I also purchased some very long (or very tall!) watercolor paper, and the long skinny shape has been really fun to use. Here’s a progression of some colorful blobs I made (I’m thinking of them as stones, but maybe they are… dinosaur eggs?! They are whatever you want them to be!)
At first they were just scratchy blobs — like the three in the foreground below — but once you add water they smooth out and blend nicely like the two on top:
How are they so scratchy and then so blended?! I don’t know! Science?!
Once they were all beautifully blended, I was itching to add more texture and detail. So I got out my colored pencils and added some squiggly details and dots. It brought me so much joy.
Later, I dusted off my set of gauche paints for some viney leaves. I put down the initial layer of colors with the Inktense Blocks, then added gauche over the top and DANG. The colors are so vibrant! The Inktense Blocks are indeed good for layering. Here are three long pieces I’ve completed so far:
Now… Sometimes I feel like I’m not being “productive” when I’m spending time on random art pieces like these, because, well, I’m not! That’s not the point! I’m doing it for it’s own sake. I know this is a good and healthy thing to do, but I still get twinges of guilt. And that’s ridiculous! It’s only summertime for so long and what a great excuse to allow parts of my art practice to be experimental and just for the fun of it!
Anyway, that’s why I’m sharing my mini zine “Permission” with you today. Allow yourself to make the thing! (Especially if it’s just for fun!)
Question for you: What is something you’d like to do just for fun — just for yourself and for the pure joy of it — but maybe haven’t allowed yourself to do lately? It doesn’t have to be making something. It could be reading a book or just sitting in the sun! Whatever it is, I invite you to make guilt-free space for that thing this week.
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for being here! It truly means the world to me to connect with you every week.
In case you missed it, last week I shared highlights from Chicago Zine Fest. You can check that out here.
Paid subscribers, please keep scrolling to download your printable version of the mini “Permission” zine shown above.
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