Final Version of Buddy's Bright Idea for Getting Over the Border Wall

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This is the final version of the page that shows Buddy describing his brilliant idea. At least he thinks it’s brilliant. He just can’t help boasting about his own awesomeness! I think it’s great when a children’s book character has character flaws. I’ll make sure that Buddy’s flaws get the attention they deserve.

Tomorrow I’ll begin the next painting, the one where we get to see a boastful butterfly magically airlift a burro over the ugly border wall into Mexico.

I’ve been tinkering with Artrage again. Now that I’m learning to paint, Artrage is calling to me again. When you buy Artrage, you get both the Windows and Mac versions, which is uncommonly generous these days.

Artrage has awesome digital natural media brushes that I’ve never been able to master. I’ve been re-watching Danial Ibanez’ instructive Artrage videos on Youtube. It’s inspiring to see a fine art painter using digital tools to create one-layer paintings.

Repainting the Border Wall

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I’m working on Buddy’s bright idea for the fourth day in a row, or is it the 14th? I’ve learned a lot about digital painting in the last couple of days. One thing I’ve learned is that I really don’t know much about painting, which is OK. Learning something new and difficult helps me understand the concept of humility. It feels good, once you acknowledge that are experiencing a feeling of humility, to say to oneself, “True, I suck at this, but today I sucked less than I sucked yesterday.”

Al Fresco Art Club Challenge...Yet Another Gouache Day

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I paint with gouache one day a week for about one terrifying hour. My pulse quickens and I feel a guttural trembling as I unpack my gear. I’m afraid that what I paint will look dreary and dull. I choose a simple subject — a coffee cup, a simple cylinder — because I think I may be able to paint it easily. But when I start to look at the cup closely to determine the colors I’ll use, I notice a thousand shades of gray. I notice that the shadow inside the cup is slightly brighter than the shadow outside the cup. It’s the reflected light inside the cup that makes it brighter.

At this point I think, it’s all getting too complicated. I surrender and just start painting the dark shapes, then the slightly less dark shapes, then the light shapes, and then the highlights. All of sudden the painting starts to look awesome. I like it. I’m amazed that I could actually paint a cup.

Al Fresco Art Club Challenge -- A Common Object Painted in Gouache

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This week the Al Fresco Art Club continued on the path of learning how to paint with gouache. I chose to paint my kitchen timer. I tried some of the new brushes I bought yesterday, in particular a size 2 flat. I love flat brushes and use them whenever possible, even when I should be using a pointy round brush for details.

Here’s my kitchen timer.