My first Watercolor journal page. I was done at the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show.
My background is in commercial art, but after four years of intensive art classes in college (all based on the client and not really what I wanted to pursue) I stopped.
What did I stop?
I stopped everything. I stopped oil painting. I stopped acrylic painting. I stopped airbrushing, I stopped watercolors, I even stopped just plain pencil sketching and pen ink drawings. I was so burnt out.
In school, I worked approximately sixty hours a week on assigned design projects. The love went out of my art and the art went out of me.
Bye-bye.
But I had a life changing experience the other day.
My friend Amber asked me to meet her for coffee. She’s very artistic. She quilts and sews and knits. She is a graphic designer, (something I failed at) Oh yes, Amber also has a very smart and thoughtful mommy blog of her own, Blueberry Basil. Amber knows that I still appreciate art.
She said she had something to show me.
I ordered a latte and found a table. She showed up a couple minutes later with a bag from which she produced a Moleskin, one not unlike the field journals that Ernest Hemingway made famous.
Amber said she’d taken a class in watercolor journaling. The Moleskin was filled with watercolor paper.
She said to flip through it.
Inside I found the most amazing entries. Drawing and watercolor paintings and notes and thoughts and ticket stubs all done in the most intriguingly artful way.
She said, “You could do this to. You would love it.” And then she turned me on to watercolor pencils and a water-filled brush called a Nigi. It was like crack and she was my dealer.
Yeewhooo, I was hooked, baby.
So along with everything else we do, (did I mention Amber has three boys), we now try to keep our watercolor journals updated.
See some pages from Amber’s Journal here.
And some pages from my journal.
Thank you Amber, for helping me get my mojo back.
Stay tuned for recent journal pages.
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How cool! You should post these to Flickr. There are tons of people on there that share their moleskin art with people. Me? I share my to do lists.
Posted by: Katie Hobson | July 24, 2009 at 08:21 PM
Ok, I obviously left that comment before I browsed the link. You should follow Amber's footsteps in the direction of Flickr.
Posted by: Katie Hobson | July 24, 2009 at 08:23 PM
Very cool, I'll have to follow those links!
Posted by: Carol, May Dreams Gardens | July 25, 2009 at 07:18 AM
Chigiy, you are so very talented! I'm only too happy to remind you of that once in a while. You have taken watercolor journaling and gone crazy! You go girl!! And don't let that talent languish ever again.
Posted by: Amber | July 25, 2009 at 10:58 PM
Katie,
Thank you.
I know, I have to do the flickr thing. I really need to take better pics too. I'm not very good at taking photos of my journal:(
Carol,
Thank you for stopping by.
Amber,
My friend and mentor. I have fun coloring with you.
Posted by: chigiy | July 25, 2009 at 11:30 PM
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Susan
http://sketchingdrawing.com
Posted by: Susan | September 07, 2009 at 12:58 AM
Susan,
Thank you for visiting.
Posted by: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=708261903 | September 07, 2009 at 08:57 AM