Day 1: getting started {31 days of watercolor}

I got started last night after I linked up to the Nester's blog.. the thing with watercolor is that, well, it's wet! ha!!.. I bet you never guessed that one...

But what I mean is that it needs drying time... and sometimes that time needs to be during the process so that colors don't run, bleed or mix into each other. I thought I will try {when time/kids allows me the grace} to start work on a project the day before so that I can allow for some reworking after drying, etc-

So back to last night... here's what my work station was looking like when I was about to being painting...

...as you can see I have many interests/hobbies, etc- that tend to crowd my space. after moving the fabric, iron, folders, etc- I got started...

my first inspiration began here. this is some sort of decorative corner piece from a door supposedly from the 1880's... {an antique store owner gave it to my husband for helping her move a piece of furniture to a car one day in the rain} random piece and awesome! but I have yet to really use it... so it became my inspiration.

 the close up was my main focus...

gathering of supplies came next:

paints.

 

 water + brushes.

watercolor paper.

i am much more familiar in working with oil paints and in beginning to lay out a painting i always draw it in paint with blue... that's just always what i have done, so i began my watercolor that way too... however i realized later that it is much more difficult to mask the blue with another color, so from now on i will likely use a light pencil to do the beginning sketch and design work.

this is where i stopped last night at 11:45 when Bubs started crying in his sleep... so, it dried like this above.

 and then i played around with it some more today... I used some wet into wet technique, meaning I wet the paper first with plain water and then watercolored onto that. That gives more of a mixed look and allows the paint to do what it wants. Then I also did some wet on dry technique... which allows for more control of the paint.

and here's where i stopped! Not my fave, but I love the design and might revisit it later on this month.

Hope you have enjoyed day numero UNO!! Can't wait to keep this up :) It's a blast!!