30 Days of Watercolour - Day 1

Day 1 - Store Packaged Octopus Tentacle

I've always been particularly fascinated by octopus tentacles and thought it would make an interesting subject to paint. My husband always thinks it's funny when he catches me in the fish section at our local supermarket, staring at all the strange creatures I've never seen before. Am I the only one captivated by them?

Materials used:
Holbein artists watercolours and masking ink.
Wirgman 350g/m², Orion original watercolour paper.
Sakura Micron, PIGMA 03 pen.

July, a Month of Goodbyes

For the month of July I've said goodbye to many things, like:

• My students, until schools starts up again in September  o(^_-)O
  This is the ideal time for me to start my #30DaysofWatercolour challenge in August.
  
• Friends who are leaving Japan   。・゜・(ノД`)・゜・。
  This is a tough one, not fun at all!
• My long hair  (＾ｰ^)ノ
  I've gone for a short and sweet summer style.
• Student loans \（＾ν＾）/
  Not gonna miss this, not one bit!

Below are the paintings that I've completed this month.

 

This watercolour illustration of two koi fish swimming is my first commission for a friend.

I've kept the illustration simple and let the colours do the work.

 

Delicious grilled salted salmon. In Japan it's called sake (spelt the same ways as the alcohol but is pronounced shake) very confusing for me to understand at first.;P Grilled salmon is something my husband and I love to make ever since moving to Japan. Note: This will be in the calendar project.

  

This sunny side up egg was a fun illustration which I painted over a long weekend. All chilled and relaxed.

May, a Month of Discovery

Welcome, this whole month of May has been quiet special really. Now, I've always been a digital 2D animator and illustrator so I was truly surprised earlier this month when I was hit square in the face with an overwhelming need to paint anything and everything with watercolours.   

What have I discovered this month?

• Interesting new paint colour names like Hooker's Green
• What brushes are made of
• Amazing artists
• Most of all I've discovered a love for painting

You're welcome to join me as I work towards improving and learning more.

Jim Kay's painting of Hagrid really kicked off my interest in watercolours,
I just wanted to try and paint it and ended up having a great time.

I'd been on a Harry Potter high and so decided to practice painting a box of Bertie Bott's every flavoured beans.

For my husband's 29th birthday I painted a bottle of Marmite. He truly loves the stuff. Him moving to Japan, where Marmite is a foreign concept goes to show just how much he loves me.(^-^)

 This is Loki, he is my first pet portrait. Painted for a friend who lives far far away.

An Etegami inspired postcard, in anticipation for the rainy season here in Japan, from June to July.

 Here's my obligatory first watercolour strawberry.^^ I've learned a TON from this painting.