30 Days of Watercolour - Day 4

Day 4-  The sound of summer in Japan, Cicadas

Day4

During the summer time the sound of these noisy critters is thick in the air. Often I wake up to their special sound. In swarms, the sound can be quite overwhelming but I find that I've become accustomed to it and actually like it now.  So, I though that a cicada would be a fitting subject to paint today.

Materials used:
Holbein artists watercolours and making ink
Wirgman 350g/m², Orion original watercolour pape
Holbein Para Resable 350 brush series

30 Days of Watercolour - Day 3

Day 3 -  Wedding Rings

Day 3

This is a special day for Chris and me, so it deserves a special watercolour.

It's our first wedding anniversary! So painting our wedding rings seemed like the thing to do.:)
Coming to Naoshima and being surrounded by art is the perfect way to spend our anniversary, art is what brough us together. I'll leave art island inspired and thankful for the love and support from my husband. Looking forward to all the wonderful years ahead.

p.s Traveling and painting is tricky especially when editing illustrations without a charger for the tablet!>___<

Materials used:
Holbein artists watercolours.
Wirgman 350g/m², Orion original watercolour paper.
Holbein Para Resable brush series.

30 Days of Watercolour - Day 2

Day 2 -  Yellow pumpkin

Today Chris an I have traveled to Okayama for two days to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary (August 3rd) on Naoshima. This island is also known as art island which is home to my all time favorite art piece the yellow pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama. I still can't believe I got the chance to paint this today.

p.s Traveling and painting is tricky especially in 30 plus degree weather.>.<

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

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.

30 Days of Watercolour

Join me during the hot Japanese summer holidays. From August 1st to the 31st, I'll be painting the world around me each day. Inspired by Cynthia Koo's class on Skillshare "How To Start (And Finish!) Your Very Own 365 Day..."  

Here's a bit more information about this 30 day challenge.
What is my project?
I'll be painting one watercolour illustration a day for 30 days to build a fun and personal body of work.

What will the daily deliverable be?
I'll be posting one painting a day or a photo of a painting in progress. 
(Depending on the complexity of a painting it may take two days to complete. If this happens, I'll post a photo of the work in progress.)

When will I find time to fit in the time to paint?
I'm an ALT (assistant language teacher) here in Japan so even though it's the school summer holidays, I'll still be at school. 
I'll have plenty of time to sketch and paint at my desk. I've also taken leave for my 1st wedding anniversary so I'll get to paint as I go.

How will I keep motivated and accountable for 30 days?
I have a few fun ways to keep track of my project's progress which keeps me engaged, so I'll be using my 30 Day Progress Map. See below.
I also plan to blog and post on social media everyday.

.
What will I do for the first few days? I've decided to only plan for the first 5 days, I'd rather it be spontaneous.
   Day 1 – Something I've been itching to paint! An octopus tentacle from my local supermarket.
   Day 2 – Naoshima, art island day 1 – Red Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama.
   Day 3 – Naoshima, art island day 2 - 1st wedding anniversary! Wedding rings.
   Day 4 – Naoshima, art island day 3 - Yellow Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama.
   Day 5 - Train station sign. My Japanese home town.

Why is this important to me?
I've only been painting for 3 months so I hope to improve my painting skills and build a body of work that has a personal touch.^__^) v

June, a Month of Months

The rainy season is in full swing and with all that rain and humidity I find myself spending more time at home, happily painting.

I've decided to start a personal project, an illustrated calendar full of things that make my life in Hiroshima a happy one. For this calendar, each month will have a dedicated illustration of a unique object that surrounds me in my everyday life. It's going to take me a while to decide on the project name, but currently the working title is either Hiroshima Life or That Hiroshima Flavor. Below are the illustrations for January and June so far.

The month of June will be dedicated to the intense rainy season, so I've painted water droplets on paper.

The month of January belongs to the quirkiest Japanese object, the daruma doll. These dolls are the ultimate way to reach your goals creatively. It's perfect for goal orientated folks and just looks great on your desk.


I also found it important to paint the following illustrations but I have yet to decide what to do with them.

Edamame is my favorite health snack, its so delicious and healthy even it's colour is just the loveliest green.

 

Oh, and you can never go wrong with chocolate ice cream. ^___^