Swatching my Dreams

I went to Michael’s just to get a brush set for acrylics, but I ended up buying a whole bunch of other stuff I didn’t need—though I’m glad I got it anyway. I picked up some really large-format papers and pads to practice all kinds of media on, along with oil pastels and more markers. Now that I have a simpler and more portable easel, I’m hopeful I can finally set up a workspace where I can create plenty of pieces back to back.

That still wasn’t enough, so I went to good old Blick for more art supplies. I decided it was time to pull the trigger and get what I’ve been waiting nearly a decade to buy: Daniel Smith watercolors and Fabriano Artistico watercolor paper. It just doesn’t get more professional than that! I went a little crazy and ended up buying almost every color I could ever want. Although I got a dot sampler, I didn’t try all the colors. I did, however, swatch my new watercolors, and I was blown away by the quality. I thought I wasn’t a fan of iridescent colors, but the shine on these is so dreamy. Now I see why they’re so expensive.

I’d never swatched colors like this before, so I winged it. I started in one direction, then changed my mind and swatched in another because I’m left-handed. I have my perfect match now—Daniel and Fabriano are besties. After playing around and testing out the colors, I decided to make an abstract piece by combining circles, line art, and white and gold accents with acrylics. It was fun to create and really woke up my desire to make art just for the sake of creating.