A few fantasy speed watercolours

I'm happier with these. I'm trying my best to stick with the 12 colour travel set of watercolours I started with, even though I gave in and bought a larger set that's seducing me with its array of shades. With these I have drifted back to my old fantasy standbys to see how they'd work in watercolour. Some of the shading is lost in translation to the computer but I'm still pleased how they've each worked. The last is my first time working with lamp black - which never came in my set, but I bought separately. I just started throwing it down with a lot of water and if I'm honest a lot of the things I like about it are accidental. The name came from looking at it for a long time and seeing something in it that I never intended. Again they're all speed watercolours under 15 minutes each. I'm not quite confidence enough to put a long time and effort into them; yet.

Side note; I hate the way blogger lets us post photos, so the titles for the first three - left to right - are 'Against The Sky', 'Galactic Beauty Queen' and 'Farsight.'

The Woman Who Saw The Giant Fall

More Speed Watercolours

As I continue reading Ian Tregillis's 'The Rising' here are a few more of my speed watercolour paintings (under 15 minutes). I'm not satisfied with any of them but I think there are good parts to each. I'll try the same subjects again at a later date and see if I can improve them, or just to
see how my skills progress.

                    Doll Face                                    There Is Water In The Desert

~ 

The Girl In The Hijab                                        Tree                                           

Adventures in waterclour #1

I've always used pastels, markers or pencils when I sketch, draw and colour. I once tried oil paints years ago when my dad was still alive - he'd learnt to paint in prison and returned to it after a stroke during a triple heart bypass as a form of physical and I suppose mental therapy - but I wasn't patient enough for the drying time. It didn't help that he was really good at it and I wanted to be that good straight away. I was about 10, 11 years old. He died when I was 12 so I never had chance for him to teach me but that drying time and the sheer mess of paint put me off until only last year. (I'm now 29).

So in a recent sale I saw a little pocket set of watercolours and I've been practicing quick, fast paintings. The first is a self portrait that I'm really pleased with. The second is drawn from imagination and hasn't transferred well in photo but I'm pleased with the over all effect. With these my aim is not to over think things and work quickly, keeping each painting under 15 minutes if I can. I've also done some small A4 canvases in acrylics, but I'll share them another time.

Self 17/01/16                                               Weather 01/02/16

100 Book Challenge

Over the last two years I worked a lot. I was, and still am, in retail and I let my job take over so I didn't read as much as I wanted to considering the amount of books I buy. At times it did make me happy; advancement, the feeling of doing well in my job etc. but it didn't last. Things needed to change.

This also resulted in a 'to read' pile that's grown unruly bordering on sentience. To prevent the whimsical, but chilling, situation when I one day return from work to find my books reading each other I've set myself a 100 book challenge. Starting from the 1st of January I will attempt to read at least 100 books before 31st December 2016. It might not sound a lot, in the past when I had more time on my hands it would have been easy, but I feel I need to regain my book feet.

I was going to limit this to a facebook album of photos but why not a blog? This means I'm already on book #7 so the first few posts on this blog will be playing catch up.

I've also re-started twitter after a few years absence and I'm using the hash tag #100bc to chart my progress.

This blog, though primarily featuring the books I'm reading, will be a return to creativity for me. I'm a writer myself, an amateur artist and clay enthusiast. Interspaced between my book posts you'll see the results of me trying to teach myself how to paint properly, draw hands and expose some of my own flash fiction.

After suffering a long time with manic depression, a few rough knocks recently and the general feeling of being run down this will hopefully encourage me to enjoy my own mind again.

thank you,

Chris Parvin