Sylvia‘s Art Journey

 Some people say - only half jokingly, I'm sure - buying art supplies and using them are two different hobbies. They end up collecting supplies they rarely use. A lot of them were bought impulsively. Someone else used them to great effect in a YouTube video or they showed up new and shiny in the art shop of choice. And you react like a kid in a candy store.  Well, money is limited and it's a pity if art supplies are not used. So we should only buy what serves the real hobby - being creative. First of all, don't put those seductive items directly into the cart. Before you look twice that email confirming your order arrives. Put them on your wishlist and let them settle there for a while. Come back when that first urge is gone. Then let reason take over. Do you really need this? Can you afford it? Why do you even want it? Does it provide added value? Will it improve your creative work? Does it fit your process? Will you actually use it?  If not only your heart, but also you...

 A few days ago I bought a tripod for my iPhone. I had been thinking about buying one for a while. I had looked online, not knowing what I should get. So I finally went into a shop and asked for advice. I came home with something that suits my needs and wasn't even expensive.  Yesterday I tried it out, got it set up and filmed a sketchbook flip-through. The third attempt was successful, everything being in sight. I can't stream to another device while filming, but still this is a game changer. No weird setup with stacked books necessary any more.  Here is my little video, no talking, just some calm music:  https://youtu.be/xXYK6i95seo?si=fbM6uWq_Wnc6-iT9

 There has been a tendency in the recreational art community for quite a while that says having fun is the most important aspect of making art. That what you create doesn't have to be pretty or good, that it even can be messy. The messier, the merrier, one could think. And while I agree to a certain extent, I think that this mindset is often exaggerated.  In online workshop after online workshop people are encouraged to play, be messy, use the cheap stuff and not worry about the outcome. Which often looks like done by a frustrated school kid. Not all workshops are like this and not all sessions in such workshops are like this. Some of the stuff made that way even looks good.  But there is too much of this mindset spread. People are taught to scribble and doodle - one should think every little kid can do this - and be happy with that, while some alleged deeper meaning is projected into it. What is supposed to be freeing can also be limiting. If you're actually happy playin...

  I have started to set up a kind of   bullet planner   for 2026. I want to use it instead of a bought planner or calendar. As I don't have a ton of appointments and to-dos to plan, it is going to be rather minimalist. Probably I will not draw in it, but just decorate it a bit with stickers. I have my sketchbooks for drawing and painting. At the beginning I have monthly overviews where I put in holidays and birthdays. I have a single to-do page right now for things I want to do sooner or later. I will add weekly pages as I need them, as soon as there is an appointment or to-do in this week. The trick is that I use a ring binder for it, so I can add pages and remove pages and move them where I need to. I can add more content when I need it and put it where I want it. No empty pages, but content in perfect order.  I will see where it leads.

 I have chosen the two books I have been working with lately because I like the subjects and the styles of those tutorials. Both provide templates you can trace, so you don't have to draw the linework yourself. Seems a lot of people like to paint nice scenes, but don't want to have to draw, which is a pity. I, of course, do my own drawing. Doing this I often change things a bit. I don't copy the original, I get inspired by it. You still see the influence of the original clearly, but my version has a lot of my own style. I guess it's a sign of not being a beginner anymore. I am able to make my own decisions, because I don't follow tutorial after tutorial. I have started early on doing my own thing. Still it's nice to have some inspiration from such books in between. 

 There is nothing like preparing a new sketchbook after you have finished the previous one. I like to decorate the insides of the front and back cover with stickers. One that says „Sylvia‘s sketchbook no. x“ and some simply for decoration. After filling the first page I also add the month I started it. After filling the last page I then add the month I finished it.  The stuff on the right is just digital. 

The colour in my watercolour set I have used the least is PR101 - English red / Venetian red. It was in my original standard set. It’s certainly good for painting terracotta objects or red bricks, but what else? If I want a redish brown I can use a more neutral brown like sepia or burnt umber and mix in a little warm red. What to use it for? So, I have gone ahead and mixed it with most of the colours in my palette. I tried to add just a touch of it to the respective colour and also to get a reasonable hue. Here are the results. Mixing colours from top to bottom and left to right are: buff titanium, jaune brilliant dark, lemon yellow, cadmium yellow medium, permanent red orange, cadmium red light, ruby red, ultramarine, helio cerulean, brilliant green (phtalo green), sap green, green earth, may green, yellow raw ochre, burnt umber.  Well, I will keep it in my palette as long as it lasts, mainly mixing it with the burnt umber here or there. The mixes with the reds are not bad, either...