Daily Works on Paper

 
{collection of gouache and watercolors from this month}

{collection of gouache and watercolors from this month}

 

I am so excited to unveil my 2021 annual art project and I look forward to launching it officially tomorrow.

Last week I wrote about how having an annual art project and how it can really help you grow creatively.   

In 2021, I am planning on continuing to incorporate daily art making into my life.  I am calling this year’s project “Daily Works on Paper”.  The goal is to create a new work on paper everyday.  I came up with this goal because I want to master gouache a water-based medium.  

{examples of gouache on watercolor}

 

I absolutely love drawing with graphite and I used to watercolor all the time when I was an architect.  However gouache is a totally new to me medium.  I have been mystified with it since seeing an exhibition of just gouache paintings in my early twenties, but for some reason or other, I had never used it before.  

Well that changed in mid-October.  Now I am curious to see where I can take this medium and explore new ideas for compositions.

With this annual art project I have created a few constraints to help keep the scope of the project manageable:

  1. All works will be done on paper, using whatever media I choose.

  2. Each piece will be 6x9 inches or smaller in size

  3. Exploration is key, so I am not limiting my subject matter. I can depict whatever I want.

  4. The goal is to finish the work in one sitting, however I will give myself grace and if I need to spread it out over a few days, I will. The true goal into show up every day and make art!

Because committing to an annual art project does take some time to establish.  I have used this month of December to iron out the details of the project.  So far, I have created a piece each day.  Either using just gouache or just watercolor, or a mix of both.  I have been using this time to figure things out.  Like… how much time do I need to complete each piece?  What is my favorite paper to use for gouache?  What is my favorite paper for watercolor?  Do I paint with the paper loose or taped down?  This type of exploration has been particularly helpful, because earlier this week I discovered that I prefer Bristol board for just gouache pieces and that I like to work with the paper taped down.  Where when I use watercolors I like cold pressed paper, but have yet to see if I prefer taping the paper down, that is next to experiment with.

{gouache on Bristol board}

{gouache on Bristol board}

 

This month I have been enjoying painting Christmas themes and realize I will use this project to explore a bunch of themes, some I love — like flowers, and others I have not painted much before but enjoy.  

I hope you will follow along this journey,  I am really looking forward to sharing these pieces with you in a new way.

Liz

 
Elizabeth Floyd