OUR DIY UNIVERSE

Excuse the poor picture quality. My scanner is packed deep in a 20' trailer.

All below have linked reference photos.

I like beautiful things, and delving deep in the blogosphere guarantees an onslaught of eye candy. Blogs and websites without appealing photos don't do well - especially food websites. Consider SLIM PALATE. The kid's photos and recipes are great, but his writing is terrible (granted, he is a teenager). Shouldn't a blog that has horrible text not get much attention? No, because we're a VISUAL SPECIES. There's plenty of data to support this and that VIDEO TRUMPS STAGNANT PHOTOS for audience engagement and attention. In fact, if I really wanted people to come to my blog I should post videos of me painting like MAJA WRONSKA and AGNES CECILE (I recommend muting sound while watching this one. Weird C-movie soundtrack music).

This all makes me think that people are actually more interested in the process of creative work than the creation itself. We marvel at the ability and secretly wonder if we could do the same. This is why Pinterest is so popular and why everyone is obsessed with DIY. You don't need a skilled artisan anymore. You can create ALL THE THINGS! This is also why PINSTROSITY is so pathetically funny.

So it's kind of horrendous and self-defeating that I'm even putting such horrible picture quality on here.

Instagram REFERENCE

Sharon Montrose REFERENCE

Pinterest REFERENCE

Sharon Montrose REFERENCE

EAGLE OWL

Another example of how Sharon Montrose's photos really take the cake as watercolor reference. I recently saw on Instagram someone else doing the same, which made me smile. In hindsight, I should have saved the image.

Reference original HERE. I changed the eye color in order to make it less intimidating.

BUFFALO

After packing up all of our stuff and being in San Diego for a week, I'm going a little stir-crazy for my workstation at home...which no longer exists. The following was an older practice, again using Sharon Montrose's WORK  as a reference. This was the first one I did of her work, and remains my favorite. Bison remind me of Christmas in New Mexico near the Jemez mountains, which is always a good memory.

Happy Thanksgiving.

FLY FLAMINGO

Inspired by Sharon Montrose, whose PHOTOS seem to show up in every living room and/or baby room I see on Apartment Therapy.

They're great photos to use as watercolour/gouache exercises because there's a lot of subtle color to be played up, and the blinding white backgrounds is exactly my style. 

THIS ONE and THIS ONE are my favorites!

ORIGINAL stock image.