pixie dust

watercolor and India ink on 11" x 14" watercolor paper.

I tried a different technique with this one. I did a series of washes and laid down some color, then brushed in more water and let it blend where it may. I made the wings by blotting the paint back out with triangles of tissue.

Then, after all that dried, I went in with India ink and stippled in various values.

I liked the washes. They brought in a rich depth of color I haven't seen yet in the watercolors. When I went back in with the India ink, I tried creating new shapes out of the white spaces (like the flower petals, and the opening to the mound on the left). It forced me to think more openly. I liked that.

On a completely separate note, I picked up the Beatles' Love CD this afternoon. It's fantastic. So many of the songs are intertwined, sparsely at first then meshing gears and running in an almost-discordant countermelody until the sound becomes this polyphonic, three-dimensional experience. I've truly never heard anything like it. And track 25 (after "Hey, Jude") is definitely the best. Very good music to work by.