I found a great little video tutorial online using this type of pastel/watercolor. This is my version of the girl created on that tutorial. Love the pink & yellow hair color combo! This type of learning works pretty well for me, but still feels weird: to copy a drawing directly the first time, in order to learn the technique.
Although I feel a bit better about it after listening to an interview with Quincy Jones last night. He made the point that musicians are smart to copy – play note for note – the work of their favorite artist's when they start out. Walk in the shoes of the people you admire, rather than reinvent the wheel. Because ultimately, try as you might, you won't be able to copy them exactly. You'll learn in the trying and your own style will evolve from that good foundation. Good, right? He gave the example of Louis Armstrong emulating exactly one of his predecessors (forgot the name…) and then Dizzy Gillespie copying Armstrong & on down the line. Yet nobody thinks of these artists as anything but their own original selves.
What frustrates me I suppose is to see how many artists never seem to move on from that copying stage. I suppose though, as long as they're not trying to sell the work and as long as they find joy in the creating process ~ who am I to say? Hmmm. Time to put my judging mind in check.
~ on a totally different topic ~
We (people in Anchorage, Alaska) are currently waiting to see if Redoubt volcano is going to blow and blanket our lovely city with some not-so-lovely ash. Strange! I just hope that if it's going to, that it does soon. Air traffic will be grounded ~ airplane engines don't get along with ash plumes ~ and I don't want it to impede my trip to Art Nest! 'Cause volcanic eruptions should really time themselves around my schedule, right? :o) Cross your fingers for us!
♥