Aaah, the perils and pleasures of spontaneity and ignoring the rules!

Woman mourning the loss of a Giant Pomeranian

Having decided to do an illustration onto plain paper (gasp!) instead of a printed book page, I grabbed a fine liner (the nearest one to hand) and proceeded to do a slow and deliberate (double gasp!) outline.

It was when I was about to apply the first watercolour that I thought to look at the pen to see if it was waterproof. The pen shaft was mute on the subject. Oh well… My first dab of watercolour revealed the truth and the ink began to run enthusiastically. However, I have long been a fan of Sally Rippin’s beautiful ‘Fang Fang’s Chinese New Year’ that features profusely bleeding ink outlines so I continued on and  really enjoyed it. (I must ask Sally how she did this.)

I also liked the fact that the ink bled a deep purple colour, which has infused the whole picture with blackcurrant tones.

When I tried to invent a new breed of dog (a kind of Giant Pomeranian) to accompany my character, it didn’t work. But that’s another story. So my costumed lady was cut out from her page and collaged onto a new background. And I enjoyed that too, including the bright, undisguised cut edges remaining around her.

And lastly, Brain Pickings had a great post today on creativity and taking risks and it’s worth a read for any artist. Yaaay!