Watercolor, oh, and sketching and stuff, too!

So, here's the deal. I have been REALLY loving watercoloring, as you have likely noted if you follow my blog regularly. My Mom mentioned that  she had liked those ones lately, too, SOOOOO.... I got this crazy idea in my head that I wanted to do a watercolor piece for her for Mother's Day.

Okay, so, I've been doing it, so no big deal, right? Welllllll.... I didn't want to just do a stamped watercolor piece. I wanted it to be all my own work. SO, I decided to go a little wild and crazy and decided to sketch out something and then watercolor it. I carefully watched a couple of videos from Sanketi who inspired me in a way that really made me feel like I could make this happen. Then I decided on a subject - Old North Church in Boston seemed like a good fit. Then, I sat down with a sheet of watercolor paper and made it happen!



I began with a pencil sketch, given that my general idea on drawing and me was that, well, I can't draw. LOL! I used another picture as a reference, but I was pretty happy that I was able to produce something that looked like real buildings and such. HA!



I then used a pen to sketch over my pencil sketch to darken it and make it more permanent. I wanted the black outline to be visible, so I used a permanent pen that wouldn't bleed while I painted.



Finally, I added the paint! I had SO much fun painting this piece! I used layers of paint to achieve depth and shadow and I know it isn't perfect, by any means, but I could NOT have been happier with how it turned out! I was so excited to share this with you guys!!!  I did frame it, however, I neglected to take a photo of it in the frame, naturally. LOL!

I hope you like it! And even more...I hope this inspires you to try something that seems like it is just more than you can do, after all, you may find out that you actually CAN do it! YAY!

OH! And for those who may need a refresher on US History, this is the church known most widely for the good old, "One if by land, Two if by See" during the Revolutionary War. Paul Revere instructed three men to two lanterns in the steeple. That steeple is now a reproduction of the original, as the original was actually destroyed by the Storm of October 1804. It was replaced at that time, only to be blown off entirely by Hurricane Carol in 1954. The steeple that stands today is a perfect reproduction.

Have a Happy!