268/365: Room to Grow

painting in progress, 18"x24" on paper

Today I made:

sweeping strokes...

I stopped by the office supply store this afternoon to pick up some things for school, and found myself in the art supply aisle where they had a poster-sized pad of drawing paper. I envisioned myself sprawled out on the living room floor sketching my heart away. The thought of this made me so happy that I bought this oversized sketchbook and made my vision come true.

I started with a line drawing. (There's that girl again!) The large space freed me up to make big sweeping strokes and exaggerated gestures. My hand had room to play. It was so much fun and I'm one step closer to making really big art!

original sketch

I liked the drawing on it's own, but I decided to see what else it could evolve into. Using less precious materials (paper instead of a canvas, and cheap craft paints instead of the pricier artist's grade acrylics) allowed me to play and experiment without expectations. I wasn't too attached to the piece. I decided that if I ruined it, I could just sketch another. The paper buckled under the wet paint and the pigments didn't cover well with the first coat, but I quite like it so far.

This might be a practice for a canvas piece, and as often as this little lady is showing up in my art, I think she may need her own series.

I'm very happy with my purchase of the jumbo drawing pad. It gives my doodles room to grOW.