Day 199 of Week 29 July 2025

Have a fun weekend hanging out
with love ones & friends

Sing a Connie Francis song
Read about rose perfume
Draw a fancy door
Make a big green salad
Browse art online
Have strawberry shortcake
Visit a local museum

Summer Abstract: Stage 2

Summer Abstract 2025 
Watercolor & Ink 13"x15"

 In stage 2 of the watercolor and ink abstract, I add color session by session, after trying the hues out on a scrap piece of watercolor paper.  This stage is when I do the most thinking. I do not touch the drawing with new ideas until I am 100% sure that is the direction I want to take.

The best approach at this stage is to make sketches, cut them out in the shape of where they will go in the drawing, and then put the sketch over that spot in the drawing to try them out. Some are good, some aren't and are tossed. 

I usually have the line inked before I add color. There is a flexibility in adding the lines after the color that this drawing can benefit from because there will be a slight Trompe l'oeil element in the drawing. 

How do I know when the drawing is going in the wrong direction? The story the image reveals tells me if it represents my vision. In abstracts, other ideas can emerge. I have to stick to my core focus for the drawing to be what I want it to be. 

In landscape drawings, what you see is there. Elements can be adjusted to create a good composition. In abstracts, the landscape is in the brain's imagination. I have to create what my brain wants to see using lines and hues.

Digital photos are a help as they will reveal the tiniest blooper. Thankfully in watercolors, a run over can be removed or covered by ink.

Summer Abstract 2025 detail


Palette, Framing & Old Friends


One of my watercolor palettes has been found. It is twice the size of my over 30 year old palette. The extra room will be interesting to get use to.

On the front is taped the standard 
image sizes of pre-cut mats.


On the back is taped mixes
of my watercolor palette hues.



The references tools are an easy way to help me focus as well as decrease the costs of framing. 
Framing watercolors requires a mat to keep the artwork from touching the glass or acrylic. Using standard size pre-cut mats is less expensive. Use a standard size frame, and the cost is even less, much less. Painting an image in a standard size (when possible) cuts the cost of expensive framing. 

Thus, the artwork doesn’t need to tack on an extra $100-200.00 US dollars to the sale price. 

Setting up the new palette is an emotional journey. Watercolors that dry on the plastic can be reused. They become old friends. A new palette is like moving to a new neighborhood where making new friends is daunting.