Paradoxical advice and some swatches

Dear Sarah/Dear Nikki - Day 510 of our daily art adventure

Hi Sarah -

well, yesterday was a loooooooong day - thank you for posting my random food items for me (I think that was the subject matter - though, monster was also a possible interpretation).

Of course, today was catching up while tired, so not sure productive on the art side. We have a guest in our guest room/my art-making space, so I’ve decided to experiment with simple and minimalist for the next week or so… Very much against my nature, but probably good for me.

I LOVED your collage from yesterday - hope you managed to find a bit of space to squeeze in the pot - after I gave you the planter, it occurred to me that could be a challenge…

Nikki

Hi Nikki,

Simple and minimalist, huh? I’m intrigued. So unlike you (but a lot like me).

Today I did colour swatches of my new art supplies—Neocolor II pastels and Kuretake Gansi Tambi watercolours (which are a sort of hybrid between watercolour and gouache). Vibrant colours and luscious textures with both. Love the little swatch template included with the watercolours. So Japanese. I also sketched some wilted peonies with the intention of using both pastels and watercolours, to paint them but I too was wilting in the heat (it got up to 29 today) so I did some more drawing practice instead.

This morning I made a rhubarb/strawberry custard pie with a crumble topping. I am not good at pie crust, but decided to try a new recipe. Was it worth all the faffing around with cold butter and ice water? Maybe, but it would have taken half the time and effort just to make it without a crust at all. Tastes good, though, and will be dispersed to friends and family tomorrow. I mean, I can’t eat a whole pie by myself, can I?

XO S