Tiny bubbles and a star

Dear Nikki/Dear Sarah--Day 436 of our daily drawing exchange

Hi Nikki,

Today’s little painting of blue bubbles was done with the cap of one of my Sakura pens. Depending on the amount of paint you dip it in you either get an outline of a circle, or a solid one. Nice effect, which of course I learned from Instagram. Unfortunately, I feel as if I’ve veered off into “magpie mode”—ooh look at that shiny new thing/technique—the shiny thing often involving new art supplies etc. Do I need rubber stamps? Should I try collage? What about trying acrylics again? When I looked at your dad’s sketch of you at the table, I felt as if I could learn as much just from looking at it as I could from “light and shade” a tutorial online.

Long story short—I’m breaking up with IG art tutorials for a while. Lately I haven’t had the same sense of accomplishment that I had when I spent days on one drawing or finally got the perspective right on a building, or did a blind contour self-portrait. I think it’s way too easy (for me anyway) to get sucked into a quick art fix (especially when I’m tired or not feeling well). I need to start really looking again—at art, at the world around me—which I have got out of the habit of doing.

But for today, here are some bubbles.

XO S

Hi Sarah -

for what it’s worth, I love the bubbles - the palette, the veering off in unexpected directions (though I know exactly what you mean about magpie mode - I, too, suffer from the affliction).

There is something to be said for creating something that looks like something, regardless of how we get there.

Today I wanted to continue my so-far-unsuccessful attempts at various methods of transferring images. And, I had this vague idea that I would incorporate some sort of star (as I have been reading The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector). Well… this piece took forever (much gluing, rubbing, soaking, more rubbing… but not much transferring being accomplished) followed by mad stamping and blotting with a sponge to at least try to add texture). So, I guess it’s my Hour of the Star which, to be honest, I like about as much as the book. As in, not much.

However, I don’t know of another way to learn what doesn’t work than by trying some things that don’t work.

For example, the technique where you take a bit of clear packing tape, stick it on top of a magazine page, smooth it down, then soak it in water before rubbing off the paper to leave the image stuck to the tape (as per the hooting woman) seems a tad… useless? Why not just cut out the image and stick it to the page? As it is, there’s now this shiny tape layer that is difficult to work over with anything else.

Sigh.

Tomorrow awaits.

Hoping to have some better luck and ideas as I’ve put some library books on hold, all of which have something to do with collage techniques.

I was going to pick them up today, but had to seet off on a panic-stricken mission to retrieve my small wallet from a friend’s place where, apparently, it had fallen from my pocket and become wedged between the sofa cushions.

As a result of the retrieval, arrived at the library after it was closed.

Until a better day dawns, I remain faithfully your friend in arty experiments -

Nikki