Abandoned Ship

I was getting frustrated with the colors not doing what I wanted. If it were oil or acrylic I would be good. They are thick mediums so I would be able to control exactly where the paint went like I do with my pencils. Watercolors however are like Riley. They just go where ever the hell they want to. I can NOT figure out how to get the photorealistic detail I love in my art. After getting angry with my attempts at trying to get a halfway decent looking cloud I just started slopping paint on the paper. I ended up with what reminded me as storm clouds breaking. I squinted a little bit and "saw" a boat. There is no crew in it because if I can't paint detail, they all went overboard in the storm.

Another New Hobby

It seems I have a million hobbies sometimes. Now that it is getting colder I was looking for something to occupy my time beings my outdoor activities are being shut out in favor of warmer surroundings. (i.e. my living room lol) Wandering through Hobby Lobby on a completely different errand, I came across the painting section.

I am a fairly decent artist with pencil, charcoal, and ink, but have never really tried painting. I have an adopted aunt that is an outstanding artist, and have always loved her watercolor paintings. She majored in art at Kentucky University and taught art at the local college until her retirement. Her works have been shown nationally, so I would give it a try.

Aunt Sarah paints in the photo realistic style I love to copy with my drawings. I realize she has been doing this for 40+ years longer than I have, but i was still very disappointed at my first few tries. (It also probably doesn't help that I believe, for myself anyway, that I want to be self-taught so I will have my 'own' style of painting instead of trying to copy someone Else's.

I have decided to start blogging this attempt at a new hobby, as well as keeping a sketch journal, to help keep my thoughts, successes and errors, and ideas in order.