Bear Bag

Inspired by a photo from the Ultralight Backpacking site.

The idea here is that you hang your food and toiletries (yes, bears consider toothpaste to be food) high enough and far enough out from the trunk to be out of reach, and on a branch thin enough that he can't shimmy out and reach it. It's always a good start to the day to find your bear bag untouched.

My Travel Kit

Here's a description of my travel painting kit. It's constantly evolving, if I remember I'll post an update once in a while.

Waterbrushes

What they are, how they work, and a look at the ones I use. Follow this link.

Developing My Style

As I practice my painting, I'm coming to prefer the loose and casual style of watercolors. The hardest thing for me to learn is that "loose" doesn't equal "sloppy" or "random".

This first one was an exercise in painting a variegated sky to create a sunset. There are only three colors used here - Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Red and Raw Sienna - mixed in various ways to create what you see here.



This second painting is my first go with masking. I basically painted the lighthouse and base of the rocks with liquid frisket and then painted the sky, rocks and water. After it was dry I rubbed the frisket away, then did the lighthouse.

Inspirations: Tarot for Writers

I mentioned here that I use the Deviant Moon tarot deck for inspiration when writing stories. I also mentioned a book titled Tarot for Writers that was on my wish list.

I did recently pick it up and though I still have no desire to start telling fortunes, I am finding it fascinating reading. It does veer into the spiritual here and there, but for the most part it's a straightforward explanation of what each card traditionally means and includes a detailed description of the incredible amount of symbolism present in each card's rendering. There are short suggestions on things to write about based on each card, and they're not necessarily obvious and trivial.

There's also several sections on various other ways to use the deck to kick-start your creativity, from character generation to plotting.

All in all, it's well worth the money, even if you only write for fun or for yourself.

Another Monochrome

Another exercise in separating value from color. I'm rather pleased with how it came out, despite the crappy scan.

Landscape Study

This is another landscape painted from a watercolor book by David Bellamy.