Do you dabble?

 The dictionary lists one definition of dabble as "to take part in an activity in a casual or superficial way". If you work mainly in one medium, how often do you dabble in others? Do you enjoy the change, or does it bother you to be less proficient in such "casual or superficial" endeavors? 

I am not a painter—let's get that straight right off the bat—but I wanted to take some art supplies along on my trip to Hawaii last week.When you're trying to capture those Hawaiian colors, a few colored pencils and/or graphite just aren't enough. But I ventured out of my comfort zone (I haven't used watercolor much since high school a hundred years ago) and bought a tiny little set of Winsor & Newton watercolors to take along. (It was just their Cotman line, not the much pricier Professional one, and with my ever-present Aaron Brother's 50% off coupon, it was a deal!)

Here's what I took (you'll notice that I replaced the (mostly useless) half-pan of Chinese White with some nice Payne's Grey):

It all fit nicely into this little 8 x 10 pouch:

I won't subject you to the first little seascape that I did. Yikes. It was such a cliché little thing. Okay, maybe landscapes weren't a great place to start. I usually draw little things, so why not paint little things? So here's what I ended up with, along with the page above.

I had fun, but I found myself trying to "draw" with paint, which only works for some things. Also, I'm used to colored pencil work which involves layers of colors, but too many layers of watercolor look scrubby and muddy. Agh!  And I couldn't decide whether to use ink for the outline drawing, (first 2) or just go with watercolor (last 2). 

Lots to learn. I kept thinking of that old saying, "Jack of all trades, master of none".

So, tell me—do you enjoy dabbling?  Or would you prefer to be a master of one?

A Box of Chocolates

(click to enlarge)

Well, I still can't get enough of linocut printing. This latest piece that I did for Valentine's Day is another reduction print, meaning that first you carve away the areas that you want to stay the paper color. After that first color is printed (the "milk chocolate" color in this piece) you carve away the areas that you want to remain the color that you just printed, and so on. Some artists even do reduction prints of twenty or more colors! One of my favorites is Sherrie York. Her website and blog show the steps in her process so beautifully. Amazing. Ok, back to my little print...

After printing the milk chocolate and dark chocolate, I "cheated" and made a separate little block for the red heart. I was going to put a border around the image, but after playing around with it, I decided that I like it as is.

I ended up with about ten prints that turned out with varying degrees of success including the one at the top of the post, from which I've made slightly larger digital prints for my Etsy shop. I love how they turned out: I can hardly tell the difference between the original block print and the reproductions!

So, along with this Christmas one, there are now two "A Box of..."

What should be next?

And the answer is...

.

(click to enlarge)

..butternut squash!

Thanks for all of your guesses; most were on the right track! And thank you for your patience—it's been a busy week, and I didn't get this done as soon as I'd planned.

I'm happy with how the outside turned out, but I'm not wild about the inside (which you'd think would be more interesting). Sometimes I just lose interest in a piece that drags out too long; maybe that's the case here. But I do love to eat the inside—it's one of my favorite foods!

What am I drawing?

These are the pencils I've pulled to start on my next drawing.

Guesses, anyone?

An old drawing for a new year

A new year is like a fresh box of crayons and a blank sheet of paper.