I was at a community meeting with a co-worker last month, in a church basement. Some funny little man mentioned the word “gumption.” I wrote said word on my meeting agenda, and my co-worker (who’s a community artist and illustrator) drew this sketch of a man puking. So I wrote a caption:
gumption. (noun): The state of puking out one’s very soul, eg., “She sold her soul but then got the gumption and had to welch on the deal.”
(Larger image here.)
(More from artist Quentin Gibeau here.)
[Larger.]
Along with the small spending limit for gifts, we thought we’d have fun with V-Day this year with the help of homemade cards. I pulled out the Moleskine watercolor book a friend sent me a year ago and a watercolor set I got for Christmas in 2004 and set to sketching. What I wound up using for the card was a roughly-brushed heart and wash deal that I almost tossed. This is the corner of a bad little woods and sky sketch that my wife stole and took to work, only to return it when I had a hissy fit. A total hissy fit. I don’t think I can paint like I used to be able to.
I was, however, happy with the Moleskine watercolor paper. The original sketch books just let the water run and never soaked anything up, at least in my experience. Which is not to say that I don’t like that paper for making cartoons about funny things I read about and people I don’t like. The color and texture of the Moleskine watercolor paper are both just right for some quick dabblings. The pages are cut at the edges for removal, too.
Especially considered the sketch/notes nature of Moleskines, it was nice to have paper so welcoming to the watercolor. Regular Moleskines don’t take thick inks very well, but I always assumed this was because of their origin as notebooks, where ballpoint ink or pencil makes the most sense, on the go, in a pocket, waiting for a train or a lover.
Photo Friday: Art.
