© 2014 Mellanie Collins
2.5″ x 3.5″
watercolor pencil and markers
In June my friend Anita invited me to participate in a swap/exhibit put on by Art with a Heart in Altrincham, England. The theme was “In Bloom” so I had to do something with a floral theme.
So I figured, hey, why not? Sure I hadn’t drawn or painted any flowers in a couple of years, but since it was early in June I had all month to practice and it would all be cool. But it wasn’t.
I forgot all about the swap! I got a message reminding me that the cards needed to be in the UK by the end of June. This was one week away. I figured I would need at least five days for the card to get to the UK, so I needed to make something fast.
I rummaged around and sketched and gritted my teeth. Nothing happened. So I just threw up my hands and said, “I give up!” and just let go. I decided I’d loosen up by drawing the impression of a flower and recklessly drew squiggles and then looked for some shadows to play with. Before I new it I had this card.
By just messing around I ended up with something so much nicer than anything I worked hard over. Relaxing and seeing what happens works for me. Why do I not remember that? Ever?
My card made it to the exhibit in time, the cards were displayed through July and I’ll get a lovely card back in the mail sometime soon. All that fuss for nothing.
Mellanie Collins, Artist 
Beautiful! We do throw up the worst roadblocks for no good reason. I’ve been trying to do a watercolor a day, where I just paint without pre-planning or thinking about what I’m doing. I’m hoping that will train me to paint loose when I do sit down to do something planned.
I’ll let you know if that works!
LikeLike
Wow. I’m impressed. I can’t do anything without some sort of plan. I’ve been following your progress on your blog. Great paper reviews btw. It’s great to get a sense of how paper will react before I buy it.
LikeLike