Bamboo Boo Boos....

I have had this idea floating around in my brain for the last few weeks

and am on a mission to get it out of the brain and onto paper

mind you my brain must be quite a cushy place

because it is showing no great desire to leave its roomy confines

and is  staying firmly locked in the grey matter

Along the fence near the studio is a stretch of bamboo

which over the wet season has exploded into a riot of shoots and green

and softly clatters in the breeze

and seems to make me feel warm no matter what the winter is delivering

and the bonus is that in the summer it will shade the pool and studio

and keep me cool

All day long I sit and gaze out the window and see it swaying and moving

and it is always in motion

it can be quite mesmerising

and I want to capture it

I can see it in my mind

but just can't quite get it out on the page

But I am hanging in there

and these are the experiments

and rough sketches

all the ones I make mistakes on

which is where the boo boos comes in

which is a bit sad but couldn't resist

and while they aren't where I want them

they are kind of on the way

I am starting to like the effect that gouache is having on the backgound

and think I want to explore that idea

and in my brain it is quite a detailed line drawing over a soft background

so that the background suggests the movement

while the detailed drawing shows the lovely lines and shapes

and obviously these aren't the detailed drawings

but I have fallen into that trap before

doing a detailed involved drawing and then mucking it up with the paint

so I think I have the background down

and so the next step will be to do some close sketches of the bamboo

and then put it all together

It will be fun to watch it come together

because they have already come along way

but that is all in the nature of it

and it is always satisfying to smugly sit back when it works out

and look back on the ordinary beginnings.... xx

Linking up to Sunday Sketches...

My week so far has been about

Sandblasting my Brain....

My Travel Kit with Gatecrashers....