Inspired by Lee Gordon Seebach's post "Jumpin' Jack Dry Wash"

Beyond his craftsmanship and dedication, Lee (aka @chessmonster) consistently takes us a step further by sharing his knowledge - his process. His video shares the painstaking exercise which he follows to create a fine piece - from a photograph he took after a walk in nature to find his subject, to a value study in black and white, to studies in color - all before he begins painting his final piece in watercolor!

I'll take all the knowledge bombs I can get

I don't have the knowledge or years of experience that many resident Steemit artists have but I have a thirst for knowledge and sincerely want to be a better artist.

Patience & Practice

Drawing and painting is a creative outlet for me that I never knew existed before I joined Steemit. So many fine artists and illustrators openly share what materials they use, give tutorials and little knowledge bombs and I am thankful for all of it.

Which leads me to my current art project.

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The Lotus Flower and The Sun

The idea of this piece came to me when I found out my husband's cousin recently got married. I am so happy that she is finally in a good place with a good guy that I wanted to gift them with a painting symbolizing an embrace of sorts - and nurturing.

And then I watched Lee's video

My initial thought was: This has special meaning. I want to take my time with this piece and do it right .
It took two days to go from initial idea to sketch to tracing in marker. In @chessmonster's video, he creates a value study in black and white.

As I looked at my drawing I tried to imagine it's background, the different shades and how to create the details in paint.

I realized my sketch is not the final piece but my value study in black and white.

So here I am thinking about the next step.
Will I have the patience to practice this piece in watercolor and acrylic -- and possibly multimedia?
Which will have the closest result to the image forming in my imagination?
Will it be good enough to gift?

And then I saw this quote, which may seem off topic but it's not, I promise you:

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"Science is not about control.
It is about cultivating a perpetual condition of wonder
in the face of something that forever grows one step richer
and subtler than our latest theory about it.
It is about reverence, not mastery."

- Richard Powers

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Cultivating a perpetual condition of wonder...grow one step richer.
It's about reverence not mastery!

HUZZAH!

I know in my heart I will never consider myself a master of anything but I will always have wonder and take steps to make my life richer. There is a humbleness to that and most definitely reverence for life... and art.

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