I am participating in the Index-Card-a-Day challenge and World Watercolor Month. I am making small watercolors every day in July.

I watched a video tutorial Angela Fehr posted for World Watercolor Month, which inspired me to try an abstract painting for Day 36:

The prompt for Day 37 was botanical. I attempted to try to paint an impression of these roses that I photographed at Mesa Community College’s rose garden:

On Day 38 I watched a tutorial for drawing a watermelon with watercolor pencils. My past attempts with watercolor pencils were very unsatisfactory. Even though I’d read articles on how to use them, it’s not the same as looking over someone’s shoulder and listening to the artist describe what she’s doing. Apparently, I’d not been pressing hard enough to leave enough pigment on the paper, and I’d only dribbled the water on instead of scrubbing the water with the brush. What a difference!

Every July I get frustrated with what an unpredictable surface index cards are for watercolor. The cards curl up and wrinkle where the water pools. I thought I could get around it by “preparing” the cards by taping them to a hardboard, spraying them with water, and letting them dry before painting. It didn’t work.

So I switched over to watercolor postcards. I’m justifying to myself that they count for ICAD because they’re 4 x 6 inches, the size of a large index card.

Since video tutorials have been working out well for me, I watched another one, which inspired the rest of the cards for the week.

Day 39:

Day 40:

Day 41:

Day 42:

My favorite painting for the week is the watermelon. I think it looks real. I’m excited that it’s a step forward for me, that now I know better how to use the watercolor pencils.

The tree tutorial didn’t help me as much as the others, because even though I could see what the artist was doing, hearing an explanation would have clarified it for me. I need words + the visual.

It’s not too late to jump in and participate–there are still two and a half weeks left, time enough to make 19 little artworks if you start today. It’s fun! No pressure.