Wilty

 

7/9/24 Inktense Blocks in Hahnemuhle 100% cotton sketchbook

A lovely bouquet from a vendor at the Edmonds Summer Market last week was too tempting to pass up, but my timing wasn’t great: We still had several days left to our heatwave. With the house so hot, these poor flowers started wilting prematurely (and I know the feeling). I was planning to sketch them out on my shady back deck, but even that was too hot last Tuesday (it got up to the mid-90s). The petals might have been all over the table and floor by the next day, so it was now or never.

The bouquet gave me a much-needed color fix, and Inktense Blocks gave me a looseness fix that I didn’t even know I needed until I smooshed those blocks around on wet paper.

As I sketched, I thought of Inma Serrano’s workshop in Barcelona during my first USk Symposium. After sketching the fun part of a Gothic building, I kiddingly griped to her that I didn’t want to draw the rest. She replied, “Then don’t! Draw only what you want to!” In 2013, it was a mind-blowing moment. Still thanking Inma for liberating me 11 years ago, I sketched the flowers and skipped the vase.