See these Inchies (for April 7th and 8th)?
Want to know how they are made?
I sit down every evening, think over the day for minute, grab an inch of watercolor paper, draw and color an image, date the back, take a photograph, and voila!
Not.
But I was very surprised to find out, during a conversation with one of my readers last week, that I've given you the impression that I do.
Want the truth?
It starts with notes.
Until very recently, I've been jotting down notes about Inchie-worthy things that happen in my life right on the paper that covers my workdesk...just so I won't forget before I have time to draw the Inchie to represent them.
Now I keep the list in a 3x5 notebook so I can carry it with me.
Some days there are so many good things to think about, write about, or draw, that I just have to wait a little while for the Spirit to bring the Inchie into focus.
How to proceed depends on what it is I'm trying to represent.
If it is something tangible, like this homemade card I received from one of my sweet neecees last Thursday...
...then I just prop it up on my workdesk and use it as a model.
If it is an image from my day which I've captured with a photo, like this:
...or this...
...or this...
...I will upload the photo and sit in front of the computer monitor to make a large sketch (that's a penny in the photo for perspective ).
I take the large sketches to my workdesk and sketch a few inch-sized boxes to see whether I will be able to scale down my chosen images without losing clarity.
Once I know exactly which image I am going to use, I sketch it on the inch of watercolor paper with a pencil...
...go over it with "The Pen"...
...and then erase the pencil lines.
Now, if I had carefully planned this Inchie project, instead of just jumping in and starting it on a whim one evening, I would have purchased a super fine-point, permanent ink pen that would not bleed when wet.
But, I didn't...
...plan the project...
...or purchase a super fine-point permanent pen.
So I used what I had.
And I still do.
This is what I use:
This pen makes a line so fine that you can write on a grain of rice.
If you have anything to say to a grain of rice.
I don't.
After I've got my design outlined in ink, I start adding the color.
I don't own a set of watercolors.
Now, if I had carefully planned this Inchie project, blah blah blah, I would have purchased a set of watercolors.
But you know now that I did not.
So I used what I had.
And still do.
These are watercolor markers (two different types), a (leftover) ceramic tile, and a fine paint brush.
I just put a little color on the tile with the marker...
...and add a little water with my brush.
I mix all my color right on the tile...and if I run out of room, I just wipe it off with a cloth.
If I let this color dry on the tile, I could come back a year from now, add water, and paint with it again.
Cool, huh?
This is how I start adding color to the Inchie:
When I am done with the color, I lay the Inchie next to some scrap paper to see how my text will fit.
Then I write in the text, date the back, and take a photograph like this:
The little Inchie then takes it's place in the line up; which is temporarily affixed to a piece of cardstock.
This is how my little Inchies are made.
And this is how I force myself to practice drawing.
Because it is still hard work for me to do the things I most want to do.