Two Birds with One Stone

I'm killing two birds with one stone today. I am participating in the "Paint and Draw Together Challenge" and the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge, so today's painting is a posting for both.

I was ready to hit the sack last night and saw that another challenge was posted, so just had to create! I started by printing out a black and white version of the photo from the "Paint and Draw Together" blog so I could interpret the image in my own color scheme and not be influenced by the colors in the photo (image 1). Then I sketched a quick composition (image 2). I felt the simplicity of the subject needed some life, so rather than a plain white cup, I selected a bold, bright palette. Using acrylics on canvas, I blocked in my scene. (image 3) and I followed that up with more detail (4th image). I paint fast and wet, so I get lots of "happy accidents" when the wet paints touch each other. Once I am pleased with the colors I let it dry and finish with an india ink marker. I think maybe I liked this one better before I added the black detail lines. What's everyone else think? These are fun challenges. I always love to be given a theme or image so I can interpret it in my own way.