I Painted a Bird.

dakodasmithdesign
Jul 25, 2017 · 2 min read

$20.

Well, a picture of a bird, not like an actual bird.

Not much to say about that, right?

Well to me it is kind of a big deal. I haven’t painted in a long time, and to paint something that most people could recognise as a bird is something I wasn’t sure I could do. Digital art just seemed so much more convenient — and cheap.

Maybe I fluked it. Either way there is something I could learn from it.

I guess that is what is really cool about analogue art. The variations and chaos of it all leads to random awesomeness. It may fail too, but from that we learn. There is a finality to it, created by the finiteness of supplies. There’s no Command-Shift-Z. Within these restrictions creativity may present. Taking note of what works and what does not, and also what it would take to make something work is all part of the fun.

A lot of videos make watercolour look effortless, and in a way I think it should be. But that does not mean one should rely on natural talent. The most important thing is to practice, and get to know the behaviour of the medium. And in the end, the skills I’ve learned and practiced may look effortless after all.

Actually, looking at this cat I painted afterward, I’m starting to think it was definitely a fluke.

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