Sketchbook: March Faves

My desire to paint was minimal in March. I had a few scrapbook assignments as well as a strong desire to crochet. So my spare time was filled mostly with the later activities and I only painted a couple days in March. But, I'm totally okay with that. I know that some months I'll paint a lot and others I won't. I want it to stay fun and not become a chore. With all that said, this fish sketch is my favorite from March.

I started with a background that I had already painted - a wet on wet wash complete with drips and splatters. I sketched the fish onto my background, filled them in with watercolors and finished with an outline using a black pen. I really like how the background shows through the fish. I also like the spontaneity that comes with painting over the top of a background rather than painting the subject first and then adding the background. And seriously, this is a struggle for me. I'm a planner. I want to know where everything will go and how it will look. I'm growing.

Okay, so I did not like this background when I finished it. The colors just seemed so drab to me, but after I added the flowers, I loved it! I used white acrylic paint, Copic markers in a couple shades of green and a black pen for the flowers. The background is all watercolor.