Red sketches

Some new things done with a red pencil.

This little guy is special because I drew whiskers on him which I almost never do!

Blacks

I haven’t been able to complete anything lately. So I figured I would write about an old color-mixing memory.

I am sure I mixed watercolors for fun when I was a kid many times. But I always remember this one time I was in art class painting a hamster. It is such a vivid memory that it feels like it was the first time I ever mixed colors. I was very happy with the hamster so far. Or maybe it was a guinea pig that I kept calling a hamster. It was pretty much complete except for the eyes and some details on the ears. I always finished the eyes last because it would bring the whole picture together and tempt me to stop working. Black was the missing color needed for the eyes and those few unfinished details. As I was reaching for the black tube of paint my art teacher gave me a look that could only mean: No. Fine, I put my hands down and waited for instruction. 

She told me how mixed blacks were richer than tube blacks, and explained something about which colors to mix and how the blacks would turn out and how the intensity would change with something else.. yeah, I don’t remember what she said. I was confused and figured that the tubes she was handing me were the ones I had to mix together. I remember becoming was very, very frustrated. I ended up getting browns, and more browns, and then muted, grayish browns. Maybe she handed me the “wrong” colors just to make me recognize the importance of choosing the right ones. Then in my anger I added a huge goop of blue, turning the color into a dark blue-ish gray. She gave me that look again every time I was tempted to load the brush already and put it on the paper. So instead, I would add more reds for her to stop telling me that such a blue-based black would not work with the colors of the hamster. It was hard! But when I finally got it I was so satisfied. However I did not feel so good when I realized all the color had been used up on the ears and there was none left for the eyes. I have no idea how that happened, since I felt like I had added more and more paint to that one puddle of color for hours. She looked at me and laughed, and told me that I had to mix it again. What?! 

The second batch must have gone well because I do not remember it. I really like that hamster, it’s still buried somewhere in a closet. Since that time I have never underestimated Black and his friends again. Weird, how I learned that lesson. One would think that after that frustrating experience I would want to cave in to the black paint tube when I had the chance. But no, I never use my black pastel and do not intend on buying a black paint tube any time soon. 

If I ever use a black pastel here and there in the future, I hope it won’t make me sound like a hypocrite.