As I've been reading a lot of late (and recently purchased a new lamp to read by) I thought I'd do something based on the place in which I do most of said reading... I took a quick photo, then did a few thumbnail sketches in Procreate (the fourth one came from imagination inspired by both the pondering what to put in the frame, as well as the current book I am reading, The Ten Thousand Doors of January and the idea of getting lost in a book). I like both the truer reflection of my own simple experience, as well as the whimsical and mysterious storytelling that comes from the imagined one, so I may just illustrate both...

 

I used colours with a 'Mid Century Modern' type feel, as I've felt drawn to this palette lately. Mixing to match the colours I'd chosen took some time (I'm quite the beginner when it comes to paint and colour mixing), but I got there in the end...

 

I used coloured pencils to add some texture and detail (the texture of the paper when coloured over created a nice grid pattern on the couch)...

 

The final product...

This was a great class and project that has helped me get a little more familiar with gouache, paint in general and practice colour mixing; get a feel for layering using mixed media; and put less focus on perspective in order to create flatter, more graphic type illustrations. I learned a lot.

Thanks, Claudia. Your passion for art and creativity and your fun personality shines through the whole class! I loved it, and look forward to (hopefully) more classes from you in the future. :)

 

[Project completed: January 2023]