I’m learning to experiment, both in artwork and in life. In my painting, I’m using colours to change the mood and feel of an illustration. I’m combining ink types to see what effects I can obtain. I’m trying ideas without tracking my time during my ventures into the unknown. When we are young, we call this playing. I’m taking it back as an adult.
A partial quote from Samuel Beckett’s Worstward Ho gets tossed around these days. We’ve taken it to our own devices, which is a topic for someone else to tackle, but here it is:
… Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. ¹ ²
External forces are influential in my experimentation. I’m surrounded with endless natural beauty that changes colours and moods with the seasons. Much of my artwork is inspired by my own backyard wanderings in the woods and mountains around Folldal, Norway.
New communities are also welcoming and inspiring me. The outline image (above) was created for Colour Collective’s prompt Pink Flamingo. I didn’t complete that challenge, but I used the outlines to play with other colour prompts from them.
I experimented and combined several media types for the Hansa yellow illustration (above)—printer ink, coloured pens, and watercolour paint on bamboo paper. I’m not sure what I think of the final result, but I did learn many things. Playing with a single colour as the driving force behind an illustration is fascinating to me, so don’t be surprised if you see this scene in a new light each week.
Work is intended to be joyful—let’s help each other bring it back. Positive feedback gives me courage to keep exploring and growing. If my art has made you smile, inspired you to get outside, or invited you to create your own artwork, please let me know!
I revisited my forest scene for this digital version focussing on the colour Deep teal. This was the direction I envisioned for my yellow painting.
This illustration is also prompted by @Clr_Collective on Twitter. The week’s colour is announced Saturday and artwork is posted the following Friday at 19.30 GMT. Use the hashtag #colour_collective if you want to join in or support talented artists!
¹Beckett’s full prose: https://genius.com/Samuel-beckett-worstward-ho-annotated
²Discourse on the prose: https://booksonthewall.com/blog/samuel-beckett-quote-fail-better/
Outspoken Images by Marie Warner Preston 
Marie, I love how you are taking back “playing” as an adult! Such a great post. And, as always, beautiful art! I hadn’t seen your final version of this squid yet, and he is so cool!
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