Snowed In

The blizzard dropped nearly 30 inches of snow on Northern Virginia, and after much shoveling, I was able to spend some time working in the journal. I worked primarily with Derwent Inktense pencils and watercolor paint adding to a variety of pages, but I spent the most time on a monochromatic two-page spread.

I began by layering Ink Black Inktense pencil gradually darkening the value with each layer (see the detail above). I built up an overlapping structure similar to work I shared in this post. 

I then spent a lot of time refining the lines, shapes, and values with Derwent Black Coloursoft pencil (see the image above). The colored pencil allowed me to fine tunes edges and shadows. I'll share more when I finish the spread.

It was great to limit myself to a single color. I am a firm believer that creativity can be enhanced by setting limitations on ourselves.

I'll be certain to have more time to make art as the huge amount of snow has lead to the cancellation of school through at least Wednesday. It'll take a while for the county and schools to dig out. Luckily, I got most of my digging done yesterday, with just a little today.

I love snow days!