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Washtober 2020 Challenge
I decided to participate in a watercolor painting-a-day challenge in October 2020. It was organized by Liron Yankonsky and called “Washtober 2020”. For those not into watercolor painting, a “wash” is basically a layer of transparent watercolor paint. A painting is typically made by layering these washes.
“Wash” + “October” = “Washtober”
Even though many of the topics (or prompts) were out of my comfort zone to paint, I found it fun. It definitely gave me a feeling of improvement.
Here are each of the paintings.
This one is a collage of all the paintings.
Leaf
I was not sure I wanted to commit to the challenge at first. But after painting this leaf, I felt like I would give it a try.
Ridge
I went with the ridge of a roof and tried to paint folks working on putting tarps on damaged homes. It did not turn out how I wanted it to. It strikes me as a bit too cartoonish.
But it was practice.
Study
This is one of my favorites. I was going for a loose feel where all the shadows and shapes merged together. This one is Study, which I chose a person studying in a coffee shop. I went with the monochromatic scheme. Prussian blue is a very nice color.
Tube
I struggled to find something for Tube. I settled on a subway scene, since I believe they refer to the subway in London as “The Tube”. I went monochromatic again, except with a red.
Smile
Smile was challenging since I find painting people so difficult to do well. So someone smiling was not my first choice. I went with some pumpkins smiling instead. I was trying to make them glow, but it did not work out the way I had envisioned. It ended up getting a bit overworked.
Zoom
I chose a roller coaster for Zoom. This is one of my least favorites. It came out looking way too illustrated, which was not my goal. I likely should have chosen an easier reference. But I learned some things not to do, at least.
Ripple
I went with a literal ripple for this one. It turned out pretty close to what I had tried for.
Instinct
I had to think pretty long to find something for Instinct. I thought of birds instinctively building nests. So that is how I ended up with a bird. I really like this one. I consider it one of the best paintings I have done so far.
Sun
Lots of ways to paint Sun. Considered a sunrise or a sunset. Opted for a person making a heart with the sun in it.
Palm
I could not find a reference I liked for the palm of a hand. I used a hand reaching towards light instead. It turned out better than I thought.
Communication
Lots of choices for Communication. I opted for something you don’t see often anymore…a payphone.
Car
I considered painting a car, but went with train cars.
Persistence
This one was also a head-scratcher. Found a photo of someone helping another person climb up a hill. Not sure it is an exact fit, but that’s what I went with.
Smell
I may consider this one my least favorite. I was trying to go for the smell of freshly cut grass. But it just did not work out. Looks entirely too cartoonish.
Mailbox
Another monochromatic painting. This might be my favorite. The line of mailboxes turned out great (in my opinion). Even the subtle wood grain of the post came out exactly as I wanted. Savor the small wins!
Dart
I went literal with this one. Painted a dart on a dart board. Also monochromatic.
Phone
I had already painted a phone for Communication. So I had to find another phone to paint. I like this one.
Nostalgic
As a parent, I never stop thinking about what our daughter was like when she was little. So I went with a photo of her when she was about two years old. I actually drew this one by hand. I did not trace or anything. I was impressed with myself. One of my goals is to be able to do a decent job of drawing faces freehand. It isn’t perfect, but I was pleased with it.
Letter
Considered an envelope, a note, and a stack of mail. But went with scrabble tiles instead for Letter.
Focus
Could not come up with anything for this one. Went with Focus in terms of meditation. Searching for meditation images pulled up these cool stacked rocks. These turned out well. One of my favorites.
Jeans
Blue jeans came to mind, of course. So I found jeans draped over a chair. This one turned out pretty well. A little more illustrative than I was going for.
Vase
Literal again. A vase casting a shadow. I liked the colors in this one.
Mystical
Took a long time to find something for this one. I went with some dream catchers.
Plan
Also challenging to come up with something. Went with chess pieces. I don’t play chess, but I understand that having a plan is important. This one came out a bit too dark. Makes it difficult to see all of the shapes well.
Card
Lots of options for Card. I went with a magician levitating a playing card. Used different colors for this one.
Delivery
Went with a pizza delivery truck. Turned out pretty well.
Machine
I chose a tractor for my Machine. This is one of the ones I am most happy with. It even got featured by Liron on his YouTube channel.
Bike
I went with a tricycle for Bike. Came out a little darker than I wanted.
Log
I went with an ax stuck in a log. Not sure what I was trying with the crazy people in the background.
Coin
Not really happy with this one. Was supposed to be a coin flipping through the air. The background competes too much with the foreground to me.
Status
And lastly, Status. This one was hard to come up with something. So I went with the AOL Instant Messenger application from years ago. It allowed you to set your current “status” so people knew if you were available or away.
