Paper Made of Ferns

Friday June 20, 2025

I got my mitts on some handmade paper. It’s got flecks of ferns in it. How whimsical. How enticing. I got the smallest square I could. Just to test it out with the paint. I also got one that’s a little bigger because I’m hopeful I’ll love it.

Saturday June 21, 2025

I haven’t stopped thinking about that paper. It’s Alex’s day off, but we stayed up late last night and I’m too tired to talk his ear off. So painting it is. It’s dumping rain, so we shuffled off to a coffee shop.

I’ve been enjoying painting more out of the home than at home. A recent development.

I perch everything on my lap and a corner of the table. I feel like I’m only going to make something bad, so anything legible is exciting. It takes the pressure off. I’m learning to live my life and take my art along for the ride.

I did a couple sketches for my paper this morning, so I could dive right into painting.

I’m happy to report that I, a paper snob to a fault, love this paper. It holds up with the gouache well, it’s not plastic feeling, and soaks up the paint. It has its quirks, but I’m going to figure it out.

The bathroom here is dark, but a vibe. I want a nap. But coffee will do.

Dark bathroom Selfie

Work in Progress with sketch reference

Sunday June 22,2025

The rain clouds are creeping away. I got heaps of good sleep. Alex went to work, so I have the day to myself.

I’m always bummed when I transfer a piece from sketch paper to nice paper because it ruins the lines of the sketch. I love to reference my sketch while I work, so it’s a disappointment. I guess a work around would be to scan it and print it out, but I don’t want to worry about all that. It’s almost worth it to redraw it completely.

All that to say, my sketch for this illustration was so cute, but the transfer ruined the delicate lines. 😔

Graphite paper transfer

I’ve only been painting for a tiny bit. Long enough to be completely immersed into Emily Henry’s Great Big Beautiful Life audiobook.

Layers on this paper dries slowly. Plus Alex and I promised eachother a walk this afternoon, so I’m off to take a break. I hope to finish up when I get back.

I love that the greenery is visible through the paint. It’s charming.

Work in Progress

***

After our walk in the woods, we got some ice cream (I got cake batter with hot fudge. Swoon.), and then sat outside. I finished my painting while we chatted. I dried each layer in the sun.

And we wrote sort of a poem about him.

HEEEEEEE’S HAIRY

HEEEEEEE’S FRIENDLY

HE’S GOT A BIG STICK

IT’S LITTLE BIG GUY

Golden hour Little Big Guy looking at the shadow of Alex’s ear

Monday June 23, 2025

My classes started up again today. I spent most of my morning on that. I used a pomodoro timer and used my five minute breaks to clean. I have some design work to do, but I’ll probably wait til this evening to work on it.

After lunch, I decided to make some time to paint on the final bit of paper. I tore the bigger piece in half because my last sketch was so small. I have space for one more character.

This time I remembered to take a photo of the sketch before transferring it with the graphite paper.

Preserved sketchbook sketch

This was an interesting try. The final illustration is still drying on the table next to me. I learned a lot.

I want to start working on more monochrome work. I would love to illustrate some young chapter books one day, so it’s a necessity.

Maybe it’s my lack of skill (very likely), but this paper wasn’t the best for a value study. The ferns vary the value of the paper too much. I was using a single watery color, so I wasn’t able to cover up the darker ferns with opaque paint when I wanted. That was the trick with the pervious illustrations. If there was a fern getting too in the way an opaque paint would cover it right up. For this wolf there were places where he got lost in the ferns. It was a sweet little exercise and the wolf is growing on me.

Moving forward I guess I will either plan the illustration around the specific ferns OR use more opaque paints. I don’t think this paper is where watercolors shine.

Work in Progress

Overall I’m excited to get this paper again. I have ideas for future illustrations!! My mind is already off to other projects I’m working on. But next time I’m on that side of town I’ll be sure to get another sheet.