The Drawing Board #15

11 Favorite Problems, Two Ducks

11 Favorite Problems

Over the next 5 weeks I’ll be chugging gallons of matcha lattes and sleeping in my studio because I’m taking Write of Passage, again. But this time with a new role: Editor.

In addition to attempting to write my own essays and maintaining my painting practice, I’ll be giving feedback on tons of essays written by students also taking this online cohort-based course. 

It started on Monday and I immediately got to work, reflecting on my “12 Favorite Problems.”

“You have to keep a dozen of your favorite problems constantly present in your mind, although by and large they will lay in a dormant state. Every time you hear a new trick or a new result, test it against each of your twelve problems to see whether it helps. Every once in a while, there will be a hit, and people will say, ‘How did he do it? He must be a genius!” - Richard Feynman

These problems are running laps around my mind. They’re hard to see and make sense of. Writing them out clarifies a single problem to be solved. Then my brain will start to look for answers, and will hopefully resolve themselves by writing essays throughout the course (and beyond).

For example, my first problem is: Is it worth attaching oneself to material things?

As an artist and architect, two lifestyles that thrive in the material world, I’ve got lots of unpack in this question. And I already wrote two essays that started to address it:

• Heavy Heirlooms

• Place & Home

I’ve broken my problems into three categories: societal, individual, and existential. I have way more than 12 problems (don’t we all?), but I only came up with 11 for this exercise.

Do any of these questions resonate with you? Would you try this exercise out? Curious to hear your thoughts.

Societal

1) Is it worth attaching oneself to material things? Like physical places, art, your grandparent’s furniture, that mug you got from your trip to Disney, etc.

2) How might others benefit and incorporate what they learn and understand from historical art and architecture?

Individual

3) What does work-life balance look like if I want my personal creative work to eventually replace my 9-5?

4) How can I write about architecture and art in a way that engages my reader and teleports them into a place, without using really big, confusing and vague words? (Architects are notoriously bad writers)

5) How can I make a career as a practicing architect and/or university professor (teaching architectural design) work for me as an artist and writer? And vice-versa?

6) How can I make a mental switch when reading and engaging with friends' writing without feeling intellectually intimidated and overthinking how I comment/respond?

7) How can I make social media work for me instead of me working for it? (I’m tired of drowning in never-ending home improvement Instagram Reels)

8) How can I find the courage to speak up more in relationships and ask for what I want? How can I make myself feel more important, less small and worthy of having an opinion?

9) How can I be kinder to myself so I can perfect my craft (art and writing) without burnout?

10) What is one thing I can do every day, knowing that it might be my last? (Thanks Karena de Souza for the inspiration!)

Existential

11) Why create?

Two Ducks

Eyes half-open with a coffee in hand, I approached my art teacher seeking inspiration for my next painting. She pulled out a huge pile of printed photos, dropped them on her desk, and spread them out like a Vegas casino black jack dealer.

This dark photo of two ducks swimming caught my eye. I could barely make out their faces, but they looked calm.

With just a few elements in this photo, the composition was simple. The subtle rippling of the water conveyed movement. The glittering light surrounding the ducks felt magical. I was captivated by this image and inspired to paint it in a whimsical way. And I enjoyed painting this so much that I finished it in one day.

Here are the three reasons why:

1. I was captivated by the image of these two ducks

2. The canvas was small, only 11x14 inches (a tiny bit smaller than A3)

3. I limited my paint palette to a few colors

My palette at the end of art class.

Working with a limited palette of paints makes it easier to maintain color harmony throughout the painting. It’s also less confusing trying to remember where you used phthalo blue vs. ultramarine blue. There’s a difference. 

See the difference? Image Source

Using a limited palette requires more color mixing, but the artist gains a better visual understanding of how colors work together when mixed or side-by-side.

These are the colors I used in this painting: 

1. Blue: phthalo blue

2. Yellow: cadmium yellow light

3. Orange: isoindolinone yellow

4. Red: anthraquinone red

5. Brown: burnt sienna

6. White: titanium white

My base layer was a bright yellowish green. Inspired by a swirly paint artist Katie Over, I used big wavy brushstrokes to locate the three types of water on the canvas. There’s the subtle ripples at the top, the gentle waves from the ducks at the center, and the still water at the bottom.

Layer by layer, I used complementary colors blue and orange to paint the ducks and the glittering water.

On my drive home, I wondered how to paint the mallard duck’s head (the duck on the top right). I had to capture the beauty of his iridescent blue and green feathers, while still making it pop against the water. In an attempt to be more whimsical, I painted his head purple.

But the opposite happened - his head blended into the water. Cool colors (green, blue, purple) don’t appear as bright as warm colors (red, orange, yellow). Painting a yellowish-green over his head solved the problem. The yellow in the green and the solid yellow in his beak stood out against the cool water in the background.

At 5pm, I skipped over to my husband’s desk, extremely proud of finishing this painting in one day. I wanted paint a painting in a day months ago, and I finally was able to do it. He loved the painting so much, he claimed it as his own to hang by his desk.

If you’d like to see the final painting on my website, click the link below.

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Thanks for reading, see you next time!

Happy Creating, Elizabeth