Tomato series (accidental)

I didn't know I would be painting so many tomatoes but it seems I am. They are handy and plentiful and I am too lazy to look for something else. And it's not an apple. Some of my previous apples have resembled tomatoes; none of these will be mistaken for an apple.

 Even though I'm no longer on vacation and having painting goals, I hear Roz's voice in my head when she says, "Just do something, even if it's making a few lines on paper, just do something every day." 

1. Watercolor and typewriter, on postcard. I can tell that when I don't think about what I'm doing and just paint I like the results better than when I think about what I'm doing.  #1 is my favorite but it's also the shaggiest and sloppiest.

2. Ink and watercolor on previously painted Strathmore sketchbook paper. It's okay. 

3. Open acrylic on black gesso'd board (in progress, will change). It's okay. but I probably won't use Open acrylics again for that. I was thinking I would be able to blend the paint and I limited myself to 2 reds and 2 yellows until I needed green. It took all night to dry and now I have to work on it some more. Also I need to check the paint to see if it's opaque or transparent. Or maybe there is some kind of medium to make paint less transparent that I can add?

4. Watercolor, ink on white gesso'd paper that covered a previous not worthy of keeping painting and honestly, might get the gesso out again. Or collage paper. Scary tomato. 

5. No shown yet, crayon and watercolor. Will post when I get it back. Not a total success in tomato recognition but fun part was that I was thinking about sending a sticky waxy postcard and it might make a mess on it's way through the postal system so I ironed it. 

6. Pilot brush pen and fountain pen with Noodlers red-black ink. This was my first tomato, the one I did sort of randomly while sitting at the picnic table sorting out my pens and checking their ink cartridges. Kind of Japanese brushy looking. 

Lessons learned: 

1. Paint and don't overthink, don't try to make a photograph

2. Save Open Acrylic paint for something else (landscape?)

3. Take photo of postcards before I send out. 

4. Iron the crayons