Beach Pea

Sometimes (twice), I go to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History on Wednesdays for a Guild of Nature Artists meeting. This is when a bunch of nature enthusiasts get together and draw things in the museum. For the past few months, they have been drawing things in the birds section, and I was sick of birds so I chose to draw a flower. (Ok. This was only my second time and my first time I drew a bird. But I was still sick of them, ok? They’re just so very flighty.)

I found my Clayworks Cooperative pottery instructor, and I wanted to sit by her so I quickly pretended like I wanted to draw this picture of a Beach Pea. So cool looking, right??

I started by sketching it out. I was bummed because I bought watercolor pencils and watercolor paper specifically to go do this at the Museum, but I tore my apartment apart (I guess that’s why they call it an tornapartment) looking for it. I could only rummage up graph paper and a mechanical pencil. I was so distraught that I actually tweeted @goCMNH that I couldn’t find my art supplies. They didn’t tweet me back, probably because they don’t care.

Last time I was there, I saw my incredibly talented pottery instructor, who had just started watercoloring a year ago, doing watercolors. I thought, “I want to do watercolors too!!” So this time I brought my $4 children’s art kit (which I am a firm believer that everyone should own) and went to town on this drawing.

I know what you’re thinking. “Nidhi, you are so talented! How did you ever do this on your first time doing watercolors??” WELL, if you remember, this isn’t my first time doing watercolors. Idiot. Ha. Hahaha.

One thing I learned today: graph paper gets very crinkly if you do watercolors on it. The wisest amongst you might know that from spilling coffee on your important work papers. I knew that, which is why I bought watercolor paper. I just appear to have…misplaced it. I’ll frantically look for it again the next time I decide to go to CMNH.