January 10

Another gouache, this time of a summer clothesline. I did this out of a small watercolor travel box with a limited (12) set of colors, and some new brushes—mostly white nylon flats. I have never felt comfortable working out of one of these boxes, but figured that the travel requirements will make me have to like them. It occurred to me to (duh) clean them with a sponge between each use, and that would keep the colors relatively clean. I have read that many people like these commercial water brushes, where there is a barrel of water in the handle to wet and clean the brush. I'll try that. O/A I'm trying to loosen these paintings up, not tighten them down, and figure the limited colors, larger flatter brushes and this little box of pan watercolors ought to push me in that direction. I continue to work on an orge engraving. I have found in the winter the need to warm up the resingrave is more and more necessary to avoid the annoying chips along the edge and at the end of a cut.