the making of 'a room in the attic' illustration
2019 was a good year for young Ness; there was a lot of experimenting with art and art materials, art styles and subjects. This painting was one such experiment, and dare I say, my favourite one. It will always hold a special place in my heart, and I'm excited to tell you why!
I had spent all of October 2019 working on the Inkotober prompt list, and for a whole month my art was mostly pen and ink. As much as I loved the entire process of Inktober 2019, it was a little too much black and white. And grey.
I was really itching to do something with colour, and I wanted to make something the complete opposite aesthetic of my Inktober sketches. I wanted warm colours, brown tones, soft lines, a simplified art style and something that I didn't get off a prompt list.
When I sat down to work on fulfilling this vision, I was not expecting an idea to come to me so quickly. But, as I put my pencil to the paper, I knew almost immediately that I wanted to make a nice, quaint room in the attic of a house that belonged to an artsy-fartsy, whimsical kid (who likes her surroundings a little messy). It was a vision of a warm and cozy workspace that I dreamed of at that time, and frankly still do.
When I started the ideation, there was something about those characteristic inclined attic walls that really sparked some inspiration. I wanted to work with a window of some kind, preferably of the inclined wall, because I really wanted to make a ledge by the window. I knew I wanted the entire room to be wooden panels- the floor, the wall and the ceiling.
the ideation, preliminary sketches
I knew I wanted to include a lot of little minute details in the painting that would really set the mood. I tried to imagine myself in the setting and visualize the kind of items I would want around me. I have such vivid memory of doing this- just closing my eyes and thinking about the space with every stroke I put down- What would I keep on the shelves? What would I keep on my desk? What would I keep on the dresser? I remember constantly asking myself, how do I make this place look lived in?
This entire painting is born from my imagination, I remember feeling so proud of not having used any references for anything I drew. And I think I did an admirable job bringing my idea to life.
There was a specific aesthetic I had in mind for this painting. I decided to use watercolours and a brown coloured pencil as my media of choice.
All of the final sketching was done in the warm brown colour pencil, after which I painted everything in with my watercolours, and then went back in for an outline, and some subtle shading on everything with the brown coloured pencil again.
the sketch before I began painting
I knew I wanted a very brown, warm colour scheme, so with every colour that I mixed in my watercolour set I made sure to always add a little bit of brown to it. I did wonder if I needed to do that with every colour that I mixed, but I realised that that was important if I wanted a cohesive colour scheme.
the colour scheme I went with
Since the colours are so specific in this painting, adding that little bit of brown everywhere was quite important. I even had an extra tube of brown watercolour ready if I ran out. But as I used it I realised I really liked the colour of this extra tube, more than the brown that was in my watercolour set, so I just used that for the brown in the whole painting instead.
I love literally everything about this illustration. But there's a few easily overlooked details that make me giggle with joy. Let me tell what those are!
the 'NP' taped to the wall
I picked up a bit of an obsession from making the Inktober sketches. I would to try to put my signature from that time in my sketches, instead of away on the bottom or the side- making it a part of the illustration. My favourite way to do that was putting it on a piece of paper or a post it note in the setting of the sketch. I loved when I was able to make my signature a part of the atmosphere.
I tried to include that in this painting as well, and I especially love the little pieces of washi tape holding up the paper to the wall. I thought it was a nice touch to the painting, and it really added to the the "lived in" feel.
the other pieces of paper
I tried to put a bit of myself in the painting in any way I could. I have pieces of paper and art hanging on the walls and stuck on things all over my room. I imagined that the person living in this room would keep mementos from her life and the people around her in close proximity, so she could see them everyday and be inspired. I try to do that with all the memories I have in my home too~
the 2019 calendar peeking through
I also wanted to include the year I drew this in, it was kind of a big deal for me, creating something like this completely from scratch. So I wanted to make sure to somehow pay homage to my nearly "milestone moment". I decided to put the year on a calendar hanging on the side of the desk. It seems so simple to think about now after all these years, but I remember feeling so giddy about including this little detail.
the crease in the carpet
As I was sketching in all the elements of this
drawing, I kept thinking about what more I could include to make the space look more organic. I pondered over the fact the a person who's always on the go, trying to capture the beauty around her through her art may possibly not have the time to straighten out a little unkempt carpet at the door.
So, I decided to give the entryway rug a little crease. I think this adds so much story and depth to tthe painting, I really do love this detail.
And there it is, my pride and joy. I had some issues figuring out the perspective of the whole layout, and you can probably even tell the faulty perspective of the desk on the bottom right, but I just imagine the desk being a little askew because the person living in this room probably likes having a little asymmetry, a little character to pieces of furniture.
By now, its probably no secret that I am really in love with this painting. And I love it for reasons beyond it just being a "good illustration". Every time I look at this illustration I can't help but feel the atmosphere it creates, I can't help but think of the story behind every little item that I have drawn. The details create a sense of realness and existence that I've rarely been able to recreate in my art after this.
It is a constant reminder of my skill and potential, and it gives me so much joy looking back and knowing that I am in fact capable of creating this kind of art. I do a lot of painting from references and still life studies, but creating something entirely from my head has always been a challenge for me. But I am so proud of young Ness to having taken the time out to iron out all the little details, and use her lines with purpose.
I hope this illustration inspired you in some way too. I hope you take a little bit of my joy and put it into your art, and create something you're so proud of. I'd love to know if you've ever had this kind of experience- some kind of art piece that you made that was completely unlike what you do normally. I think we can all give yourselves a little shoutout.
Can't wait to hear from you!
love, ness
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