I have to say this is my favorite installment so far. At first I had a white background but I thought it needed something more. After spending a couple of hours with Carla I was inspired to try mixing in a new medium (colored pencil). I like that it adds motion, though I’m honestly not sure which version I prefer: the one with the pencil, or the one without.
(See also: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. Part 5 will be posted tomorrow.)
satsumabug.com | Lisa Hsia 
oohhh thank you for the reference to my blog. I prefer the one without the pencil but I’d keep going with the pencils. As you know new materials can create cool new images. After spending time with you I’m going to work on my words!
And after spending time with you, I’m reaching out to new media! I happened to pass by an art shop the other day so I picked up some water-soluble pencils. 🙂 I’d already ordered the Niji waterbrush online, so now I have a nice compact little travel system. So excited. 🙂
And I’m trying to be more talkative on my blog 🙂
what are you going to do for paper? When you get to the countries like India and japan you can pick up handmade books and or papers from that particular country. I’m planning on you two to see the world and tell me all about it.
I don’t know about paper — I think we’ll just see what’s available and buy that.
You’ve seen so much of the world yourself, I’m still in awe! Bhutan! Morocco! I don’t know if we’ll make it so far afield! 🙂
I prefer the one with the pencil. I feel like it’s the difference between saying something and doing it. The motion the pencil creates says “I’m going to do it!”. I love the happy, bright colors you’ve picked too.
Thanks, Chelsea! Yeah, that’s what I like about the pencils too. As I said, I’m not sure which version I prefer, but I do think that sketchy, active pencil marks do give a feeling of motion and doing. I’ve realized that’s a repeating idea in my work (I have an animation idea that has to do with this, too, though I’ll probably never get around to animating anything ever ;b ): finding a way to represent the state of being in-motion as opposed to everything being so flat and finished. I was actually thinking for this installment that ideally I would want no pencils, but those white areas to be blank “screens” for some kind of motion in the background… something slightly out-of-focus B/W and flickering.