Mrs. Claus, who knows me too well every year, put a cheap set of gouache paint in my stocking this year. I’ve never explored the medium. Both of these drawings I started with the intention to try my hand with gouache, but both of them left me with drawings I feared I’d mess up with the paint!

I stole an idea from my older son, an aspiring men’s fashion designer. Lately he’s been working on a collection, and he’s been using our home printer as a copy machine to replicate his drawings and create representations of different colorways of shoes, for example. So I photocopied the drawing and worked on building my confidence.

I like working with gouache. I’m really bad at watercolor so my nerves are palpable.