4/23/13

Watches

A Glass Vase of Pocket Watches
I had these pocket watches in a box in a drawer  -  never to be seen.  I put them in a square glass container on a shelf, and every time I walk past them, I think I should take a minute and sketch them in my journal.

I had a nice long conversation with friend Cathy this morning, and one of the things we covered was how we were not painting and sketching.  Painting in our sketchbooks seems especially "therapeutic" to each of us. Aha  -  that's what's the matter with us!

Things have been a little "off" around here, and a bit of  therapeutic sketching couldn't hurt.  Almost two weeks ago, our son and youngest granddaughter were in an accident.  He was not hospitalized, but Isabelle was transported to a hospital downstate, three hours away, for a fractured vertebra.  She is home now, in a tortoise shell brace, and probably will miss the rest of the school year.  Scary!

So while I'm telling Cathy all of the things that are "off" in my life   -   like the weird wiring problem in my car,  some plumbing that just came loose, the critter noises we are hearing near the bathtub ( ! ), I find cherry tomatoes in my purse!

Okay  -  so I sketched, and now I'm feeling better.  I just may sit down and do some more. 

4/4/13

Hot Sauce



Sketching at Dinner
This is a quick little watercolor sketched at dinner a couple of nights ago.  The blocks of color on the right are just some color mixing samples used in class today.

This week in my classes we did some review of the basics  -  brush strokes,  the application of paint,  and color mixing.

It may be April, but it is not spring here in northern Michigan by a long shot.  Today it is 33 degrees, dark, and snowing.  This can't last much longer, can it?!

I have been doing very little painting and drawing, but as I begin to get lesson plans and schedules ready for summer,  I'm getting motivated again.  But right now I'm going to snuggle into my big fuzzy blanket on the couch with a cup of coffee and watch the snow fall.  Well, maybe I won't look.