Hydrangeas

Aren't these just beautiful?!

One of my students brought these to class today. We just went crazy over the size of the blossoms and the COLOR! We didn't paint these as part of our lesson, but towards the end of class we did play around with getting the colors down, and worked a little bit on the detail of the blossoms.

Did you notice in the previous sentence that I used the words "play" and "work" meaning pretty much the same thing? That's what I love about my job - I can't tell the difference between play and work.

Journal Painting

This week I am doing my last Bay View watercolor sketchbook journal class of the summer.

It always makes me a little sad. It really marks the end of summer. I see I felt the same way last summer. Every Year.

I usually have a couple of projects to get going on right after the very busy summer season, and that always helps. This year I have my painting composition classes to keep me on my toes, and an out-of-town group coming up for a workshop - fun!

I used to say that it never rains on my journal class, BUT this year it has been very different. Right in the middle of painting this demonstration, the heavens opened up. We headed for shelter and finished out the class with some people painting on the porch, and others setting up art supply still lifes and painting inside. The group is adaptable and eager - they could paint anywhere under any conditions.

Hollyhocks on the Corner

Hollyhocks on our corner.

I started a new sketchbook today. What is it about a new sketchbook? AND what is it about finishing up an old one? It's a feeling of accomplishment to fill a whole sketchbook. This little painting (about 6 X 9) was done in the book I made of Aquarius II paper. I also like the Aquabee sketchbooks that I have used for years, but do like making my own - there is that feeling of accomplishment thing again. It's no big deal - I'm not binding it myself like a lot of artists do. I just cut it or rip it to size (another story for another time) and take the stack of paper and the front and back covers to a printer and have it spiral bound. For the format I use for journal painting, spiral bound works better for me than stitched.

Anyway - here I go with a new sketchbook. And here I go with some new classes. The last of the Bay View classes starts today (four afternoons) and I have two 6-week painting composition classes starting this week.

It is nice to have things starting right now. My summer schedule is slowing down and the California kids leave in the morning. This is such a transitional time of year for me. That's okay, it was a great summer, a great visit with the kids, and I have these new things to dive into this week. AND of course lots of classes and paintings in my head waiting to happen.

Painting in the Garden

A Garden Vignette

I spent the evening painting with friends - such a relaxing way to spend some time. Karen's garden still looks beautiful.

This was painted in a sketchbook I made using various kinds of paper. The watercolor paper in it is Aquarius II. I put it in this book and then ordered enough to make a whole sketchbook of it. Stupidly (is that a word - spell checker thinks it's okay), I didn't try it out before I ordered ten more sheets of it. After painting on it last night, I decided it was a good move. I really like it. It is only 80 lb, but has a synthetic something in it that keeps it from buckling. It took to blob and smoosh (read the book!) very well, and that's what really counts.

After looking at the painting this morning and realizing that I had goofed up the perspective of the large window, I gave the paper another test - scrubbed off, burnished, and repainted the offending area. The paper held up well to that too.

So when the friends I was painting with read this, they're going to wonder why I was telling them how to redo their perspective when I couldn't even get my own right. Well, girls, that's what friends are for - to give opinions, whether we know what we're talking about or not.

Composition Class

Painting Composition Class
Click here for information on my upcoming six-week class.

A couple of wet into wet unfinished demonstrations for Monday's classes.

I should try to finish one of these before the flowers are gone. However, at this point it is more about what is good for the composition than what I see in the set-up. So I'll stack it on the shelves with all the others that are unfinished. It is fun and carefree to start them - there is something about proving ourselves in the finishing that makes it a little more serious.

It rained yesterday right about class time. Someone said it has rained 5 out of our 8 Monday class sessions. We were going to paint in Karen's garden - Monday's class hadn't been there yet. Poor Monday's class - they had all the bad weather. Well, maybe not ALL. They did seem to have fun with the wet-into-wet lesson. They did a great job, as always.

Today's class met in the park downtown and the weather was wonderful. Hoping for the same tomorrow. This week wraps up the eight-week summer watercolor class. I always HATE to see it end. I still have another watercolor journal class in Bay View, and I am putting together a composition class that will start the 2oth of August. So - we aren't done yet.

I am going to take a little class break for a couple of weeks. The California grandkids will be here . So right now I should go to the grocery store, finish up some laundry, pick up the house so they don't think their grandma is a complete slob ( oh dear, maybe their mother already told them).

Big Baby

With a face only a mother could love.

I think this is a baby (!) rose breasted grosbeak. He is just beginning to get his rose colored feathers.

The bird feeder yesterday looked like a Marjolein Bastin illustration (I would link to her book, but I would rather you buy my book). There were chickadees, a cardinal, gold finches, a downy woodpecker, and Big Baby. The cardinal and Big Baby got into a little tiff, and Big Baby had to wait his turn.

He and his sister are slow and clumsy, and another sibling has already met with disaster. I wish they had some parents here to look after them! As interested as I am in their welfare, I'm not stepping up.

An Evening in the Garden

I went back to paint in Karen's garden last night. So many paintings - so little time! It is so relaxing to sit and do little journal paintings and visit and laugh with a friend. Laughter is the best medicine, and then you throw in painting and you'll really be in good shape!

Color Coordinated

Painting in Karen's Garden

It's all about color. Here are a couple of my Tuesday students perfectly coordinated with the drink cups. That's important to us.

The morning started out threatening to rain (as usual this summer), but it didn't, and we had a very pleasant morning in this beautiful garden. Thank you, Karen, for having us!!! The class did some great paintings. They always do!

This morning I am off to the Walloon Art Club. The sun is shining and I have my still life and lesson plan ready to go. This afternoon I do the last day of Drawing class in Bay View. I'll miss them - they've been fun - and talented.

Sooner or later I will post some of the things I have been doing, although they are mostly unfinished demonstrations. I haven't taken the time to scan or photograph anything - or finish anything.

Little Helper

One of my sweet little helpers.

I love it when the kids help in the garden. Apparently they do too - our California grandson said this winter, "Remember when I helped you in your garden? I'm gonna do that again".
I have been pretty neglectful this year, and the garden is in pretty bad shape. I'm enjoying it anyway, and I refuse to feel guilty about it. Who's in charge here - me or the garden? Or the deer that are eating the flowers?

Had a busy weekend with the art fair on Saturday. My friend K came for a couple of evenings and helped organize and pack and then helped out on Saturday too. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! We didn't make a ton of money, but it was worth doing, and it was such fun to see everyone - old friends, new friends, students . . .

I'm packing things up now and refining my lesson plans for tomorrow's classes - watercolor in the morning and drawing in the afternoon. To be prepared for indoor or out, I look at about four weathers on the internet - then I choose the one I like best.

Watercolor on Watercolor Canvas

Watercolor canvas is fun to work on - not at all like paper. The good news and bad news - the color lifts. The advantage is, of course, being able to wipe out areas that you're not happy with. However, if you paint in layers, like I do, each layer lifts the previous layer. But we all need a challenge now and then, don't we.

And speaking of challenges, the Petoskey art fair is tomorrow. I am almost ready. Almost. It is the only art fair I do these days. In the "good old days" I did several a summer, and with a kid hanging on each leg, I would be painting like crazy getting ready for the next show. The kids will say it wasn't like that, they'll tell you that I used to set the timer and tell them that they couldn't interrupt me until the timer went off, unless someone was bleeding or unconscious.

Okay - back to it. If you are in the Petoskey area tomorrow, stop and say "Hi". It is always a great show!

A journal page demo:
Blob and smoosh
Leaving whites
Negative space
Rocks
Birch trees
and Swoosh

It's been a very busy and fun week! It was fast paced and full of energetic, talented, eager-to-learn, book-buying people. Last night I went to sleep at 7:30! Today I am catching up on things - grocery shopping, banking, picking up all the stuff around the house that I have just been dumping anywhere this week, and getting in some family time.

My brain is going a hundred miles an hour (my body is not!). One thing leads to another - a suggestion leads to a class plan (three of those this week) a small demo begins thoughts of a large painting, an idea becomes a note for a chapter in the "next" book . . .

Oh, yeah - and the art fair next weekend!

Like I Need More Stuff

Yesterday morning we went to the Antiques Festival, and as we walked in I saw this pitcher and fell in love with it. I don't need MORE STUFF! On the way out, my husband suggested we go by and see if the pitcher was still there. It was. We bought it. I can't imagine he suggested I add to the over-abundance of stuff I already have. He's a sweetie. Or an enabler.

We have been spending a nice, quiet, relaxing weekend. I have a dead-line I am working on, but that isn't really WORK when I can set up my easel outside under the backyard canopy, and have all the iced tea and jalapeno (sp?) chips I want within reach. We've only made one trip so far to the local "home improvement store" - a sure sign of a lazy weekend. We walked down to the end of our street to watch the parade on Friday, and watched the fireworks from the bedroom window.

Today I have to get ready for a busy week. It's kind of hard to shift gears after spending a couple of days barely leaving the backyard.

Deep Woods

A couple of weeks ago I painted with some friends in the woods just north of here. The mosquitoes were unbelievably terrible, but we were well protected thanks to our host that had hats and bandannas sprayed with "Deep Woods Off" ready and waiting for us. We had a wonderful day - it was peaceful and quiet and beautiful.

I love painting with friends! It is so nice to be with people with the same interests. Sometimes we talk, sometimes we don't. We can discuss things or just enjoy the silence. AND that's what I like about painting in a little journal - it isn't serious, but it sure does feed my soul.

Buttons and Books

This was done the second day of our journal class - another cold day. Notice the sunshine in the background when I took the picture - there is hope after all!

This week is a busy one with three watercolor classes, one private group, and four afternoons of drawing class. And a brother and sister-in-law coming to dinner. FUN! This is what summer is all about - I love the busy-ness of it.

There is a little rain in the forecast. I am SICK of it! SICK of it!

Our California family is melting in the 100 degree weather. What am I complaining about!?

Summer ! Classes Started this Week

My Summer Classes classes started this week, and it was COLD. Mother Nature didn't get the memo - these are SUMMER classes! All of the participants were such good sports. I feel like they are not getting their money's worth if they can't paint outside - I mean - we have all winter to paint inside.

Today, Friday, I didn't have any classes. It was a beautiful day - sunny and warm. I have some commissions I'm working on, so I set up shop on the porch.

The little painting above was done in this week's journal class - a simple still life we painted indoors.

My Little Painting Buddy

This friendly dragonfly rested on my palette and ate his lunch. Ugh. I won't go into the gory details, but I just figured to each his own. I had a salad.

Painting in the Rain

It is going to have to quit raining pretty soon - my journal classes are beginning in Bay View next week, and I always say it never rains on my journal class. I must admit there were a couple of times, but that is what journaling is all about - being in the moment, wet or dry.

I have this week all planned out to the minute to catch up on some things I need to have under control before the heavy class schedule begins. It is all fun stuff - painting, writing etc - but it does all have a deadline. AND the class schedule looks like fun - I love this time of year. I love the weather (not yet), the summer people returning, the gardens blooming, the busy-ness, The drawing and painting . . .

Okay - gotta go - this was not in my minute by minute plan.

Watercolor Sketchbook Journal

My Kick-Off Summer Workshop
2nd Annual

It was HOT HOT HOT, but we painted all day, and the nine participants came up with some beautiful journal pages. There is something so inspiring about spending the day painting with other people, and so satisfying to go home with several great little paintings!

We talked about journal "stuff" - all the materials that are possible to carry around with us for journal painting, and all the ways we try to keep it simple - and not really carry all that stuff. Then we painted. Then we ate lunch. Then we painted some more and nearly died of heat exhaustion. So we went inside to sit by the fan and eat watermelon - had to paint it first - and then painted little still lifes of our painting supplies.

I hope everyone had as much fun as I did - and I hope you are all painting a page or two today!

Wildlife in The City

Tasty treats for the neighborhood deer.
Listen deer - leave my flowers alone! If I wanted to feed the deer I would live in the country. We have a very small yard and it is pretty much closed in - almost courtyard-like. They really make themselves at home here. There are footprints all over the yard.

Between the deer eating our flowers, the raccoons peering in our bedroom windows, and the six-inch slugs sliming our house, there is really quite a bit of activity going on out there at night.

I have been busy planting and getting things ready for summer and I haven't stopped to paint the flowers. And you know what they say about that. Oh yeah - I guess that's SMELL the flowers. Whatever - If there are any flowers left after the wildlife parades through here, I will sit down and paint.

Trying to Think Creatively

In my previous post I showed a page I had done in my journal, inspired by the book Art Escapes. This past weekend I did this page, trying to illustrate "Sky", "Colors", "Random Thoughts", and "Simple Pleasures" during the three day Memorial Weekend. We just hung around the house working on projects needing attention before summer gets into full swing. We did venture out to the home improvement stores a couple of times, of course. And I'd like to think we actually did some home improvements. It's a matter of opinion I suppose.

Anyway - thinking about illustrating as I go about my daily life opens a door to more creative thinking. Of course, stopping in the middle of something to draw can be a little annoying to everyone else - like "Stop - don't eat that watermelon yet!"

Paying attention to the everyday stuff

Journal Page

As you can see (click on it to see it larger) from the date on the top of this journal page, it was done quite awhile ago. I was going through some old journals trying for some inspiration from back in the days when I felt really creative. The past few weeks I have felt more like nesting than creating. Anyway, this was an idea I picked up from a book I borrowed from a friend - I think the book was called Art Escapes. I liked the idea of tuning in and expressing everyday things going on in my life - paying more attention and translating simple events (such as eating an apple fritter!!!) into an illustration. There were a couple different formats that I used at different times.

I'm not making any promises, but I may give this a try this weekend. Right now I am heading out to the grocery store to stock up for a long weekend. Our project of the day(s) is to break up our old cement front steps and build new ones. Maybe I will just stay at the grocery store today. And eat apple fritters. Or cherry.

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SUMMER CLASSES 2008

Please check out my classes scheduled to begin in June

Daisies

This is a small journal painting that I did this morning in one of the middle school science classes. I did some demonstrations of painting flowers and then the classes gave it a try. They did such a great job with their paintings, and they are really a great bunch of kids. This week the classes go to a nearby woods to do sketches of wildflowers, so this was just a little tutorial I did for them in conjunction with the Little Traverse Conservancy.
I came home and took a long nap.

Yesterday for a Mothers Day get-away we went with the kids and grand kids up to Mackinac Island. Of course out there in the middle of the staits this time of year it is still pretty cold, but it did warm up nicely and we had such a good time! It is always fun to be on the island - I love it there. I didn't do any sketching. I'll go back another time to do that.

Tomorrow I need to get potting soil and get some things growing for my summer classes, I need to write up some promos for those classes. I need to go to the grocery store, the bank, the post office . . . . AND I need to paint paint paint! I have been way off the mark as far as painting goes - yeah, I know - as far as anything goes. Time to get it together! Here I go!

In the Garden, Early May

Not much color yet.

I moved a few things around in the garden today and planted some perennials that one of my generous students shared with me. She brought me some magenta spiderwort,
a clump of bergenia,
obedience flower,
and roof iris

There is very little color out there right now, but I had to start painting some backyard scenes in my journal - the snow is gone and the grass is green - time to get out there and paint! Actually, I can't say the grass is green. The weeds are green. The moss is green. There is no grass. Last year the grubs ate their way through our little town and not many lawns have recovered. Apparently they can't recover on their own because there are absolutely no roots left. Maybe the moss isn't such a bad idea.

I have a couple more spots left in my Wednesday morning watercolor class starting next Wednesday.

Flowers from Friends

This is a watercolor sketch in my journal.

I just love the orange of the lily complementing the blue-violet of the iris!
These are a nice bright spot in the house. I am getting anxious to see some color outdoors! VERY anxious!

I am stating a new class the 7th of May.

I'm also getting things set up for summer classes, workshops etc. After a long, cold, dark, blah blah blah, Northern Michigan winter it is so nice to anticipate the fun of summer classes. Those of you who have taken my Journal classes know that it never rains on my journal classes - well, maybe once . . . . or twice.

Violets

Violets in the backyard with the sun shining on them. The SUN! It feels wonderful! We've had the bedroom window open a crack for the past few nights. In the morning we can hear the birds singing. At night we can hear the raccoons stomping around on the roof outside our bedroom windows. And I swear I can hear the deer chomping on the crocus blossoms (the white ones, not the purple). We live in the city - this is not exactly the wilderness here.

I love this time of year when little green things start to poke up out of the soil. Some things I am anxious to see if they survived the winter, and some things I don't even remember. Maybe the critters planted them.

View from the Train

Ten minutes from the station and standing still. Again. For a long time.

My painting friend, K, and I decided to take a quick trip to Chicago to the Art Institute to see the Winslow Homer-Edward Hopper exhibition. So we ordered our museum tickets, reserved a room in a hotel 2 blocks away, and ordered our train tickets. We got up at four in the morning to get to the train station downstate by nine.

The train was an hour late departing, then several times we were delayed on the tracks for unknown reasons, and . . . okay, anyway, we were three hours late getting into Chicago!!! They even passed out bottled water and little packets of food rations - not a good sign.

The museum closes at 5:00, which gave us two hours. Well, better than nothing. It was a fabulous show! And we had a lot of fun!!!

As we arrived at the Kalamazoo train station we were just in time to witness an arrest that could have won the Funniest Home Videos - the police were leading the kid away in handcuffs and his pants fell down!!! These kids with the big baggy low-riding pants had better rethink their get-away strategies.

crocus

It seems like we have had a long stretch of darkness, but today is a beautiful, sunny, warm day.
It felt just wonderful to sit out in the sun and paint the little crocus blossoms - white - my favorite.

I crossed a few things off my to-do list today - that felt good too. One of the things on the list was to go to the greenhouse and get some primrose plants for this week's classes. I used great restraint - I only bought one yellow primrose and one blue-violet pansy. Then I went to the grocery and bought some large luscious strawberries to put in the still life with the plants. Do you see the lesson here? Primary colors?

I went to the bank and made a deposit (see, I told you it was a good day) and then to the post office where I actually had mail in my box - nothing exciting, but at least there was mail for ME (did I mention THAT THE POST OFFICE HAD RENTED MY BOX TO SOMEONE ELSE!!!! and all of my mail was being returned to sender).

I activated my new phone. Not a bad experience.

I bought a new overnight sized wheelie bag for an upcoming trip to Chicago to see the Winslow Homer exhibition.

And that's about it. Sorry to bore you with the small details of my day, but the sunshine after a loooong winter does that to me. I think it is all about getting a little hyper when things go well and it is beginning to feel like spring may be here after all.



Note to self - Plant more crocus bulbs in the fall.

Azalia

This is a small watercolor demo for my Wednesday morning class. It was a lesson in simplicity, color mixing on the paper, and negative painting.

As always, I painted the lightest, brightest color first - just laying in the pink shape with a wash of quinacridone rose and cobalt violet. While that was still wet, I dropped in some quinacridone red and a little ultramarine and manganese blue. When that was dry in most places I painted in the green, letting it only bleed with the pink in the lower left area of the flowers. I didn't want all hard edges, but I didn't want the red and green to mix too much - they are opposites on the color wheel and we would end up with drab colors.

It felt good to be painting with the class again. They all did a beautiful job with these flowers. I did have to yell "Don't touch that" a few times. They were doing well and didn't want to stop.

I need to find some primrose now. I haven't seen any yet in the stores - I will look at the greenhouse. They should be available now, shouldn't they?

The End of an Era

Clark and Catherine
My Mom and Dad, October 16th, 1937

My mother died a few days ago. I think she and my dad are dancing once again to the music of Benny Goodman.

Now I need to get back to real life. Well, I guess it is all real life, isn't it? Today felt like spring - I even sat in the sun. A new season. Time to move on. It's time to finish some commissions, plan some classes, get out there with the sketch books . . .

Here I am.

I'm back. Kind of. I think.
That oil bottle is a little out of kilter, but hey, so am I. I have spent the past couple of weeks sitting in the hospital and nursing home with my mother. She is unhappy and confused, and so are we as we try to make everything okay for her.

So - I am trying to get back to real life, get the creative juices flowing again and get some work done.

These little "paintings" were done on Yupo (synthetic paper - actually plastic) with watercolor pencils. What fun! They aren't good paintings, but I did discover how fun it is to shove the watercolor pencil around on the Yupo. I kind of like what it does. I dipped the pencil in water and then drew with it, then manipulated the color with a damp brush. I am not a fan of Yupo, but I may try something a little more serious using watercolor pencil on it. I do have some paintings I really should be working on, but a little bit of play never hurt anyone, right?

Lunch

I know this isn't a food blog, but look at those colors!

This was lunch one day last week in California. I couldn't pronounce the name of the restaurant, and I don't remember what the dish was called - it was a vegetarian "bowl" with a very flavorful, spicy peanut sauce. It contained soybeans, sweet potatoes, red bell pepper, carrots, zucchini, rice . . . The yellow cubes on top of the crispy tortilla are pieces of very sweet mango. As Rachel Ray would say, "Yummo!" I thought I could carry the flavor around in my head and try to duplicate it when I got home, but it is gone. It is like trying to match a color from memory.
Speaking of food - I really do need to make a grocery run. We have been back for several days, and really need to get back to normal. I keep blaming my lack of routine on jet lag, but I guess that excuse is only good for so long, and I think I am beyond it.

Edited after Amy's comment to direct you to the colorful website of the restaurant. It describes the flavors as from the Southwest, Asia, California, and Latin America. I think every one of those was represented in the bowl I had. So if you are heading to California to try the Aqui restaurant, I suggest you don't lay over in Chicago unless you have a couple extra days to spare.

California Trip

California Oranges

We had a wonderful week in California with the kids. I only did a few little journal paintings - it was cold, dark, and raining the whole time. We still had a fabulous time. We painted pictures of the orange trees in the backyard, we walked to and from school, we ate a lot of peanut butter sandwiches. . .

The painting on the left was done by our youngest grandson - he's five. He wanted me to have the original and cut it down to fit in my journal. I'll put it on the facing page next to my oranges.

The travel was some kind of nightmare. It took us TWO days to get home! We spent most of those two days in Chicago O'Hare. They did put us up at the Radisson for the night. The bed was a Sleep Number bed, which I thought was pretty luxurious and pretty weird at the same time. I think it is hard enough to sleep away from home without having a bed that would take a couple of weeks to get used to. The fabulous down comforter was TOO hot - so it was the sheet (too cold) or the comforter. Maybe I just don't do well with luxury. I didn't sleep - maybe it was the sleep number or maybe it was the fact that we were scheduled to go on the next morning from Chicago, fly OVER our destination of Grand Rapids to Detroit, where big snow storms were predicted, and BACK to Grand Rapids. I could see this Detroit layover turning into a third day! Fortunately when we arrived at the airport the next morning we were able to get a direct flight to Grand Rapids. It still took most of the day to get out of there, but hey, we made it, and eventually so did our luggage. And I am sure missing California and the kids!

So. Okay. Back to real life. My classes started today. We worked on a still life with mostly earth colors and a blue and white pot thrown in. They did a great job of fitting it all together - earth tone shadows on the blue and white pot, and blue tones in the shadows of the warmer colored objects.

It is still winter here. Very, very winter.

Classes

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and drawing workshop at this site!

Stella

I think it is strange that English nouns don't have a gender - we can clearly see that this stool is female. Doesn't she have some kinda style! I was going through my old sketchbooks and came across this sketch I had done at a friend's house a couple of years ago. We named her Stella and picture her on an assembly line in some old factory.

Going through old sketchbooks is like reading old diaries. Not only are we recording the objects as we draw them, but we are etching the time and place into our minds - and at the risk of sounding dramatic - into our hearts and souls.

I have some very quick sketches of several figures I did as they were walking toward me in an airport. Not only do I have the sketches, I have a memory of the day traveling (and waiting!) and also of sharing the sketches with my granddaughter. She sat on my lap and wanted to know about every person on the pages, as if they had been "real people" passing through my life and I knew something about each one. Well, I did know more about them than if I had merely watched them go by.
Keep your sketchbooks handy. They really have a way of adding more color (even if the sketches are in pencil or ink) to your life.

I just held a two-day drawing workshop. It was fun (I had fun anyway - the students worked pretty hard) and I hope the group continues to draw. If any of you from the workshop are reading this - you did some great work this week - keep going! Don't stop now.

I Love Paris

Blizzard Conditions Again!
That has nothing to do with loving Paris - but then again, maybe everything has something to do with loving Paris.

Snow, wind, and COLD here over the weekend, but it was a nice weekend anyway. We didn't have to be anywhere, and except for a few cracks here and there in this old house, we stayed pretty warm. We made soup and homemade pizza, and watched a few old episodes of the Waltons on DVD.

Now it's time to get back to work. I have a drawing workshop coming up in a couple of days, and I have a few things to get together for it. I am really looking forward to it - the group will be a good mix - and it's going to be fun.

I still have openings for this workshop if you're interested.

Bananas

You know it's the dead of winter in Northern Michigan when I do a journal page of BANANAS. I don't even like bananas. I do love drawing them though - something about the foreshortening and geometric shapes. They are just made up of a lot of triangles and rectangles.

It has been very dark and cold here. Usually in this part of the country, in the winter, it is sunny and cold or dark and warmer (something about the cloud cover), but this year seems to be different. The lack of sunshine is getting to me, and we have a few months to go. I need to walk more, sunshine or no sunshine. It's just not as much fun in the winter - for obvious reasons - and I miss the color in the gardens, the dramatic shadows on the porches . . . Everything seems to slow down - my creativity, my momentum. A Julia Cameron quote that I love is "You may feel yourself to be temporarily without a vehicle. Just keep walking". The inspiration I get from the sunshine is my vehicle - I'll just keep walking, painting, drawing . . .

Winter Classes and Workshop 2008

Eight-Week Watercolor Classes

Two-Day Drawing Workshop

I am adding a Thursday evening watercolor class - I will still be doing the regular Wednesday morning and Thursday afternoon classes. I'm also offering a two-day drawing workshop. Please check out the info.
Hope to see you in class!

Snow Globe and Blue and White Bowl

It is still snowing here. It looks like we are living in a snow globe. Good weather to stay inside and work on some sketches and paintings. Sooner or later I will have to get out to make a food run. Good homemade soup and bread weather.



I have found this bowl very difficult to draw. I am pretty pleased with the little painting at the top of the sketchbook page, but after struggling with the one on the bottom of the page, I still don't have it right. No matter how much I measured and studied it, it is still a little off. Curvy, rounded objects have fewer points of reference. Whatever. I had a good time working on it. Any time I pick up my pencils or brushes is a good time.

Geranium Cuttings

Since my class on reflective surfaces, I have been trying to pay a little more attention to reflective surfaces myself. Also, because it is winter (VERY winter) I have been trying to pay a little more attention to my indoor surroundings - the winter light in various rooms at different times of the day, the shapes and colors of things in our house, the views out of the windows . . .

This drawing is just a study of some geranium cuttings and the containers they are in. The black Hall Ware bowl (50 cents at the thrift shop!) looks a little squishy, but I was pleased with the shading on it. I find round curvy things much more difficult to draw than straight lines, so I am going to spend some time working on that. Right now I am going to venture out into the snow and cold to get things from the grocery for burger night. Burgers, baked beans, CHIPS. Round curvy things.

Reflective Surfaces

This is a very small watercolor of a tarnished silver cup on a checkered tea towel. We were doing small studies of reflective surfaces. I was going to polish the cup before class, but I really liked the warm reflection it had, with almost a rust color along the rim. The biggest challenge with the cup was to get the checks from the tea towel to look like a reflection instead of a pattern on the cup.

We never did get to the blue-green cruet with the pebbly surface. Maybe next time.

We have quite a bit of new, fresh snow. The kind that would have been so pretty back about December 15th. It's really not bad - it's fresh and clean, and today there was a little sun now and then. The Bay was beautiful. We have a long way to go with winter weather, but at least the days are getting longer. Tomorrow's class is going to be working from photographs. They aren't as much fun as the real thing, but they're great for editing and working out composition problems. And, we'll be a lot warmer.

New Treasures

Look what I found.
I probably should have been home working on sketches of interiors (as my new year goals dictate) but I never pass up a chance to go bargain hunting with my bargain hunting friend. The blue and white jar was a great find - "as is" for $10. I haven't found its problem yet - maybe that'll be a surprise someday. Then at the next place I found this great rug for $8!!! It is Turkish, but it's not wool and it's not old, but from what I could dig up on the internet, it may be worth about $80. The fringe is a little worn so it fits in well with my old ones, and the white fluffy dog hair that was all but obliterating the pattern vacuumed right off. I'm hoping that the dog hair is all that was in it. Maybe it should have said "as is, fleas and all".

It is snowing today - very wintery again. A couple of friends are coming over and we are going to try our hand at making a couple of very simple journals. Like we need more journals. But, we do need to be together creating something - everyone needs that and should plan it into their busy lives.

China Cabinet Sketch

This is a quick contour drawing of our china cabinet with a little bit of color added using Pitt Brush Pens. I think I might try this same subject using colored pencils and then another in watercolor. The plate at the side of the sketchbook is one of the plates in the cabinet on the top shelf. It is part of a set that was broken up and divided among my grandfather's siblings. I always figured they must have been very important to someone if everyone had to have a few pieces. Fortunately, my grandfather ended up with, among other things, the beautiful soup tureen.

I am trying to do a few drawings of interiors and see if they lead to some paintings. I would like to go from interiors this winter to porches in the spring - chairs, tables, windows, doorways. It's nice to have a plan. Even nicer to do it!

Calendar

I haven't painted or sketched a thing in days. I am doing my annual nesting and planning.

I have to get my new pages in my planner, and I always have to print out and paste together a years worth of calendar pages. A palm pilot would never work for me! I have to see it all as each week relates to the next. A regular calendar works great to post events, but for planning I need to be able to see how the weeks run together with minimal boundaries for the months.

I could spend the rest of the year planning the rest of the year.

Now I think I need some sticky notes - "Paint Paint Paint"!!!!

Underpainting

An experiment with under-painting.

I'm not crazy about paintings done in watercolor with an underpainting or toned paper. What I like about watercolor is the sparkle of the white paper showing through here and there - whether it is planned or just by chance as the brush skims over the texture of the paper. BUT, I do think it is fun to watch the objects and shapes emerge from the lightly painted paper. It's a challenge to make it work, and I always think a challenge boosts our creativity a bit. This was a lesson in my class this morning and everyone did a really nice job with it. It was a good warm up after the holidays - everyone is just getting back to real life. We painted the paper in kind of a bull's eye pattern leaving some white in the center, and then painted the objects the colors that we saw, layering to get the values (lights and darks) that were needed to bring the objects out of the background colors. I wouldn't really call this a keeper, but I would really call it a fun way to stretch a little.

Playing in the snow

Grandpa, the cardboard tent/fort builder, with a couple of granddaughters.

I guess this is about it for Christmas Vacation. It's back to real life tomorrow.

It was a nice, snowy holiday here - perfect for building a couple of snow forts, a trip or two to the little sledding hill at the playground, lots of hot chocolate, jigsaw puzzles . . . .

Of course we really missed the California kids, but somehow knowing they had a very "Michigan Christmas" in northern California with lots of snow and sledding, made it better.

I don't really make any resolutions, but I could probably do with a few goals. A few good goals never hurt anyone. But then I get carried away making lists, trying to work it all out so I can see it all written out so I don't forget anything (except where I put the list!) and then I have to read everyone's organizing and goal setting blogs to see how the experts do it, then I have to print out the perfect calendar pages and worksheets and . . . Okay, so I think I'll just get in bed with a good book. Today on someone's blog I read that she has set a goal to read seven books a month, which certainly wouldn't be impossible. I'm just going to go to bed.

Summer View of the Bay

This is a commissioned painting waiting to be picked up.

It is actually snowing and blowing right now in Northern Michigan. I don't usually paint winter scenes - the "public" doesn't really care for them. The people that live here don't want to be reminded of our long stretch of winter, and the people that leave, leave for a reason - they don't like snow. I am busy in the summer with classes and workshops, and it is great to spend the winter painting commissions of summer scenes from photographs and sketches.

So - tomorrow is the last day of 2007. I think I'll clean off my desk and see what I've missed. Then I'll work on a painting schedule and plan some workshops and classes and . . .

Don't we all have big plans for every new year, and then it takes on a life of its own, and that's okay too. Remember to Be Aware of Wonder. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Coffee Pot

Just getting to know my subject. The light changed before I finished this, but it wasn't dramatic light anyway. I think it would be fun to do it with a spot light on it to get lots of contrasts on the shiny enamel surface as it curves into the shadows.

My friend K. gave me this coffee pot for Christmas. Her husband was a little concerned that she was giving a gift with a hole in the bottom, but it's perfect! I have a few still life set-ups planned for it.

It's time to get back to work, at least putter around with some drawings, work on some goals for 2008, and wrap up any loose ends of paper work for 2007. If anyone owes me any money, please come forward now.

Rudy up a Tree

There is Rudy, way up in the Christmas tree, kissing a little teddy bear ornament. Did he climb up there just to do that? Our daughter had a good point - "Do you think he does that all the time?"