Living wabi sabi

"Wabi sabi celebrates the beauty and allure of imperfection....

the cozy familiarity of a worn-out pair of jeans,

the rustic elegance of an old Italian villa,

the faded splendor of well-used china

handed down from your grandmother's attic."

-Taro Gold

Wabi sabi is acceptance and appreciation of what is.

I try to live my life in a wabi sabi sort of way - enjoying this moment 

and attempting to find beauty in the very ordinary-ness of daily life.

One of my favorite books is the wabi-sabi house by Robyn Griggs Lawrence.

Hope you have a great weekend!

I am going over to Sarasota to share some time with family and friends

and hopefully have a little time to hit Sarasota Art & Frame to pick up a few supplies.

I am looking forward to the drive over through Myakka River State Park - 

it is so beautiful and I always see a variety of Florida wildlife.

Chris

Fall - in love

It's cooling off a bit here - and the sky is a brilliant blue with few clouds - and the humidity is much less - oh yes, it is finally turning to fall here in southeastern Florida - above is a sketchbook page - all watercolor

vegetable soup - yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

a cup of tea and a good book - by the way, have you read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn?  I read it in one day BUT I was so disappointed by the ending - anyway, it is totally suspenseful and will suck you right in!

a new type of creative mischief going on in the studio - art dollmaking - it is an experiment for me - not sure how it will turn out ................ I am using lots of my stash - fabrics, yarns, beads, and paints in different ways - it is so tactile and tangible -- so different from watercolor painting or drawing -- depending on the results, I will post my creation in a few days

some things for sale on etsy, ebay, and half.com as I continue to destash and try to make a little money for holiday presents

hope you are having a super day,
Chris

Some little corners of fall

Have I mentioned how much I love fall - and how October is my favorite month - after all, as they keep advertising on the baseball games, "legends are born in October"!  Every time that comes on (my DH is a fanatic baseball (especially the Yankees) fan), I make sure to point that out to him - after all, I was born in October! LOL!!!

Some corners around my house and a few things happening in the studio - my studio is on the southwest corner of our house, and when the sun gets low in the southern sky, the light coming in the south window is killer so this morning I pulled a vintage tablecloth out of the linen closet and layered it over the curtain - it is definitely helping diffuse the light.
Hope your day is filled with sunshine and love,
Chris

My first attempt..........................

Posting this photo of my latest effort is very scary for me - this is one of my first attempts at a watercolor portrait - I can see some things wrong with it but at least if you know the person in the photo, you can recognize him - gotta keep drawing and painting..........................
I have read many times that artists and writers get frustrated and depressed with their attempts, and how well I understand the feelings, but if I have learned one thing in my quest to become a better artist, it is that you must persist - you have to force yourself into the studio and pick up a pencil or a brush or whatever you use to create. You have to show up as much as you can, and some days the Spirit will fill you and some days not - but you gotta be there ready and willing to accept the Gift. 
Hope you are having a wonderful autumn and finding a little time to create,
Chris

A little fall sketching

Now that it's a bit cooler (just 87/75) my husband decided to take on some outdoor projects that really can't be done in the hot summer. We have three live oak trees in our yard - a papa, a mama, and a baby (if you can call 20-25 ft tall a baby), and they need trimming every so often. Dan worked all day yesterday cutting down limbs off the mama size tree and today he was cutting the smaller stuff and tying them up in bundles so the yard waste men would pick them up. I helped him some and them brought some small twigs and acorns into the house to sketch.  The squirrels were quite upset and were really screeching!

and then just for fun, a bit of fall sunshine - I love gingkos - their shape, their colors - so unique!

Now I need to post these over at the flickr sketchbook challenge page - did you see that the theme for October is Cabinet of Curiosities?  I have some ideas!

Hope your day is filled with fall sunshine!
Chris

October - my favorite month

"There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October."

-  Nathaniel Hawthorne

Ah, the harvest colors of orange, gold, russet, cranberry, with a bit of green. Time for home baked breads and from scratch soups simmering on the stove - and pumpkin spice lattes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope you are enjoying this October!
Chris