Saturday, October 4, 2014

Miss Blue(s) revisited


last week
I posted a blue cat
so why not
a blue haired girl
or a blue haired woman
it's not the colors that matter
it's the values
these small vignettes/watercolor sketches
are my way of 
making small journeys
there is no success or failure
only painting and learning
thanks for stopping by

Friday, October 3, 2014

Playing with hair

continuing to paint
faces
this time playing with ways to paint hair
it takes so many different colors
so that the eye reads the total as brown or black
I love her smile
she makes me happy
(thanks to Steve Evans for the photo)

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Miss Blue takes a "small journey"

my life has been filled with so much inspiration lately
(attending the Florida Watercolor Society convention last week
after having taken the incredible watercolor portrait class from Stephie Butler
in August)
I can hardly  take it all in
but
I am trying to take it one painting at a time
or as jude hill would say
one "small journey" at a time
(have I ever mentioned how much I enjoy her blog?)
above Hana is having a blue day
lots to do today
I apologize for not blogging regularly but I find the more I do 
(draw, paint, quilt, cook)
the less time I have for blogging
c'est la vie

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Let the choir sing

as I was painting this one
I started seeing the glads as a choir
singing praises
so I titled it
"Let the choir sing"

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Another attempt

a second try
I like it much better
what do you think?

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Back from class with Stephie Butler


attended a watercolor workshop with Stephie Butler
last month
learned so much!!
and have been painting almost every day since
this two paintings were done in the class
photo refs from Gail Johnson and Steve Evans
my first attempts at a looser style of portraits
I am loving this way of painting
thank you Stephie!

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Woof!

back to painting almost every day
lots of faces
human and otherwise
any animals you would like to see??

Saturday, July 12, 2014

from the garden (the one I remember from childhood)

when I was shopping last week, I saw these beautiful and delicate roses
they reminded me so much of my grandmother's roses
our yard was fenced and huge rosebushes climbed up the fence posts
and sprawled in splendor all across the chainlinks
just think what a juxtaposition that was - lush delicate softness vs cold hard metal
complete yin and yang
what a joy to paint the beauty of nature
from life, not from photos
I've had a wonderful week
hope you have had one too!

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

A woman of mystery

a woman of mystery
she stands alone and yet blends in
color swirls around her
what is she thinking
or is she even thinking
perhaps just watching and waiting
(just a small pastel I painted, inspired by a photo I saw-  playing with color and edges)

Sunday, July 6, 2014

A new passion


 The past few months have been filled with many personal issues but despite that, or perhaps because of that, I have discovered a new passion - pastels.  I have always loved to draw and have always loved color so when a friend let me play a bit with her pastels, I was totally hooked.  I love the feel of the pastel in my hand - it's like an extension of my arm and hand - dancing on the paper - bold strokes, soft strokes, linear strokes, side strokes, blending with my fingers - I feel like a kid again with fingerpaints!
Of course exploring a new type of art involves getting some new supplies - I haunted ebay and was able to get a set of Rembrandt half sticks (like these - good for drawing and backgrounds), a vintage set of Grumbachers (good colors but a bit crumbly), and a full set of Nupastels (hard pastels that work for drawing and underpainting).  I found a few Richeson handmade pasels and some Wallis sanded paper on sale at a local frame shop - they were selling off their art supplies half price) and then finally I bought a set of 60 Great American pastels from Jerry's - major sale + coupon.  I got a few books from the library and was off and running.
I arranged my pastels according to the books by color and value (this is the drawer that fits in my French easel)  Don't you just love the colors!  I am like a kid in a candy store!
If you go back to the first photo, you can see a little bird's nest that I did in pastels on some leftover Bazill textured scrapbooking card stock  - the egg is developing (just like me) and getting ready to hatch and join the world - much like me right now.
thanks for reading and hope your day is filled with color!

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Happy Ostara - first day of Spring!

Welcoming in the new season
with sunny skies
green leaves
and lots of azaleas
Hope your day is filled with joy
I have been very busy this winter ("season" it's called here)
with activities and work
but
just a few more weeks
and the "birds" will be gone
and things will be back to normal(what's that?)
I have been sketching quite a bit and will share some photos
and thoughts very soon.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Channeling Van Gogh


We received some beautiful and very unusual sunflowers at the Book Depot this past week and I asked if I could bring a few home.  I cut the stems fairly short and mounted the blossoms onto this flat vase - don't you just love the colors - I wish I could capture how incredible they are but I'm trying
Lots of activities right now and keeping busy - hope you have a creative day!

Friday, January 10, 2014

this moment - this week - inspirations


this past week I have been so inspired by jude hill's blog http://spiritcloth.typepad.com/ - she was talking about colors and how they lean into each other - her musings lean into my current knitting project - another Margaret Dashwood shawl from the Summer 2012 issue of Jane Austen Knits. For this current one, I am knitting with Aslantrends Santa Fe yarn in a color named Grape Jam but honestly it is so much more - the colors are grape, olive, navy, tan, and mixes of these and more as the colors merge and divide and as jude writes, "lean" into each other. I have tried to show how incredible this looks in the photos but to see them in the natural sunlight through the window, they just take your breath away.  Here's a link to my first Margaret Dashwood shawl on Ravelry - I just love how you can tie this shawl around your shoulders and chest, and then do things without having to worry about the shawl coming loose.  It's a fabulous pattern with easy lace.
thanks for stopping by.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Vintage cats


I guess we aren't the only generation who enjoys cute cats.
Hope these brighten your day!

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

The foolishness of things

"Let us dream of evanescence, and linger in the beautiful foolishness of things."
from The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzo

Welcome to my home
this is the cabinet that you see as you enter my house -
on it an ever changing display of "the foolishness of things."
a vintage celadon vase, a Venetian mask, incense, books, some strands of beads,
and two hearts covered with vintage buttons and shells -
"There are no little things. Little things are the hinges of the universe."
- Fanny Fern
Thanks for stopping by.

Monday, January 6, 2014

Happy New Year - vintage style


Here we are in a new year - everyone is back at work or back to school
Hope your holidays were filled with good times, good friends, and good foods
Mine were especially joyful - a quick trip to the left coast of Florida to see family
Some lovely presents - we had decided not to give big gifts this year - just stocking stuffers
and Dan did spectacular - he got some incredible loose teas for me from our local tea shop
Tea and Chi
and also several dark chocolate and peppermint bars (just love that combination)
and some drawing pens.
The above cards were in a box left to me by my grandmother
you will be seeing some of them off and on throughout the coming year
I am full of new ideas and inspirations this year -
finishing some projects started in earlier years and planning some new ones
making lists of books to look for at the library
Looks to be a busy year!