Go Big or Go Home

I'm certain I'll be using many of the skills from the Fabulous Florals class in my art. But I'm also quite certain I won't be painting too many fresh flower bouquets. It's hard.

I tried....I really tried to paint something that even suggested that beautiful kale. Our finished product, after all, is meant to be impressionistic giving the suggestion of the flowers....not realistic renderings.

But I was totally uninspired and actually quite discouraged by my kale blob. I also felt like the painting needed a bright pop of a different color as a focal point. And I want to play with a variety of colors for collaging.

I solved it by painting a big bright sunflower over the kale blob. Go big or go home.  I like the pop of yellow and I think I can work with this.  I'm only posting this view for now....if I showed it straight on you might mistake if for a 1st grader's work.

I put it aside for today and will touch it up a bit tomorrow....then just let it go. Next week we finally get the lessons on mono printing our papers.....what I've been patiently waiting for.

The ease of putting the greens into the puzzle was a nice change of pace.

This puzzle is one of those where the long skinny pieces go horizontal and the chubby ones go vertical.  When you lay the pieces out by shape....it almost puts itself together.  Unlike my painting.

I'm still trying to do just one color a day.  It was hard to stop today...but I'm timing it to have a little bit of it to do every day before I go back to Lexington on Saturday.  Silly?  Probably. Go slow...then go home.  

Tomorrow's Another Day

I wonder if real painters are this messy.

I worked on my underpainting off and on throughout the day. I looked at it this evening and hated it so covered it all up with gesso primer and I'll try again tomorrow.  This part is hard!

Keep it simple and loose. Tomorrow's another day.

I was way more successful with the next color on the puzzle....green and yellow-green.  I should have kept going....you can't go wrong with these colors. 

Good Lighting

As I have gotten older good lighting is more and more important.  Actually, I've become quite passionate about lighting....maybe because so many times I've gotten it wrong.

Since my puzzle table is in the middle of the room in Maine....I needed a good light. I've been auditioning ones I already own....and nothing was quite right.  So I ordered this sleek, affordable little Ott Light...and it's great. It has 3 settings for brightness....and the neck flexes up down and sideways so the light can be where ever you want.  When the light is going sideways like this....it illuminates almost the whole table...even at night.  Maybe I got it right this time.


Margie did this puzzle in just a day or two....but I'm going to stretch it out.  Yesterday I did the pink...today I worked on red and red orange.  Taking it slow....a button color a day.

Speaking of light....while we are working with our flowers for the Fabulous Florals class we are supposed to illuminate them with a light source from one side to emphasize the shadows.  The new lesson came out today and we were to do 4 thumbnail charcoal sketches to audition different compositions for our underpainting: left, right, center and zoomed in.  

Once we picked the one we like we were encouraged to practice it a bit more before we sketching it onto our boards.  I chose the left orientation. 

These are just rough....all we are working on is composition.  I'll probably practice more before I commit to the board...and I look forward to feedback from Elizabeth.  Sketching with charcoal is actually more fun than I thought....I don't think I've done it since I was in school.                       

One of the pleasant little surprises of good lighting was the shadow of this slivery filler from the bouquet on my sketch.  I don't know if or how I'll include it in my underpainting.....maybe just a suggestion of it in some way because I really like it.  The thoughts about painting the whole bouquet on the board is a bit daunting....but I'm just going to trust the process and go for it. 

My flowers are fading fast so I need to get rolling soon.  I reworked it last night trying to liven it up before the sketches today.

Whatever You Are

I Found It

"There is no joy without sorrow....it is in fact the pain and the suffering that allows us to experience and appreciate the joy."  The Book of Joy

Two people I care about are dealing with difficult and sad situations.  One is spending last days with her mother who is in hospice care....and the other just lost a grandson who was less than a year old.  Can there be joy when there is such sadness in the world?  There has to be. 

Today I found it in simple everyday things and I am grateful. I found it finishing my Kennebunkport puzzle before I was even done with my morning coffee.

I found it realizing that the puzzle was based on real places in Kennebunkport like Allison's restaurant and the Whimsy Shop.

  

I found it in the fresh coat of snow on my fading snowman and the long winter shadows.

And I found it during lunch with my son Sam and when he shoveled the patio before going to visit his grandma.

I found it sitting at my cluttered table in front of the studio window practicing another underpainting.....

.... and being OK with the so so result knowing hoping that the collage process will make it better. 

I found it in the fabulous puzzle waiting in the wings that I'm borrowing from Margie....who got it as a Christmas gift from her daughter Alyson. I love buttons just as much as I love marbles and it's just like the marble puzzle I enjoyed last August.

And finally, found it when, at the end of the day, I had the Button 

pieces sorted and ready to go for a new day. 

"Respond with joy! Joy is the happiness that doesn't depend on what happens. It is the grateful response to the opportunity that life offers you at this moment."  The Book of Joy

Channeling Linda

There's nothing better on a chilly day than sitting at the puzzle table with a cup of tea and a little space heater on my feet.  This has been a fun one....and I've been taking it slow.

I had a funny conversation with Linda recently.  She does her puzzles very orderly....working from one end to the other finishing one section a time.  I tend to work randomly....doing everything red...or orange...or blue...connecting parts as I go.

But I've been channeling Linda to finish the middle of this one....working from right to left.  And the funny thing is....she e-mailed me a few days ago when she got frustrated with the one she was working on and started doing it MaryAnn style.

It was moving a long pretty fast and this is where I made myself stop.  I like to stretch out the end and I'll finish it tomorrow.  I have a fun one in the wings I'm borrowing from Margie and I can't wait to start it!

Practice Patience

...and trust the process.

When I take a class from a professional artist it's always worth it....and I always have to practice patience and trust them and the process.  I'm usually so excited about where we will end up that I forget there are all kinds of important learning steps along the way.  Practice patience...and trust the process...that has to be my mantra.

Last week we introduced ourselves and gathered our supplies for the Fabulous Florals class..  This week we purchased the flowers that will serve as our muse and inspiration and are practicing on single bloom underpaintings.

We are looking for shading, shadows, and simple shapes....not worrying about details and being too literal. We are encouraged to put our own spin on things.  I love the kale ....which is what drew me to this flower bunch in the first place.....but I was afraid to start with that.

I have a table all set up in my studio for painting and printing textured papers with my gel plate to prepare for the collage part....but that's still a few weeks away.  Practice patience...and trust the process. So I set up on my dining room table...and gave underpainting a whirl.  I've already admitted that I'm terrible at painting....and the only way to get better is to practice. Keep in mind that these paintings are not finished products....we will be collaging on top with our torn painted papers. (which I'm waiting patiently to learn to do)  I'm letting go of my embarrassment...and sharing my practice paintings....I've got a lot to learn.  I exaggerated the size of a little burgundy mum for one painting and the green berry looking filler for the other.  

Next I tried a version of the reddish spiky looking flower.  At this point I'm going to practice a little more on paper....and maybe even give the kale a try.  These are on wooden paint panels making them easier to collage....but one can only use so many little flower collages. And if I don't collage them I can paint over them and use them for something else.

Next week we will be sketching and underpainting a whole bouquet....yikes. Don't be surprised if it looks nothing like my inspiration flowers.  I still can't wait to paint my papers and start collaging....but I'm going to practice patience...and trust the process.

Snowy Morning In Maine

I drove to Maine late last night while the roads were dry....and woke up to a winter wonderland! 

I bundled up and  headed out with my camera....I certainly didn't blend into the landscape.

I spotted one deer....then had fun watching 4 or 5 run around in the woods.

And I tapped into my inner child.  

I love a snowy morning in Maine!

Winter Finds

We commented while we were walking this morning how winter can be dreary and brown.  But we also talked about how winter allows you see things that you might miss when everything is lush and green.....these are some of my winter finds.

I love seed pods....especially ones like these I've not noticed before.

 

I couldn't help but bring a few home for my collection in my improvised baggie.

Winter blooming witch hazel is one of my favorite finds....it looks like it belongs in a Dr. Seuss book.  This one was a completely different color than the one I posted about a few days ago  and is a nice pop of color in the brown winter landscape.

                                                                           

 



I've been watching a Juniper near my house waiting for the berries to turn this bright blue.  I learned today that Juniper berries aren't very tasty which is why wildlife mostly leave them alone.  But they do provide food for desperate birds in the winter.


I was pretty happy with my winter finds today.

Magic Happens

I had a cup of tea and visit with Muffy yesterday....she is of my favorite artists and mentors.  I'm always inspired by what's on her easel and in her studio....today it was a rainbow from Mother Nature!

Muffy had a stunning a collection of beautiful yarns and fibers spread out on her work table, many of them spun by her and ALL of them hand dyed by her using things from Mother Nature like marigolds, walnut hulls, Queen Anne's Lace, orchids, and onion skins.  Every single fabulous color came from something natural.  Magic happens when Muffy and Mother Nature get together.

 

Keeping it Light

I love hearing stories about creative ways people connect. This story made me giggle out loud and I knew immediately I wanted to share it here.

Anita, her two daughters, and a couple of friends had a contest....or more accurately a race over the holidays. And as I understand....it was cutthroat. They called it "The Great Amaryllis Race of 2019."

They each bought an amaryllis bulb....gave it a name like Proud Mary and Minerva.....and the race for the first bloom was on.  They posted their progress and comments on a shared photo page talking smack, chatting, and just being silly and having fun along the way.  At one point Anita tried to trick the others when she sent a photo of a blooming amaryllis she saw at a party. The others weren't fooled.

I love EVERYTHING about this!  It was a wonderful way for them to connect over the holidays...keeping it real and keeping it light during a season that sometimes can be a little overwhelming.

Anita's amaryllis is in full bloom right now and is just beautiful!