Friday, May 11, 2018

Watercolor Mixing in Spring

Watercolor Mixing~ Enjoyment!
That is the diagram of my current paint box. 
Ceramic tray, a total pleasure, 
though too heavy to take on on the road.

Such fun to play Let's Mix Some Greens with a friend...
Possibilities, willy nilly were all over my page
with no thought to composition.
So cutouts & collage created a bit of order.
Il fallait les mettre en valeur.
After such intense focus, greens called me
everywhere I looked! 
Now, they are popping like mad outdoors,
minute by minute, vite, vite! 
taking their place in the midst of winter grays.
A friend calls them:
 "Emerging greens of spring..." 

I think they are in a hurry to arrive in time for summer.
Soon they will take over. 
In full bloom & without the gray contrasts, 
they will be harder to distinguish.

Perhaps we New Englanders are like 
the emerging greens of spring
The gardeners are out, the bicyclers, the walkers.
On the sidewalk & in shops, livelier hello's & quicker smiles.

It was a long winter...

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Sketchers Go to a Beautiful Space

 An initial rough sketch made at 
Beyond the Sea, (Gifts & Books & Café) 
Not great paper in my sketchbook, but it works.
Another field trip with the sketch group.

The owner has created a sunny pastel space 
in the back of the shop, 
looking out to a salt marsh 
on the edge of Lincolnville Beach. 
I had sketched out the window in December,
on a solo visit. 

Today the focus was on my friends.
Tourist season has not yet begun, 
so we each had our own table. 
We chatted lightly, sporadically,
punctuating the space with art tips & experiences. 
The above two images are illustration-sketches 
on watercolor paper,
derived from the roughs in my sketchbook.
They aren't meant to be portraits, nor to capture likenesses.
They are impressions that bring back the afternoon.
They allow me to linger in a pleasant experience...

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

It's May!


It's May!
Happy First of May, Joyeux 1er mai! 
In France it is La fête du travail.
In Poland it is too, Swięto Pracy.
A long time ago,
In the US
 we used to make & give May baskets.
So here is my little May gift for you,
including un brin de muguet.