More Holiday Ornaments for the Donation

Continuing creating holiday decorations...A deviation from my sketchbook practice. But it's a pleasure, mixed with occasional frustration with my fine motor skills...Images are a bit fuzzy. Maybe Santa will put a new camera under my tree...Hope you all are enjoying this time of year as I am! This was the tradition growing up, every year, to create holiday inspired arts & crafts. I wonder if you all had that too.

 

Mini Four Page Booklets

A series of mini 4 page ornament booklets

 to sell at a local gallery. 

All proceeds go to a local food bank.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season!

More Cat Sitting Sketches

 

Above, I re-sketched from my original sketch. 

And below, more direct sketches.

How I love sketching!

Cat Sitting

A cat I stay with while her owner is away is a muse 

for sketching & for French practice.

This kind of fast sketching 

(a cat's movements necessitate fast)

has been 1 of my favorite pastimes for years.

I love the focus, I love the observing. 

De temps en temps je reste avec un chat pendant l'absence

de sa personne. Elle est ma muse de dessin 

et une inspiration pour 

ma practique du français. 

C'est élémentaire mais c'est OK.

Luna est un minou gris aux yeux verts. Elle est douce est tranquille. Elle aime jouer, et câliner, elle aime s’asseoir sur mes gênoux. Elle ne miaule pas beaucoup, sauf avant son repas. Elle ronronne, elle se lave et elle se gratte. De temps en temps elle regarde la vue par la fenêtre. J’aime caresser Madame Luna et parler avec elle.

 

Learning to Paint Again #2

 

Day #2.  

Trying not to judge. 

I added a final layer of Prismacolor as the raw painting wasn't expressing what I wanted. 

The point of this little book is to keep practicing painting without my  ink drawing skeleton. 

Austin Kleon says, 

"Make stuff everyday. Fail. Get better."

I say, "As long as it's enjoyable."

Learning to Paint: Again

Mostly I draw. But through the years I have

occasionally painted, each time learning a bit more.

 I recently studied someone's gallery painting

because I had to write a poem in response to it.

Oooh, the craving to paint without my ink lines was sparked.

This is Day #1 of a new 5.25 X 3.5 " WCbook. From a photo 

I took in Acadia National Park, 2024

Rules: 

1. No ink lines but pre-pencil design OK.

2. Subjects: WC interpretations of Anything

3. Work fast, with little judgement & deliberation

4. Make notes about what I learned

Holidays = Making Cards

A tradition since childhood: Making my own holiday cards & decorations. Christmas cards! And Valentines, with their limited palettes of pinks, reds, whites & purples. They were simple this year, with my discovery of Caran d'ache water crayons, pearlescent watercolors, glitter markers & Posca white markers, along with the usual gouache & aquarelles. 

Roses are red, 

Art is fine,

Hearts are supreme

And pink is divine.  

Hahaha! 

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

There is a local art shop where I love to go for buying, but also for just browsing as if it was a grand museum. 

It's a fun outing with art friends & with just me.

These glitter markers from Peter Pauper are the latest addition to my materials. I always considered them to be only for kids, but I am having so much fun mixing them in with other media.

Daily Journal: The Spiritual Part

My daily journaling practice has different components. One is a way to

to reflect, to tend to my spirit, to enhance my soulful growth. 

It helps me to be resilient & serene when life is tough. 

Often I mix quotes with personal thoughts. 

This page, is from May, 2021 but still feels relevant. 

Hannukah & Christmas

This year I celebrated Hannukah as well as Christmas. Both fell on the same day. Both holidays were part of my childhood. We had town lightings of a giant menorah & of a tall Christmas tree, in front of our post office. We sang songs & danced. And I sketched my menorah in my journal. Light & miracles, let us hope...Wishing you all a peaceful & bright 2025.

Finding the Lost Wrist Watch

Eureka! 

I found my current wrist watch this morning

that was lost for 2 months.

Tricks for finding lost items: 

1. Check all pockets, in bags,

in jackets & jeans. 2. Relax & sometimes

the item shows up, as if on its own. (Little Bo Peep: 

"Leave them alone & they'll come home...)"

The journal pages above: 

During Covid I did some journaling 

with online communities with "prompts" 

that were great sparks! I enjoyed reflecting

on the concept of "Time."

Watches: 

In my youth I didn't wear one.

I  thought I was a cool rebel. Perhaps I was, 

but what I didn't know was that 

 that my right brained self was 

struggling to conform to left brain structures

that are necessary to survive in our society.

 

Today I love watches even though I seem to lose them

from Time to Time..(haha)

 

Holiday Card Making During a Full Moon

 

On Dec. 15, while I was happily working 

on this year's holiday cards,

I was also following the Cold Full Moon on its journey 

as it rose in the Northeast & set in the Northwest.

I felt so alive & excited!

So I stopped what I was doing 

& started making sketches & notes & 

recording full moon information in my journal. 

And then I created a series of small paintings.

I wish you all a wonderful holiday season!

I hope you'll leave me a note with a hint of who you are!

I can't Dance but I can Sketch

While healing from an injury I've been less active than usual. 

I especially miss my dancing. 

But having my art has been a saving grace. 

I've been sketching directly in my daily journal 

(InkPressions book, Tomoe River paper) more than ever. 

Sketching from observation is still so pleasurable, 

but I've also added memory sketching into my practice. 

Often it's a combination. 

Wishing you all a Holiday Season filled with beauty & kindness! 

Two Coastal Sketches: Early & Late Autumn

I spent a day on Mount Desert Island. 

Because it was full tourist season, 

I went to "the quiet side" of the island. 

That day was one of the most magnificent full color, 

ever changing weather, early autumn days I've ever experienced. 

This sketch was made sitting in my car, & it is from observation.

This late autumn sketch is more from memory.

On top of Mount Battie, looking out to Mount Desert Island.  

I had drawn a scant, scribbly sketch while there.

At home I started to add watercolor 

& because the ink lines were with non-waterproof ink 

they puddled & smeared 

& the image got lost. 

I was going to throw it away 

but decided to see it through. 

The final layer is colored pencil, 

bringing back some form & color.

The curious thing is that this imperfect sketch 

captured for me vividly what I experienced.

  

I am practicing more memory sketching these days.

It is challenging, but I'm enjoying it.

Two Summer Sketches, June & August 2024

I will post some more current sketches soon.

Hope everyone had a nice summer.

The landscape is changing rapidly,

September brings a feast of color.

Best end-of-summer wishes to all!

I would love to receive a comment from you!

Fountain Pens, Cursive Writing & Penmanship

 If you put "fountain pens" into my Search Bar, 

you'll find previous posts about them.

I've been taking notes about the history of pens, writing tools 

& penmanship from a book, 

Script & Scribble, The Rise & Fall of Handwriting. 

Using fountain pens

is "Slow Writing"  compared to computer tapping in the way that

eating whole foods is "Slow Food" compared to eating fast food.

I so enjoy the tactile feel of ink flowing through a fountain pen nib

on quality paper.

The variety of pens & inks these days is amazing. 

I mostly write with a range of blue to green inks, 

though I still enjoy good old black, 

especially waterproof, so that I can add watercolors.

They are simply one of my very very favorite tools.

They have been since I wrote with 

my 1st Schaeffer cartridge pen at age 11.

Visit Goulet Pens if you want to know more about fountain pens!

Quick Sketching After All these Years

 I haven't posted here consistently over the last few years.

But I have consistently sketched.

For years, especially QUICK sketches of people...while waiting in lines in stores or cafés... 

People  reading, or chatting make great subjects.

Simple, FAST line drawings, sometimes with added color from my notes & memory once I'm home. 

Why do I like to do it? 

Sketching is the vehicle that allows me to observe more carefully things of interest. 

( often for me that means sketching people.)  

Sketching focuses my energy, calms my hyperactivity. (Meditation!)

The tactile sensation of movement on paper while I'm

tuning into my surroundings.

All the senses working in harmony.

And as with these 2 recent, quick sketches, done in an

out of town café, 

it gifts me with a souvenir. 

From Idea to Completion: A New Phase

 I recently resumed work on a long standing project. I'm looking back on some work that has led me to this place. Rough drafts, & continual art explorations, sure, but also work on my organizational skills, on staying focused, & on learning to de-clutter my space & my brain. Looking forward, moving out of an idea phase to an action phase. I'm beginning to bring individual segments to completion. This (cropped) sketch went into my daily journal today. (Credit: Even though I love this bridge & have been there many times, I used a photo by Anne McKinnell, a beautiful outdoor nature photographer, as a reference.)

Holiday Greeting Cards 2023

I had different Christmas-y sketch ideas for a holiday card. 

But this image was the most "autobiographical", if not 

Christmas-y. It's from a series I had printed from the original.

Before the color prints, I had copied small black & white line drawings 

from my original & handpainted each one, adding colored pencil & pearlescent paints. 

Less vibrant & smooth than the printed version, but to me 

they're sweet in their roughness.  

Happy Holiday Season to all, & Happy Winter Walking. Rita.