Showing posts with label Art Shows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art Shows. Show all posts

Sunday, December 30, 2018

Sketchbooks. End of 2018: Bring in the New, Continue the Old

 I have a new, larger sketchbook!! Paper Blanks, 7 X 9"!!
I use these for journal writing, but I got an extra one on sale
so I turned it into a sketchbook.
LAMY AL STAR fountain pens. I have "a few."
In the Wyeth Center at the Farnsworth Art Museum. 
The annual model train village, "Share the Wonder."
Sketching the mini buildings & cars is a fun way 
to work with linear perspective.
On the left: I sketched a line drawing that Jamie Wyeth
did when he was very young. Part of a series featuring
a Christmas wreath as a "character" in a medieval Christmas.
NC Wyeth's large painting: "The Morris House: Port Clyde". 
Can't do it justice with a quick sketch 
as the colors are so beautiful!!!
But sketching gave me the opportunity 
to scrutinize it more closely, & to gaze longer.
The Wyeth Center is only open a couple of more days.
I went to say good bye to the NC Wyeth paintings upstairs.
When they are back on display sometime, you have to come to Maine to see them in person!
And to see the Maine coast on which they are based!

I've been sketching in my usual 4 X 6" 
Pentallic Traveler Sketchbook.
It also doubles as my Art Learning Journal. 
Both live sketches & notes from books, 
museums, etc. go in there.
 Earlier in the month I went to the Farnsworth 
with an artist friend who wore an adorable felted hat
that she'd found at a thrift store. She sketched 
the gold dragon in the Chinese Zodiac exhibition.
She made a lot of people happy with that hat!
 Waiting in the small town post office line before Christmas.
A relatively small line in a relatively small town.
We enjoyed good natured conversations while waiting.
And for me, sketching made it go very fast.

At the Belfast Saturday Indoor Farmer's Market.

It is my Saturday morning ritual to go there. 
The vendors are not just farmers.
They are artisans, artists & musicians too.
They are local.
 LL Bean, the flagship store is like a theme park. 
There are these real stuffed animals on display.
While waiting for J to try on clothes, I sketched 
"The Three Headless Men of LL Bean." (my title.)

 Trip to Boston in November. QUICK sketches! 
It was my very fist visit to
The Granary Burying Ground. Boston's 3rd oldest cemetary
where many notable men 
from the American Revolution are buried.

 I guess the live people interested me 
more than the dead ones, though it was impressive.


 A quick stop to the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University. "Animal-Shaped Vessels from the Ancient World."

Subway Sketching, 
The Red Line from Cambridge back to Boston.
 Thanks for browsing through my sketches.
I wish you the happy pursuit of your passions
& pastimes in 2019.



Sunday, December 23, 2018

Tis the Season for Color

 
I love playing with bright colors at this time of year.
I made a chain of 70 Origami birds for 
a friend's 70th birthday which she hung in her window.
My new "Art Bin" box.
I bought it at a local art shop 
It has replaced my old broken paintbox.
I transferred my half pans & made a new color chart. 
See what it can do. More painted collages.
Some are for gifts, some for a new show.
And then, there is the contrast of the winter outdoors.
Cold, dark & muted colors.
It is soft & beautiful & restful.
An advent calendar with over-the-top glitter!!
I bought it at a local bookstore.


Merry & bright, somber & dark. 
They are opposed, but they complement each other nicely. 

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

The Volunteer Gardener

 One of the last small pieces I did, 
just before hanging the show.
She is a local volunteer from the Belfast Garden Club
who creates & tends town gardens.
On this hot morning when I was sketchbook wandering 
she was taking a break from
her flower beds around the police station,
on a bench in front of the post office.
We had a lovely conversation which is handwritten
by fountain pen below her image.
It's not here, as I would have to get her permission,
but I will tell you that this is one very positive lady
who loves what she is doing!
She enjoys, in Barbara Cooney's words,
 "making the world a more beautiful place."
Belfast has its very own Miss Rumphius! 

Sunday, August 12, 2018

Not Far From Home: The Show


Based on a local scene, down by the waterfront...
Taking liberties, playing with color more than 
making an accurate representation...
The show is up at the Library. 
"Not Far From Home: From the sketchbooks of Rita..."
I am adding more writing to the sketches these days. 
Several viewers have said, "This looks like a book!" 
That makes me happy.
The little guys. 5 X 7's
Like the ones I most often sell.
 A mess of sketchbooks in a case.
The show is not framed in fancy ways.
They are mostly rough sketches.
I enjoy it that people enjoy it. 
Sharing my fun. 
And encouraging others to 
keep sketchbooks too.