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

Experimental Sketchbook Class: Time & Space to Create

Some of my work during the weeklong class.

It was perhaps the best art class I've ever taken at University. 

We were encouraged to experiment.

Push out of our comfortable ways.

I started getting scribbly & messy (not shown here)

so it was a relief to do some minimalist drawings.

Zoom grids became an integral part of my experience.

I wandered out of my familiar box.

I cut up one of my watercolor "still life" grids

and pasted fragments into a booklet.

And then, relief, back to the familiar~ 

except with a bit of a grid.

A grid containing The Tiny Fears of Rita

Les miniscules craintes de Rita

We tried a wax resist/ink wash/charcoal layering technique

that Maine artist, David Lewis, uses.

(His drawings are very sophisticated & refined...) 

We collected shadows by tracing actual shadows.

Some of the students turned their results into imaginative

imagery, unrelated to the original subjects, and then 

turned them into handmade books.

I loved my Swedish Ivy design & didn't transform it,

except to put it into an accordion format.

Last class exercise: Do 20 versions of the same object, 

using various papers & drawing materials.

I got 3 done in our half hour allotment...

But THIS is the idea which I most want to continue

at the moment...20 objects? 50? 100? 

Maybe they would be painted and drawn, then,

hand sewn together into a paper quilt that folds 

into a book. We shall see...

The beautiful thing is that I have SO many wonderful

inspirations & directions with which to continue.

Thanks to my instructors & to the class, composed of

young undergraduates, graduate students,

& some oldsters like me. 

So much inspiration,

& this is only the tip of the iceberg...

Sketching: A Pause From Stress

7AM crowded grocery shopping 

once again triggered anxiety. 

An unhealthy looking man, 

coughing & sneezing, no mask,

lingering in the aisles. 

Scared me. 

I talked to our pleasant manager, 

but once home, tension lingered.

So I gathered my art bag

and headed to a bench in City Park.

Highlights on lively small waves,
like 4th of July sparklers, 
sun & breeze. 

View of Penobscot Bay to Blue Hill  

and the distant mountains of Acadia.

It didn't completely take away my stress, 

but for some brief moments

I breathed in healthy air. 

And sketched.

Finding my Sunflower Voice

I have been continuing to sketch my sunflowers.

One artist suggests to draw something100 times in order 

to really get to know it. 

I've been re-finding my ease with sketching

after not doing it for awhile.

I probably won't make 100 versions of my sunflowers,

but I did make 3 more renderings this morning.

And I did notice new things each time.

I didn't enjoy the above rendering 

(2 posts ago) which was made

after a long period of not drawing.

Not because I thought of it as good or bad, 

but because the process & end result

didn't reflect my spirit. 

It was a labored study 

rather than a more dancing,

free-flowing, good-feeling process.

It was important to do, to start somewhere,

but I am happiest when I am sketching lightly. 

Why do I draw? 

It's the feeling I get. 

It's in my whole body,

rather than just in my eyes.

And it's the feeling of my calm mind.

I respond to gesture & movement

in a subject.

When drawing the sunflowers 

on the back patio this morning 

I loved the flickering, changing morning light, 

the delicate fluttering 

of the petals, the cool air.

The vivid yellows & greens 

against our still gray landscape.

And the flow of water on my brush,

 the luscious paint.

The freedom of not thinking about what my 

picture would look like. 

Sometimes I draw to bring pleasure to others,

with more focus on product,

as in a card or sketch for sale. 

But even then, I need to find pleasure 

in the act of drawing itself. 

Why do I draw?, I ask 

as I watch snippets of drawing lessons 

on YouTube.

(I've been writing answers in my journal.)

I'm happy to be drawing again,

& to come back around to my true

Sketchbook Wandering self. 

If you are a draw-er, 

what is it that you enjoy about drawing?

What I've Been Up To...

A little sketching with the Sketchers...

At a most magical shop in town, Brambles...

The owner always welcomes us! 

(I have previous posts/sketches from Brambles...)

Quick sketches when I'm out. 

Still carrying the book everywhere.

This was lunch at the Coop, a great Sketch-Op.

Enjoying my Prismacolors. Here,

they were basking in winter sunlight that streamed in

through the back door blinds.

 Prismacolors on my new "mini memory" daily calendar, 

inspired by the great sketch blog of Lin, View From the Oak
& her "Smallies". Do visit her blog! 

A great form of journaling!

Card calendars for my bulletin board.

Been playing with collage a bit.

Ongoing Daily Journal ritual. Every morning with coffee.

I'm adding more color, drawings & paste-ins

than before.

 

This was the bottom corner of a page. 

That's Washi tape as the base.

Envelope-pocket-journal-folio books, 

taught by local paper craft artist & teacher, Robinsunne. 

Current one in progress.

Elements taped with temporary cellophane tape.

 I mostly didn't send out holiday cards.
I gave a few of these to folks in my Zumba class. 
I hope you all had a fun holiday season.

 My new cork board on the mantle. 
A reminder that I want to paint more without ink line...
A challenge, & outside my comfort zone!

Above, some are mine, some are inspirations by others.

Great time of year for making art!

Exploring Rather Than Wandering

 

Sketchbook Wandering. 

I've done it here for almost 7 years!!!!!

Sketching & writing still bring me joy & comfort, 

as when I took a pause from last Saturday's winter festivities

at a café on Main St. I sat by a wall.

My sketchbook transformed the scene to interesting theater.

There are people who appreciate my sketches, 

& some have learned from my process.

But:

Change might be starting...

Expression, discovery, exploration, reflection, 

& who knows what else! 

I've been experimenting with making marks 

with a brush & "high flow" acrylic paints.

(Thanks, for introducing me, Beth. Go to Sew Sew Art.)

My marks turned to shapes & my shapes 

arranged themselves.

Aaaah, order...but maybe not too much...

More will be revealed...

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. 

Meditative Color Play, Continued...

Still playing with watercolor with attention & focus...

(previous post). A form of prayer & meditation. 

"L'attention, à son plus haut degré, est la même chose que la prière."  ~Simon Weil 

      

 "But what are you going to DO with them?"

"Well, I could cut them out & make cards..."

 "...and handmade books..."

"And then I could let them go..."

More Watercolor Wandering

 I continue to explore my new watercolor tubes. 

I focus on not judging what I see happening 

but on watching closely how the water & paints react.

It's like watching raindrops on the windshield,

slow, careful observation of a drop as it morphs & changes.

I ponder: 

What is the difference between being influenced by 

& learning from an artist~ & copying them?

Artist Mattina Blue, in a brief workshop, had a big influence 

on my waterpaint experimenting. 

To see her work, click HERE.

 I loved her designs & motifs, 

but I knew I didn't want to copy them.  

What I got from her was a spirit of allowing the water 

to carry the paint,

of allowing the colors to respond to one another.

(Fun when working on a slanted surface.)

Mattina told me to work in series, 

each painting leading to the next.

What will be discovered along the way?

I think it is enjoying the evolution, 

rather than just a brief dabble of something new.

A spirit of "More will be revealed."

Motifs & designs emerge by themselves. 

All of us have our own.

One of mine: Light peeking from behind darker lines, 

In this season I see it in sun on thinning colored leaves,

behind dark branches & twigs.

These "plaids" have other meanings for me too,

which come to me after I'm done painting. 

They are grids, they are boxes, 

& even when I don't know what they mean,

they are pleasing to draw.

While painting (I try) to think of nothing 

but what I'm observing,

& this meditative focus calms me, fills me with serenity.