Sticker and Dot Play

 

While listening to the news of the virus,

I was soothed by painting Dots. 

Dots, again? 
You're supposed to be sketching,

Sketchbook Wandering!

I went through a major Dot Phase 

not too long ago.

Recently a reader, "minimal shine", 

asked about the Dot Stickers

that were on my last daily journal cover . 

To see that post, click HERE.

The Dot Stickers are some of my favorite stickers.

(Yes, I'm also going through a Sticker Phase. 

And at my age!)

 

So pretty, and even the dots have little dots!

They are called Sticko Color Bubbles, 

found at Michael's.

The Postal Service is also going through a Dot Phase.

The latest Celebrate postage stamp!

All of a sudden, while doing this post, 

Dots were everywhere!

Even my measuring cups turned into Dots.

Even the soap suds were made up of tiny dots!

The recently organized fountain pen inks.

Yes! The lids were Dots!

Like a happy school girl,

 I'm still merrily pasting little stickers 

into my current daily journal.

In between the writing & the tracking,

I'm also inserting 

my own drawings & paintings & colors.

I may leave the Sticker Phase,

but I don't think I will EVER get over Dots,

 or Drawing & Painting.

(To minimal shine

 let me know that you got the info!)

The Sketchers Get Together (but apart)

The Sketchers went down to the Library Park in Camden

(in separate cars.)

It's been many weeks since we've gotten together

(but apart.)

I usually forget to pack one item.This time: watercolors!

It turned out to be a blessing!

I loved focusing on values, lines, forms!

I would have missed seeing some wonderful qualities

if I had been distracted by paint & color!  

And I would have missed the feeling of my pen

dancing on the paper.

Behind me,
a waterfall, right in town, flows into the Harbor.

Yes, it's almost mid-May 

and I'm wearing a parka and gloves.

And loving it!

L'opéra de Cendrillon et Il était une fois...

The art of storytelling, is so vital to humans,

maybe more than ever 

during a time of confinement.

I can't travel to gather new stories & world experiences,

but my mind & heart can.

The fairy tale Cinderella came to me recently 

via the Metropolitan Opera website.

Cendrillon de Jules Messenet, written in1899.

I sketched while watching it on my computer screen.

I was brought back to magical fairy tales, characters, costumes & settings

that sustained me in childhood. 

I am brand new to opera. 

What a wonderful way to begin a journey

into a new art form:

An opera for children as well as adults.

 

As a former teacher I loved exploring the Met's 

lesson plan for Cendrillon which led to note taking

in my daily journal

Studying the French language continues 

to be a sort of enchantment for me.

Voilà, this opera is in French!! Double, triple enchantment!!

''

 Magnificent costumes, music, dance, comedy, tragedy...

And, of course, "Happily ever after." 

"Heureux pour toujours".

Goodness & kindness triumph over evil.

Balm for a troubled world! 

The story theme of Cinderella is almost 2,000 years old!!

In my own library I found a version of Cendrillon, 

based on Charles Perrault's interpretation. 

I copied text from it as a French language exercise.

 This book is interpreted by Marlene Jobert,

 illustrated by Matthieu Blanchin

 I saw an interactive exhibit at the Musée de la Civilisation 

in Québec in 2012 called Il était une fois, Once upon a time...

Children donned costumes & played fairy tale characters.

I was struck by the similarities of my Cendrillon sketches 

to those from my visit to that exhibit.

To visit my blog post of 8 years ago, called 

Children's Museum Exhibits & Language Learning, 

which featured "Il était une fois," 

Click Here.

(Thank you Leslie for sharing your love and knowledge

of opera!)

The Easter Robin

Sketch on mix media Canson sketchbook, 11" X 14"

His Peeps have been keeping me company, 
right outside my windows.

Three, four Robins, sometimes more.

Since the heavy snow, 

they come close to the house. 

Hop hop, walk walk, peck peck. Stand. 

Hop hop, fly fly, walk walk. Stand.
Peck peck. Catch a worm. Walk walk,

Stand. 

Early this morning, 

he stood very still, staring at me.

"What??"

"Come on, sketch me! I'm posing!

It's a gift. Take it!

Sketch me in this little patch of light.
And, SW, I'm here to tell you,
you can find your own patch of light,
instead of that dark place you were in yesterday."

"I'm here for you.

I am The Easter Robin."

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?

Yellow Therapy

 I finished the final paste up on my yellow folio book.

The text is in French (I hope not incorrect French...) 

Le jaune. 

La couleur du bonheur, du soleil. 

Une couleur animée. Le jaune, lumineux, joyeux, positif.

Yellow, the color of happiness, of the sun.

A lively color. Bright, joyful, positive.

 

(The first draft, above, is in my Jan. 22 blog post, 

titled "What I've Been Up To".)

The accordion folio folds up neatly into a booklet.

From time to time I crave YELLOW.

Like a visual form of Vitamin C.

The yellow Dixon Ticonderoga pencils from the 50's

still make my heart skip a beat!

"...I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils

if I knew your name and address."

 ~You've Got Mail.

Autumn yellows against blue sky in a nearby state park.

Talk about lively!!

Muted yellows and ochres in Arles...

Love! Thank you, YELLOW!

Do you have a color that is uplifting or healing?

A Gift of Sunflowers

My neighbor dropped off a gift

of a big bunch of sunflowers.

They cheer me,

especially on these grey, rainy days

in a world that is struggling,

and while I am in most of the time.

It's been awhile since I've drawn on a larger scale,

(about 11 by 12 ").

I did this as an electronic thank you note 

for my neighbor. 

Thanks to YOU for visiting me here.

Please do leave a note.

My Grocery Store Map

Life has changed quickly. 

I am staying home with 2 exceptions:

Outdoor exercise and food shopping

For me, the grocery store poses a double hazard:

I am allergic to chemical sanitizers.  

I need to be out of there FAST.

Enter my aid: A Shopping MAP. It works well.

Do you have any new adaptations/aids during this time?

Be healthy and safe, friends...

Home-Time in My Small Town

Since retirement, my home-time is very pleasurable. 

I have "stations" around the house for:

Painting • Drawing • Zumba & Exercise

Special Projects • Writing • Reading.

I am grateful for a working kitchen.

This is one time where being an Introvert comes in handy.

My life is less disrupted than are many others' lives.

In my small town the changes don't seem drastic to me,

 even though we do run out of toilet paper. 

We are lucky that we can afford to be calm & accepting.

We walk outdoors, & passersby are pleasant.

We are still a town of Hello's & waving to strangers. 

Yesterday as I was walking the Harbor Walk,

 a woman on a bench called out to me:

"We can still do this!" & she did a thumbs up,

& I replied "Yes, we are lucky!" 

and raised my thumbs to her.

 Kathy at the blog Catching Happiness 

(click Here) 

has a post about "Staying Positive..."

She mentions "Stress Cleaning."

I've been enjoying "Stress Organizing," like

taking inventory of my colored pencils. 

At some point I will do a phone order/roadside pick up 

at Fiddleheads,

my local art shop, which is closed...

Temporarily.

 Oooh, order & labels for my fountain pen inks!

(the small ones are samples I get from Goulet Pens.)

 Writing in my journal remains a daily pleasure.

On this day I was listening to France Bleu radio

& decided to create a sort of dictation & to search words
in the dictionary (Reverso online).

I just started a new Rhodia daily journal.

A new Lamy "Turmaline" fountain pen arrived from Goulet 

just before things shut down. 

Goulet is a small business with heart, 

that is paying its employees during this time. 

Voilà. 

Nice to reinforce good feelings via online networks 

in a time of physical isolation. 

How are you occupying your time 

in your "confinement" and "sheltering."?

Sketching Small & Fast: Boston

Train trip to Boston. View from the window.

I've been longing to go for many months,

with my Midori Traveler's Notebook, 4 X 51/4 "

The Italian North End. 

Dense with cafe's, restaurants,

& pastry shops.

Bricco • Cafe Bella • Ristorante Fiore

Cafe Paradiso • Ristorante Quattro

Trattoria il Panino • Ristorante Saraceno

Lucca • Dolce Vita Ristorante

And 19th century churches. And Sunday church bells.

 A distant view as we walked 

from the North End to North Station.

 Museum of Science. The Butterfly Garden with 

a hall of terrariums outside their giant room

is alone worth the admisson.

I mean, have you ever seen insect eating plants,

or a Stick Insect (that looks just like a twig/branch!!)?

Science, nature, art, enchantment, magic

as colors sparkle and flutter through the air. 

Knowledgeable & eager student assistants

are like butterfly encyclopedias.

Better than Google~ the real thing!!

It's like we were in a giant tropical terrarium.

And you had to check yourself before exiting

to make sure a butterfly hadn't landed on you! 

Butterflies on a city view window

with the Charles River right out back. 

Exhilarating day, indoors & out!

Sketching made it more so!