Tree Pen Drawings

Lately I can't seem to make time to paint.

These are some pen drawings I made when I was in New Mexico.

When I was there, we each did our own projects in the morning and then after lunch we went out to do something together. It was a nice routine. Too bad I have to go back to work later this week. Since I got back I've been doing things like going to the dentist and cleaning and running errands. A little work in the garden. More time in the garden would be good for me. I need a routine that I can maintain and feels good. I waste a lot of time thinking I need a break. When it gets to be the end of the day I feel terrible that I wasted the gift of time. Next day, same thing. Many people have told me they experience similar frustrations with themselves.

I listened to a talk on the radio yesterday from the Aspen Idea Festival. It was about happiness. Most people think that many choices and less work will make us happy. These days we have many choices for little effort but we are not happy because we have many choices for little effort. We often feel loss over the choice we decided not to take. I forget the guy's name, but what he said made an impression on me.

I just spent half an hour on a post I was intending to just do quick. Guess I'm not going to paint or exercize this morning, either. Time to get ready for today's appointments.

Visiting Mom

My mother lives in New Mexico, Although she grew up in Minnesota. She dislikes the cold of winter and the humidity of summer. I think it is a lovely place to visit. 

Front Yard Tree with Lizard

Front Yard Tree in Sunlight

Watermelon A

Watermelon B

Front Yard Tree Side Branch A

Front Yard Tree Side Branch B

These are all post card size (4.5x6 in.).

They are listed in the order in which I painted them.

About the watermelons, she has about 5 garden boxes, each one about three feet square. The water for those boxes is her splurge. Water is expensive there, of course. I chose to paint the watermelon because it is a simple form and I am trying to develop an ability to represent form more convincingly. 

About water, her area made national news while I was there because of the contamination of the Animas river by the EPA at the mine in Silverton. The river was orange for a couple days. The water utility people said that they shut the intake from the river and will use stored water as long as they can. Luckily it rained twice while I was there so she did not have to water as often.

Back to painting. I made two at a time, working on one while the other one dries, going back and forth. I liked that process. One of each pair has a pencil drawing as a starting point and the other does not. In each pair, I like the one without the pencil drawing better, but the pencil drawing was necessary to get to the ability to do it without the preliminary drawing.

I'm still not happy with my watercolor skill level. Little glimpses of what I want to see in my work show up from time to time, egging me on. I also made some pen drawings while I was there. It felt like a relief to allow myself a break from the watercolor struggle. I'll put those in the next post.

Another!

I looked back through old posts to see if this one is already posted, it is not. Many are of the same spot in Jay Cooke State Park. Today I was going through piles of stuff that has accumulated in my house and I came across this. It was painted earlier this year. I really like that it is only two colors, and it is not overworked. At least I do not think it is overworked, others may disagree.

As I decided how to use my gift of time today, these questions showed up in my head:

"Are you a runner, or are you not?"

"Are you a painter, or are you not?"

Repeat and insert "mother", "friend", and "person who wants a clean house".

This was telling me about how to spend my time. But choosing one to put my attention on means I am neglecting all the rest. It is the same old, same old story. So that was my day. I ran, cleaned house, and now I will do an errand for someone I care about. Time's up.