4 months of my life

I am out of shape regarding painting. Just like exercise, it has to be a regular thing or your skills decline. For the past year, painting has taken a back burner to other things in my life. I'm still not sure how much of my energy I want to devote to painting. It shows. I'm not being down on myself, I'm trying to look at my work objectively. I'm going to paint more today and see how it goes. I plan to focus on being present in the moment and enjoy the process.

I was part of an outdoor painting event in Duluth yesterday. This is the result of struggling to paint in the rain for 90 minutes. I started next to a bleeding heart plant using a Pitt artist's pen. I tilted the back of the watercolor block to the sky to keep the drops from falling on it. After that the rain was still going strong, so I bailed from my spot in the garden and started again under the pedestrian ramp where the dandelions grow. This picture is a result of that whole experience.

Spring Break

Willow River State Park in Wisconsin is one of my favorite places. It is still early spring, so there was a bit of ice yet. Melting waterfalls are fascinating.  The trail to get to the falls was so steep and icy I decided to cross-country it.  I may have caused some erosion, but I got there in one piece.  I do not think this painting is a keeper. It is the first plein-aire of the season.

This sketch is at Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis. Some co-workers and I might also go there at some point soon, but when my daughter suggested that she and I go there for something to do on one of our days off, of course I agreed. 

I am not sure yet of my opinion on this one.  It is the upper falls at Minneopa State Park in Minnesota.  I struggle with watercolor technical skills.  I need more practice, or perhaps it is time to take a class.  It was fun to sit there and paint. When it started to feel like work, I stopped and went for a hike.  At a smaller bridge in the valley, I spent quite a long time watching the chunks of ice break free and float downstream.  I feel at home in the woods. My energy is renewed when I am there. Now I am at home again (at my legal residence) and I feel refreshed. Time to tackle my to-do list.

6 months of my life

For the last 6 months I have turned to knitting instead of painting when I needed to create. It does allow me to get into a zone that is meditative sometimes. It is different from the type of meditation I experience when painting. Painting is mental exercise, like a puzzle. Knitting is a rhythm.  In painting I am figuring out not only the solution, but also the question.

The background on this one is from a day outside in a canyon near Wisconsin Dells. I went there in September, so I guess I have painted at least once in the last 6 months.  I was unable to finish it at that time. On Sunday, I decided I wanted to paint a picture of knitting and it's relation to my painting habit, this unfinished picture of rocks and water seemed a fitting choice.

Deja Vu

This is a spot I have painted many times.  It is very special to me. Someday I will create a picture of it that feels complete. Today is not that day.

Another!

I started this the last time I was in Bemidji.  It is my step mother's petunias.  Their porch is a lovely place to sit in the morning.

Upside Down

In my continued effort to build my skills I decided it was time to do the drawing upside down thing.  I kept it upside down as I painted so I could see the shadow shapes more clearly.  Rebecca helped me to figure out that I made the nose too long and over emphasized the smile lines.  There is an eraser smudge next to one of the eyes.  I decided to just ignore it, but that is where my eye goes every time I look at it.  This is number four in the five self portrait series.  Not sure yet what the final one will be.  And then I will be looking for another assignment for myself.  

New knits

Ugh, had to make a new post to send that picture of me brushing my teeth into the past.  I still want to complete the series of five self portraits, but not ready to post on that just yet.

I have been distracted by knitting lately.

The lower picture is the spine of my journal.  It fell apart, exposing the string loops.  The end loops fell out.  I knit just a few rows to keep it from falling apart more.  That should do the trick.

I started the brown and aqua bag in the car on the way home from my sister-in-law's cabin.  The brown part was already done.  It was going to be a scarf, but I ran out of yarn before it was long enough.  The idea of making it into a bag percolated in my brain for months.  I enjoyed figuring out how to make it work.  The three aqua sections are all from one ball of yarn.  It was important to me that it be one unbroken string. As the ball of yarn got small and I was almost done I was excited that it was going to be just big enough to finish.  Then, a knot in the yarn appeared.  The ball was not made from one unbroken string.  Sigh.  It happened again one or two more times before it ran out.  Now I am in the process of casting off and the string is at its end with about 10 stitches to go.  It is an opportunity, right?  I think I will add some crazy detail to that upper corner.  Like one of those knitted flowers maybe.  Will I ever actually use this bag? Don't know yet.  Right now that does not matter.