Still life lesson

I managed to draw a little bit during class today. I like it when that happens. The para also made a great drawing.

Florida

I painted this while sitting in my father-in-law's backyard back in March. Finally we are having some similar weather here in Minnesota. I hope to have some container gardens around here soon.

Greeting cards

   

St. Ben's New Life and Old Moss

Island Lake Park Bridge

Side Lake Dock

Island Lake Fishers

Perfect Day

Locke Park Leaves

Orange Pansies

Shoreview Fisherman

Side Lake Beach

http://www.friendsofislandlake.org/

Here are the pictures I am currently using for greeting cards.  Contact me if you want to order.  They are $4 each or 3 for $10.  Shipping is $2 for orders under $20.  All orders placed before May 18 will be considered part of the "Friends of Island Lake: Plant and Garden Art Sale".
Use the link above for more information.

Comments on this blog are seen only by me until I publish them.  If you want to use the comment feature to give me your contact information that will work.  Of course I will not publish your contact information.  If I ever decide to make this more than a hobby I will get more professional about the ordering process.  For now I am just trying to help out this environmental cause.  They help to protect one of my favorite close-to-home painting spots.

Pine Springs Journey #1

There was no time in my day today to paint, so I am posting a watercolor I made last year but never posted (I think). This one will be in the Friends of Island Lake sale which is two weeks from today.

Pine Springs is where I lived when I was 4-6 years old. Now there is a bike path where the railroad tracks used to be. A common thing in Minnesota. The area looks nothing like I remember. There are lots of new huge houses and new roads. Of course there is change. There is always change.

We now have a new countertop in the kitchen. I am thrilled with that change. I spent the first half of today working at school. An example of a habit that needs to change. At least I now have a clean desk and some materials prepared for the coming week of classes.

And now I bring this post to a close and wonder...sleep?....or paint?...or?...

Next Show

Tonight I am assembling greeting cards using prints of my paintings. I plan to sell them at the Art and Garden Sale fundraiser for the "Friends of Island Lake". They are an organization that protects the environmental health of Island Lake in Shoreview, Minnesota.

I worked in a factory when I was in college. I find that many of my tasks in both my job and my hobbies seem to draw on skills I picked up working in that factory. Small changes in how the parts are arranged, or a change in the order of the steps can make a big difference in how long it takes overall. You have to pay attention to your brain when it starts to get bored or you will make silly mistakes. Sometimes my mind starts to wander and I start to make metaphorical connections between my task and some other aspect of my life, but I do not think I will go into that here.

Day 5?

Oops, life got in the way of art again. Today was one of the first nice warm days. Everything is still gray and dead-looking. When I finally sat down to paint it was raining, so I worked from a photograph taken last fall. Leaf shapes are so interesting to me.

This Tuesday is the District Art Show for the school district where I teach. After that I am hoping things will settle down.

Day 4

3 days off. But when you fall off the horse you have to get back on, don't you.
Pulling out the paints at the kitchen table at the end of the day seems to be the winning strategy. It is a pleasant way to wind down. I started making a generic landscape. While I waited for the sky to dry, I started painting some random shapes on another paper and this is how it turned out. I seem to put the main thing right smack dab in the middle lately. I wonder what that is about. Maybe the other landscape will be tomorrow's painting to finish.