Hometown

Before the Fire, watercolor, 4.5x6.5, 2011

study, watercolor, 4.5x6.5, 2011

study, watercolor, 4.5x6.5, 2011

A major portion of my hometown burned earlier this year.  I had not been there for a long time, but it still affected me to know it was gone.  I can't imagine the loss that must be felt by the people whose daily lives are forever changed.

On a lighter note, I attended my high school reunion yesterday and had a fabulous time.  Hayride, bonfire, good food and friends.

Time to tackle the clutter

Just a little watercolor sketch.  I have not been painting much so far this summer because I decided that organization is a higher priority.  Instead of escaping the clutter by going outside to paint, I am tackling the clutter.  At least for a little while.  I need to clear out unnecessary stuff from my studio area as well as the rest of the house.  I'm just tired of looking at piles.  I used to just blame my husband, but recently I have removed the log from my eye and saw that some of the clutter is mine and I can do something about that.

So my posts will probably be just sketches for awhile.

Yesterday I threw away 5-10 pairs of old shoes, and donated 2 pairs.

Today I made up a  box of art supplies to give away.  I put all my gouache in there.  I never use gouache. 

Summer is almost here

Rebecca's Purple Feet, pastel, 9x12, 2006

There is something about climbing on rocks that I just love.  Climbing on rocks in water is even better.  With this picture, I was thinking about the process of looking for a foothold, a stable place to stand.  Sometimes you have to take a step at an awkward angle.  The intense blue and purple is there just because I liked it.

wild grasses, acrylic, 18x24, 2009

Small stream tiers, watercolor, 9x12, 2007

The show went really well, better than expected.  It was a steady stream of people and some of them even bought something, so I am very happy about the whole thing.  It is fun to talk about art and so nice that people seemed to want to hear me talk about my art.

Now it is two weeks before the end of the school year.  I look forward to setting myself down in front of a stream and watch how the water passes over and around the rocks.

I think there is a deadline today at school for some paperwork of some kind.  I'd better get over there.

Shady Green Space, acrylic, 2007?, 14x22

Nevis Pine Trees, watercolor, 2008, 9x12

Today is the show.  Tomorrow too.  Let me know if you need the details.  These are two paintings that have lived at Dee's house for the last two years since the last show.  I had forgotten about them!  I like the sense of form and the yellow/blue.  That one branch really did curve like that.  I thought of changing it, but decided it added an interesting ambiguity.  And some visual contrast.

I went to a staff development event at the Walker Art Center on Friday last week.  They taught us about the new elements and principles of art.  Time, Appropriation, stuff like that.  It left me wondering what to do with that information.  Is my art irrelevant?  They said that the old elements and principles of contrast, balance, emphasis, etc. are still important and these are just additions.  So that made me feel a little better, but still.  I have to ponder this a bit longer.

Wordless and Done, acrylic, 20x30, 2007?

One of the Wm. OBrien sketches, pastel, 9x12, 2006?

Big Fish?, acrylic, 36x36, 2009

The show is hung.  Now I am trying to get organized with things like labels, receipts, and I am putting more unframed pieces in plastic sleeves.  Here is some free advertising for clearbags.com.  Great place to get clear plastic coverings of all sorts.  That saved me SO much time.

I'm trying to create a catolog of my work.  I have started this project many times and change my mind about the specifics often enough that it never gets done.  These three pieces are connected in my way of thinking about my work, but I do not think they are connected in the way a catalog would organize my work.  The first one is about the feeling of exasperation at trying to explain something that no one understands, or finish something that will never be truly finished.  The second one is about barriers and how life keeps moving forward.  The third one was my get-out-my-frustrations painting for a long time.  Eventually it started to look like rocks in a river.  As I worked with it, it started to look like fish.  Is that one shape a fish or a rock?  You tell me.

Happy Accidents

Long Lake Solitude 2, watercolor, 9x12, 2010

Branson, watercolor, 9x12, 2010

I like to see what different types of marks remind me of.  I also like to use those watercolor accidents and let them become the focal point.