Day 57 of 100

Most of the summer I have been home a week and gone a week. Internet access has been limited, time outside by myself was limited, but that is no one's fault but my own. When I did have time I chose to do things like garden, clean the house, surf the internet, do puzzles, read, walk. I have enjoyed the walking and the gardening. When I travel, I take a plastic ziplock bag with a 5x7 hot press watercolor block, my water brush, a black Pitt brush pen, an ultra fine black sharpie, a pencil, eraser, and some Tombow double ended markers. 

Today is Friday. Wednesday afternoon I got a call from my principal telling me that my classroom is needed for a new section of first grade. I will be sharing the other art room with the other art teacher. It is a room too small for one art class, although she has done a great job of making it work the past few years. He thought we could work out a schedule of alternating teaching from a cart and teaching in the art room. I told him I will primarily teach from the cart. I think that will be easier than going back and forth. 

So now I am grieving the loss of a space that took a lot of my time and effort. It was not a surprise but still hurts. 

This is probably just the kick in the pants I need to get away from spending too much time at school. I hope so.

Day 56 of 100

I went on a family trip to Colorado. Beautiful scenery everywhere. I only made one unfinished picture. The focus of that trip was spending time with family. Lots of hiking too. 

This is a picture from the trip to the boundary waters of Minnesota. I treated myself to a masking fluid pen and worked from a photograph. I am back to being unsure of what I want to create.

Earlier today I watched a video of Michael Bell, an art teacher, talking about how to help students find their voice. He said, "Make a line from your life to your art that is straight and clear" Good advice, I think.

Day 55 of 100

These are pen drawings. I painted the island picture with water. I went on a canoe trip to the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota July 12-16. It was so clean and quiet and beautiful. We had to carry everything on the portages from one lake to the next so I only brought 4x6 hot press watercolor paper, brush pens, and my brush that holds water in the handle. My little art kit was about the size of a paperback book. I would love to go back there and stay longer.

Day 54 of 100

This is the second painting from Wednesday morning. It was almost time to go. I wanted to see what would happen if I painted almost the same thing again very fast.

This was the first painting of that day. I was with the Plein Air group from Northstar Watermedia Society. We were in Indian Mounds Park across the river from downtown St. Paul. I decided to focus on the milkweed plant and the high bridge. When I was a toddler I lived over on that bluff. I do not remember that time of my life. When I was first married, my husband worked in one of the buildings near the river. I do remember that. I left out most of the buildings. Some of the other artists were complaining about how complicated the scene was. That frame of mind is foreign to me. You are the artist, you decide what to leave in, what to leave out. Maybe they were just making conversation, or were just not inspired by the location and that is ok.

Day 53 of 100

This one is done.

I entered it in the State Fair Fine Arts Competition. 

Ugh. My internal dialog is not being nice to me. I am feeling like it is laughable. Best to just move on.

Day 52 of 100

Yesterday I went outside to paint. I used the brush pens and my brush with water in the handle. This will be my supplies when I go to the Boundary Waters next week. 

Day 51 of 100

Painting should be fun and this was. I looked at the photo when drawing the pencil lines, but not when painting. Guess I changed some of the lines while painting. The plain yellow negative shape I left that way because I liked it. This is a photo I took at a State Park. It is our state flower. It grows in bogs. I wonder why it was chosen to be a state flower? Beauty arising from the muck?