Day 507 "Window Ledge" gouache

I have been experimenting with gouache, opaque watercolor.  It has an interesting matte texture, and I am learning to mix it as well as to pull it thinly over other layers.  This is a copy of an oil painting I did a number of years ago.  I like its backlit quality against the window.  
This is my five hundred seventh consecutive daily drawing.  Thank you for looking.  

Day 236 "Tree Patterns" mixed 12 x 9 - trying something new

I have been sitting on my porch with coffee in the mornings, looking at a group of trees in the corner of the yard.  In the morning, the sun comes in behind them, making beautiful sunlit patterns. 
Recently, I was looking through Moira Huntly's book "The Artist's Drawing Book" by David and Charles publishers 1994. (picture below).  She has a number of interesting techniques, including one I began to explore today.  
I laid down a watercolor wash to approximate the greens and values of the trees. Then I laid charcoal over the entire page, and wiped out the lights using a gum eraser.  I'm interested in the results, and will spend more time working in this piece.  The eraser can build hard and soft edges.  When I go back in, I will lay some yellow pastel to soften the edges of the black trees, and maybe use some ink for more definition.  Not sure.  I like the experiment. 
This is my two-hundred thirty-sixth daily drawing.  Thank you for looking. 

Day 235 "Weekly Fresh Flowers" 12 x 9 mixed

Every week, we arrive at church to bunches of fresh flowers, and are welcome to take any home.  The flowers come from the local Trader Joe's and a member of our congregation picks up the batches the store is replacing with new ones.  They are generally very fresh.  So, every week, we have some new fresh flowers at home, a treat.
This is my two hundred thirty-fifth daily drawing.  Again, thank you for your continued interest in my view of the world. 

Day 223 "Watching" ink, pencils, marker 9 x 12

We have had a lot going on at home during this past week.  I had a knee replacement, so spent a couple of nights away from home.  When I did come home, we moved ourselves downstairs; friends are visiting daily, lots of flowers are in the house, I'm using a walker, and we're here all day.  We are out of routine and the cats know it. I was arranging myself on the couch with the right collection of pillows, looked up and saw Fred, the Wonder Cat, hiding under some roses and watching all the goings on.  He'll figure it out.
This is my two hundred twenty-third daily drawing.  Thank you for looking at the world as I see it.

Day 158 "Escape the Heat" ink and pastel 6 x 5

Every summer I spend some time at the Marshfield Fair, volunteering for a friend of mine who runs part of this lovely agricultural fair. The fair is a smorgasbord of visual interest for me.  Here's a quick sketch of a family coming through the door from outside in the heat.  
This is my hundred fifty eighth daily drawing.  I so appreciate your interest.  Thank you.

"Nana's Christmas Table - Color" 6 x 9 mixed

We spent a lovely Christmas afternoon at my mother-in-law's home.  Here is my drawing of Nana's Christmas table with color added.  She has a Dickens Christmas village on the bay window sill, windows lit.  When our daughter was little, she and Nana would set the houses up, decide on the arrangement and the careful placement of all the characters. The sun pours in through Nana's curtains across the table.  It was a fun day, great food, thoughtful gifts.  Thank you for looking.  This is my 88th daily drawing, technically, my 85th reworked with marker, color, and colored pencil.   I like thinking about how to create the illusion of the backlit table.  Thank you for looking, and for your thoughtful comments.  

"Shakes & Cones" ink and warm gray 6 x 9 #Inktober

Each summer  I volunteer at the Marshfield Fair, and spend time there many evenings.  I love the pageantry, lights, hubbub, activity, and the charm.  I was drawn to the contrast in this image with the backlit figures, and the light emanating from within the ice cream truck onto the family. It's one of many vignettes throughout the fairgrounds.  
This is my 25th drawing for #Inktober.  Thank you for looking at my drawings.

"Table Top" ink and white crayon 5 x 3 #Inktober

Today my art project students began exploring value.  I gave them black paper and white crayons, and showed them how to look at a black and white image of a round object, observing the zones of light.  I showed them how to use a white crayon to reproduce the different values from 1 to 4 using various pressure with the crayon, leaving the black paper as the darkest. They produced some very interesting work and are beginning to see. 
I made a couple of sample works.  First I painted a rectangle of india ink, the use only the white crayon  to draw my subject. Below is a simple ball I drew to demonstrate the zones of light. 

This is my 19th entry into the #Inktober challenge.
As always, thank you so much for looking.  Leave a comment if you'd like.
 

"Wildflowers and Ironstone" 9 x 12 oil

I love objects with facets, ironstone, silver, glass.  They reflect their surroundings in a lovely way.  Here is one of my favorite ironstone cream pitchers back lit with wildflowers, and a tomato which casts a beautiful color on the white.

Added to my studio clearance sale today.

"Coffee Shop" watercolor & ink 8 x 9

The Black Duck is one of two coffee shops on Monhegan Island.  Both have their own personalities. Both are great places to hang out and draw, to meet a friend, or to accomplish my favorite Monhegan past time... just being present.  These two women were hanging out one morning.  
The September challenge for Girls Just Wanna Paint was "paint like a famous artist"... I've adapted that in my own head to "spend some time studying a famous artist and think about what you can learn".  I admire Charles Reid's work.  It looks so spontaneous, but is so intentional. Spontaneity and intentionality are not opposite ends of a spectrum, they are just tough to achieve simultaneously, for me.  I concentrated on backlit heads, and wet into wet, lost edges.  Long way to go, but I like this effort.  

Thanks for looking.

"Monhegan Museum, Before Hours" oil 12 x 9

Last night we had our monthly Girls Just Wanna Paint  meeting to discuss our marsh-themed paintings.  Our meeting was at one of the member's new homes.  As she gave us a tour, I saw this painting of mine on her bedroom wall.  I haven't seen it in over a decade, and it was a nice treat to remember the day and circumstances of its painting.  We have spent time on Monhegan Island, ME each summer for the last dozen years.  I painted "Monhegan Museum, Before Hours" on our first visit there, which was magical. I painted morning, noon, and evening every day, exploring the island, returning to our rented house for food, or a break, then heading out again.  The house we rent has a bookshelf on which my paintings and my artist friends' paintings would accumulate as they dried over the week. I paint a lot each time I visit, but have never been as prolific as on that first week. 

On this day, one of my first there, I hiked up to the lighthouse hill, tucked in by the art museum entrance and began painting the interesting roof lines, and light and shadow pattern.  I was all alone on the hill, lit by the sea and sun.  I remember thinking, "Wow, Monhegan is pretty remote and isolated, it's so uninhabited up here... ".  Turns out the museum opens at 11AM, and the hill was deserted because nothing was open.  In fact, it got quite busy just before 11 as the light was shifting.  You know when you are painting and so focused that something happening in your surroundings may not sink in right away?  That was me... "eventually realizing there were people, why the shift, what's different, oh, I'm blocking the door to something that must open now, oh, it's the art museum, what time is it anyway?" 

 So, I have visited Lighthouse Hill since, a number of times earlier in the morning to take advantage of the quiet and solitude, and the beautiful white buildings backlit by the rising morning sun.  

Seeing my painting in my friend's house brought all those memories flooding back.   I love Monhegan now as I loved it when I first set foot there, thanks for reminiscing with me.  

"Roses - Kitchen Window" watercolor and ink 6 x 4

On our recent wedding anniversary, our daughter presented me with a big bouquet of lovely roses. They are opening beautifully, with just the right amount of regal asymmetrical balance and elegance.  What a nice surprise, and a nice direction for our young adult to take!  
Here's a sketch of them in the kitchen window.  The roses are in a crystal lemonade pitcher that was one of my parents' wedding gifts... full circle.

Thanks for looking, as always.

I love your comments.

 

Sketching and Listening

I attended an interesting conference yesterday with a variety of speakers.  I took the chance to work in my sketchbook, adding some watercolor pencil to a few sketches, and drawing the conference attendees.  Sometimes I am a better listener when I am working with my hands and other parts of my brain at the same time.  

I have math students who like to doodle in class.  Maybe their brains work as mine does. I check in with them to make sure they are hearing instruction and retaining the content.  If so, they can doodle away.  If not, I work with them to help them discern when to doodle and when to shift focus back to the class. I remember sitting at rigid attention in classes as a child.  I wish doodling had been an option.    How about you?       

Sketchbook - Sunday Morning watercolor and ink 6 x 9

I arrived at church a little early last week, dropping my daughter off for choir practice.  Rather than heading home for an extra cup of coffee and some quiet, I took advantage of having the sketch book in the car, where I'm trying to keep it all the time, just in case.  This sweet brick building is next door to our church, used to be the Christian Science church, but is now under renovation as condos.  The nice thing is, the building is keeping its exterior, which has always fit the neighborhood.  The sun bounces off its roof in the morning.  Quiet time in the car with sketchbook!!!

Thanks for looking.