Morning Flowers and Tuesdays

I do enjoy doing these quick flowers in the morning after doing my morning journal.  Sitting on the patio listening to the birds and our gurgling fountain is a great way to start my day. Here are a few

 

 

As you can see, quick doesn't always mean good.  It really doesn't matter to me because these aren't going anywhere.  I was sending aome of my quick ones to my cousin but we lost her recently so these will stay here unless I figure out something else to do with them.

The Tuesday Painters are still painting and this summer the group decided to do some churches.  This is the one we did this week.  It's always fun to see how each painting is.  Maybe next week I can take a photo of all of them so you can see how different we all are.

That's it for now.  I have clutter and paintings in process to deal with.

 

 

How Many Times Have I Written this

My nature is to flit from one thing to another.  Dabble is what I seem to do best, I'm a head in the clouds kind of gal.  It's fun but not very fulfilling.  Focus is better and so here I am again -- focusing on CLEARING THE CLUTTER which is my excuse for not posting here for awhile. Full circle one more time.

I am still doing pebbles and some morning warmups...

 ...but I need to make space to do more of the experimental works that are such fun. And this time truly focus on clearing, not just finding another corner to pile things in but getting rid of stuff.  I recently gave a good size box of art supplies to Momentum Center here in Grand Haven. The Center has programs for teens, a social and recreational program for individuals focusing on positive relationships, mental health, success in school, and overall well-being; and for adults with mental illness, disabilities, or addictions. It's a good organization and it will use the supplies I donated.

I'm working on a second batch of stuff -- equipment and supplies I haven't used in several years but are still in good condition, some still with the original packaging open but still holding the equipment that maybe got used once. Progress is being made. I have a clear work surface so got out something I started quite awhile ago. Time to get serious about finishing it.

And I have these handmade journals/sketchbooks to finish -- I have way more of these than I will ever use since I'm also a sucker for buying readymade sketchbooks for Urban Sketching and other plein air sketching that I do. I may have to start giving some of these away.

A bonus -- yesterday I took a break to meet some Hamilton/Noble/Percy cousins.  A very long lunch and lots of learning since we are 2nd cousins and 2nds once removed that have  never met before. Geneology is fun.  I'm more interested in the stories but the connections are also interesting. And I learned there is another artist in the family.  It was an enjoyable afternoon.

That's it for now.  Once all this clutter is gone I'll post but that may not happen fast, I want to focus on getting it permanently clear so I can come in and work.

Finding the Spark

 

Creativity often consists of merely turning up what is already there

We’ve all heard that inside each of us, is our own unique creative spark. I believe it – sometimes.  The trick is giving ourselves the time to explore it. Exploring is something I hadn’t been doing.  I get so caught up in thinking about what I should do that I forget to take time for exploring – just explore with no thought about making a good piece of art -- and not worrying about the clutter in my studio.

So I've just been playing with whatever I felt the urge to do and am having fun in the studio again.  Haven't produced much that's good but some not so bad and I'm paying attention to what is fun for me.

I do enjoy finding the stones in my meditative pebbles series. I also enjoy the morning warmups.  Both are watercolor.  This is the most recent warmup.

And I've been playing with making sketchbooks from old papers, some that were watercolors or collage that were either going in the trash or becoming a sketchbook/art journal.

I've been playing with art journaling for a long time but never really liked anything I did.  I know, that's the point.  It's supposed to help you find your way.  All it showed me was that my way was a mess.  Well we already knew I was messy.  Didn't need an art journal to tell me that. 

One night while I had a couple of these new collage sketchbooks on the table while I was watching the news and I started playing in one of them -- a couple flowers.  You can see one on the cover of one in the top photo. I know I like flowers so may explore them more in different media.

That was fun so last night I took the a different one into the den while we watched a movie.  For whatever reason I have no clue -- I played with part of a face. I do remember a grunge journal I worked in a few years back where I drew faces.  

I may have to play with that idea a bit more but for now I'll continue to just play with whatever moves me at the moment.  I think my muse is back and pushing me to just play.

Searching For My Muse

 "Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working"

Picasso

Maybe that's why my muse took a vacation!  I think she may be coming back.  At least I hope so. 

This week my Tuesday Painters group went to Spring Lake Library to see the remodel.  African Violets in most of the windows got my attention -- reminded me of my grandmother and these I painted are more the color of the ones she grew that the library's actually are.

I also tried something different with my pebble pieces.  Most of them have been on quarter sheets of watercolor paper or on 9x12" sheets.  I need some small pieces for the upcoming Art Tribe show so I decided to try 6x6" pieces.  I've done 3 and so far I'm thinking it will work -- need to keep at it.  

And this morning I decided maybe I should try something a bit different before I tackle the next stone piece.  This is the result. It was fun and I like the result but not enough to frame it.  It's a good warm-up.

I'm hopeful -- I will get back to a regular schedule of painting and posting.

The Promise of Potential

 

Yesterday’s reality – snow!  So I started the potential -- a still life with tulips started in my sketchbook.

This one is an experiment – how can I make the vase look like Uncle John’s crystalline vase.  I’ve seen other crystalline vases recently and the potter has said it’s their discovery.  This one I inherited from my grandmother; she died in 1958.  The one she got was an experiment.  He did perfect his glaze and his formula is at the DIA.

I’ve tried still lifes a few times but never really worked at it.  Time to try; awhile back my spouse decided we needed to get rid of things so our son didn’t have to go through everything.  To me everything is a memory of my life before Ed and our life since.  I had decided to start sketching the things with the thought that I would put them in paintings. The vase was one.   Our son has since told us he didn’t want us to get rid of anything – hooray!  But the still life idea is still percolating.

Another quick sketch today is a potential.  This time I was trying colors thinking of something else to put in a still life with the vase in an actual painting.  And another piece by Uncle John, his sugar bowl. Another from my grandmother and this represents the first time I knew I had an Uncle John.

 

I often stayed a few days with my grandmother and after she closed her shop she would take me to a movie downtown Detroit.  One such evening after the movie we were walking to the streetcar stop and she stopped to look at some pottery in a gallery window.  The gallery owner came out and began to explain to her that the pottery was by John Foster and it is going to be featured at the Worlds Fair in Brussels.  She said she knew, “he’s my brother-in-law.”  That’s the first time I knew that I had an uncle that was an artist. I don’t recall how old I was, not very. I was over the moon to think there was a real artist in the family.

Back to my week, the rest of it – a few more sketches.  I decided my 100 days didn’t need to be consistent, I’m not going to worry about losing a day or doing more than one in a day to make it up which I did this week. Here are a few more that I did get done.

 

I'm happy with some of them but not beating myself about what I don't like, it's all learning.

 

Changing Direction

 I'm still doing the #the100dayproject but I've changed it up a bit.  Since this was to be a learning experience, experimenting with different media and techniques I decided to work in a sketchbook instead of doing a painting every day.  The painting a day meant a lot of good paper wasted.  

It's spring and my daffodils will soon be blossoming so I decided to try some different views working from a photograph.  These are not intended to be a design, just trying out different views of the flower and also thinking of ways to put them together in a design which will also first be tried in the sketchbook.  I don't think the full on view will make the cut but the others have promise.  We shall see when I finish them.

A few others were done before I decided on the sketchbook.  

 

The sketchbook I'm working in is one I made using all watercolor paper for the pages so it works for this project.  It's not the best paper but that simply tells me that if it's decent on this paper it will be better on good watercolor paper.

Already on Day 16 of #thehundreddayproject.

And I’ve been good about doing a small painting every day but --- I’m feeling like I need to change things up a bit.  The small paintings have been more like sketches and they are great fun to do so I’ll be doing more of them.  Here are a couple of them --

 

I’ve also done a couple non-representational pieces – collage and painted --

 

 And yesterday while working on one of the Art Tribe collaborative pieces I played a bit with paper and fabric which lead me to my stash of fabric scraps and today I think I’ll do a stitched collage. I know I want to do more of the florals.  Some turned out well, some not so good.  Practice –

 

But there are other things I want to do as well.  Last week I saw a video Roben-Marie Smith did making a small journal using an old book.  She used the cover, cut it up into three small journals.  I’m a collector of old stuff – I have old books and as I moved from my laptop into the studio there on a shelf was an old book cover ready to do something with.  I did –

I didn’t consider this part of my 100 Day Project but I have a drawer full of similar journals that I’ve made to be used as Art Journals that never got used as such. I'm not a bookmaker but I enjoy making books.  This is one that's been in the drawer for a couple years. 

 

I think I'm going to add Art Journaling to my project.  And stitching.  For a long time I've done a quick graphite sketch every morning, something that took 5 minutes or less. For this project I want to do something everyday, something that takes a little more time and effort that gets my creative juices flowing.  So my theme has changed -- but not too much.