Just Sketching

Another image from the weekend drawing event over on wetcanvas.  This one was yesterday.

And to finish out the month, a suet feeder at Hemlock Crossing this morning

And looking out the window at my dentist's office.... an interesting tree.

I;ve missed a couple days but plan to keep on with the dailies for one more month.  One month at a time.

I Live In The Happiest Seaside Town In The Country!

Wow, that is exciting.... Coastal Living magazine named us #1,  Since I love this place that I call home, I'm delighted.

But about my Dailies.... I missed a few days.  This past week was a busy one with way too many things outside the studio going on that I had to attend to.  Finally did get back to it last night and this is the result.  It's based on one of the images over at the wetcanvas weekend drawing event.  I did move things around a tad but it's close.

I may get to another one this afternoon, at least that is my plan.

A Quick Daily and More Squirrels

This is a quick daily done as a warm up for my day with the Tuesday Painters.  We went back to Hemlock Crossing to watch the squirrels feeding again.  I think we may go back there next week too, those squirrels are fun to watch.

I also got back to work on some experimental pieces I've been playing with.  These two still need to be resolved.

I'm working at the Gallery Uptown the next couple of days so it will probably be quick sketches until the weekend.

A Bit Of Stitching

No drawing yesterday, instead I stitched.  I put some scraps together for the winter blanket I have been working on for a very long time; it seems to get put on the back burner often.  The scrap that says "create" is from a demonstration I did for my creativity class.  The partial circles on the right are from a stencil; I drew in the ones lower left and plan to embroider them.

The other piece I worked on is from a flea market find.  This was the back of something, perhaps a jacket, maybe a vest.  I don't know, I only got the back.  I've had it for a couple years and kept wondering what I would do with it.

Finally, a light dawned.  Another bag.  Like I really need another bag but I do enjoy making them.  The stitching on this is questionable.  I'm not sure it would hold up as a bag but I didn't want to take away from the look so I'm stitching so it doesn't show unless one looks very close.  I didn't take a photo close so you can't really see that.  Maybe when I'm done, I have a lot still to be done.

Today is Tuesday, Tuesday Painters are going back to Hemlock Crossing so it will be a painting day.

A Chef & A Hat

This is another one from the weekend drawing event over at wetcanvas and my Day 22 piece.  The photo was a statue of a chef holding a menu board.  There was a challenge over there this weekend, combine two images.  If you remember, the other image I did was a rooster soooo... this is how I combined two images.  Cheating, just a bit but the weekend was about over anyway.

One more quick sketch while watching Victoria.  I loved her prime minister's hat....

Today I'm stitching.  I will get a drawing or painting done before the day is done but for now... it's stitching.

Day 21 Done....

I did him last night.  It was an image from the wetcanvas weekend drawing event.  He's a mixed media piece done in my new sketchbook.  It doesn't take water very well but if I don't do too much it seems to be okay.  I used to do these events every weekend but got away from it for awhile. It's good to be back at it and there was another image that looked like fun and a challenge, may do that one today.

Thoughts & My Daily

While I watched the inauguration my thoughts were on how wonderful it is that we can do this, that our country can do this, peacefully; transfer power from one president to the next.  No matter which side you are on, today is special.  You can go back to disagreeing tomorrow, and we will.

As I watched I sketched my bag of embroidery floss that was sitting on the table.  That's my drawing/painting for today.

A Small Collection & Why It's Special

I have a small collection of brown pottery on our mantel.  The tallest piece is from my husband's family, the other two are the special ones, to me anyway.  They are "Uncle John" pots.  I own three of them, these two are from his dinner ware set "Fiestaware."  If you google John Foster, potter you'll find a book about Uncle John, The Pottery of John Foster: Form and Meaning.  You'll also find a current John Foster .... no relation.  .

Uncle John was my mother's uncle, my great uncle.  He was a potter with only one arm and a stump and he made beautiful, fragile porcelain vases and bowls.  He lost an arm in an industrial accident. The book says there are no drawings left that were done before he lost his arm. The book is wrong but I'm not going to tell the publisher.  I have one, a pen and ink that he did of Mother's Scottie.

I remember the first I learned about Uncle John.  I was downtown Detroit with my grandmother.  It was evening and we were walking to or from the bus, I don't remember why we were there but she stopped in front off a gallery window.  There was a row of pottery in the window that she was looking at.   It must have been after shopping because a gentleman came up to her and began chatting with her.  I suspect he was the owner of the gallery or at least worked there.  He was telling her about the pottery that had just won something at some big exhibit.   I was too young to remember those details but not too young to remember my grandmother's response. "Yes, I know, he's my brother-in-law."

"WOW, I'm related to a real artist", was the first thing that went through my young mind.  I was impressed, even more so when I eventually met Uncle John and Aunt Edith.  Aunt Edith was also an artist, a jeweler, and the two of them lived in the back of their studio.  As a teenager I loved to take my grandmother to visit them.

As a youngster my "what I want to be when I grow up" went through changes.  I suppose all children  do but I'm betting there weren't a lot of young girls who dreamt of being a race boat driver. That one lasted quite a long time.  If you Google Don Wilson, raceboat driver you'll learn why I decided that may not be a good option.  Florence Chadwick seemed a better choice.  The third was artist but I didn't think that was attainable.  I knew I could drive a boat -- fast, I know I could swim a long distance.  I didn't know I could be an artist.

But it turns out the third option was the right one.

Today, An Experiment & Perhaps A Valentine

My first coat of paint was a variety of reds and oranges.  You can't see them but they are there.  I let them dry and then a coat of white paint covered all of the red.  I let that dry.  Next I got out a single edge razor blade, an exacto knife and some rubbing alcohol.  I watched a Jane Davies video where she did this and decided to give it a try.  I squirted the piece with the alcohol, scratched with my exacto knife and scraped with my single edge blade.  Fun and I think it can work for a Valentines Day card.

In The Woods With Squirrels

Tuesday Painters painted at Hemlock Crossing today.  I started out trying to catch the posture of the many squirrels that were feeding by the little pond.  Once I had a few of them roughly sketched I decided to put them in their surroundings.  Not exact but close enough to suit me.  It was fun watching them scamper around.

Another Drawing

Day 16 is the ram on my husband's new favorite coffee mug.  Our former daughter-in-law gave it to him, a gift from her trip to Sweden this summer.  She didn't realize that the Ram is the symbol of his birthsign, it just happens to also be the logo of the area her family is from in Sweden.

Day 14 and a new drawing

I'm showing these backwards, day 15 is first.  This is what I did yesterday for the Weekend Drawing Event over at wetcanvas.com.  I need to do more drawing, used to do it every day but somehow got out of the habit and it shows.  So, some of my dailies this month may be drawings.

Day 14 is pretty dark and definatly not finished but I stopped.  Not sure where it's going but I was having fun playing with textures.

Still Playing

This is what I was playing with today; lots of texture.  Just trying different things to see what happens.  I'm setting it aside, may do something to resolve it later but for now, it's done.

Today a start

I'm calling this done for now.  It isn't but it is what I did today.  I have no idea where it's going but that's the way it is at times.  I missed a couple days so even though it isn't done I decided to post it and move on to something new tomorrow.

Tuesday Painters

On Tuesday's I paint with a group of friends.  We paint in the morning then go to lunch and have a quick critique. No, we did not paint outside in the cold and wet, we look out windows in this kind of weather.

This morning I was looking out the window of our church library.  I can see a couple little things I may change but overall, I'm please with this little watercolor, a 4x6 postcard.

This Time An Abstract Snowman

Day 8 of my dailies... Another snowman.  He was more fun than the other guy.

Another Daily

As I am looking at this on my computer screen I can see even more things I don't like but I also see some things I like about it.

It's been a long time since I've done any paintings, even longer since I've done one of my pours.  I know masking fluid has a shelf life but figured I would give it a try for the snow on the trees anyway.  It did mask but getting it off was another story.  It took forever and there wasn't much on there.  Oh well, we learn. Oh well, on to day 8.

Yesterday's Finish

It's done... or as done as it's going to get.  This is day 5 finished last night... a day behind but done.  I learned some things that I can do with collage and acrylics and that is why I'm doing this so I'm happy with it.

Now I'm working on Day 6 and just may get to Day 7 as well so I can catch up... maybe.  They're watercolor which is something I know a little more about.  Experimenting there too but I have a better idea what will happen with that medium.

A Stretched Out Daily

This is two days worth and I'm still not finished with yesterday's daily.  Oh well, I have worked on it every day.  This is the start, sort of.  It looked a lot like this but without the piece in the middle.  I'm working in a handmade journal and that piece is holding it together.

I started adding paint and collage material, no design in mind just looking for texture.

Once all of that was dry I added another layer of paint, still no thought to design, just getting some layers down.

Today I added one more layer.  It isn't done but I love the layers and the texture.  I'm going to move on to something else for tomorrow's daily.  I need to let this sit awhile before I do anything else to it.

It's difficult to see because it's a light cream color that I added.

Today's Daily, Just Playing

This was a start that has been sitting on a shelf in my studio for a very long time.  Today instead of starting something new I decided to start the day by finishing this one.  I was better able to focus today as we got good news about my brother... the surgery was a success!

I'm pleased with it, finding I really do enjoy just playing around with paint to see what happens.  This one is titled Just Playing #2

Day 3 of the Dailies

Tuesday is my day to paint with friends... The Tuesday Painters.  Weather permitting we paint outdoors; however, we're fair weather painters and when it's cold and wet we are indoors.

We were at Beth's today and she has a collection of tea pots.  This one is from Ireland.  My mind was more on the surgery my brother was going through on the other side of the state.  Good news later in the day, the surgery went well.  I'm hoping that means they got all the cancer but probably won't know for certain until test results come back.  

Just Playing

Today's daily isn't a painting, it's just mixed media play.  I have some JOS papers from China and I wanted to see how they hold up for collage.  I learned that one can't use tape as a mask, it lifts the color and the gold from the paper.  I learned a bit about glue and what will hold and what won't too.  I can see much that is good and much that is not good in this but it was play, no design intended. so I'm happy. I learned something and that's always a good thing.

New Year, New Beginnings

Time to play and that is just what this is, playing, doing some experimenting.  I need to know what acrylics will do, I need to play without a plan and I need to do it every day.  That's why I've accepted the 30 Day Challenge... 30 paintings in 30 days is doable.  I've done it before but in the past there has been a specific theme.  This time my theme is just to play and not worry about making a painting.  Sometimes one may evolve but that isn't my aim.  It is simply to get something down on paper every day and this is day 1.

The other thing I'm working on is clearing out some clutter and reorganizing both of my studios, one is stitching, the other is painting.  While sorting in the stitching studio today I came across a piece of my mother's needlepoint.... unfinished.  A lot of my mother's work was unfinished.  She would see something new she wanted to try and go for it forgetting about the piece she was working on at the moment.  Damn, that's where I get that from!  Hadn't made the connection until now.  Anyway, this piece I really like and I wanted to frame it just as it is... unfinished.  However, my very left brained spouse said to way, you have to finish it first.  Well that isn't going to happen so I put it away.  Now it's back out and it is going to be framed just as it is because it is Mother.

It's been a good day, good start on what is going to be a good year!  Happy New Year.