The second day of Christmas

You all know the saying, "It feels like the day after Christmas." Well, today I am working on changing that feeling of 'slump-ness' to one of joy.

No, I am NOT rushing out to capture the bargains offered in every store - not that kind of joy. I'm working on snuggling in to that warm, cozy feeling of having connected with family and friends. I am still listening to Christmas music and anticipating seeing more family this coming weekend on the 4th day of Christmas.

We will have guests for New Years on the 7th and 8th days of Christmas - we do not expect swans a-swimming or maids a-milking this year.

I do expect to carry this warm Christmas spirit with me and treasure this season. And on that note, I post our Christmas card on this 2nd day of Christmas.

I painted this watercolor a few years ago when I was experimenting with painting trees using a natural sponge. Dipping the damp sponge in a puddle of color and dapping it on the paper was lots of fun and I think creates a great tree!

May we all carry the spirit of this season through the year - not just until we get to those 12 drummers drumming!

The other one...

Last week I posted one of the paintings I had been commissioned to do. After I finished it, I found out more about the children I have been painting.  It turns out that they are not grandchildren, but are actually great-grandchildren! I think that makes it even more special.

This week I finished the other painting and took them both to show the proud great-grandmother.

The original photograph for this painting showed Abby in a field of sunflowers. She was looking up, but not actually at a flower and the flowers were a little farther away. The wonderful thing about painting is that I can move things around where I think they look best. I guess digital photo experts can do that, too. But, painters frequently 'improve' a scene by choosing what to include (and what to leave out!)

So, I moved the largest sunflower up a bit and closer to her. Here is the underpainting:

I couldn't wait to get started so I began with Abby... I did a little work on the flower and left the soft watercolor area in the center alone for awhile.

I knew I needed something to connect Abby with the flower, so I began suggesting some leaves and tried just to play with the color.

It still looks very sketchy so I began adding more definition to the leaves and some smaller, undefined flowers above her head. I really didn't want your eye to go away from the two foci, but they need to be connected somehow.

Well, I felt like I was getting closer, so I took it to class and asked for a consultation. Many helpful suggestions - including "add some darks; more definition on the flowers in the distance; work on the line that defines her head, neck and shoulders..."

Voila! I love consultations! They get me out of my head and allow me to see with other eyes. I think this works now and Abby's great-grandmother says, "Frame them!"

She will be surprising the family with the paintings, but told me I could post them beforehand.  So, shhh, if you know these children, don't give the secret away.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

You Never Know...

It's been a busy Fall. Not only have I been painting for the SMAL library exhibits, but I have also been asked to paint three paintings for others ...and get paid to do it! Now, this is new for me. It NEVER occurred to me when I began painting for pleasure about 10 years ago, that someday, I would be painting ...and getting paid.

Interestingly, whenever I have sold a painting it has always seemed like a fluke - a surprise that someone would actually want to hang one of my paintings on their wall. I have painted a lot of grandchildren paintings and it's been fun to give them to their families...after I have used them in exhibits.

And that brings me to what happened in September. My husband, George, was giving a book talk (he has recently published a book of essays on the Chesapeake Bay). After his talk one of the attendees came up to me and said she had seen my paintings on display at the St MIchaels Library and she would like to send me some pictures of her grandchildren. Would I take a look at them and see if I could paint them for her!

She emailed the pictures to me ...and I sat with them...  I wondered if I really could do this. I have heard friends talk about how hard commissions can be - it's sometimes very difficult to capture what people think they want.

I finally got to work on them and today I finished the first one. I emailed the image to the grandmother and am waiting to hear how she likes it...

This is the watercolor underpainting

This is the finished painting

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she likes it as much as I do... you never know!

Just Gotta Brag

For the past six years during the month of December, the St Michaels Art League has had a watercolor competition at the St Michaels Library. One of our members endowed an award - the Martha Hudson Award for Excellence in Watercolor. It is a coveted prize and brings out some remarkable paintings - everyone putting their 'best foot forward.'

It's tricky trying to decide what to enter - I can only enter two paintings and they have to have been painted within the last year. I waited until the last minute (as does most everyone) and finally selected two - one of them was Buoy #1 (that I recently blogged about) and the other was Autumn Leaves, an abstract that I had played with several months ago.

All the paintings were brought to the library last Monday and were hung for the judge to see. On Monday night we had our annual Arty Party and the winners were announced...

Ta da...Autumn Leaves won second place! What a lovely surprise - maybe there is an abstract painter hiding inside me somewhere.

Autumn Leaves

Class Exercises

Over the past few months I have subbed in the watercolor class several times. Sometimes when I go I have an idea of what the class is/has been working on. Other times it is a complete surprise.

Here are paintings from three very different classes. This first one was an attempt to draw/paint glass and silver. One of our problems was that the light was coming from several different sources.  We did have a spotlight on the set up, but there was outside light as well. The reflections are confused - it was confusing!

Class study #4    Watercolor & Pastel    $50

But, they were interesting shapes - a good challenge!

-2-

Another day we had a plate of green onions and radishes. I was sitting across the room for this one and could not see it as well, so I made up some of it.  I wanted to work at a different angle - I imagined what it would look like looking down on it instead of looking across at it. The other issue with this one was that the still life had been set up the day before for the Tuesday class to paint. I subbed in the Wednesday class that week, so when I got there the day after ...the radish leaves (which apparently were fresh, bushy and alive the day before) had withered and looked awful.

Radishes and Onions    Watercolor     $75

I like the strong color around the plate upper left and the lost edge at bottom right.

-3-

We paint a lot of flowers in this class - some of the men are not so crazy about that and come prepared with photos of boats on the flower-painting days. I must admit, that after painting a few petals I frequently get lost in a flower and and am ready to tackle a boat myself! 

However, one day my garden was just bursting with color and I picked a large handful of flowers and took them to class. I was in my "simplify" stage that day and decided to tackle the flowers.  I knew if I tried to draw the full vase I would be overwhelmed, so I just isolated a few flowers and sketched them on my paper. I know when use my sketchbook I do well with ink and watercolor washes - being in simple mode, I went with the ink and watercolor and voila...

Flower Study #3   Watercolor & Ink     $75

I'm having fun - and that's what it's all about!

An Update

This is an update from my last blog. I have been tweaking the painting with the buoy, block and net. After spending a sleepless night wondering what was wrong with it, it suddenly came to me that a red buoy is NEVER #1! The BLACK/GREEN buoys are odd numbers and the RED ones are always even numbers. So, this is not a directional buoy, just a fishing one . . . but, I am still wondering why it had a 1 on it.

the mask is removed

Well, I removed the mask which was marking the fish net and the white of the paper just jumped off the page. I knew I would have to tone it down, so I have put a few washes on it. I wanted it to look a little more worn. I also played around a bit with the ropes and then cropped a bit off the top of the painting. It looked a little empty up there. I don't think the original is quite this yellow - gotta work on my camera technique.

"Buoy #1"     10x13    $150

Setting up an oyster still life

This past week I substituted again in the watercolor class. I haven't been for a few weeks so didn't know what the class had been working on. When I arrived, I found a still life set-up waiting to be painted.

Previously, there had been talk of oyster shells  - there they were . . .along with a red buoy, lots of rope and a fish net. Off to the side there was another buoy and an old wooden block pulley. They were not a part of the set-up, but we were told we could arrange whatever we wanted.

I had never painted oysters and thought that might be fun. I began my sketch and discovered that the oysters kept looking like strange blobs. The buoy was colorful and fun to draw, but those oysters just didn't do it for me.  That left the ropes, the other buoy and the block. It seemed more daunting by the minute!

Because others in class were already painting what was there, I needed to rearrange the set-up in my head and get it onto my sketchbook page. I decided to challenge myself by attempting ropes - I drastically simplified them - and then added the block. I left the oysters out entirely.  So, what was to have been an oyster painting ... well, it's not.

The preliminary sketch and the final drawing took a long time so that when class ended I had accomplished this much. If you look closely you can see the block and the fish net.

It's been a busy week - I didn't get back to painting until this afternoon. Actually, that gave me time to figure out how I was going to do the rest - particularly, the net. I thought I needed do a wash over most of the paper and then decided to mask out the net. I painted the block while the mask was drying and then laid in the wash - trying to change its color as it flowed across the paper. I took this photo while it was drying.  It will undoubtedly be lighter when it dries. I may do another wash if it's too light... BEFORE I remove the mask. But, that's all for another day. If it changes dramatically, I'll post it again.

And then, of course, I'll also be asking for comments on a title!

Hey guys, wait up!

A few weeks ago when I was subbing again in the watercolor class our task was to paint 'figures in the landscape.' The idea was to show scale - how the figures fit into the larger world.

Well, I paint figures a lot, but I realized that they are mostly about the grandchildren - not the landscape. I went looking for some photos that might show the larger view and found one of some girls on the beach. The three older ones had gone ahead and the younger one wanted to catch up. I really liked the way everything seemed to point to the distant vanishing point - the shoreline, footsteps and the dune/tree line directing the eye into the painting.

It began as a watercolor and of course, when I got it home and played with it more, it picked up a bit of pastel. After tweaking it for awhile, I was not easy with it and put it across the room to stare at it for a week or so.

Next thing I knew, I found myself picking up my 'corners' (pieces of mat board) and placing them in various ways to crop the painting. Perhaps a square?

Or maybe a vertical?

Last week I took the painting back to class and discussed my dilemma - to crop or not to crop? Where to crop?

OK, here is what I have re-discovered - I don't much like doing landscapes (horizontals). That shape painting is very stable, it really just sits there and stays put. (to me, that can be boring) And then there is the square which can't decide to lie down or sit up. Aha! The vertical shows movement and I find it much more exciting.

I don't imagine that this exercise will be something that I will add a signature to or put in a frame, but it has been an interesting challenge. Comments? Would you crop? How?

Dog #2 - his favorite bowl

Beginning October 1st, SMAL (St Michaels Art League) will be hanging another exhibit in the gallery at our local library. We have 4-5 exhibits a year and try to make them interesting by using various themes. (Our last one was in July - "Red, White and Blue" - see blog of June 16, 2013)

This exhibit's theme is "Water, Water Everywhere." Yes, we live in an area where everyone is probably within 5 minutes of the Chesapeake Bay and/or one of its tributaries. There is indeed water, water everywhere! But, the suggestion in the exhibit write up was to be challenged by this theme and come up with some different ideas.  Suggestions were: someone jogging carrying a water bottle, a rainy day, children playing near a fountain or a dog lapping water from his favorite bowl.

Well, now that I knew I could paint a dog, this seemed the way to go - a dog drinking from his favorite bowl.

One of the art challenges I am working on is the combing of two (or more) pictures into one painting. It can be tricky to get the perspective, light and values correct so that it looks like it is really one picture - not several pasted toegther. I knew what I wanted to do for this dog painting . . .could it come together?

We all know what a dog's favorite bowl looks like, right? So, I am running around the house taking pictures of our toilets from many different angles - yes, and laughing at myself! Then I am looking at all the pictures on my computer and printing them out to see which ones will work with the dog picture. Don't you know I am also thinking, "What if I die right now before I have painted the picture and someone goes through my picture file and sees all those toilet pictures?"  Well, let's not go there!

My initial sketch wasn't right, but several sketches later I think I got it and began my painting.  A bit of tweaking here and there and voila . . .

"It's gotta be 5 o'clock somewhere"   9x12 pastel   $150 SOLD

Yeah, I know, it's probably NOT a painting you want hanging over your mantle, but it's fun and silly. Be sure to read the title.  Let's face it, it's bathroom art. You could hang it over your commode!

There is a reception for this exhibit at the St Michaels Library on Thursday, October 3rd at 5:30pm. Come and see what all the artists have done with this theme!

Alley - My first animal pastel

When we first moved to the Eastern Shore, my husband bought a riding lawn mower and seemed to enjoy getting out there and cutting the grass.  Then there was a proliferation of bumper stickers that seemed to appear everywhere that said things like "I'd rather be sailing".  I think he took those literally and soon we had hired someone else to mow (and we even gave our mower away!).

We have had our current lawn care guy for quite a while now and have gotten to know his family - and his dogs. I always look forward to Jason dropping by with his truck - usually with beautiful golden retrievers in the back seat. The dogs are always well behaved and adorable.  I admit it, I have a soft spot for goldens - particularly Alley and River.

This past summer we were given the sad news that Alley had died.  She was 13 years old and had been Jason's companion since she was a pup. A week or so after her death I got a phone call from Kellee, Jason's wife, asking if I would paint a picture of Alley. She wanted to give it to Jason for his birthday. I was very flattered, but was a little hesitant since I had never painted a dog before. (I had done a watercolor of a niece of Jason's and Kellee knew about that painting.)

I told her that I would give it a try and we would see how it went.  She sent me some pictures that she had of Alley and I also had taken some for another project.  I studied the photos for awhile and began the project wondering how I was ever going to be able to do this.

After working on the painting for a couple of days, I was amazed (and continue to be amazed) at how it turned out. It was one of those challenges that totally surprised me. I love it!

I have waited to post about this until Jason had the painting in hand. I am told that it now hangs in his house.  So Happy Birthday, Jason. We all miss Alley.

Nelson Pond sketches

Ahhhh, we have returned from a lovely 10 day vacation in Vermont.  The air was cool and crisp - a wonderful break from our Maryland summer (familiar local phrase . . ."It's not the temperature, it's the humidity!").

For the past few years we have been fortunate to rent a cabin (in Vermont they call this a 'camp') on Nelson Pond just down the mountain from my son's farm. It is delightfully rustic, with a large screened room that overlooks the pond. There is a great dock - access to the cool, clear water . . . great swimming!

We spend a lot of our time with the grandchildren, so I don't even bother to take painting supplies. However, I love to spend a quiet morning or two sitting in various places with my sketchbook. Each year there are flowers in new/used containers  - sap buckets, barrels, a coal skittle, the ripped out seat of an old chair and more.








Here is one of the barrels.  It's the end of summer and the delicate blossoms were doing a rather dainty dance routine.

On the short walk down to the dock there is a fire pit area.  It's set up with comfortable seating - Adirondack chairs and a bench. Here is the bench by the fire pit. . . it just called to me to be sketched.
















As I was sitting on the bench, a dragonfly paid a visit. S/he seemed very at ease and enjoyed the sunshine just inches away from my sketchbook.









Alas, summer is almost over and now it's back to the 'real' world. . . after I make a few notecards with these new sketches, that is.

The Escapee

The Bicentennial Celebration 1813-2013 Art Show is this weekend and I am almost ready. Yesterday I framed my last painting - the boy and the crab.

You may remember from my last post that I was working on this painting and had put it aside to just look at it for awhile. Well, I kept looking at it and finally figured out what was wrong - I needed something to connect the boy and the crab.  I had painted them from two different pictures and they still presented as two different pictures.

Aha, sometimes it takes longer for that light to come on . . . the missing ingredient was a crab net! For those of you who are not into crabbing, this is how it goes. You tie a chicken neck (yes, I am not kidding - a raw chicken neck) onto a piece of string and put it in the water.  The crab finds it - sometimes this takes a long time - and begins picking at it. He actually holds on (hopefully) as you slowly pull up the string and then you scoop him up in a net.

Thus the need for a net in the picture to connect the boy and the crab. When children are crabbing they get very excited about catching a crab and sometimes just want to watch the crab run around on the dock for a minute.  I would NEVER let a child wearing flip flops be this close to a crab (they are fast little critters who threateningly wave their claws in the air and run sideways), but I think it works in the picture. I am calling it "The Escapee" - as if the crab actually escaped from his captor.

Hope to see you at the art show - Saturday from 10:00-5:00 at the St Michaels Women's Club!

I will also have commemorative posters for sale - a bargain at $15 . . .

Sorry, it's not the best photo - just put the poster by the kitchen door and took the picture . . .it's a rainy day.

In the beginning . . .

Some people have asked me about my watercolor underpaintings and how I begin on a project - so, here is what I am working on right now.

I am going to be in an art show in St Michaels on Saturday, August 10.  This show is part of the BIG Bicentennial Celebration - Battle of St Michaels event.  It's sort of a themed show - St Michaels, War of 1812, Eastern Shore, local scenery, etc.  Since I seem to be in my 'children' period (who knew I would categorize my paintings into 'periods?'), I am working on "Children of the Eastern Shore."

Some time ago I had taken a picture of a cute little squatting boy who is looking at something on the ground.  I love this pose - it's so kidlike.  So, I am using his 'squat' and have put him on a dock. He is now looking at a crab.

I sketched it, put it on sanded pastel paper and then loosely painted the watercolor underpainting.  When I stood back and looked at it again, the dock looked strange.  (See the slanted vertical lines?) Often when you combine two photos the perspective or shadows are off.  To correct this, I scratched in some horizontal lines and added more of the blue/green water across the back. The great thing about an underpainting, I can get an idea . . . and then go over it and make further changes when I get to the pastel.

Well, I got this far and took it to my watercolor class for review. One of the suggestions was to make the crab bigger and move him more to the center . . .and closer to the little boy.  Now, if that were my grandchild on the dock he would NEVER be that close to a crab . . .especially wearing flip flops, but since I made up the whole thing, it may work.

I started with some pastel today and decided to experiment with changing the color of his clothes . . .I may end up going back to a blue shirt - will keep looking at it for awhile. I like to look at paintings from across the room for a few days. It will usually tell me what to do next.

The crab needs a lot more work. I am going to try to make him stand up more and wave his claws around. Those crazy crabs like to threaten small children! (and grown-ups, too)

So, this is what I have so far . . .  I'll post the finished painting at a later date!

House Drawings

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY everyone!  In keeping with the holiday spirit, I am posting about a holiday today.  No, it's NOT about today's holiday.  I'm a bit out of sync, I fear.

I am thinking back to many years of summer camp in northern Wisconsin (Camp Osoha) and thinking of "Christmas in July" . . .a celebration that we had there with a decorated canoe parade and more . . .   And yes, we did also celebrate the 4th - we were always looking for excuses to have extra ice cream sundaes for dessert!

So, my artwork today is for Christmas - actually for Christmas in St Michaels which is correctly celebrated in December.  And the story is this . . .CISM is a weekend in December  - a fundraiser for local non profits - with a parade, Santa Breakfast, gala dinner dance and House Tour.  Members of the St Michaels Art League have volunteered for the past 30 years to make drawings of the houses which are on the tour.  Scanned images of the pictures are used in a booklet and the originals are framed and given to the homeowners who have generously offered to have their home on tour for the weekend.

I volunteered to do two drawings - they are due the first of August - and they are finished!  I am patting myself on the back to be done early.  Even though it was fun to draw them and I do appreciate all the work that goes into this event, it's wonderful to cross this off my list.

There are usually 'in town' and 'out of town' houses on the tour.  Here are two of the 'in town' homes.  Check the St Michaels website for info on this event and find out more.  Then when you come to town, see if you can find these houses!

  

Enjoy your holiday - whatever it is!

Thinking it Through

I've just finished another pastel - this one is more muted than I others have done lately.  I'm not really sure why I chose this particular picture to paint, except that I love the poses. . . and I guess that's what it's all about anyway.

I have discovered that when I take pictures of my paintings I can very often see what to do next - sometimes when I am right there on top of the painting, I can't 'see' it.  So, I tried to take pictures along the way to show myself what the camera sees - not what I am seeing.

It all began in my watercolor class - I was looking for something to paint that week, because there didn't seem to be anything blooming right then. (When there are flowers 'in season' the class usually paints a still life arrangement)

Here is the original sketch:

Next I drew it on the watercolor paper and painted it. When I got home, I looked at what I had done and I found myself putting pastel on it! So then I decided to just make it a pastel. I began again with a watercolor underpainting on pastel (sanded) paper.

I love doing the skin tones using the 'Margaret Dyer' method.  Forget about local (the 'real' color) and concentrate instead on value.  I begin with light values - blue, green, yellow, purple, pink, orange - and they magically blend themselves into beautiful skin. The same is true for the dark values - any color works as long as it is a dark.

I went back and forth between working on the skin tones and background - playing with the water and the splash. I also concentrated some on the clothes, faces and hair.

The girls were close to the water's edge so I had some foaming, wavy water across the bottom.  When I showed this to a friend (my trusted critic) she suggested that I get rid of the wave at the bottom - she thought it was distracting.  I think she is right, soooo . . .

Pastel  12x16     $300

Here it is!  I think I've finished tweaking and will go with this for now.  However, it's needs a title!  Any ideas? Suggestions?

Red, White, and Blue

Egads! It's almost July... I know, we haven't officially begun summer yet, but the warm weather is here and school is out... and there is another exhibit coming up at the St Michaels Library.

Several years ago, when I threw myself into involvement with the St Michaels Art League, I made a promise to myself that I would work to put something into every exhibit the SMAL sponsors. So far, I have kept that promise even to the extent that I entered the Oil and Acrylic Only exhibit (see posts on June 7 and June 11, 2011) - though I don't use either medium.

This year the July exhibit theme is Red, White, and Blue - original, huh? When we picked the theme, it seemed like a great idea. I have been thinking about what I wanted to enter and since I am in my 'paint children' period, I, of course, found some pictures in my file that I could tweak (change the colors) to reflect the theme.

Here is the first one:

"Red, White and Blue "               Pastel - 12x16          $150

The red suit was originally striped, the white shirt was originally purple and the blue suit was a blue, yellow, orange (I think) pattern.  Leighton, the child in the middle is very fair and her mother made her cover up that day because the sun was so strong. When I showed her mother the painting she thought that this might make Leighton feel better about the shirt (which she hated wearing) - after all, she is now the center of the painting!

We are allowed to enter two pictures in this exhibit.  Here is another one that I just finished.

"Little Wave Dancer"    Pastel - 9x12     $125

She was at the water's edge, oblivious to anyone around her.  She was just playing with the waves and dancing all by herself.  So carefree - how wonderful to be young!

The exhibit will hang in the St Michaels Library for the month of July. Drop by and have a look at what else might be Red, White, and Blue.

Happy Graduation, Maizie!

This weekend my first granddaughter, Maizie, will graduate from the 8th grade.  (Actually, my second granddaughter is also graduating from the 8th grade, but the Baltimore County schools don't make as big a deal of it as the school that Maizie attends in Vermont...so this is about Maizie.  In the interest of 'equal time' the little gymnast in a prior post was Graeme, the other 8th grader.)

Maizie has attended Orchard Valley Waldorf School in East Montpelier, VT... forever - and she is delighted to be finishing up her final year there.  She and I have talked and messaged in the past few weeks about her dress, her shoes and the upcoming festivities.  It is all very exciting - a true rite of passage.

I have been going through lots of pictures of her recently - from those very first baby ones to various visits we have made to Vermont, vacations together in Florida and visits here in Maryland.  It continues to amaze me how the time has flown by and here we are at another milestone.

There was one picture that repeatedly caught my eye - so, of course, I had to paint it! This is soooo Maizie - she just loved to get into that paint all the way. I especially love the hand print at the top. Can't you just picture her doing that?

9x12 Pastel 

WOW, next fall, she's off to high school...lots of love and Happy Graduation, Maizie!

Trinity House Church

For the past two years I have been involved with a small group at my church - the Vision Team.  We were asked by the Chapter (the governing body) to develop a new vision for our parish.

Our team has read, marked, learned and inwardly digested a lot of material.  We have interviewed parishioners about their experiences, hopes and dreams for our parish.

This started with the idea that we were in a 'financial crisis' (a place where MANY churches seem to be today) and we have concluded that we are in a 'spiritual crisis.'  Many people have complained of not being nourished by the traditional church on Sunday morning.

We believe that small groups offer a partial solution and have looked/are looking at different ways of bringing people together to experience God - to share our beliefs, voice our concerns and listen to the ways that God has touched our lives.

For the past couple of months we have offered "House Church Live"  - a gathering in a parishioner's home to share in a lay led Eucharist.  It is an opportunity to participate in the service through an exchange of ideas about the biblical message, passing the bread and wine to one another, and singing and praying together. At the end of the service there are refreshments and an opportunity to talk about the experience.

So, why does this appear on my art blog, you ask.  Well, with the help of our team we have developed a logo to go with this new program.  It is our plan that this will be 'out there'  - inviting others to join us as we experiment with this new (actually it is a very old) form of worship. But, that story is for another time.

ALL ARE WELCOME!  Our next service is Sunday afternoon, June 23 at 4:00pm.  Please be in touch with me and I'll give you directions!

How much to crop?

She had been taking gymnastics for several weeks and it was time for the class to end.  Parents and grandparents were invited to come on the last day and see what the children had learned.

I snapped a picture at the end of her 'routine.'  She's so proud of herself - she got her feet up on that bar . . .with help and . . . amazement.

Now my dilemma is this:  I really like painting relationships and I like painting children, BUT can this child stand alone without the other figure?  I think we need to see the 'helping hands' but am not sure that the helper's face and figure need to be there. They feel distracting to me.

So far, I have just sketched in the helper, but am leaning toward cropping her out. I really want to focus on the pleasure in the child's face.

Before I work on painting in the helper . . . I am asking for advice. . .

I want to call this one "Helping Hands." (I still have more work to do on it)

This one has no title, as yet . . . the helper is mostly the watercolor underpainting.

Shall I finish the helper's features and keep her in?    or shall I crop her out?

Save the Date

Last week I received an exciting email. Our little town of St. Michaels is planning a big event in August to celebrate the anniversary of the "Battle of St Michaels" which occurred in August of 1813. (You can read more about this battle in my blog post of February 6, 2013)

Well, the email was from the town's administrative clerk who is in charge of planning the event and she asked if she could use my banner image on the "Save the Date" postcard that is to be mailed to Maryland elected officials, past commissioners, town and county board members, tourism office, etc. How cool is that?

I emailed her back to say "Yes!" and we had an electronic conversation in which she told me that she thought my banner "looked like a party" and she was excited about using it to notify everyone about the event.

Another part of the August event will be an Art Show which features the banner art and other work by these St Michaels Art League artists. We are already drumming up business - it's FREE and open to all!

So, Save the Date everyone. . . August 10, 2013 from 10-5. See you at the Women's Club on St. Mary's Square in St. Michaels.

Foolin' the Brits - Watercolor & Ink

On another note - the painting I posted about on March 30 of 2012 just won Second Place in the Out of the Box exhibit at the St. Michaels Library.  It will be hanging there until the end of the month.  Stop by and see the exhibit - it's fun!

Curiosity - Pastel

YOLO - Beach Sketches

A year ago I bought myself a present - a Texting Dictionary, a handy little guide for looking up all those scrambled letters that my grandchildren are using in their texts. (I have learned that other grandmothers are doing the same thing, so I am not feeling like such a luddite)  Actually it is very useful - but I admit that I frequently just type the letters into Google and find out what is being said.

So, we are in Florida for spring break and decide to rent chairs and umbrellas from YOLO.  It never occurred to me that YOLO meant something, it was just the name of the rental place.  What a lovely surprise to learn that it means You Only Live Once (for those of you rushing to your cheat sheets). I like the idea of taking care of yourself and just relaxing by the water, because YOLO.

I had my sketchbook on the beach and of course, had to draw one of the YOLO chairs along with those little birds that my youngest granddaughter likes to chase, a sailboat out in the Gulf and the chasing granddaughter lying on her chair reading a book.

Here's another page with the golf cart - everyone had fun driving it (shhh, don't tell about the underage drivers), some shells and those crazy diving pelicans.

And, here are just a couple reminders of the palms. leaves, vines that abound.

 Well, AFAIC (As Far As I'm Concerned) this is all FTFOI (For The Fun Of It).
Enjoy the sketches and HAND (Have A Nice Day)

CUL8R (See You Later)  YOLO

The Beach

For the past few years my daughter has invited us to join her family during Spring Break.  Everyone loves the sun, the ocean and the warm temperatures. So, we have been going to Florida together. We have been fortunate to rent a house on/near the beach  - with a pool.  This has given us options for swimming and even more ways to have fun.

I take my sketchbook so that I can capture some of the fun.  A couple years ago the girls wanted to paint in my book, too.  A tradition was started. This year the younger two asked to paint - so here are their "Spring Break 2013" paintings!

This one was done by 8 year old, Winnie.  She's got it all in there - the girl in the beach chair; the sand castles; waves and water - including fish; the crazy pelican with a fish in its mouth (we watched LOTS of pelicans diving for fish!); many shells; and of course, the sky and sun.

And here is 6 year old Hildry's painting. She wrote the title "boat with people in it." She worked really hard on the planks of the boat and the waves in the water. She wondered about the boat being all one color - "that would not look good" - so we blotted the wet paint to give it some interest.  I love it that the people each hold a paddle and are saying "Hi".

Sharing my sketchbook with them has been such fun.  I love seeing their imaginations at work!

His First Tractor

We were visiting my mother in Georgia (I think it was about 1970) and we took my son to the farm that my father had bought when he retired a few years before.  Of course, when Paul saw the tractor, he had to climb up into the driver's seat. He had already put on a 'farm hat' and tipped it to us the way he had seen my uncle do. I am so glad I had my camera handy!

Who knew back then that this little boy would one day be driving his very own tractor? He's now an avid organic farmer in Vermont - loving what he does!

And I have loved the photo over the years - it was time to paint it. It began with a watercolor underpainting and I finished it up with pastel. He's so cute.

Back to the real world . . .

It's cold and rainy again today.  We have been home for a week, having spent a wonderful five weeks in sunny, warm Puerto Rico.  Re-entry is not easy.

Our time away was 'carefree.'  I made the decision before we went that I would NOT let my real world interfere with being in 'slug mode.'  Five weeks of relaxing, reading, swimming, sketching (a little) and generally doing nothing.  Aaahhhh!  Do you suppose slugs really feel this good?

A few days ago I scanned some of my Puerto Rico 2013 sketches into my computer - reminders of those easy days.

There is a round - a - bout on one of the roads going to our villa.  Last year the community placed a water sculpture in the middle.  The soaring silver birds and water are very welcoming!

We took a day trip to Old San Juan.  This is a view (just one of many!) from El Morro Fort.  The fort sits high on a bluff - fantastic views all around.

The big rock with two palms and some red flowers marks the path to the pool where I spent my mornings.  I swam laps and then joined in the informal water aerobics class.

The aerobics 'class' (I use that term loosely) was delightful - always full of laughter and stories. I now have a whole new set of friends (and exercises) and look forward to joining in again next winter!

Well, my daffodils are about to bloom, it's nearly March . . .I can almost smell spring. . .and the sun just peeked through the clouds.  Welcome home . . .