The un-ugly hat

Last fall my dermatologist discovered a suspicious, small lump on my forehead. A biopsy confirmed basal cell carcinoma and two surgeries later, I seem to be in good shape. However, it means I need to be sure to wear a hat when I am to be in the sun,

I have a much loved floppy hat that I have worn for years - however, it is so old and floppy that it's sometimes difficult to see out from under it. That won't do. There are lots of baseball type hats around our house...maybe one of them.

I rediscovered one that I had had for years (I have a photograph of a granddaughter wearing it when she was 2 - she is now 19).

I never really liked that hat. It was so plain white and had a very large bill. At this point, not liking it is not the issue. Wearing it is... Ugh!

So, I had this idea that I have nothing to lose...why not decorate the hat? I did some pencil sketches on the hat and then got out some permanent ink pens.

The only paints I had available at the time were watercolors, but what the heck...give it a try!

So far, so good...

Voila, the once ugly hat is now 'un-ugly.'  If anyone has any ideas about how to make the colors more permanent, I'd be happy to hear them!

It's almost banner time again...

Since 2010 the St Michaels Art League has sponsored an annual banner program. Members paint something relating to the theme "Celebrate St. Michaels" and the banners are hung along our main street from April - November. (For more on the history of this program see last years's January blog "Newest Member of SMAL.")

I have painted a playful crab almost every year - a friend named him "Mikey" since he is a St. Michaels crab. It's an annual challenge for me to decide what Mikey is up to each year. I began thinking about Mikey last summer as I watched our main street fill with tourists - all shopping in the quaint stores in our village. Thinking that many of the shoppers are women, I decided that Mikey needed a shopping friend.

This year I am introducing 'Michaela.'

Keeping with the theme of celebrating our town...I thought of all the events that are offered throughout the year: the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Daffodil Festival, Wine Festival, ArtHunt with its ice cream treats, Fall into St Michaels and Christmas in St Michaels.

Michaela would have her hands full of shopping bags!

I did a quick sketch and played with different size bags.

This was the basic idea...a happy shopper.
Then I started to obsess about the bags...size, color, logo...

I just painted the hat on this one and then tried various bags...

OK, why even paint the hat? Just need to try bags... (although, I did have fun painting the ribbon) Several tries later...

Getting closer to what I want although that purple bag is pretty bad and that Halloween bag needs some work, too!

Now the thing is...I had painted this so many times (probably 8 or 9) that I am not sure if this next one is the final one! I had so many on my computer... and I have already turned over the final version to a friend so I don't even have it to see which one it was!

Is this the final answer? The original artwork will be on display at the library in St. Michaels for the month of April and the banners will be hung on the poles along Talbot Street by mid-April. Hope I'm not too surprised!

Happy Gnu Year!

WOW - it's 2019! A new calendar and also a time to reflect on the past year. I like to look back at my posts and review what I have done in the past 12 months -  do any of us really remember what we did without some sort of guide?

I see that there were several portraits - children and dogs. I love doing these pastels. Then there were also the sketches for the book which was published in November! It was exciting to hold the actual book in my hand after so many years working toward that day.

I did some experimenting with abstracts; watercolor and pouring acrylics. There were a few animal sketches and Christmas puns. I also began another 'rope' series using watercolor and ink.

I participated in several shows: the SMAL banner program, members' shows, Labor Day Show, SMAL library exhibits and  currently have several paintings hanging at the Blue Crab Coffee Company in St. Michaels. (note - they have great coffee and sandwiches there...)

 It's been a busy time and I have not had a chance to create anything new... so I am re-posting  something from a couple years ago. Of course, in keeping with my quirky nature, it's Gnu Year. Does anyone know what a gnu really looks like? Or, more correctly, what a 'happy gnu' looks like?

Here is an old sketch of the gnu.... I don't think his smile is quite the happy one that I wanted, but perhaps...he is a little anxious about what's ahead in this coming year!

Thanks for following my blog!

Merry Christmas!

I have been very concerned about the political scene in our country. Last summer I was really down. The past two years of campaigning and the chaos in Washington that seems to be tearing our country apart was really getting to me. 

So, I worked on creating some smiles for this year's Christmas card. I began by googling "Christmas Puns" and found several that seemed promising.  I also found a scrap of paper with puns that I had written down some time ago.

They did make me feel better - at least for the moment. Hopefully, they will challenge you and bring some giggles.

There are my four favorites - now, you have to figure out what they are!  Psst...I am gifting the answers at the end of this blog.

#1

#2

$3

#4

Answers:

#1 - Seasonings Greetings

#2 - Olive, the other reindeer

#3 - A partridge in a Petri

#4 - While shepherds washed their socks by night

Don't groan toooo much. Enjoy - Merry Christmas, everyone!

What's a Schichon?

My daughter's family had two dogs. Uncle Wally, a Cavapoo (cross between a Cavalier and a Poodle) and Professor Gilbert, a huge Golden Retriever. Wally was a family member for a few years and then along came Gilbert. Wally tolerated him and you might even say they were friends. At least hey kept each other company.

Then for whatever reason, the family decided they needed a 'tiny dog.'  Much research was done and they decided to bring Coach Theo into the family. Theo is a Schichon - a cross between Shih Tzu and a Bichon Frise. Apparently, they are also called Teddy Bears. They are adorable bits of fluff!

Over the years I have done dog paintings...it was time to welcome Theo to the family wall.

Since he is mainly hair, I found it a challenge to really capture this little imp. His hair almost covers his eyes and you can barely see his mouth. You know he has feet, but they are covered with hair.

He is a very light color so I began with a dark toned pastel paper.

I got lost in his cuteness... I kept going

At this point I decided that, whereas the dark background made him stand out, it was too black/strong for such a little guy. And, the texture of this particular pastel paper wasn't adding anything to the painting.

I started over on a sanded paper with a lighter tone.

The cuteness is still there without being over powered by the BLACK! He needs a few tweaks here and there...

He's floating on nothing. I grounded him with some dark pastel around his feet and a nondescript place to stand.

Gotta love him!

Thoughts from my Bench

 Sometime in 2016 I received a copy of an essay from a friend that I had met a few years before while we were on vacation. Her husband had since died and she was in the process of writing her way out of grief. She journaled daily - writing her thoughts about being alone after 57 years of marriage. Her goal was to gather the essays and publish a book.

The essay that she sent to me ended with the phrase "...and my book of essays will be illustrated by my artist friend, Jo Merrill." This was her way of inviting me into this project.

So, for the past two years we have been working together. She would write an essay and send it to me. I would read and re-read looking for a phrase to illustrate. Sometimes a phrase would immediately jump out at me. More often, it took a little longer, but eventually I could grasp an idea and bring it to life.

Much of her journaling has been done while sitting on a bench in Central Park. The cover of the book was one of the first things I played with. I sent it to her. We each printed it out and have been staring at it ever since.

We had a total of 53 essays and illustrations by last spring. After we took a hard look, we decided to pare down to 35. We then arranged them by issues and subjects and divided the book into chapters. The summer was spent editing... a lengthy process!

I suggested that each essay be headed by the sketch and the phrase from the essay was placed beneath. Here are just a few of the sketches:

"Embrace Joy"

"Our years can be kind of like a good red wine aging in barrels"

"Not loneliness! It is the 'aloneness' "

"Grab hold of grateful"

There are a lot more images and many pages of thoughtful essays...

The exciting news is that... the book has now been published! See cover below...

You can find it on Amazon.com under "Thoughts from my Bench", Suzanne H. Baer or the illustrator...that's me!

Order a copy now - think holiday gifts!  Hope you enjoy it... let us know!