Balloons

Balloons are one of those conflicting things in life.  They represent fun times, childhood, birthday parties, circuses and baby showers.  They are colorful and full of memories, and they are fun to pop.  If you let go of them they propel wildly making farting noises.  If they are full of helium and you let go, they fly up and up and up forever.  But, the reality is that they don’t disappear into the nether reaches, they submit to gravity and fall to the earth as more plastic waste which works its way to the oceans and wildlife along with plastic bags, 6-pack holders and lost flip flops.  The above illustration, which I did with watercolor, colored pencils and ink, represents the happier story.  Apparently the new Halloween tradition is to hand out goodies out of he trunk of your car so kids avoid going to strangers houses, although my mother would have freaked out if I took something from the back end of a car. Times have changed and the more conscientious parent gives out treats that won’t rot your teeth.  This brings us back to balloons, a good alternative, right? I really know how to take the fun out of balloons don’t I?  Go Figure!

Figuratively Speaking - Church Planes

8"x8" watercolor Price $50

I think I am an easily influenced person.  That could be really bad, but on the other hand, depending on who or what is doing the influencing, it can be a good thing.  I NEVER (yes I yelled that) let comments on Facebook influence me to have opinions or get angry!  Recently I read a book about Matisse.  I don't think I ever really got what he did until I read that book.  The next painting I did showed that influence.  It wasn't as if it looked like a Matisse, I just approached it directly, simplifying the forms and doing broad areas of color, at least in the first swipe.  It was so fun to do even if it isn't a masterpiece.  The one shown here was just a little watercolor I did at the Tunbridge World's Fair.  What caught my eye was the planes of the church and the way the sun hit in one spot.  Sometimes when I have some insight and see how I am being influenced, I can throw it off if I don't like what I see, or I can embrace it and see how it becomes part of who I am.  In a short chit chat with amazing artist, Peter Huntoon today, we talked about how to identify the things we needed to grow in our painting.  He added that it wasn't a broad, open ended growth, but growing to be more truthful, more authentic in what we say.  He was referring to what we say in our art, but it applies to what we say in general I think.   I am going to let that influence me.  I think I might have influenced him too.  He seemed in a better mood at the end of the conversation....Go Figure!

8"x10" watercolor price $50

Yellow and Purple don't really suit me I think.  This portrait has a very vague resemblance to me, like it could be an unknown sister or fraternal twin.  I did it as a study in complementary colors.  That means that they combine to enhance the qualities of each other (thank you Webster).  They also combine to create interesting neutrals.  Originally I only used those 2 colors and white, but later I added a touch of red to the skin tones.  On the other hand, complimentary (with an "i" not an "e") refers to praise or giving something free of charge.  I know people who are very complimentary, but not very authentic.  I know people who give free of charge, like advice or their opinion, or even criticism, and it just isn't nice or helpful.  So, instead of being a complimentary person, I think I will stick with complementary and enhance the qualities of another.  Next time I do a complementary selfie though, I will try it with Christmas colors, green and red, or maybe orange and blue...to see which pair complements me the most!  Go Figure!

Figuratively Speaking - Ticonderoga

6"x10" watercolor $50

The Ticonderoga was the last steam powered boat on Lake Champlain.  It was a truly decked-out (pun intended) ride between Vermont and NY.  It would go one way in the day and back across in the night.  It was like a traveling hotel.  There were limited bedrooms where wealthier patrons could sleep the trip away.  When it was decommissioned Electra Havemeyer Webb purchased it.  During the winter, when the ground was completely frozen, she had tracks laid from the boat to her property in Shelburne, VT.  On a harrowing trip, they slowly dragged that huge ship overland, as there were electric lines to move and railway crossings to coordinate, plus the land started to thaw.  It's final resting place was Shelburne Museum.  Electra (love that name) was a consummate collector.  She collected, dolls, quilts, paintings, buildings, a railway station, a lighthouse and a big boat.  Today that boat is completely restored and is quite magnificent.  Electra is interesting for a number of other things, including the fact that she was the daughter of Lousine Havemeyer (wife of the sugar baron) who was best friends with Mary Cassatt (impressionist painter).  As a result, there are some wonderful paintings by Monet, Manet, Degas, Cassatt, and others at the museum.  I painted this painting from where it sits at Shelburne.  Clearly, it is not in water, but is landlocked on a slight slope.  The beauty of painting and drawing is that you can change anything you want.  One of the changes I made, was to put it in water.  There is great power in creating!  Go Figure!

Figuratively Speaking - Mediative Morning

8"x10" watercolor $100

The sun just peaked over the mountain top and is misted in rising fog.  It is a meditative morning. 

I kept waking up to check the clock because I had 2 granddaughters to get off to school.  Of course, I then slept in.  They had awoken in the middle of the night and came in to snuggle with me.  I felt like my nest was full.  It was a warm and wonderful feeling. I should state here that I loved it so much because I don't often get this opportunity.  After rushing the dressing, eating, brushing teeth, hair fixing routines we went out on the cool morning to wait for the bus...which didn't come, and I realized I was half hour early.  Geez it would take some practice to be good at this.  That is pretty much true for anything I guess.  My father always said, "Every parent is an amateur."  That is so true.  We are never ready for what the next twist and turn will bring.  We only mellow out by the third kid!  So now the sun is burning off the fog, the sky is blue and it promises to be an amazing day.  I am free to do what I wish.  That also is something I don't get the opportunity to do much.  Rather, I have my routines.  I guess I always have the choice, but I like feeling like my day is ordered.  Today, however I am going to go by the seat of my pants.  Maybe some new art gallery visits, maybe tracking down that wonderful watercolor artist, Jo Mackenzie (her gorgeous sunflower below)  maybe taking a hike and practice some watercolors.  Maybe I will do all of those things! Go Figure!

Jo Mackenzie watercolor

Figuratively Speaking- Grandma's View

5"x5" watercolor and ink on 400# paper

Yesterday was my son's birthday and today I am staying at his house and watching my granddaughters while he attends a conference.  It is so cool to get to do that.  We live 2 hours from each other so we get to be together fairly often.  He is a very busy man.  Who would have guessed t42 years ago, that he would become a business person and I would be sitting on his porch painting a little watercolor of the village store across the street, while I wait for the school bus.  Speaking of school buses, we lived in a school bus when he was little, with his father, sister and brother.  Talk about tiny house living!  I have to say I loved it while it lasted.  Actually his sister was born in a school bus, but that is another story.  Adam was born in Bethel, MO, in a big old house that had been sort of subdivided into 3 living spaces that we shared with 2 other friends.  One was a potter and the other a weaver.  Adam was born at home early in the morning after a ridiculously short labor while his father was going to pick up the midwife.  Yes, it is true, I was alone, but not for long.  Everything turned out fine, although numerous people have chastised my foolishness, I wouldn't have made it to the hospital anyway.  We could have a long discussion about this, but I don't think it would accomplish anything, so I just hold my tongue and keep smiling.   Sometimes I dream of traveling, visiting exotic places, meeting wonderful artists and others, then I think back and remember all the unusual adventures I have had and how wonderful life is now and I feel content.  Not bad....Go Figure!

Baby Steps #14 - Too Much?

5"x7" watercolor Price $50

 Do you remember the first art that really moved you?  For me it was Dick, Jane and Sally illustrations by Robert Childress, my first love affair with art.   In first grade we had to sit round robin and read aloud when it was our turn.  I can't imagine how painfully boring that must have been for the teacher.  I think it made her a bit cranky.  I could read because I watched my father teach my sister to read lying on a blanket on the living room floor.  There were a lot of tears involved and I vowed I would teach myself to read so I wouldn't have to endure that.  While waiting for my turn in the reading group I would read ahead and look at the pictures.  I thought they were magical!  I was in art appreciation zone and very happy.  Then the teacher would call my name, observing that I wasn't with the group.  I wouldn't know what page I was suppose to read and she wouldn't tell me.  It was humiliating.  Today, I feel bad for both of us.  Mostly though, I loved her.  She was very young and very pretty.  When we came back from Christmas vacation she announced she had a new name because she had gotten married.  It was Baumgartner.  I don't remember her maiden name but it was something like Smith.  I thought Baumgartner was impossible.  It took a lot of effort to learn that new name.  She should have considered that when she was dragging my attention away from my beloved "Dick, Jane and Sally." By the way, Sally wore baby shoes in those pictures.  Go Figure!

Figuratively Speaking- Baby Steps #13- Mouse Tales

6"x6" watercolor Price $100

The following is an account of my relationship with mice. As a child, it had mostly to do with Mickey and Minnie or Jerry.  Occasionally my father would catch a mouse in a snap trap.  We were warned severely about the dangers of the traps with, "It will break your finger," a frightful image for me to this day. When the poor mouse was caught, my father would discreetly dispose of it.  I never asked where.  I did, however, ask to see the dead mouse (because I was that kid) and he let me.  It horrified me.  I felt so bad for that sweet little thing.  My father had cataract surgery when I was a little older.  That was in the days when it was a really big deal and he was incapacitated for a long time.  On the day when my father was finally allowed to go back to work, we all marched outside to bid him a celebratory adieu. My mom drove one of those station wagons with a third seat turned backwards.  My dad had a big silver car with fins.  I think it was an Oldsmobile, and it had remained in the driveway which abutted a corn field for the entire time dad was unable to drive.  When my dad pulled out of the driveway we all clapped merrily and then broke into hysterical laughter because a gazillion mice ran out from it and scattered in every direction.  My dad, not realizing anything was amiss, smiled and waved at us until he disappeared from sight.  Now, in the fall, mice usually sneak into our attic, trying to find a friendly and warm home for the winter.  My husband is in charge of catching them.  I don't ask to see them....Go Figure!

Figuratively Speaking-Baby Steps #7

6"x6" watercolor Price $50

My standard nightmare for years involved missing  classes in college.  I was well into parenthood before my night time dreams started easing out of school scenes and switched to those involving me losing kids.  I am back in school, taking an online Color Theory class.  I wonder if this means I am going to start dreaming about missing a test.  In all honestly, that seems like much less of a horror to me than losing an innocent child.  I do have 3 children who have safely (more or less) made it to adulthood.  Being a grandparent is so awesome because you don't have ultimate responsibility for them, and that is a huge relief!  After spending a weekend with my granddaughters, I again had that scary dream, so I guess I am never going to be freed from ultimate responsibility when I am in REM sleep and the alpha waves are running at 15 cycles per second. Oh well.  Ah, for the days of dreaming about a teacher being mad at me.  I know I deserved those dreams as I had many experiences missing classes and tests or handing in assignments late.  However, as far as I know, I haven't lost any children.  My guilt goes deep I guess.....I am a responsible adult, and I fully expect to hand my Color Theory assignments in on time. Maybe I should take a class on dream analysis.  I would probably have nightmares about being lost in my dreams...Go Figure!

Mia Loves Maizie

This is a watercolor sketch for an illustration for a children's book.

My art group went to Peter Huntoon's studio today for a demo.  It was so much fun to see how he loosely begins his work and turns a scene which may not be particularly exciting into an athletic and stunning work of art.  Peter has recently added oil painting to his repertoire of watermedia and he approaches it very similarly as he would a watercolor painting, with lots of drips and splashes and interesting tools.  He is one of the quintessential Vermont painters.

Butterfly Zentangle

5"x10" watercolor and ink

I have been wanting to try zentangle so here it is. I know I didn't follow "the rules" but then, I never do. It was fun, but very time consuming. It is meditative, but I think most of creating art can be that way. Not always, but frequently.

Laundry Day

This was just for fun. I made it for an online card about my high school reunion which is coming up.  Below is the card.  It is just kind of silly, but I am still counting it toward my 30 paintings in 30 days.

Portrait Study

I want to do a bunch of portraits for practice so I decided to try this one in watercolor.  I was trying to get the correct look of the sitter, but I at some point, I just wanted to get a decent painting, so it isn't very 'exact' but it is close.  Sometimes I just can't figure out what it is I need to do to make it right.  Other times, just a tiny change makes all the difference.

The Hop Shop

5"x7" watercolor NFS

 

 

 

I painted this and then decided to go back in with ink which I have been playing with lately.  The top photo is a little more exposed then the bottom one, so the colors are more true.  I love the look of the dancing lines of ink over the watercolor, but I think maybe I did more than I needed.  It is always an exploration...a journey, an experiment.  It can be quite thrilling sometimes!
This is "The Hop Shop" in Kent, England.  It is at the Castle Farm where they grow lavender and hops.  My daughter took me there 9 years ago to buy the decorations for her wedding reception; it was a  treat  as I have a passion for lavender.

Equinox

8"x11" watercolor $50

Happy Fall!

Deep Thought

9"x10" Watercolor  $50

9"x11" watercolor NFS

I love this one of the little boy.  The second image is Monarch #9 which I also forgot to post.

Monarch #14

9"x11" watercolor NFS

Still figuring out the best technique for me in using watercolors.  I eventually want to allow myself to paint in a looser style, but for this project, I need to stay a little tighter.  I really enjoy layering the colors which is interesting because I have to let them dry between layers to get the affect I want, and I am not a very patient painter which is why I like little alla prima (done all at once) oil painting.  I don't think watercolors are harder than oils; watercolor just takes a different approach.

Monarch #13

9"x10" watercolor

What a special moment my friend and photographer, Lowell Klock, captured when this Monarch and Swallowtail decided to nectar up on the same flower.  There are a lot of decisions to make when interpreting a photo into paint.  I chose to add ink lines in the end to tie the darks together.  I like how it gives it a very illustrative effect.  The brownish/purplish background was achieved with many layers of colors which dried in between applications.  I really like this approach to watercolor and hope I can master how to use it effectively.

An Important Woman

11"x14" watercolor
$50 Buy with PayPal


 I wasn't able to bring my oil painting set up for the demo so I stepped out on a limb and decided to do it in watercolor. It turned out OK, but I don't suggest using an unfamiliar medium to demo a painting.

Mouse and Crabapples

10"x9" watercolor NFS

I am not getting around very well but I was able to get outside with my watercolors and sit and paint this.  I grabbed the little mouse figurine as I was walking out and cut the crabapple from the tree drooping down to the porch.  It has more crabapples this year than ever before.  It felt so good to be outside and it almost always feels good to be painting.  I like the transparency of this one and I really like painting simple subjects.
Below shows the other painting project I did.  I painted my crutches lavender.  It's like doing the glass half full thing.  I am going to add some beads and ribbons next.  It looks like I am going to using them for another long stretch of time, so they might as well act as an accessory.