Sunday, November 25, 2012


 'maggie contemplates december' ~ watercolors, gouache, colored pencils, graphite, vellum, and masking tape in my daily book

lately i've been thinking "don't blame the medium"...     it's easy to think that if we just had this or that medium we could really paint what we wanted to paint.   of course watercolors are never going to be opaque and glossy like oils, but they can be used in their own way to communicate a similar feeling (and vice versa).   the trick is to learn a medium well enough so that we can use it to express ourselves.   i know this is probably a very obvious truth to most people, but it's coming through loud and clear to me right now...

'melinda...' and 'madame lacaux...' ~ watercolors, gouache, graphite, and colored pencils in my daily book

beyond getting to know a medium, though, it seems to be about *trusting* it (and yourself) enough to let it do its thing.   it's a two way streetwe can't just boss it around, we have to let it show us the way too.

part of an unfinished page ~ gouache, watercolors, colored pencil, and graphite in my daily book

and i've been thinking that if i want what i do to be mysterious, i can't fill in all the blanks!  duh!!  and obviously the perfection thing has got to go (and stay) right out the window.

this is what i've been thinking...  : )

prismacolor pencils on rusty lid

we've had some sunny weather which  makes me very happy...  i've been out wandering, drawing on rusty stuff and finding high, sunny spots to lounge on.

prismacolor pencils on rusty lid

sometimes you find a can or a lid that's rusted to perfection; it's the most wonderful surface for colored pencils.  this pimento lid was rusty perfection...


if i do say so myself, i have the art of lounging on sunny spots down to a fine art.   i don't mind if i have to carry extra stuff with me if it means i have a comfy nest once i get there.  a soft something to lay your head on is essential.


this makes me happiest of all...

definite riches

no wait, this makes me happiest of all...  

; )

* * *


31 comments:

  1. i am going to come over and rest in your nest ! looks so comfy .
    xxoo

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  2. First, let me say I love your wise words about medium and trust and mystery! yes, yes, on all accounts!

    Love the adhesive tape? on Maggie and before I even read your words, I was going "yes, I'm loving this touch of abstraction!"

    and melinda and madame lacaux! you have such a way of capturing expressions! delicious.

    and lucky you to be able to find a spot dry enough to sit at this time of year!!

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  3. Love the little ladies they are enchanting love that u have been out and about and lounging lol love the Thoreau quote and your unfinished work bought Degas's little dancer to mind , wonderful....
    hugz bev

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  4. Oh the sunshine is so wonderful! and your characters are so unique with their own story. I adore them.

    I want those boots! :)))

    stay Happy

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  5. Oh my heart has skipped a beat. Maggie is adorable, I had a pair of red shoes when I was a little girl. Just loving everything about this post. Happy happy Joy joy. ox

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  6. Dear Lynne!

    This is a beautiful post! Both your pictures and words show that you "seize the day" :-)

    You make me smile!

    Hugs for you

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  7. Lynne you may think you are just randomingly sending thoughts out to the cyber world but I can tell you they matter because I have been more inspired by your words and your art this year than I can express! Thank you!!!!!

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  8. What a fabulous post. it has everything...good art stuff, musings on the artist predicament and life in general finishing off with an amazing and beautiful poem.
    I collect rock hearts too!

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  9. Wow Lynn, this was an awesome post to begin the day with. I adored your thoughts on 'the art of lounging' YES indeed. And also your thoughts on 'trusting' the medium in which we choose to create. That is so very true. And of course I fell in love with each of your lovlies. I think my favorite is Melinda. She is such a delight but then again they all are.

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  10. Maggie has my heart - what a sweet fabulous creature!!and you and Thoreau have it right!!! don't you love vellum, xox

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  11. Dear Ms Thoreau,

    True about watercolor. You have to know it so well that you can follow it and shape it, because it won't follow you!!

    Is Maggie standing on a footstool? Oh, and unfinished, for me, is finished. I like the mystery...

    Yours faithfully in masking tape,

    C.

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  12. I love this post -

    I didn't even notice the masking tape until reading further -- wonderful Maggie captured my full attention!

    It is so important (I'm talking to myself here - thanks for reminding me) to get know our materials - and let the materials have their own voice too!

    the nest - the hearts - thoreau's words - make me smile - BIG!

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  13. Like Jeane, Maggie has my heart too, I love her and she seems a little sad. I love all your ladies and I also love the unfinished one, perhaps she is finished.
    I love all your wonderful words of wisdom and I agree!
    Thoreau has it right.
    Love and hugs. xoxo

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  14. well LH in regards to emal this time I got a different screen. The last one was when there were no other comments. I don't know what is going on.

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  15. oh how I do love Maggie - and her creator knows just what she's talking about! Excellent,girl!
    Olivia

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  16. Oh! I'm exhausted thinking about all the good things I want to write about this post, but thankfully, everybody up there has already expressed it. Just LOVE the tape on vellum! Oh!

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  17. lovely to read some of your thoughts

    letting our tools and supplies teach/guide us is a wonderful consideration and i suppose happens whether we are aware of it or not

    oh, to sit out side and be warm... someday, maybe not soon here ;-)

    loved seeing your art, i always do

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  18. All I can say ...is thank you! Is that tape on the first photo? Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

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  19. Dear Lynne, i felt a bit like melancholy Maggie today, contemplating December here in the stinging fog of November. BUT a big full moon after work this evening and a walk under it with my dog restored my spirits as did your lovey post here. Dreaming of basking in the sun, sus

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  20. oh my... thoreau... yes ... yes... and just adoring maggie...
    and I don't think it is obvious to many, so good you mentioned it, especially now that there is such interest in mixing media... you are the best and i give thanks for you... xoxo

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  21. Love your post and your thoughts about process - I just posted about the same thing (in a different way of course:) Very keen observations!

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  22. Gosh, I love everything about this -- Maggie, the nest, the Thoreau quote. Going to contemplate my vague indefinite riches with a cup of tea.

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  23. So lovely Lynne, your yellow grassy nest, I can just see you sitting there and drawing and pondering.
    And your fancy ladies, they look like they are watching a play in an old theater...
    Great thoughts about mediums and mysteriousness... wow, you seem so super inspired here!
    roxanne xox

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  24. I just love maggie...
    beautifully done

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  25. Beautiful work. So happy to have found your blog! And I love her little red shoes :)
    Kristin xo

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  26. I think I would have a perpetual Thanksgiving too if I could nestle in the wilderness a bit and take it all in and draw on things. Aaaahhhh...sounds like a slice of heaven.

    Maggie is so cute and sweet...I want to kiss her cheek and beep her nose. I love the pretty dress you placed on her. She is should be somebody's doll.

    xo

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  27. PS: I have NO clue how I missed you post for three whole days. I've been watching too. Guess I could have just popped over. Duh. Sometimes I am not the brightest crayon in the box. :)

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  28. You have so many things down to a fine art, dear Lynne.
    xoxoxo

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  29. always wonderful.
    Love your "lounging" attitude. It would work on a starry starry night too.

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