'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 street -  we 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...  

; )

* * *

watercolors, watercolor pencils and graphite in stillman and birn 'gamma' ~ 4" x 6"

wow, november is really marching along - the 15th already?!   many cloudy/snowy/rainy days here lately, which is fabulous for all of the plant life but not much for picture taking...     zipped outside before coffee yesterday to snap these.   some of this week's pages in my daily book.

i looked in this book to get ideas for the flowers.  i got it a few years ago in the bargain section at barnes and noble.   it looks like it's out of print now, but a fabulous book if you want to buy one used. while at amazon looking to see if it was still available, i saw

 the the art of instruction:  vintage educational charts from the 19th and 20th centuries - good heavens!  i think need it!

watercolors,  watercolor pencils, graphite, and uni-ball white and gold gel pens

watercolors, watercolor pencils, gouache, and graphite

pogo print pages from last week's walk...  getting in last visits with tree friends before winter...

and from yesterday...    out wandering to see how two snows and several rains have changed things.  i was getting ready to cross the creek and visit the green shrine tree here...

* * *

"What art offers is space - a certain breathing room for the spirit."

~ John Updike (quoted in cultivating your creative life...)

some things i've drawn in my 'daily book' lately...     i used watercolors and watercolor pencils, a mechanical pencil, an 8B pencil, and an occasional colored pencil...

marge, tom, sue ann, and a woodpecker feather...

when we were on our trip, roxanne figured out that it's easier to draw a tree if you start drawing at the tip of the branches and draw down to form the trunk/bigger branches.  

we went on quite the tree drawing jag after this discovery... 

my hair elastic thingie was laying on the page and i liked it so much i painted it in.  (the real thing looked better, though)

the idea for strands of jewels in the trees came from alena hennessey's book 'cultivating your creative life...'

and this bird is my attempt at copying a bird from the same book...  i like alena's drawings...

i want to put dangly jewels everywhere now...

prismacolor pencils and graphite on piece of shell

i know, it's not my daily book; they're just so dang smile making...  : )

* * *

“The position of the artist is humble. He is essentially a channel.”

~ Piet Mondrian

'bebe' ~ water soluble oils on canvas panel, 4" x 6" 

'bebe'  was going to be at the top of last tuesday's post, but that day we got a bunch of snow and lost our internet service.  the next morning roxanne and i left for camano island and earthtone studios to take an intuitive painting workshop from sue simpson.  even though i got back three days ago i'm still resting;   for me it's 1400 miles up and back, but so worth it...

this is a pic of the cabins that we stayed in at cama beach state park.   some places just feel peaceful, and this is one of them...   yeah, look at all of those pieces of shell for drawing on...  : )

 tempera on heavy paper, 14" x 17"

you can read about the workshop here...  it was not about painting 'good' or 'pretty' pictures, it was about learning and growing through painting, and  i loved it.   the painting above was my first, and i found myself going back and forth wildly between painting what i *felt* and what 'looked good'. 

 tempera on heavy paper, approx. 2' x 4'

this is as far as i got on my last painting;  i can honestly say that the desire to make it 'look good' was just not there.  i was painting and that was that...

sue, thank you - you're a gem of a human being and teacher...

   

roxanne and i did *so much art* during the six days we were gone!!  every night we painted, drew and/or collaged.  the table in our cabin always looked this messy!

before i go back to resting, i want to send everyone my wishes for warmth and safety after the recent storms... 

 near our cabin when we arrived