Rooted in Mississippi

I took a lot of photos on campus yesterday and thought I would share some of the ones I liked best. If you want a high-quality image for printing or photo reference purposes, just send me an email request. I like seeing nature photos on other blogs, so I thought I would share some of my own.

Anonymous posted that I should leave out the flag pole in the oil painting, because it draws the viewer out of the painting. Interestingly, that was my very thinking while I was working on the painting and then I went back and put it back in there, because it was in my view. I guess I should have gone with my intuition. LOL

In an ironic twist, I had another pair of shoes disintegrate today. This time it was not funny, because I had left my car at the shop and walked to the gym. After swimming for an hour, I got out only to find my trusty Speedo sandals had fallen to pieces, literally. On an ordinary day, that would have sucked because it meant being barefoot into the locker room and bathroom, but today it was nearly 95 degrees and I had to walk back to the car repair place. BAREFOOT on hot tar and cement. I now have two gigantic blisters that completely cover the balls of my feet. For the morbidly curious, I did take a picture, but will not post a thumbnail here because of the high gross out factor. But because I know someone out there will actually take a look, I will post a link with a firm “not for the faint of heart” warning. Ewwww…poor Rissa (there I said it for you).

And finally, this is the squirrel who likes to torment the tiny dachshunds. He perches on the face shaped knot in the tree in the back yard and taunts the babies. He also runs across the frame of the house around the wall of windows. He really makes them crazy. Every time he does the scamper routine, they go bonkers and I am forced to let them out to chase Mr. Squirrel. Good thing they are too goofy to catch him.

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Our oil painting class met outside today, so that we could paint something “with distance.” I looked everywhere, but did not find any spot that looked more appealing and had a place for me to sit and paint, even though I walked so far that I blew out my sandals. I rigged a temporary portable easel out of my fold-away luggage carrier, which I use to haul my junk to and from class. If you have no idea what these handy-dandy little things are, check out your local Office Depot or click here. I just left the handle up and flipped the locking bar around to hold my canvas while I painted.

I had a little longer than usual to paint, because we were outside. No clock, no formal class, and no rushing off at noon. I got this to a point where I was happy with it and headed to the gym. As usual, I managed to smudge and smear it during transport. At least I did not get oil paint all over my car this time!

Swimming today was not the usual pleasant experience. There were tons of kids all over the pool and the noise was unbelievable inside that dome, even with the doors open. Even with my ear plugs in, I was constantly distracted. There were only two other adults there, one of whom I bumped into in the locker room. She was a very nice lady. She told me I was “lovely swimmer.” I thought that was very sweet. I have trouble taking compliments, I usually demure, but not this time!

When I finally got home, my copy of Danny Gregory’s The Creative License, David Rankin’s Fast Sketching Techniques, and Keeping a Nature Journal had arrived! I plan to settle in and read tonight. Tomorrow I am going to try drawing lips. Then maybe I will tackle more realistic noses. I am trying to build up my courage to try an actual portrait. I am growing more comfortable with shading and I think I am ready.

I also got an email from a long lost friend and former high school boyfriend. He is living in Berlin, which was not quite as surprising as you might think, because his folks were from Germany. It was nice to hear that he is alive and well.

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This week’s Every Day Matters challenge came at just the right time. I happened to have had a Smoothie for dinner and it was calling to me. I started drawing it in graphite, but the colors were more significant than the tonal shading, so I whipped out my Faber-Castell PITT artist pens and set about drawing it right away.


It was a nice, quiet day. I was writing my morning pages and whining about not having heard from younger brother and just then, my dad called. He wanted some phone numbers, so afterward I talked him into giving me Andrew’s new cell phone number. Julia Cameron would call that “synchronicity.” I called and we spoke. He was in Alabama, driving home from a work assignment. We made tentative plans to go get sushi when he has some free time and we are both in town.

I also had a friend contact me about buying a LeClerc 4-Harness loom. I plan to call the owner tonight. She is an artist on the Gulf Coast. My friend said I would want to tour the studio and spend some time talking with her if I went down there. I was not planning to get into weaving this soon, but a great deal on good loom would go a long way to getting me started on that journey. You just never know when things will fall into place.

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Well, I drew two, just not a matched pair. I have very deep set eyes, so I do tend to gravitate toward bedroom eyes. I am preparing myself to try actual faces. Facial shading really interests me and I am ready to try a portrait. Karen’s watercolor was inspiring. I might start with a photo reference before I try a live model.

I am actually very pleased with each of these drawings. Especially, since they are my first real attempt to draw an eye. Of course the real challenge is making eyes look right in the context of a face.

Karin, Lisa and I all drove down to Tylertown (about 90 miles each way) to pick up some fleece and meet the sheep at Divine Sheep Farm. The owner was very kind and she found me online and offered us the fleece if we would drive down to pick it up. It will be a lot of work, but you sure can’t beat the price! Karen took two bags and I put the rest in my greenhouse. Most of it will be destined for other spinners, but I will keep a little for myself. If the weather is nice next week, I will try to sit outside and pick over the wool before I start washing.

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I should have used a photo reference or waited until I had a real piece of cake. It really shows that this was drawn off the cuff, instead of drawn from an actual reference. Maybe I will try again tomorrow.

I started to sketch this in pencil, then switched to my art pens. I really need to get more comfortable with them. This is a combination of Fine and Brush markers.

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I got two new art technique books today, then came home to find the Blick Studio Spring Sale Catalog in the mail…which has provided excellent fodder for my day dreaming. I am such a gadget gal…I am just crazy for the tools of the trade and now that I have a new hobby, I am in acquisition mode. I bought several Kolinsky Sable paint brushes on clearance at Hobby Lobby. It was a quick and relatively painless way to start my collection. I also have been using those 40% off coupons to get the more expensive items.

There are just so many wonderful things in the Dick Blick catalog. I am ashamed to admit that I have been eyeing the BEST Shawn’s Watercolor Station, but I know it is overkill at this point in my life. Of course the fact that it matches my easel and would solve my space problem in the dining room has been fueling my desire. I am also really enthusiastic about the Drafting Table Easel. If I did not have a giant Santa Fe Studio easel already, this would have been perfect for me. I think I have slipped a cog, because I almost was really eyeing that French Easel for Plein Air work. Which would be okay if I had done more than ONE plein air watercolor. It is a Peace Family trait to jump in headlong, without stopping to test the water or gauge its depth. Of course, with a bipolar parent in the tree, it is hard to tell if that trait is behavioral or characterological.

I spent last night organizing my supplies and trying to bring some sort of order into the chaos that I call home. It was time to round up all of the things from my different classes and find a place to store them long term. I think I have put the easel in a good spot for now. I simply refuse to take it upstairs to the needlework studio until I am no longer working with oils! I can’t believe how messy oil painting can be. I finally found what had brushed against my canvas from last Tuesday’s class, it was one of my larger orchids. I finally noticed the pink and white paint on the leaves last night.

And now for something completely different…

Although it has only been two weeks, I am actually doing well in my commitment to getting back into shape. I made it to the gym four days both weeks. I started swimming for half an hour, but built back up to a full hour by last Friday. Even with a sore rotator cuff on Monday, I held myself accountable and swam anyway. Luckily it proved to be a temporary problem. So I am swimming laps for an hour, three times a week and riding the stationary bike for 20-30 minutes and doing floor work the other day. It seems like a good schedule for now. In a few weeks, I will probably add in weight training. The gym has Cybex equipment in the Women’s locker room, so I might start there. It just seems more private, therefore less embarrassing. I just hope I can maintain this level of enthusiasm.

I used to be a gym rat, but for most of the last five years I have been a real couch potato! It was strange to unpack all of my gym clothes and see those cute little outfits I used to wear, including zip up hip hugger shorts and tank tops. There was even a patriotic two piece bathing suit that my husband bought for me at a place on the Gulf Coast that was washed away by Hurricane Katrina’s storm surge. Luckily, I never got rid of the size XL stuff, because I am sure using it now. I packed away the cute stuff and stuck it under the bed. Maybe by this time next year I will be in a better position to know whether or not I will ever get to wear it again.

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This was done in a combination of graphite, ink and watercolor pencils. The page buckle badly, because it was done in my cheap-o sketchbook.

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Okay, so this was not my best work. I have decided that cleaning up and going to the gym every day takes a toll on my creativity. Of course, I might just be whining because my hands are sore.

And to answer Lynn’s question, not I have not been stitching much. Maybe it is the sore hands deal. Maybe it is because I have been spending most of my time downstairs, trying to get my easel and painting things situated. Of course, it has been less than two weeks since I quit! I planned to take a few weeks to do nothing and just decompress, but I have actually gotten a lot accomplished, including building back up to swimming for an hour three days a week.

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Okay, the second class went well, I am still trying to get my groove with oils. Obviously this is a still life grouping of cases on fabric. I scraped my painting at some point, probably during transport and had to fix it. It looks so anemic and undersized on my easel!

Speaking of my easel, I moved it into the living room for now, I just don’t want it upstairs where I can potentially ruin the new carpet. I am thinking that I might move it to the dining room, since the sunlight behind the canvas sucks, even if the view out the window is pleasing. That or I just can’t paint during the afternoon.

You would think that I could have gotten some cleaning done during the big easel move, but mostly I just shifted things around. I have way, way too much stuff. I did hang my spindle collection from a piece of wool suspended under my mantle. I would have taken a photo, but the hearth is completely covered in stuff that needs to be put away. Maybe tomorrow after swimming I will get around to it. Hey, where is that “To Do” list?

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I started this sketch during the guild meeting at the Ag Museum and finished it on Sunday. Karin also drew it, although from a slightly different angle and in pen. I had tremendous trouble with the perspective. I almost dumped the project, but decided to finish it out as a learning experience.

I also drew a pewter brass and glass candle holder that has a cool celestial theme. I was going to draw one of the dragons from my entryway for this challenge, but the candle holder could be drawn indoors and it was nearly 90 yesterday.

I got some good ideas for still life set-ups while I was browsing books at Borders yesterday. I have high power clamp-on lamps that are perfect for still life, but I have been too lazy to do that kind of set-up yet. I did come home with some books that looked really interesting. Claudia Nice’s Creating Textures in Pen & Ink with Watercolor really caught my eye. Probably because I am scared of pens right now.

Since quitting my job, not only have I been drawing a lot, I have been very good about doing my morning pages and going to the gym. It feels like a vacation, which is a good thing, since I needed to decompress. I also finished the Artist’s Way. I got a lot out of the process, in part because it was a case of good timing. I started the program at a critical point in my life and it was one of the things that helped me find the courage to quit. If I have to go back to work at some point, then so be it, but for now I am happy.

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