open for delightful surprises

Drawing direct with a brush in watercolor is a huge challenge for me. I draw the frontmost things first, then wait for areas to dry and fill in behind them.

Not conventional painting technique, but that's partly why I call mine drawing. The media is secondary to my approach to the paper.

W/c on Strathmore drawing paper.

model ever present

When you have a minute, draw what's nearby.

Proportions not great, but the model doesn't complain when I make her more plump than she is.

Pen and w/c on Moleskine w/c paper.

Loving watercolor's flow

Dabbling with all colors in the mini-paintbox and making it yummy.














The pear and the closeup. In my world, pears *are* these colors.



W/c on Aquabee superdeluxe.

I stopped by the woods

Drawing the inside of the car door against the woods background.

One of my goals was to capture the difference between the view through the open window and the window, plus the various values in the door form.

Pen and w/c on Moleskine w/c paper.

Gimped again

Playing with pure color and digital effects. This one has been shifted through a random number of functions. This seemed a good place to stop.

The "Van Gogh" function is defined as "special effects no one understands." But all it seemed to do was blur out the pixels. Rejected as boring, which Van Gogh certainly wasn't.

W/c on 140# paper, originally.

Chart of pears

Idly painting pear shapes, I tried using w/c with almost no water--layering it like oils, though scans don't show the subtleties. Then I did a pastel one on lined journal paper. Shading is entirely imaginary.

Learning another Gimp skill seemed useful, so these are cropped from sketchbook pages and placed in a grid. Love Gimp!

making a random mess work

I was throwing ink and color on the Aquabee paper, idly making buildings and roofs, then tried some old masking fluid for a possible moon. Accidentally dribbled where a moon wouldn't be, too.

The fluid wouldn't rub off at all. But then the smears formed a face! So I continued to swoosh on paint, blur ink lines and make a royal mess.

But now I like the mood, the eccentricity, and the green moon man!

Listening to the Inner Creative

I'm reading "Finding Your Visual Voice" by Dakota Mitchell and have learned how to describe my favorite one. Imaginary, inner-sourced (instead of exterior reality), and emphasizing color over all other elements.

When I sing in that tune, I love the process and sometimes even the product. Like finding your place in the choir but not having to share the music.

W/c on Aquabee superdeluxe

Happy Feast Day!!

(Random color and form doodle with no relation to holiday, food, or sense).

Ink, w/c, and pen on Aquabee superdeluxe.

digital tweaking

I randomly striped a journal page with a range of colors using Art-Kure watercolor-ink brushes. It wasn't until later that I thought of scanning and playing with Gimp filters to do something with that page.

Under the original image are 3 of the things I turned it into. Fabric designs come to mind.

Gimp 2.4--love it!

red reaching

And another one: whirl and pinch.

pencil capture

I was reading a book on London and had a big need to draw instead. So I used a mechanical pencil to capture Jim in a rare moment of profile, while he read, too.

On the back flyleaf of the book--nice paper!

sienna striping

I draw (using paint, putting it down directly as the drawing medium) the cat in colors I like, not particularly real.

This sienna works really well for representing both the light and his striping. I did the dark first (least thinned with water) and then swished water into those dense areas to pull color into the lighter parts.

W/c on Aquabee superdeluxe paper.

always tea

My main interest in sitting down to make an image is in the process of flowing color onto the paper. If the shapes work out, that's a bonus.

I liked that the shadow of the blue mug resembled a pointing hand.

W/c and (left) art-stix on Aquabee superdeluxe paper.

through the tunnel

Playing with Art-Kure watercolor brushes, which is permanent ink. On Aquabee superdeluxe paper.

. . . cat always sleeping

Though he senses when I start to draw him and immediately has to move, changing his profile. He's talented at perceiving eye prints even while sleeping.

Tech pen and w/c on journal paper.

always catching the cat

Using Prismacolor art stix--like drawing with a hard crayon.

On Strathmore drawing paper.

pure color

To see this large on the screen is like diving into perfect Caribbean water (this paint is the closest I'll come to that reality).

It also reminds me of the torrent pouring over Niagara Falls, the greens and blues of thick water.

W/c on Moleskine w/c paper.

leaning bulb

Idle doodling, then it seemed to take an onion shape. I've been planting tulips, maybe that's the image source.

Pencil on Strathmore drawing paper.

draped cat

With a fountain pen, I caught the cat napping here. Then I filled in color, happy to have the pen ink blur into shading.

There's clearly a disconnect in the human leg. Oh, well. Catching the cat was my point.

Noodler's ink and w/c on Moleskine w/c paper.

gesso pools

I gessoed a journal page, splotched on horizontal streaks of thin w/c, finger-rubbed them vertically, then dabbed to intensify color areas. I spiraled the green on (blue/yellow on the brush, mixed on the paper), which landed in small pools and runs.

Working in the journal is a daily delight. And I can enjoy whatever comes out when I'm enjoying the spontaneous process.

W/c on ProArt gesso.

layered leaf

I rarely attempt slow, layered watercolor glazing. I'd rather work fast and let the fluid flow, encouraging surprises to happen.

But fast-application doesn't capture autumn leaf imagery very well. This is a vain attempt to layer transparent paints into an impression of fall colors. Imaginary leaf shape!

M. Graham paints on Moleskine w/c paper.

wrist warmers, too

I finished the second pair of warmers from the Hacho yarn. These are short, a simple ribbed pattern (30 stitches on size 4 dpns.).

I finished by switching to a narrow horizontal band at the wrist, alternating 2 knit rows, 2 purl rows (twice), then binding off.

And enough yarn left for Chaucer to play with, too.

onion and nail chopping

I was chopping onions and managed to slice off a fingernail without too much flesh.

Two days after the event, it looks worse than it feels, but I'm not looking forward to the growing-out process.

Used green and red w/c to create the feeling in a few strokes, on journal paper.

still blooming

November 5 and I have an outside geranium still blooming, with buds to come!

Herbs are still available for cutting, too.

That's how warm it's been in NH this fall.

meditation is like this

Noodler's ink and w/c on journal paper.

leaf inspired

I idly grabbed a stencil and pastels, then scanned, whirled and pinched. It wasn't until afterward I saw the connection to my current walks through swirling autumn leaves.

It's only in looking back (emotions recollected in tranquility, Wordsworth said) that we see the significance of events in our path.

just in time for chilly winds

I unexpectedly got to visit a yarn shop whose owner's blog I read (called Sean's Soapbox, but this is the official shop blog):Woolcott & Company in Harvard Square. I bought luminous and soft-on-the-skin wool, Hacho yarn by Mirasol. Lovely stuff!

I made a pair of long arm warmers and have only one to go on a second pair (different design). That's a rolling pin filling out the look.

Two pairs from two skeins, bought last Friday and done already! So glad this yarn didn't lost in my stash!