It's here! The warm weather has started and it's wonderful. This week saw temperatures above normal, highs in the upper 40s, 50s and even the upper 60s. Too top it all off I had two days off work to enjoy it all. I took advantage with long walks each day. It was fun to be walking in the warm sun looking out on the frozen lake. Not only did the change in weather make it great to be outdoors, both plants and animals took advantage as well. Finally the robins have shown up, flocks of geese and cranes, goosander, bluebirds, nesting chickadees, and purple finch. Bulbs have started to poke their noses out of the ground, yarrow and poppies are always among the first. Even my herbs are showing color chives, oregano, thyme and sage. It won't be long there is color everywhere. I've even added an extra mile to my commute walking further from the bus and home. Giving myself time to take things in and really enjoy both the large and small changes as they come. This weekend I went to our 2015 Garden Expo. It was subzero outside but once I got inside it was spring! The displays weren't as elaborate this years as they had been previously, but it didn't really matter. I was happy to spend the morning with flowers and herbs and seeds and gardening books. Just right to get geared up for spring. Even though it's been incredibly cold outside I see the signs of spring. The mornings are brighter and the birds are singing. The chickadees have been checking out the birdhouse in the front yard, the cardinals scouting in the back. Each evening as I leave the office the sun is higher and higher in the sky. One day soon the snow will start to melt and we'll see grass again. That day is probably a weeks off but I can feel it coming. This weekend will be time to get going on seeds. It'll be good to have some dirt on my hands, even a little dirt.
Here are a few of this weeks drawings to drive away a little of winter. Last week I talked about two of my favorite trees, a shining white sycamore and a mysterious cottonwood (though, honestly, I'm not really sure it is a cottonwood). I didn't have many photos and no drawings of them. So after spending time thinking about them, I headed out for a visit. This sycamore is magnificent in the winter, when there are no distractions from it's form and brilliant bark. This one is more like a fortress. You can see a large bowl shaped hollow inside, but it's completely surrounded by thick trunks. The only way inside is to climb. It's easy to imagine creatures of all sorts making their homes in all the secret crevices, coming to life as the light fades and the people head home. These were a few of the photos and sketches from the trip. In both what is most obvious is how hard it is to capture the size and gravitas of these trees. I was most successful when I focused on the details.
I'm not sure why but this week I've gone back to basics. Maybe I've been too distracted with other things and needed to get some focus. For whatever reason, I've spent my time with simple sketches and have gone back to practicing drawing hands
So here we are, the end of 2014 and looking at the beginning of a brand new year. Time to take a look back and see where I've been and think about where I might go in 2015. This year has seen me get a permanent job, show my art work all over town and all the way up the Mississippi in Pepin. I had a wonderful garden and tried to preserve the flavors in all kinds of ways - herb vinegars, liqueurs, nasturtium capers, pestos, parsley oil, and many dried herbs. Cooking for me is just one more creative outlet. Back to the art. There were a number of themes that seemed to emerge in my drawing throughout 2014. Here are some of the couples drawings that I did. Nature is always something that interests me, as well. Especially the twisting shapes of tree branches and flower petals. Another place I would return to was drawing hands. I love the crazy forms hands can take. I think the practice is starting to pay off. When I feel blank and uninspired I turn to the everyday things that are around me. And people. How can people not fascinate? Finally, paintings. Paintings suffered in 2014. I like what I did manage to produce. I'd like to find more time in 2015 to explore painting more. Looking ahead, I don't know where next new year will find me. I'll continue to draw, plan to find more time to paint, and to explore the places around me. I'm longing to travel, but with a limited budget it'll need to be weekend road trips. So much to come. I'm excited to see how 2015 unfolds.
I've had a canvas up on my easel for a month now. Between the holidays and a crushing workload at the office I haven't felt I had the time or the energy to paint. My sister suggested that I make sketches of paintings so that I could get some time with it. It turned out to be a really fun. And it got me looking back through my old sketch books to find painting sketches I've done previously. Here is some of what I found. The pussy willows were a real favorite. I first saw them at the arboretum, they were near the end of their blooming, covered in pollen. They really glowed against the bare branches of red twig dogwoods. These are two of my early paintings. In both cases I was out and about when I was struck by the beauty of something so simple right in front of me. That's when you really realize the value of always having a sketchbook handy. These visual cues were enough to bring back the images for me to paint. Back to the present. I have these fun sketches and the prospect of five free days coming up over the Christmas holiday. I'm excited to find out how these will come to together on the canvas.
Not long ago some relatives drove out for a visit. I haven't seen them in twenty some years and it was nice to catch up again. It's amazing how the sound of a voice can bring memories rushing back as if no time had passed at all. We may look different but in most ways we were really the same people we were all those years ago. One evening we were glancing through my sketches and one of my uncles had a powerful connection to my melancholy drawings. It's an incredible experience when that happens and it doesn't happen often.
These are for you Uncle G. I don't know exactly why, but I love line drawings. Power and grace at the same time. They tell a story simply and there is something about letting the pen glide across the page, dipping and curling without thinking. No need to worry about capturing the exactness of a figure, just catch the feeling and let your imagination fill in the details.
Here are some of my drawings mixed with great pieces by Matisse, Picasso, Cocteau and others. I've found the complexity of hair and especially dreadlocks an interesting subject recently. The second image intrigued me the most. Something about the innocent look of the model's face against the frenetic hairstyle. I was able to spend some time on both of these, working late in the evening when I am most productive. I hope to carve out some more time in the evenings, if I can work out that balance between art and my day job.
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Beauty and InspirationThis blog is about my inspirations and my love of art. I welcome your reactions to my work. Archives
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