Journal Sketching

Traveling Art

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When I travel I always take something along to sketch and paint with. We recently returned from a Viking River Cruise. For some reason I had expected to see wonderful sights all along the river. That just was not true. There were a lot of trees and many concrete levies along the way.

I found we spent many hours on buses taking us to locations away from the river. We started our cruise by staying in a lovely hotel in Bucharest for three days. The river was too low for the riverboats to pass. We wanted to see the Black Sea at Constanta. So, we took a seven hour bus ride to see the sea. It was lovely, but not a seven hour bus ride lovely?

The small painting above was from a photo I took from our first night on the Danube. We were on a boat with 194 people. There weren’t many “quiet places,” so it was difficult to find somewhere to sketch. I found a table in an area that served as a dining area most of the day. It was not particularly private.

As we continued our journey, I looked for fun things to sketch. This priest was sitting outside of a cathedral that we walked by in Constanta, Romania. I’m not sure of his purpose and it was quite hot, but I thought it was an interesting sketch.

Here is the photo that I took. I was using watercolor, which is unforgiving. I wanted to make his eyes closed as in the photo, but I accidentally made him look awake. It is not something I will turn into a painting, but it was a fun sketch.

Going through the locks for the first time I found this group of workers rather humorous. They were supposed to be working, but here they are chatting and on their cell phones.

I took some other photos on the trip that I plan to paint:

I’d love to know what you think would make a good painting. It was a fun trip, but it is always good to be home.

Traveling Art

What’s in my garden?

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Peonies

I often have ideas for projects, that sound so great when I start them, but become tedious as I start working on them. I thought it might be a fun idea to do sketches in a notebook on all the different flowers in our yard. I quickly realized that we have a lot of different flowers!

So far I have completed these two and have started three others. I think I might have to take the time to count all the different flowers in our yard? Yikes! Humm, then do I include my herb garden. I started it as kind of a joke, as my husband can never remember the names of any of the flowers. I’m not sure on the other hand if he would ever look at this book? Ha Ha

I’ll keep you updated as I add more drawings, and see if I can complete this notebook this summer while all the flowers are blooming. It sounded like a good idea when I started.

What’s in my garden?

Berryessa Gap Vineyards

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Today I finished this 40 inch by 30 inch painting from a photo of the Berryessa Gap Vineyards. There is a wine stroll coming up in Winters on May 3rd and I was asked to have a booth. I will participating in the Plein Air get-together from May 1st to May 3rd. The third day I will be painting from my booth, probably from a photo I will have taken earlier.

When I was working on this, as it came to being close to being finished I felt it lacked the spark it needed. I decided to look online for ideas and was sadly disappointed. I could find no painting that really sang out to me. There were several YouTubes, but none of the finished work was inspiring. With that I realized that anyone can post a YouTube and it does not have to be that good to retain a pertinent number of followers.

Are there that many people that need help like that? I did not gain anything new from the ones I quickly viewed. Maybe I need to be more “gutsy” and do my own videos. I have looked online for recipes for several years and am amazed the long detailed “how to’s” that accompany most of the recipes. I skip to the recipe, read the ingredients and from that determine if it is worth cooking.

The problem with most videos, YouTubes and demos is that each shows one style or technique and in most cases it is no where near what you want to accomplish. It was pretty disappointing. I find the same with so many of the art how-to art books. I think why would you buy a book if you don’t like the art of the artist.

I’ve written a book on hand drafting that is still used in many schools throughout the world. Maybe it is time to do the same with an art book!

Berryessa Gap Vineyards

Spring Flowers: Painting Inspirations and Tips

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It’s spring, so I always think of flowers blooming and birds singing. I painted this lavender field in honor of spring. l would love to know what you think of the colors. Flowers make me happy, as they are beautiful and smell wonderful. There are a few stinky ones that should be avoided like a skunk. There are so many to enjoy, it is hard to pick a favorite. I love Tuberoses for their scent and Passion Vines for their amazing design. I am inspired this spring to put together a journal of all the flowers just in our yard. As I start the project, I’ll share the progress on my blog.

As the grapevines start blooming with grapes, they too are a beauty to behold. I hope to capture many images of vineyards to paint this year. When you first view the vines, they seem monotone, but looking more intensely they are profusely filled with a great variety of colors. Bringing in the surrounding scenery has more life to a painting. This one is 16 x 40, as I had a frame that size and am wanting to use what I have in my studio before buying more.

Moving to Vacaville from the PNW it is surprising how few paintings I sell, as I used to sell several every month. What do you think about putting up a sign in front of the house on Saturday Farmers Market, as many people walk by on their way there.

Spring Flowers: Painting Inspirations and Tips

Another Monarch Today

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Since the last butterfly was fun, I decided to do another. This one is 8 x 8 inches and a little fun!

Last week I met up with a group of artists that do a variety of different things. We were inside, so no Urban Sketching. There was a lovely photograph right in front of me, so I decided to decided to use it for my sketching. I didn’t take a photo of the field of Sunflowers, so only have what I quickly drew while chatting with others in the group.

People often ask you: “Why do you paint”, or “Why do you want to make money selling your art”.

I paint because it makes me happy and brings joy to my life. It brings more joy when someone appreciates what I do, and even more when they like it enough to purchase it. I never understood why someone would ask an artist why they want to sell their work. Painting is an expensive hobby. It’s like owning a plane or a speedboat, but the supplies are not inexpensive.

People willingly (sort of) pay their doctor, lawyer and CPA, but come short on spending money on something they look at every day and should bring them joy. In my case I do have a Ph.D, but not in art. I have a Doctorate in Business Marketing, my MA in Art and my BA in Art. That’s a lot of education to be offering my services for free. Do you want your Latte with a free cookie? That’s rather like me giving my art away with a frame for free. How much did it cost to bake that cookie? What time and what ingredients are involved? Ah, how much was that frame and how long did it take me to paint that piece. People ask me that, and I laughingly say it has taken years and years! Years of practice and success and years of failure are all part of a successful painting or piece of art. It didn’t happen spontaneously. It took years of studying. Malcolm Gladwell in his well-know books, says it takes 10,000 hours to good at anything.

Practice, practice and more practice. Everything I paint is a new experience and many ways a new beginning.

Another Monarch Today

Urban Sketching

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Urban sketching means so many different things to different people. I love to sketch when I travel or when I waiting for something, and when I was working on my Ph.D I would sketch whatever was on the table. I thought no one was watching, but I found out later that was not quite correct. My classmates were always curious as to what caught my eye.

Sitting on the beach in Cabo San Lucas I used pen and ink and gouache to have fun painting the locals.

On this one in Puerto Vallarta I used watercolor and gouache and pen to capture the surf. I find it very relaxing.

The men at the Taco Stand was fun to sketch using pen & ink, and watercolor. You can tell I often use a small 6″ architects ruler to get straight lines.

On a cruise we took this last year, while the boat was at sea, I would often just find a spot and sketch people or furniture.

There are so many things to choose from and so many different art supplies you can choose from. When doing quick sketches I tend to stick to just pen & ink, so I don’t have to carry around a lot of “stuff”.

If I have an afternoon free, then I carry more equipment and spend more time on the drawing/sketch. This was done sitting in the shade by the swimming pool, having a Margarita using pen & ink and gouache. I like gouache as it gives you more depth than water color, and you can paint over mistakes. I find it fun to mix with watercolor for a softened effect.

I don’t take my sketches serious, but I do try to get the drawing right, or enough off that it is just fun.

This is the fountain overlooking the water at Lindo Mar in Puerto Vallarta.

i’ve sold a few sketches, but mostly give them away after I photograph them, so do not have a book of sketches per se.

Urban Sketching

How do you decide what to paint?

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I’ve been painting for about forty years. I first got a degree in art, doing acrylic abstracts. I was working in oil till a sorority sister sat on my palette right before one of our big dances, and I had to give her my dress, as hers was ruined, and mine was her replacement. Luckily we were the same size.

As I’ve had more time to spend painting and have tried many different types of art, it is interesting to watch reponses on social media of what people like and what they think I should do. If you follow my blog, then you know I did a few drawings of roosters when I was on a cruise. I gave them to one of the men that worked on the ship, as he had a farm at home with chickens. One of my friends thought that I should focus on only chickens. I like chickens, and had some of my own for a time. I do not want to draw them all the time. If you read one of my last blogs, you will see what happened to the chickens. It was really pretty wonderful.

Another friend of mine likes my mini-abstracts and tells me I should only do those! I did them as a prelude to a series of the same in a much larger format. That person told me that my larger pieces do not have the same impact as the smaller pieces? I actually like the larger ones better, and wonder how you can make that judgement from online photos?

Still another friend loves my impressionistic work, and thinks I should focus on that. So who do you listen to, or do you listen to anyone at all. Other friends have asked me to do portraits, and I have done many of those.

No one asks me what I enjoy the most. Maybe they should ask: “What sells the most?” I’ve had someone ask me “Why do I want to sell my art?” I wanted to say something not so nice, but just said that the art supplies were expensive. It was a complete lie! Artists want to be known for what they do and how they do it, and making a little money would not be bad either?

I guess the big question is: Why do people think they should tell you what to do? Or in other words, why do people want to control someone else’s life?

My conclusion is that you should draw or paint whatever you enjoy. If it sells, then great. But if it does not sell, then at least you have enjoyed doing it. I actually donate a lot of my art to local organizations.

How do you decide what to paint?

Life Drawing

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I took a life drawing class in Sacramento last weekend, and enjoyed the experience. I had not worked in charcoal in several years. It took a while to get back into it. There were two very experienced models. We started out with five minute poses, which we erased, then went on to twenty minute poses. These are all twenty minute poses.

Life Drawing

First Local Fair

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Today is the first time l’ve joined a Craft Fair in Vacaville and realize people don’t buy fine art or even cards at an event like this. I am amazed what people do buy, mostly things i would not think to buy. They buy Sensy from the booth on one side, walk by and say “pretty” then buy a net wreath or fake flower arrangement at the next booth.

Okay, I take that back, I just sold five cards It will be interesting to see if I even cover my entry fee! I know intellectually you have to get your art out somehow, but not sure this is the venue. The lady selling cat toys gets a lot more interest than my art!

If nothing else, it is interesting to see this cross-section of Vacaville! And an interesting experiment that I will most likely not repeat! Its for a good cause, but hard in a new town to figure out where to sell your art?

First Local Fair

My Little Cottage (not by the sea)

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Life brings you joy, happiness, challenges, changes and a long list of other things. This last year I sold my beach house, got a divorce and could only afford a small older cottage. It is amazing how well we all can adopt.

So begins a new story in my life in a small waterfront town in Washington half a year, and in California the other half. The little house has literally nothing in the yard, but brush that people left for years under the trees. My gardener from my last house took out two full dump trucks full of yard waste and etc. I have spent a lot of time putting down beauty bark, and will slowly plant the garden. (not today) Friends have been generous with gleanings from their gardens, so I know in the long run it will be lovely and carefree! (In appearance, not maintenance)

The entire little house has been painted the brightest white available, and I would love to replace doors, trim and cabinets, but that is not in the budget at the moment. I cheated on the drawing, as the house is actually yellow, not my favorite color! So hopefully next summer we can paint it a nice dark gray.

Every day is a new and mostly fun challenge. Today I discovered who ever lived here waxed the ceramic tile floor. It was already kind of an ugly light pink, but it never looked clean. Today Clorox and a brush on my knees, and a metal scraper, helped it look a tiny bit better.

I serendipitously came to see my first love from college again about a year ago. His late wife was a sorority sister, a beautiful and smart woman whose Celebration of Life I attended. It was wonderful to see they had a wonderful life together. I guess I had always wondered how his life had gone. It was a beautiful celebration and I was so happy to know he had a good life and two wonderful children. It was amazing to reconnect with so many of my AX sorority sisters from fifty years ago.

Over time Reed & I talked and discovered, both being widowed there was still some magic in life. We are having a amazing time getting to know each other in our seventies. You never know what will happen in life.

With the wildfires and COVET 19 life is not simple for anyone. The air quality was so bad in Washington when I wrote this, I was not sure if it is even a good idea to go to my garage to paint. We are having strange times. I feel lucky to be sharing it with someone so positive, loving and laughing.

My Little Cottage (not by the sea)