Snowbound

Three days I’ve been in the house with only my little dog Rondo to keep me company. The wind has howled, snow has fallen, and the temperature dropped to single digits. So, I read, I sewed and I painted. Solitary pursuits for sure but January is a solitary month. 

Watercolor In November

Buddah and Bob watercolor  9"x12"

Getting together with friends to watercolor is good for the soul.   On a dreary November evening that consists of drizzling rain and wet leaves descending to the ground, a few of my watercolor comrades will be arriving to paint.  We will eat homemade pizza and then attempt to paint something that has caught our eye since the last time we have got together which was just last week.  Having this small group of painters that I see regularly has been beneficial in keeping me accountable and productive.  Even though I do not complete the watercolors that I start at these get togethers until later, I still make headway in trying new techniques and subject matter as well as sharing ideas.  Also, a little constructive criticism from an outside source that you trust is beneficial to the painting process.

Respite

Sketch/watercolor of a small mill in Scotland no longer in use.

It is the middle of summer already.  Hot and humid in Iowa.  My garden has weeds that need to be plucked out and my flowers are looking a little thirsty.  I have a wren that is preparing her second nest of the season and is singing away.  Lightning bugs still illuminate the still nights but the locusts have started their rhythmic chant that foretells autumn even in the middle of July.
I have a couple friends that will be attending the MacNider Art Museum in Mason City, Iowa on Tuesday to view the current Area Show 46 and the artwork I had got selected for the exhibition.  I enjoy these art fieldtrips. Sometime they involve a sketching element.  We will see if we can fit one in on this trip.  If so, I will post the results.

New Materials

It’s always exciting to try new materials. Going to an art supply store is as exhilarating as going to an office supply store. I would choose those over any other shopping any day. So, I have picked up some Golden GAC 200 from Dick Blick and some gold leaf from Hobby Lobby and am going to try some application inspired by Nancy Reyner who I just finished taking a class from. 

Nancy is an exquisite painter, educator, author that is inspiring in trying new painting applications and in critically analyzing artwork to make better judgements on how to proceed. http://nancyreyner.com/. 

Winter's Refuse

"Winter's Refuse"  mixed media  22"x28"  

March has arrived in northern Iowa.  Birds are returning including flocks of robins and blackbirds.  The snow had melted considerably until today as it is currently being replenished with another Monday snowstorm.  That early melt of snow, the first couple melts anyway, leaves the ground covered with broken branches, trash in some cases, what I call winter's refuse.  It is wet, muddy, and messy.  The ground is still frozen so the water has nowhere to go but remain on the surface and form small ponds that the returning ducks enjoy in the farmer's fields.  The bird feeders are crazy busy with  competition from the new returnees from the warmer climates.

The painting, "Winter's Refuse" is an experimental painting done in acrylic and ripped masa paper on watercolor 140# Arches paper.  I wanted to play around with surface qualities and not get locked into realism.  The interconnectedness of things is my focus here; nature, the seasons, time, space.  My plan is no particular plan.  My plan is to just continue painting and see where that leads me.

Cairn in Ireland

Here is a completed watercolor painting I have been meaning to try for almost a year. I have painted one previously in acrylic from Grand Marais, Minnesota. This one I photographed in the west coast of Ireland. There is something about the organic quality of rocks, their sharp edges and unruly geometric shapes that interest me. I am so like the challenge of painting lights and darks. I will be painting more of these in the future 

Cuba's Muraleando, an Arts Center regenerating a community

 I had the opportunity to go to Cuba recently.  It was actually on a Caribbean Holland America trip with a two day layover in the Havana Harbor.  On our Taste of Cuba excursion we had an opportunity to visit an area of the city that had been repurposed from a very rundown space to an art center.  The center provides classes for creating art, music, dance and theatre for the region.  Many of the outdoor sculptures surrounding the center were constructed from recycled materials.