Sketches for Community Church

I don't start painting the next set for my church until September...well, maybe August.  That gives me the whole summer to work out the images and decide what I want to do.

One of my ideas was to paint a stack of black and white photographs...or perhaps sepia tone.  Something old fashioned.  I'd only put in bits and pieces of color, sort of to make a point.  

For the story of the temptation of Jesus, I was thinking along the lines of Him being alone and of how He quoted Scripture in response to Satan's attacks.  It's a beautiful thing to remember.  If my mind is filled with the word of God, then my foundation is solid.

I'll post more ideas and sketches as the weeks go by...

Drawing While the Forest Burns

There's a wildfire about 8 miles from where we live, which is mildly disconcerting.  Since there's not a blessed thing I can do about it, I draw.  And while I draw I pray.  It seems like a good way to spend my time.

This is just a preliminary sketch for a painting I hope to do in the not too distant future.  I'm thinking when it comes time to paint, I'll make the background a wee bit darker.

Plein Air Painting

For some reason the french phrase "plein air" has stuck...nobody says they went out to paint in the wide open spaces.  I guess because it takes too long to spit out that phrase!  That's what I did today, though.

Murphy and I and two artist friends hiked half way to the Crags and then settled down on a broad rock to paint.  There are definitely some challenges about painting out there...where the sun dries your watercolors before you want them to be dry...where the wind blows over your water bottle and flips your pages (wet or not!)...where the flies decide you make a lovely landing spot...Of course, what am I complaining about?  I live in the mountains of Colorado where the air is DRY, and there are NO MOSQUITO'S, and there aren't any creepy crawlies making themselves at home in your shoes.

It was a lovely day.  As the afternoon wore on the clouds began to build, and build, and build.  I was looking at the tops of these dead aspen trees and realized that we might need to call this painting trip to an end.  Thunderstorms are a regular thing around here in the afternoons, and you don't want to be high up, near the top of Pikes Peak when they hit!  Time to go home!

Spent

I've had this pic of a half-spent dandelion forever, it seems....always intending to paint it....always intimidated by all those tiny white lines.  Well here's the beginning sketch.  The black lines here will be white lines in the painting.  I'm still intimidated.  But if I never try, then I fail.  Period.

On a side note, I used my colored pencils to embellish this sketch.  Of course, they needed sharpening, and I found myself missing my old-fashioned hand-crank pencil sharpener.  I know I have it somewhere...in a box, no doubt.  It needs to be resurrected, because this electric pencil sharpener is severely LACKING.  I don't know what it is.  The pencils get sharp.  But that whirring sound...and having to just hold the pencil still with just the right amount of pressure....it just doesn't compare with the cool hand-crank sound, the feel of spinning that handle around and around...and the smell!  Freshly sharpened pencils smell WONDERFUL, and the electric sharpener doesn't seem to have it.

Murphy the Teacher

You could almost say that a brilliant sunny day is a constant in the mountains of Colorado.  It's rare that the skies are cloudy, or even hazy.  So the other day my son gave me a little lesson on how to burn images into wood using the sun and a magnifying glass.  I found it to be a mite tricky!!

More Sketching

So, if I'm going to really, really, really sketch a lot this summer, do I have to post the ugly sketches as well as the beautiful ones?  Well, maybe.  I'll post this one, because frankly, I've done worse!  This one I only feel sort of horrified about.  The truly horrific ones just might end up being burned!

I have all my colored pencils in old Ball canning jars.  The blue ones.  And the pencils are separated by color.  Of course!

When You Don't Paint, You Sketch

Now that I've finished my painting jobs, there's "nothing to do"!!  Doesn't that just sound like a teenager?

So, I sketch.  Wisdom and Good Sense tell me that I should SKETCH EVERY DAY.  Yah, right.  We'll see! This is...Murphy...concentrating on a computer game.  When I asked him to "look", he glanced over for a full 1/4 of a second.  "Mom, I'm fighting for my life here!"

At the moment I think it looks like him.  Give it a day or so and I'll be able to see the flaws.

Finished for Camp Elim

Finished!  I just finished cleaning up...paint cans, step stools, brushes, paper plates, bucket of water, paper towels, scaffold, lights, extension cords, overhead projector, stir sticks, trash....everything is nicely where it belongs, waiting for the next project.  It feels GOOD to wrap it all up!

Painting for Camp Elim

I just started painting these big panels for the kid's Bible camp that's up the road from where I live.  They're big.  They're made up of two 4' x 8' boards, hinged in the middle.  The people at Camp offered to bring them out to me so that I could paint them HERE...INSIDE...instead of outside, with the panels roped to trees on Camp property.  What a great idea!!

Except I forgot that the ceiling in our garage is JUST 8'.  Which means that these 8' panels can't be stood up to paint.  Which means that they have to be painted outside after all.  Aack!!

My hubby came to my rescue, as usual.  He worked up a way to secure them in his carport, so I have a roof over my head, and a level place to work, and they're screwed down so the wind won't blow them over.

Of course, painting outside means I have to wing-it when it comes to setting up my equipment...as you can see in the first picture.  The second picture shows my palette...not at all professional, but it worked!

Here are some progress pics.  This is painted VERY loosely.  I have to work on it some more, but I need my friend (who is WAAAAYYYYY better at painting people) come look at this and give me some constructive criticism.  Once again, there will be no pouting!

From My Sketchbook

I was at Chatfield Reservoir this past weekend with two artist friends.  It would almost be a crime to be in such a beautiful place and leave the sketchbook closed!  These were QUICK.  The feather I did while my friends were standing there waiting for me.  The path took a little longer...

I have this lovely small Moleskine watercolor book, a small watercolor palette, and these fantastic water brushes: where the water is in the handle of the brush and you can squeeze out a drop at a time onto the paint.  Very cool.

It was a lovely day.  The meadowlarks were rejoicing.  The air smelled wonderful.  It was the perfect temperature.  God's generosity on parade!

Spur of the Moment Art

This colored pencil sketch was done in February, mostly to keep myself creatively active.  This morning, as I was perusing my sketch book, I found this sketch and decided, spur of the moment, to paint it.  Well, "spur of the moment" can have it's problems.

It was delightfully fun.

But did I drop my paint brush?  Yes.

Was it loaded with blue paint?  Yes.

Did it bounce against my shirt on it's way to the floor?  Yes.

Had I taken the time to change into painting clothes before painting?  NO!

Not long ago someone asked me how many pairs of painting PANTS I had.  The answer was FOUR.  All because of "spur of the moment" painting.  And dropping my brush.  And now I have another painting SHIRT...I'm not sure how many painting shirts I have now.  And it's a huge bummer, because I really LIKE this shirt!