Apple Blossom

Now, THIS is what an apple blossom looks like!  The blossoms in the previous painting are....impatiens, perhaps?

From the Archives

I was about to say that I had no idea when I drew this....and then I noticed that I wrote "1988" on the sketch.  So, I guess I drew this eons ago, back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth!

The blossoms aren't right, probably because I didn't use a reference pic.  These things happen when you draw from your head.  Despite that fact, I love this.  I think my favorite part is the leaf sort of dribbling to nothing-ness.  This drawing is now hanging in my mother-in-law's kitchen.  Isn't that delightful?

A Double "No"

The sketch of the eye really has nothing to do with this post...except that it looks mildly grumpy.

Today I received two rejections.  A "no" from the retirement community that thought they wanted me to paint murals.  And a "no" from a design center where I had taken my decorated hand drawings.  It was a really curious sensation!  Almost toddler-ish.

I'm actually not as shattered as I thought I'd be.  There's a slight relief over the murals.  And I can see now that the hand drawings may not have been the best fit for the design center.  So, it's actually pretty ok.  My hubby spoke spirit-salve all over me.  He spoke of value in Christ alone, and the hope of His calling.  It is a rich and beautiful thing to be married to a simple, solid Christ-follower.

I haven't decided yet what my next project will be, except for this:  I think I want to look into biblical JOY.  I think that might prove to be poignant.

Business Cards

So, once upon a time, I ordered my hubby some business cards.  Wanting to be a wise steward, I spent very little on them.  And they were AWFUL.  So after a brief period of time, I ordered some brand new business cards.  And this time I spent a wee bit more.  They weren't much better.

When you consider that I spent a VERY LONG time (with a LOT of help) designing my own cards .... full color, double sided, high gloss, post-card size .... it feels really, really rotten that I made my hubby deal with dog-ugly cards.

So!  We were browsing on-line today, looking at all the images and clip art out there to use in another set of NEW business cards for my hubby!  These will be the bomb diggety, and they'll be beautiful.  Only problem is, we really aren't fond of the images that are available for contractors ... or handy men ... or plumbers ... or builders.

Shane has this really quirky sense of humor, so I began to doodle.  The above drawing isn't the final draft, but it's not horrible either!  Narrow up the nose, change the teeth, maybe get rid of the nail and just make the "thumb" a bit more swollen ... add full color (with the "thumb" really, really red) ...  this might be a winner!

Fall Storm

I painted this a couple of years ago.  There's this really cool house that I drove by several times a week.  It has an old stone foundation, and a windmill in the yard.  The property goes on and on and on.  Rumor has it that it was once owned by the Maytag family (as in: the washers and dryers).  I have no idea if that's true.

Anyway, out in the "yard" (this place has acres, so "yard" isn't quite right) is a small collection of aspen trees....and in another place there's this wind-break type of fence.  I thought they went great together!

I love the leaves against the dark sky.  I used masking fluid (just like in the columbine that I posted last week), and painted the sky first.  The fence was in perfect shape.  Which I found to be boring.  So I knocked down part of it (not literally, of course)!  Doesn't it make you wonder what creature (animal or human) went tromping through there and broke it down? 

This painting is now in the possession of a very dear friend.  I can't tell you how happy that makes me!

Spirit of Hope

I'm sitting here at my computer wondering what on earth to say about this.  There's a whole long story linked to this painting, and I'm not sure it's my story to tell.  I suppose a general summary would be to say that this tree is permanently cemented in the minds of my friends as a turning point in their lives.  The story involves an accident, a lot of tears, a great deal of heartache,  and probably a significant amount of fear.  IT ALSO INVOLVES GREAT HOPE.  Our God, Who loves us and redeemed us, also loves to redeem the most broken parts of our lives.

That's the whole point of this painting.  God takes what we might see as having no value (some people would have just cut the tree down!), and changes our hearts so that we can see hope.  God's breath moves through our lives, moves through us, and we are transformed...and the circumstances of our lives are transformed as well.

A beautiful thought for a Sunday morning.

BRAND NEW!

I finally finished the watercolor of the columbine (that I sketched...how long ago?).  I ran into a "lack of supplies" roadblock!

So, after a trip to the art supply store in the Springs, I was finally able to get to work.  I masked the flower itself with masking fluid and painted the background first.  All loosey-goosey and drippy.  Then, when that was dry I could rub off the masking fluid and start on the flower...with a MUCH smaller brush!  I do the end-spatter with a toothbrush.  I think I like it!

Now it will go in a mailing envelope (with some stiff backing) and get mailed to a friend on the other side of the country.

Set Painters

For a few years, I had the great fun of painting theatrical sets with a friend of mine.  Each christmas our church would put on this fantastic production, full of music and people and great story-telling, and it needed a set.  Walt-The-Genius would build the sets, and my friend Lois and I would paint them.  The one above was called "Word on the Street" (if I remember correctly).  It told the nativity story from an inner-city point of view.

 

I don't remember what this show was like.  I just know that Walt-The-Genius covered the stage with wood so that we could paint swirls on it (notice in the first pic the stage is covered with hideous purple-y carpet).  That background was great fun to paint, all sprayed and loose looking.

 

This was a cloud that Walt-The-Genius SUSPENDED FROM THE CEILING so that the angels could hang out up there and observe what was going on down on earth.  We wrapped it in drapey fabric (sheets, I think) and painted it bluey-purple.

Lois and I also painted sets for the Buell Theater in Cripple Creek.  They didn't have a work room, really.  Instead we painted in a defunct casino that was next door to the theater.  We had to tarp the carpet (it was red, with gold stars all over it), and we ended up washing our brushes and sprayers out in the sink at the bar.

This is me and Lois.  Well.  It's mostly me and the donkey with just a smidge of Lois.  But this EXACTLY depicts what painting with Lois is like.  Quirky.  Great Fun.  Lots to laugh at.  And a donkey thrown in for good measure!

(psssst!  If you click on the pictures you can see a bigger image)

Still Learning

I had this beautiful pic of tulips hanging down over their vase, with their stems showing through the glass.  Of course, it had to be painted!  So, I did the good and careful thing, and sketched it first.  Surely that meant that the painting was guaranteed success, right?

Well, not quite.  The name of the painting is "Fourth Time Tulips".  Not "Reds in Glass"....or "Tulips Drooping"....or "Brilliant".  Nope.  It took me four different tries to come up with something I even remotely liked.  Remotely.  There are parts I am really happy with...the stems in the vase.  The reddest of tulips.  The pink one going off the page to the right.

But I hate the top of the painting.  The shadows within the flowers are ok, but I really don't like the lighting up there.  Maybe it should have been darker?  Maybe I was careless with the color?  I don't know why I painted it "portrait" instead of "landscape", like in the sketch!  Oh well.  I have it in a frame that has a square shaped mat, so the top of the painting doesn't show!

MISTAKES!

If this blog is really all about me learning....then I don't get to JUST post the things that I love.  It doesn't get to be ALL about the home-runs.  I don't ONLY tell you about the triumphs.  So, here it comes.  A few failures that I'm trying to learn from.

I was playing around with doing a one-line drawing, in ink (which means no erasing!), and I was combining three reference pics.  So it was a little tricky.  But even so, I should have thought the composition through a little bit before I started!  Instead I drew that one diagonal line and then realized that it was going to end up going right through the body of one of the following geese!  Lesson?  Plan Ahead!

This is supposedly my hubby and one of our dogs.  Except that if you know him, you know that this doesn't really look like my hubby.  So, instead it's just a man and his dog.  Not only is the man's face all off, but the dog looks pretty doggone (haha) cartoonish.  Lesson?  I have no idea!  I really don't know what I would need to do differently.

This is supposed to be...um...Murphy.  And there is a slight resemblance, but really...no.  It's become clear that I ALWAYS elongate the face!  The nose is way too long!  That may be the problem with the sketch above of my hubby, too.  Lesson?  MEASURE, MEASURE, MEASURE!  As my good friend Lois was just telling me, every face is different, so you  HAVE TO MEASURE!

Psalm 93

Sometimes I run and run, and get all busy and rushed.  And when I finally sit down, I'm still mildly hurried in my brain.  It almost takes extra effort to slow down my mind and REST.  That's what this drawing is all about.  I needed to actively slow myself down.  It takes some strength of will to draw slow straight lines and not just scribble.  And it's a delightful and NECESSARY thing to remind myself of the greatness of God in the midst of it all.

Peace.  Be Still.  The LORD reigns.

Columbine Sketch

This is my current project.  I need to re-sketch this on bristol board and then paint it in watercolor.  It's the strangest thing that I can draw something once and it turns out great.  But the thought of drawing it again is a bit daunting!  Silly.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

STYMIED

My Webster's New World Dictionary (published in 1984...evidently not that "new") defines STYMIED as "the condition that exists on a putting green when..."  No, that can't be right.

How about, "any situation in which one is obstructed or frustrated".  That's it!

Yesterday I painted this background and had the perfect idea for what to paint ON it.  And as the background paint dried,  my perfect idea grew less and less perfect in my head.  So now it sits.  Waiting for a fresh batch of inspiration.  We'll see how long it sits there on my easel.

Pacing The Floor

Yesterday I e-mailed a potential client to let them know that I had their mural proposal ready.  It's time to meet!

And I waited.  And waited.  And checked my e-mail.  And waited.  I had to confess to some friends last night that I think I checked my email EVERY TEN MINUTES!  Good grief!  Clearly I needed a distraction!

So, I cleaned out my portfolio.  And look what I found!  I completely forgot I had painted this.  It was another one of those efforts in layering.  And I was desperately trying to make myself paint in a different direction.  For some reason I tend to have a focal point on the left and the diminishing horizon on the right.  So I was forcing myself to work backwards.  I think I like it!

Still checking my e-mail.  Trying to stretch it to every 15 minutes!

A Tiny Set

Blue Bells, Red Bells, Purple Bells, and Yellow Bells

I loved  painting these!  I can never quite figure out which color is my favorite.  Each one is a watercolor that measures 6" square.  One of these days I'll have them framed as a set.  Right now they're just hanging out in my portfolio between sheets of tracing paper.

Which is your favorite?

(ok, today I like the purple bells the best).

Two More!

I had so much fun last time, I couldn't help myself!  I find that this is an enormous stress reliever.  I've been working on sketches for the murals I told you about, and it tends to consume all of me.  So by doodling, I gain a little bit back.

CHOOSE - Life or Death?

This speaks to me.  There are so many times that I really think I no longer have the ability to....paint....to clean the house....to cook another meal....to love people well....to do as God asks.  And maybe "ability" isn't quite accurate.  Sometimes I don't have the energy.  Or the courage.  Sometimes I no longer even have the desire to do these good things. And God still calls me.

So I must CHOOSE.  Choose to obey....to step forward....to try some more....to love again and again.

Thankfully, the beginning decision (and thus the final decision) between life and death has already been made.  I have chosen to answer the pull that God placed on my heart, and I belong to Him.  But every decision, every day, is also a bit of choosing life or death.  Lord Jesus, I want to be the tree on the right!  I choose the better.

JOY GIVERS

Today was FULL of brain-zapping, heart-pounding, nerve-racking activities.  All in the midst of no warmth (can you say BRRRRR??),  almost no sun, and no chocolate covered peanuts.  So at the end of the day, I had the delightful luxury of sitting in the recliner and DOODLING, while Wheel of Fortune mumbled in the background.

Ah, brain rest.

It's a joy giver.