ONE NEW PAINTING

This isn't all that new.... I did it over two weeks ago and haven't painted anything but my daily postcards since.... I did make an attempt but I won't get into that. This is from a photo taken on the dock road looking north. This photo of the painting looks better than the painting..... the actual painting is darker in value..... too many glazes. And there was a bit more sky before I splattered on the snow and put a big glob that I couldn't fix and had to crop it a bit.

Van and I will be leaving on Thursday on our way to Florida and for the last week we've been busy getting things ready so we can be away for 2 months. Besides trying to figure what we're going to take and getting the tax stuff done, we've been putting all the liquids and food in one room where we'll put a light bulb heater so the things won't freeze and have been taking the house plants to friends houses..... the hoya has been in a high window for year and Van had to bring a tall ladder in to get it down today. We'll drain the pipes before we go.



This is fun thing I did a few months ago and took photos of today. The plywood form was cut out by a friend, Jim Healey along with a bunch more. He decorated several and gave some others away including this one to me. I collaged it with various papers.

This is a close up of the collage.

Good bye for now. I'll post again when we get settled in Florida.

YEAR OF THE OX WOODCUT

For the last several years I have participated in a print exchange of Chinese Zodiac New Years animals, sponsored by the Baren Forum. The gallery for last year, the Year of the Rat is here. 2009 is the Year of the Ox and I just finished my contribution for the year.... a little late as the year began on January 26th. I will send out 53 prints to 53 other printmakers and they (most of them anyway) will send one that they make to me.

My image is a composite of several pictures in books and strongly influenced by a cow in a print by one of my favorite woodblock artists, John Platt. I referred to a black and white reproduction in a book I own which I used in planning my image. When I looked for an image on line to refer you to, I found this on the Woodblock.com site.... I'm not sure copyright allows me to show it here. I was thrilled to find the book by Platt (I had seen it listed before and thought it was the same book that I have which is more just a catalog.) and plan to read it through soon. David Bull has put together an amazing amount of information on woodblock printing on the Woodblock.com site, in particular the Japanese method and is also responsible for starting and maintaining the Baren Forum which sponsors the exchange.

Anyway, back to my print. A lot went wrong, as usual when I make a print. I love the process, but haven't made a print for almost a year and like playing a musical instrument or painting, it takes lots of practice to be even half way good. I print using Japanese technique. I printed it reductive using one piece of locally milled yellow cedar, carving out parts of the wood after each color printed.... this probably won't make much sense at all unless you know what reduction printing is... go here if you're really interested for an explanation on the last print I made. My husband had planed the wood with a friends planer and we both sanded it. Evidently not enough. I should have stopped after doing the first impression and started over, but continued, and didn't do as many impression (different colors or values) as I had planned to. There was a area across the middle of the block which was lower than the rest making getting an even print impossible. My old bamboo sheath covered baren did a better job than my ball baring one but not enough to get an even print. I couldn't get a good bokashi either.... gave up trying. The worst thing I think is that there isn't enough contrast between the oxen's hooves and the light colored grass .... and he seems to be levetating. Oh well, it was fun to make it and even more fun to get the one's made by the other participants.


Here is one of the better of the 70 or so that I printed. Its about 4 by 6 inches.

AN ART AWARD

Thanks to James Parker, I've been awarded this art award and am suppose to list 7 things I love. I appreciate this and thank James. Since I'm very far behind in my blogging duties, I'm going to be very brief here.

l. My family
2. My friends
3. My home
4. Art
5. Music
6. Beauty
7. Life

And now I'm suppose to send this on to 7 other bloggers which is causing me some slight distress.... I know I've seen lists of loved things on some other blogs I read, and wonder if those bloggers might not want to feel obliged to take the time again. And I haven't corresponded with very many bloggers and wouldn't feel comfortable sending on to folks that don't know me from Adam. So, I'm going to just make a list of some blogs I really like and honor them that way,.... and hope I don't have 7 years of bad luck.

http://lindablondheimartnotes.blogspot.com/
http://makingamark.blogspot.com/
http://pharmwife.blogspot.com/
http://ninajohansson.blogspot.com/
http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/
http://rozwoundup.typepad.com/roz_wound_up/
http://foxyartstudio.blogspot.com/

SAN FRANCISCO VICTORIAN

This is my interpretation of the latest DSFDF challenge put on by Karin Jurick. You can see the photo and all the other renditions of it here. I love the Victorian houses in San Francisco, but this photo just didn't do much for me. I decided to change the colors on the house and give some contrast in the sky and windows. I did it smaller than the other DSFDF paintings I've done and figured just a couple of hours would do it, but I spent more like 6 hours. If I'd known it was going to take that long, I'd have been more careful on my drawing. I'm not very happy with it, probably more the drawing than anything. I have been printing out a print to paint from as I can't get the internet on the computer in my studio. After painting it, I see a lot of things in the photo I wasn't seeing correctly.

The fact that the photo didn't inspire me made me do a different painting than I would if it was something I chose to paint from one of my photos or in plein air. When I paint from one of my photos, there is that memory of the feeling I had when I took the picture, a wish to depict what I saw at that time. Without that personal connection with the image, I am definitely painting differently, changing things, actually putting more thought into the outcome. My husband said that people will probably wonder why I'm painting such things.... his kind way of telling me he's wondering why. At that point, I was wondering why too, but now know that besides the fact that I like a challenge, it is a great learning experience. It is like an assignment in a class. I've tried not to peek at the paintings done before mine but when I have, it has made me try harder to do my best. Later, looking at all the others, I've learned so much. Putting mine out there for people to see is a new thing too. Though I've put my work on my blog before, I've never gotten much traffic. Getting positive comments has been a real plus.

THREE NEW PAINTINGS

A view from the hydro road,

a view from somewhere around Berry Island near Sitka,

and a view from Shelikof Beach. Mount Edgecumbe is on the left, the top covered with clouds. Mt Edgecumbe is in the previous painting too.

JEFFERSON MEMORIAL FOR DSFDF

This is my painting for the latest challenge for Karin Janik's Different Strokes from Different
Folks blog.... a timely subject for the happening in Washington now. It's quite different than anything I've ever done and I'm really rather happy with it. A night or two before the photo for the challenge came up, I was taken with the lovely lights from the windows of our house one snowy night and as always when something moves me, I was wondering how I could capture it with paint. The photo seemed a good way to try my first night scene painting. I tried first to do it with gouache with no success (I made a mess of the sky) and then started over with watercolor. I used some gouache in spots towards the end.... splattering the stars and brightening up the lights.

SOME NEW PAINTINGS

I didn't really make a New Years resolution to blog more this year, but so far, I have made the effort to do so.... mostly on my other blog, Watercolor Postcards. So far, I've done a little painting every day this year and have posted them regularly. I've also been unusually busy in the studio most days. Though this blogging thing is quite time consuming, my art and blogging seem to feed on each other. Today, Sunday is my usual day for keeping up on my paper work and I haven't been in the studio today, and perhaps this will be my day for catching up here too.

I scanned a few paintings I did in the last month.

This, as are most all of my landscapes done in the studio, is from a photograph. This was a view from a friends house about 10 years ago. I'd like to go back and do the view on location, and think I'll ask the new owners of the home if I can. Its certainly hard to paint outside this time of year and even with digital photos on the computer screen, I can't see all I want to. Maybe that's a good thing, in some cases, but I had trouble with the nuances in value in the mountains on this one.


This was painted from a photo taken in 06. I did a painting on location of these 2 islands from a different place on the beach and it is here.

And then I did this one of the same 2 islands from yet a different view point. The photo of this was one of my favorite from the trip and has been my screen saver for most of the last 2 years. The photo shows a lot of water and beach in the foreground. I worked for days trying to get it right in the painting, but finally wiped out the water and painted over it with gouache. Maybe I'll try again another year..... or maybe with gouache.



Here's a photo of an old outhouse, taken a couple of weeks ago. Its in the file, all sized to put here, so here it is. It was before the heavy snow we've had since Christmas.... 6 feet or more with an accumulation of over 3 feet. The cold weather finally broke last night and rain started today. What a mess. My photos of the heavy snow are on my other computer which I can't access the internet with.







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PAINTING AGAIN andHAPPY NEW YEAR

The output from my studio has been pretty low in the last few months, but I got a jump start when I found a blog called Different Stokes From Different Folks. A fantastic artist, Karin Jurik posts a photograph and invites anyone who wants to, to paint it and send to her and she posts on the blog. The blog is here.

I came to the challenges late, joining the 13th week and painted this pair of shoes. I did it on a gessoed topo-map with gouache.

The next challenge was to send in a photo of myself and Karin sent me back a photo of someone else and the person in that photo painted me. Here is the painting I did:

It was a humbling experience. I hadn't done a portrait in ages and had forgotten how hard they are to do. Karin said not to try so much for a likeness, but it was hard not to try, and I really stuggled with several starts. The pretty girl in the red dress (she is prettier in the photo) is Simone Ritter and she lives in New Brunswick. Her painting of me is on the blog and she did a very nice job.

There were a few scans here from the last couple of months that I will post.
I did the 2 of fuschia soon after coming home from my trip, back in October. Both are of the same branch of flowers.

I painted this one after a careful pencil drawing.


and this one without drawing first. I kind of surprised myself.



This is Aimee's row boat, from photographs I took in the Beardsleys a couple of summers ago.

Happy New Year to my friends who might stop by. I promise to post more often this year and invite you to post a comment.

THE TRIP TO ENGLAND

I'm returning to blogging today, as now I have a more reliable internet provider at home.... AT&T wireless, only 2G here, but with an aerial and amplifier/booster, it is faster than my dial up which sometimes I couldn't get at all..... never it seemed when I wanted to upload some pictures. I have never been able to comment on other blogs from home and hopefully will be able to with this set up.

I sized these pictures a month or more ago of my trip to England and Italy for 3 weeks in September and October. It was a wonderful trip, with two friends, Jane and Kris. We flew to London and took trains to St. Ives in Cornwall and spent a week hiking the coastal trail to Penzance. We had made reservations before along the way in Bed and Breakfasts, and arranged with them to transport out packs from place to place. We were very lucky to have good weather for most of the trip.

We hiked in Devon the second week on the Jurassic Coast, starting in Exmouth and ending up in Lyme Regis in Dorset. More lovely weather until the last day of hiking where a storm put us on a bus. Then back to London where we spent a few days and Kris and I went to Florence and Pisa for a few days.

I had big plans to paint along the way, but didn't do much. I took over 600 photos though.



A view from our room in the Regent Hotel in St. Ives


Along the trail, our first day of hiking

From the Tinner Pub in Zennor

We saw lots of cows. This one near Pandeen is a banded Galloway, if I remember right. Thanks to all the cows for the delicious clotted cream.

There were lots of old mining structures and shafts in the area....coal and tin

An ancient stone circle somewhere past Porthcurno. We often ended up inland from the coastal trail.... sometimes due to weather, sometimes we took the wrong turn. There are paths all over the place.


A beach somewhere near Porthcurno


A train took us to Exeter in Devon where we visited the cathedral. Then a night in Exmouth.



The pebbles on the beach at Budleigh Salterton were just marvelous. I wanted to take buckets home, but only took one small one.

On the path to Otterton Mill

Branscombe was a gorgeous village, the longest village in England and full of beautiful cottages.
the bakery in Branscombe
We stayed here, the Great Seaside B and B lovely inside and out.

Between Budleigh Salterton and Sidmouth

Some days were windy.....
other days not.

Marilyn on the left and Rick on the left joined us (Kris, me and Jane in the middle) for a couple of days of walking in Devon . Here we are after our walk from Budleigh Salterton to Seaton. Note me with a pint instead of a half pint. Maybe had something to do with the lack of painting I did. Loved the ale.


Walking from Branscombe to Beer in Devon.


The morning of what was to be our last day of walking in Devon through the Undercliffs from Seaton to Lyme Regis. We took the bus.

In Lyme Regis, the ammonite motif was everywhere.


Three nights in London. A whole day at Kew Gardens in sunshine. Besides all the plant houses and gardens there was a fabulous display of botanical art at the Shirley Sherwood gallery.

Here I am in Florence, after the Ufizzi.

SOME PICTURES BEFORE I LEAVE FOR ENGLAND

I'm leaving in the morning for a trip to England so better get these pictures posted now or never. I loaded them some time ago, wrote something to put with them, but can't find it (I usually write in my word processor, cause my connection at home is so friggin slow and load at the library where it is faster.)

This is Lee's new boat. He got it in Sitka and now is living aboard it in Juneau.

I painted this a couple or 3 years ago and never was happy with it.


I fixed it with some acrylic painting and stamping and am now happy with it.


My cousin Jill who I hadn't seen in 30 years came to visit from California. We had a fun time... here she is in one of our paddles.


And this is a sideways photo of the bank and reflection of the Salmon River. Very cool!


A couple of my cabbages and some carrots in my garden.



And these last 3 pictures are flowers in my sun-room, which has been a bright spot in a cool and rainy summer.