Friends

By this time I'm sure that most, if not all, of you know about our fellow artist Cindy Woods, who just entered hospice care the other day. Just as I was going to post this, I clicked over to her blog and saw that she left us today.
I've always been a huge fan Cin's work, and feel a special attachment to her drawings of the people around her -- she and I spend our time in very similar environments, and I love how her portraits look beyond what most people see and show a great deal of love and humor and wonderful spirit.
This one is for you Cin. I've loved "meeting" your friends through your drawings, and especially your Annie. This is my Lil.

Random Acts

I had the day off work today because I have to do work stuff all this weekend. Well, I kind of had the day off work. I didn't go into work, and didn't paid to work, although I did set up the computer on the dining room table, check the financials for two buildings for the day, update schedules for two buildings for the day, do a conference call, call both buildings, receive three calls about sicknesses and scheduling, over the course of the day received about eight more calls about scheduling and patient questions and billing questions and family questions and friendly venting about co-workers... anyway. You get the picture. This is what my days off are like during the week.

Which means I didn't get to do many of the things I'd planned on doing*, but one of my top things on my list today was to take photos of this really neat little old motor court that I pass regularly on the way to work. The morning light is usually just perfect for what I was after, and the day was clear, so off I went to get the shots. I DID get my main shot from the main highway as I approached (painting to come later, in the style of The Diner), but really wanted to sneak into the place and photograph those great shadows. Unfortunately, as soon as I made the turn, camera poised over the steering wheel as I drove, I got busted by the caretaker. BUSTED. He looked up and saw me and started walking over as soon as I turned in. It wasn't until that very minute that I realized that having someone taking photos of the outside of what just might be the no-tell-motel could be bad for business. So, as he came toward me, I stowed that camera real fast, smiled and waved at the same time that I reversed the car and pulled back out onto the highway. I guess I convinced him that I'd just pulled into the wrong place because he smiled and waved back. Rats.

So. What's my point? No point at all. Just RANDOM. And Diahn says all that needs to be said about WONDERFUL TRUE RANDOM ACTS on her blog today. I'm just going to shut up now and let you go visit her for the rest.

I'll do something nice for someone tomorrow.

(* Not only was I going to do the under drawing for THREE big watercolors, I was going to CHEAT and do a bunch of sketches in advance for the weekend, since I'll be tied up working. Never got to pick up pencil, pen, or brush. At least not for art. I did get to go shop for new tennis shoes and work-out clothes for my work this weekend -- I LOVE my job -- tennies are a fact of life, and sweat pants often are, too -- but I didn't get to go shop for the Thanksgiving supplies I needed or for D's Christmas present as planned. I did get the guest bedroom halfway cleaned up and laundry halfway done and supper cooked, but the rest of the house looks like it may have recently been burglarized and that the burglars tracked in loads of cat hair. Shame on them. Oh well. There's always tomorrow...)

Something Red

This weekend I cut loose and painted something red. Yes, it really is that bright. (This is just a piece of the piece... long story). How did I get a red THAT intense? I'm not sure, but am going to be trying to do it again. Wish me luck.

Aaaargh!

Long day at work today, but fun. It started out early, at the crack of dawn, and ended well after dark. We had a special dinner for our patients and their families tonight, and the department heads all stayed late to serve. Don't tell anybody this, but I had a good time...

Sleep tight, everybody. And tomorrow sit down with your family or friends or somebody and spend just a little extra time with them. That's really what it's all about.

The Wall

In my painting spot, I have several large pieces of foam core board that I use for my "gallery wall". With all the little paintings I've done lately, it has gotten FULL So, tonight I get to clean it all off and get ready to start over again.

I was able to stick the paintings on paper into an Itoya portfolio, but what about the stuff on the clayboard? I was just goofing around and accidentally put some of them together like this, which gave me an idea that maybe should have been kind of obvious all along ...
:-)

Companions

This one actually goes with this one and this one. Fun to do just shapes and patterns rather than detail.

We went to the Foothills Craft Guild show at the Jacobs Building in Knoxville today. I have to say, it was hand down the best arts and craft show that I've ever been to. Everything was of exceptionally high quality, the vendors were great, the venue was just the right size ... perfect. Bob Meadows, my favorite bookbinder and friend from watercolor class, was there with his amazing books. I won a door prize, which let me pick an item from a table full of donated items, and I picked -- you guessed it -- a book by Bob!

It was a nice day.

It is getting cold here. Stay warm and dry everyone.

Last Leaves

Brrrrr! Yesterday was warm-ish and drizzly, with fog lasting all day long, even through the noon hour. Last night and today, the winds blew the fog away and brought in heavier rain and, finally, colder weather! The leaves in our yard dropped all at once last night. I hope D is going to get out there and rake them up tomorrow! (Well, okay, I'll help, too... )

This little bit was from a photo that someone in WC class had of the Rockies and the gold leaves. I really liked the light and dark patterns, and didn't worry too much about the exact shape. Yep. Aren't those happy little clouds?
:-D

(Note -- this is NOT from the reference photo I mentioned in yesterday's post. I decided to go ahead and work small again today, since the cold wet weather made me not want to drag a bunch of big stuff to and from class. L-A-Z-Y.)

Saved by the Sketch Part 2

If I'm reading it right, this (above) would be Teri's suggestion for a crop, and the one below is Jim's suggestion. StevieWren thought that the banners helped give it interest, while Diahn also agreed that the angles on things tended to point one out of the picture while the leaves and banners brought the eye back inwards -- so that would explain that. Hmmm... Does this look or sound right, guys?

Saved by the Sketch

I snapped this photo a few weekends ago, thinking that it might be a nice reference for a painting.

Tonight I'm gathering things together for WC class tomorrow, and thought I might bring this one along to work on. So, I did a rough little watercolor and pen & ink sketch to map it out. I really didn't want the branches in the foreground, and wanted to leave out the tent and the signs.

Well -- this is a prime example of why preliminary or value sketches can be important -- especially if you're messing around with your references!

See. It just doesn't really work. There's something there that still has possibility, but I have to fiddle with it lots more. I knew that leaving out the banners might be a composition issue (for some reason that I can't put my finger on -- composition is my weak point, and I have the hardest time explaining WHY I feel like something does or does not work.) -- but I didn't DREAM that leaving out the branches in the foreground would make that roof look so ... so ... big. Huge. And I even tried to kind of squish it and make it smaller than is in the photo. It still takes up a fourth of the page! What the heck was I thinking? And the background - well I'm thinking it should almost be blank. I had thought that the dark bit on the right would balance out the gigantic roof, but I was wrong. And I didn't preserve a nice white sunlit pattern on the figures and the umbrellas on the deck, so they look like they're sitting in under an overcast sky and it is rather depressing. Still -- the figures and umbrellas... there has to be something that can be done one day with this.

What do you guys think?

Maybe something like this... But still with something more interesting on the roof and deck railing.

Meanwhile, I'm pretty sure that I have decided on something else entirely different to work on tomorrow. And since I took a pretty good reference photo to begin with for IT, there shouldn't be quite the problems that there are with this one.


P.S. Here's a little reminder -- I used a dip pen over the watercolor, but the went back into a couple of places with a little more color. THAT'S when I discovered that I hadn't used waterproof ink. Hence the ugly black blob at the end of the deck...

Uh Oh

Um, I know it is NaBloPoMo* and I'm supposed to post something every day, but I haven't got a thing to talk about. Um, nothing.

Oh, I could tell you about being on iTunes and finding a duet sang by Luciano Pavarotti and Jon Bon Jovi ... who could possibly pass THAT up? (It's actually not bad at all...)

It's getting really pitiful around here tonight. See you all tomorrow!

(*I believe we are actually EXPECTED to have one senseless, bandwidth-burning-for-no-good-reason post every 12 days. It's in the fine print of the NaBloPoMo rules, I think... Or if not, it should be. Let's take a vote. Wait, no, we've had enough voting for a while. Let's just smile and pretend it is so.)

Veterans Day Two

Well, THIS was supposed to be the painting for yesterday, being Veteran's Day and there being a flag and all. But, yesterday evening it got dark and a bit cold and then it rained. And I got very sleepy. And so I didn't do the little painting until tonight.

I'd forgotten how tricky painting on Bristol is! I didn't want to add any ink at all, but ended up having to use white acrylic ink for the white stars and then a couple of little lines ... okay, three other little lines. But I avoided the black ink entirely. There are places that might have been better served with some ink work. But maybe not.

Even though it is mid-November, many of our trees here still have many of their leaves. Because we've had several dry years, I really expected that this would be a dull autumn. It has been anything but dull! The leaves started changing late, then the colors have been incredibly vibrant, and have held for a long time. And I'm loving it.

In Honor

I'm lucky that I in my work I get to hear so many stories about the past. I've not only heard stories from our veterans from WWII and Korea, but from WWI, although that was a good many years ago. Even more than those, I've heard the stories of the wives and sisters and families of our veterans -- the families who also, in their quiet way, sacrifice for our country.

In Honor of you all.

Somewhere Other Than Here

From a photo -- I have no idea where this is, but fountains always remind me of Laura! I don't know how she paints them so well, but she is the Queen of Aqua, the Duchess of Damp, the Mistress of the Dancing Waters... :-D

I'm in the mood for ink and landscapes all of a sudden (where did THAT come from?), but am going to have to tear up some different paper! This 300# watercolor paper ruined 2 pens within moments. I know there's some Bristol around here somewhere... I think I'll get some together and get my little "car kit" ready.

Green

Have you ever noticed how ridiculously green a good green pepper is? I'm not patient enough tonight to paint it properly. Maybe tomorrow. It won't last longer than that, as it is planned for dinner one evening, chopped up and sauteed with onion, then added to pulled roasted chicken and simmered in a few spoonfuls of Goya Sofrito to be served over yellow rice with black beans. Comfort food for cold weather.

A Nose By Any Other Name

We have a new kitten. Actually, she's D's cat, and I'm making very sure he doesn't forget that HE was the one who wanted to keep this one. She showed up about three weeks ago and hasn't left since. Of course, since she showed up, we've had to take her to the vet twice, one visit which resulted in her staying there for a week. So, about $500 later, D has a cat that IS HIS ... and she doesn't have a name yet.

Well, her name is "Cat" according to the vet. Not really her name. Just her, um, description.

A kid at the vet's office suggested the name "Oreo" because she is black and white. We played with the name "Lightning" because she has that white streak down the front of her fact and is amazingly fast (Lightning sounds more like a name for a pony, though...) Names from the musical Cats have been tossed around -- Rumpleteazer and Etcetera have been my favorites. D had some really horrible and boring suggestions, that I won't even mention. Finally, today in art class I asked Angelia, whose cats all have GREAT names, for suggestions. I described Cat -- how she looked, how she acts, all that stuff, and within a very short time Angelia came up with the name "Sassy". Perfect. I suggested it to D this afternoon, and he really liked it. So she was named Sassy. For a few hours, that is.

We watched Get Smart tonight. As a result, the cat's name got changed, and it was totally D's idea. Her new name? "Chaos" -- or "Kaos"* --which suits her high-jumping, back-flipping, floor-sliding personality just fine.

Unless, of course, we hear any better suggestions.... anyone?

*We have to figure out the spelling, but aren't too worried about doing it right away, since the cat hasn't learned to read yet.

Pretty Pretty

I stopped in at Jerry's* on the way home from work today to pick up a piece of watercolor paper, and saw this bundle of brightly colored little Fabriano sketchbooks at the register. They've been up there for a while, but this time, one of the packages was open and I could touch the paper. The red book on top had paper that very white and with a slick finish.

"Well, that would just be good for pen and ink and not much else," I said to the cashier.

"Oh no. Each one has a different kind of paper. And they're on sale."

Those Jerry's people have figured me out.

"Well, okay then. I'll get two," I said. "It's not too early to start Christmas shopping."

All together now, to the tune of Happy Birthday --
Merry Christmas to meee.... Merry Christmas to meeee.... Merry Christmas very early.... Merry Christmas to meeee.

:-)

*I know -- I'm VERY fortunate to be able to drop into Jerry's on the way home from work. I really do know that.

Here's the list of what type of paper is in each sketchbook. Very fun!

Did I mention that they were on sale?

Chop Chop

Chinese take out tonight from P.F.Chang's. We love the hot and sour soup and lettuce wraps, not only because they are so good, but because we can pick the food up on the way home from work, and then re-heat them for dinner later on. I snitched a fortune cookie to sketch really fast before we eat tonight.

Good fortune! Beauty, charm and adventure ... that sounds nice! :-)

(I think I need to clean up my palette, as my yellows are getting muddy. I've not taken good care of my brushes lately, either. Doing these fast little watercolor sketches every night has made me messy and kind of, well, lazy.)

Wishin for Fishin

(Yawn.) Up too late last night and up again too early this morning. It's that time of the month at work when we have to close out one month and begin another and start feeding all kinds of reports up the food chain, so I have at least one more hectic day there. A friend is having a long awaited baby shower tomorrow, so there's been some fun activities as we get food and decorations together for it. I'm determined to exercise every day this month, so have had to rush home and get out on the road to get my walk in before it gets dark; I'm also working every night learning Tai Chi as I get ready for a two day Tai Chi training course later on this month. My poor quads are trembling from standing soooo long with my arms reaching forward and my knees bent. And really, despite all of that, I know my days are a lot easier than some of yours.

Still. Doesn't spending the day fishing sound better?

(Sigh.) I think so.

And about the election , whether you are pleased with the outcome or not, just remember the old saying ... no matter who gets elected, the Government always gets in. :-)

Finally, I just have to have a sad pause for a moment. This evening I found out that Michael Crichton died yesterday. I love his books, although I couldn't tell you which is my favorite.

Okay -- I'm going to go do some quick housework and get ready for bed. I'm pooped!

:-) P.S. I've already had to go back in the first 5 seconds of posting to correct all kinds of grammatical errors -- I'm that tired. If I missed any, please feel free to roll your eyes and make fun of me.

(Fine Print Disclaimer: I did this watercolor sketch a couple of weeks ago and have had it lying around. I doodled in a meeting today, and that was the extent of my drawing. It's just been too much of a day...)

Proudly Presenting

a...p...p...P...P...Pineapple. Sigh. An unPlanned PineaPPle aPPeared uPon my counter.
I ask you. What was I suPPosed to do?

I wanna go to Hawaii. Or someplace in the P-P-P-Pacific. Or just near the Equator. B-B-B-Barbados would do just fine.

Diahn and I were talking today about The Darkness* and something occurred to me that I'd never thought about before. We all know that the days get shorter and the nights get longer in the Northern hemisphere as winter comes on, and the closer one gets to the North P-P-P-Pole, the longer the night is, until finally you reach The Land of The Real Darkness. BUT, I'd never thought about the flip side -- does the day to night even out the closer one gets to the equator? And Diahn, smart girl that she is, knew the answer right away. Yes. At the equator the days and nights are 12 hours each. Evenly. Always.

Wow. How would you know it was summer?

(*The Darkness - what Diahn has named this time of year, when the time changes and you realize that it is dark after breakfast and again before dinner. I will probably think that phrase ... "The Darkness" ... from now on when winter comes.)

Poor Pears

These poor beat up pears have sat too long on my drawing table. I didn't realize that the heat of the drawing light was slowly cooking them until I cut one open and found it brown and warm. Yuk. I tried some different pigments with this, and they lack the, um, clarity of some of the others I've been using. And I might be getting a little bored with fruit. Maybe.

P for Pebble

Just when I thought I'd broken out from the series of "p" things ... I realized that I'd painted a house* at Pebble Beach. (Not that I went there -- it's from my WC teacher's reference photos). It's just more of my playing with shades of grey.

And I found out just a little bit ago that the time changed today and not next weekend, like I thought, and I didn't even realize it had changed because my husband changed the clocks without mentioning it. I got a extra hour of sleep AND DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT. Shoot. That takes all the fun out of it.

(*Could it have been this one? The reference photo I used was small and the details of the building behind the trees were somewhat indistinct. The windows are certainly the same, although the roofline is different than what I thought I saw. I'll bet it is the same place, though! So much for accuracy!)

P.S. I STILL can't get the banner right! I've widened it to 1024 pixels and it is still too narrow. Sigh. Everyday a little wider ... once I get those dimensions right, I'll post them so that anyone who is interested in using the Minima Stretch template in blogger can get it right the first time!

Wildwood Pear

Joanne brought wonderful green pears from the trees in her backyard to watercolor class this morning. They were so good! Crunchy and juicy at the same time. Ten minutes to do a quick sketch, and then the poor pear was history.

Artober is also history... thanks to Diahn for coming up with the fun name and the great little graphic! It's been fun and really good practice.

So, now that NaBloPoMo is upon us we will continue every day in November. This time it isn't a commitment to draw every day, but to post every day. I think I can swing BOTH. We'll see! And do you see the cute graphic on the sidebar? It was made by Mim (Mimbles) and she very kindly offered to share with those of us who were looking for something a little different.

So... who's playing in November this year?

(P.S. I know, the header STILL isn't quite right yet. I'm working on it!)