Yosemite

Mirror Lake Click to see this photo's flickr page

I realize that I’m almost a year behind in posting notes about our trips. Oh well. I'll work in real-time and catch up with older posts as I go along.

With the end of the school year, we (J in particular) start to get wanderlust, our feed itching to get out and onto the trails.

J’s camera stopped working last spring during out Yosemite trip. He was very disappointed and bought another one immediately after we returned home. Our trip this month was his first back to Yosemite with the new camera. After looking over the photos from last summer, he’s taking more time in setting up shots and taking photos at even more multiple settings, to better his chances of capturing the landscapes optimally. This means he takes a little longer at each photo stop, which means I finally have enough time to settle in and do very quick sketches and take notes as well. Our overall pace is slower, but the hikes are far more enjoyable.

With our stops and the spectacle of J’s humongous tripod, we struck up more conversations with other hikers. J, he likes to enjoy people, truth be told. Me, I tend to prefer to be left alone. We chatted with a couple from Europe, on a three-week stay in the US. They were intent on settling in at each place, enough to soak in everything, rather than rushing through to see a list of highlights in a tour book. We agreed that we liked this approach and traded notes on where we’d all visited. J commented that the man’s English (he was German, she was from Italy) was quite good; the man commented that J’s English was quite good, as well! Ha! The woman and I both rolled our eyes: This off-the-wall sense of humor is universal too!

We ran into a geology buff that was quite knowledgeable about the formations of all the features of the park. Lots of history. Me, on the other hand, I’m thinking, “Oh, look at the textures in that big slab of granite!”

The best line I overheard was while we were packing up to head downhill from Vernal Falls. Several groups of hikers had converged and had stopped to checked their respective maps to plan where they were heading next. One jovial group heaved their backpacks back on and headed off. As they were trotting away, I heard, “Oh man, I can’t reach it. Shoot. Can you reach in and grab my banana?” He stopped his hungry train of thought and all we could hear was the crunching of the path as they continued walking. “Oh. Geez. That didn’t sound so good”.

Photos and sketches from Yosemite, here.

What I've been up to

Cereal Box Book Click to see this photo's flickr page

8 things I’ve been up to (and where you might fit in)

A new friend of mine, Joanna Young, has a very nice blog, Confident Writing. She helps readers find their own voice, allowing them (or, us) to produce writing that is authentic, that comes from the heart. It’s hard sometimes to have confidence in putting our words out there, to push the “Publish” button. How do we trust that we have the confidence to express ourselves clearly and truthfully? Sound like anyone you know?

Joanna challenged herself, and us, to just list 8 things we’ve been up to, and to share. I have a new friend, Ulla, whose post I really enjoyed. I decided that if Ulla, whose first language is NOT English, can share her thoughts so bravely - - in English - - , I thought, well, I could certainly come up with a list of what I’ve been up to, to update everyone here.

I’ve been:

1. Looking for work. There’s a lot of that going on. My really great new job came to a sudden and jarring halt, as the company went through ‘economic readjustment’, even before I had a chance to gush about how good it all was to everyone. It’s kind of like having a fantastic new boyfriend you want to tell all your friends about. Just as you’re getting ready to do that, he disappears. Forever. It was kind of like that.

2. Teaching. I teach business practices: resumes, cover letters, interviewing, networking. The irony of teaching this AND having to go through it myself? It’s a little humorous, I guess. At least I can chuckle about it. And at least these are topics that I think about often. I’m also working on committees, thinking about faculty involvement in governance. What’s the future of design, the future of the school, and how do we get there?

3. Building community in the local design community. I’m a local chapter officer for the professional industrial design association. There are meetings, of course, to put together panels of guest speakers, and planning very casual social mixers with goofy/fun design challenges. Building community is difficult, especially in a city as large as Los Angeles, where the distances we would have to travel, all by itself, is a major hurdle to gathering everyone in one place. Like any other good relationship, we’re building it, one person at a time.

4. Social networking: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr. They each have their particular strengths. I’ve heard people say that Twitter is like a cocktail party; Facebook is like a high school reunion. With Twitter, there are lots of random conversations and you can wander around and hear lots of things, simultaneously. Snippets of exchanges of ideas, in real time. You can join in or lurk.
With Facebook, it truly has been a high school reunion, reconnecting with people I already know, sharing photos of all our kids, our vacations. Who would have thought that the simple act of wishing an old friend “Happy birthday!” would be so satisfying?

On Twitter, I’ve found myself enjoying the company of career coaches, writers, artists. There are lots of interesting, different, every day people that I’ve met. I also follow celebrities like Andy Bumatai, Cesar Millan, NASA, and a couple TV news stations here and in Hawaii.

Oh, and the Phoenix Mars Lander, too.

It’s compelling, almost addicting, sharing in the every day things and thoughts everyone has: Going for a great cup of coffee, procrastination, frustrating days, lust for Johnny Depp, looking forward to the weekends. All in 140 characters or less. You might not expect it, but you can form very supportive relationships, one little bit at a time. From Twitter relationships, I find myself wandering over to new websites, blogs and Flickr streams. There’s a tremendous amount of great thinking and writing out there, and fantastic art and photos to look at.

5. Being creative and doing art every day. Since I have more time in my days (sigh), I can draw and smoosh paint around. I’ve been playing with different media and different brands. My quest to put the ideal everyday mini drawing/painting kit has actually evolved through this experimentation. Now, if I could only find my ideal everyday handbag to put it in, I’d be set! I took a collage class in the fall and have been enjoying doing collages and putting together my strange version of ... well, just click to see the first cereal box book, so far, on my Flickr stream. And here are the collages.

6. Writing. I took a few writing classes and am playing with the romantic notion of doing travel writing. J and I could record and share our adventures. What do you think? It’s one of those long-range plans we find ourselves talking about, working on a little bit at a time, in no terribly conscious way at all. We just keep doing things that we love and it seems to be pointing to have us look at this particular path. So, to be proactive about it, I’ve been trying to be more focused with my writing, be more compelling. The fun and sometimes challenge part is to encourage conversation, to see what appeals to people.

I’m doing a book review for Joyful Jubilant Learning as part of their month long “A Love Affair With Books”. I’ll be honest here: With visual art, I’m reasonably comfortable putting out whatever it is that I do (as far as you can tell! What could I possibly be editing out and not sharing?). It’s a far different task to put together words that you know a whole different group of people will read. It makes one very self-conscious. After I clicked “Save” and “Send”, I was happy and very proud to have finished my contribution. The next morning I awoke with horrible thoughts, “OMG! My paragraphs – they’re just TOO long. Yuck! What have I done?!?!”

See the entire month-long collection of reviews here.

7. Reading, or more accurately, listening to audiobooks, via Audible.com. I’ve recently ‘read’:
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy, and Memoirs of a Geisha (and finally rented the movie, as well). I’m currently listening to Charles Kuralt’s America, read by the author. I like to listen when I’m stuck in traffic, soaking in new ideas and imagining different places and times. I’ve been listening to a few lectures on meditation by Pema Chodron, too, but, obviously, not while I’m driving.

8. Rethinking my blog. I’ve been struggling for a while with the questions of “why” and “what it looks like”. I’ve been thinking of figuring out a better format for organizing my blog and content. Although I struggle with it, I still like the idea of maintaining this venue to share and connect, keep up with friends, and to find likeminded people. I like Facebook, Twitter and Flickr, but those, separately, don’t add up to what I’m aiming for. I’m mulling over how to go forward with TheFridgeDoor and how to get back to regularly sharing content, providing food for thought and conversation.

Where might you fit in?
Share of yourself, generously. Here, and in other blogs. Keep the conversations going....
So tell us, what have YOU been up to?

Taking more time

More ginger blossoms Click to see this photo's flickr page

Being an introvert simply means that one requires plenty of alone time to recharge after being in the presence of other people. - Emily Maguire

If you are really missing the drawings and photos, you should go to view my Flickr photostream.

Portland Japanese Garden

Winding streams, Portland Japanese Garden, Portland, OR
Click to see this photo's flickr page

I visited Portland a few weeks ago and made it a point to visit the Portland Japanese Garden. It was just spectacular! All those winding streams, manicured plants, raked beds, benches, alcoves and tea rooms; I love Japanese landscape architecture and its simple - yet great - details.

I would have taken more photos, but found myself in the delightful company of a kindred spirit, content to sit and take in the scenery for long, relaxing stretches of time. That's the way the garden should be enjoyed, after all...

Click here to see the full set!

More indulgences

20080502_moreinktense Click to see this photo's flickr page

So, yes, I went and bought more Inktense watercolor pencils. I tested the new colors and posted the little scribbles on Flickr. Get this: I got more views for that one image than anything else I've ever posted. I mean, by an order of magnitude. I thought, "Weird".

And then I picked up more colors (what? You're getting ready to waggle your finger at me. It's not like I'm buying illegal drugs or anything) a few days later and posted those colors samples (above), and, that image got even MORE views.

I'm not sure what is so much more intriguing about the little squiggley color samples, compared to all photos of the lovely places I've been visiting, or even my sketches (sigh), but there you have it. The numbers don't lie.


20080429_new_inktense Click to see this photo's flickr page. Go ahead. Everyone else did. ;)

Maloof Discovery Gardens

The Wonderful Maloof Gardens Click to see this photo's flickr page

While reading one of Sunset magazine's blogs, Fresh Dirt, I discovered that a wonderful garden was nearby. How 'nearby'? You know, like 10 miles nearby. "Cool", I thought, making a mental note that I'd have to visit it soon.

After doing more research, I discovered that the garden is designed around the Maloof Historic Residence museum. "Who's that?" I thought. Imagine my glee when I discovered that Sam Maloof is a master woodworker, a veritable national treasure, who handcrafts furniture, designed and built (?) the historic Maloof residence and the new one, as well.

When I saw photos of his work, I blinked in disbelief. Did I mention that beyond gardens, that I'm a sucker for garden details, landscape architecture, and Arts and Crafts anything? OMG. And you're telling me this is all 10 miles away from home? Could life get any better? Really, people.

So after a long week full of taxes, design details and professional events, I finally went to the gardens today.

The Maloof Discovery Garden is designed to be water-wise, low-maintenance, AND is a Certified Wildlife Habitat. I turned the corner of the walkway entering into the garden, and stood there, stunned, with my jaw gaping. There are lots of the California native and Mediterranean plants that I love, fantastically in bloom, right now. There's an Arts and Crafts feel to the entire property, of course, with lots of joyful sculptures inhabiting the garden, lots of textures both natural and crafted to please the senses (you know I can't resist petting things like this).

Didn't have time to do a tour of the historic residence today, but, gee, I'm certainly not going to wait long.

The garden and residence are open Saturday and Thursday afternoons (as the Maloofs, after all, still live and work there ...). The foundation welcomes plein air artists to work in the garden every 2nd Thursday and Saturday, 12 Noon-4:00 pm (and a few extra dates). Hello? "Plein air painting in the garden"? Are you thinking what I'm thinking? We should go!

Click here to see the whole Flickr set from today's meanderings. :)

Arlington Gardens, Pasadena

Arlington Gardens, from the sidewalk

Ginny, who organizes the painting group, discovered Arlington Gardens in Pasadena, with fields of poppies! (Poppies!!) Last week (or maybe the week before? It's become a blur), my buddy Karen and I checked it out. Karen adds, "Oh, and there are lots of garden details...". Did I mention that, besides the gardens and flowers, that I'm a pushover for landscape architecture and garden details? My eyes bugged out. What a find!

I've compiled this from various articles:

The once vacant lot at Arlington Drive and Pasadena Avenue has been transformed into a California Friendly™ Mediterranean demonstration garden. Owned by the state of California and leased by the city of Pasadena, the 2½-acre property has been planted with more than 800 plants and trees including palm trees, an orange grove, olive allée, lavender garden, California poppies, pepper trees and more.

The garden is arranged into two main horticultural and stylistic areas-- Native California and Mediterranean. There is a formal Garden Room in each respective area; the Olive Allée in the Mediterranean section (western half) and the yet to be constructed Crafstman Commons in the California section (eastern half). Other important features include: Tuscan steps, an amphitheatre, an orange grove, a meadow, an arroyo, a vernal pool, desert areas and a raised-bed herb garden.

Thanks to numerous private donations from local residents, businesses and partial funding from the City of Pasadena and Pasadena Water and Power, we have added many new trees, shrubs, perennials and annual wildflowers to the original roster. In addition, we have received generous donations from local businesses and individuals which have added comfort and beauty to our garden with seating and ornamentation. Although it is still a work in progress, the Arlington Garden is already a place where nature and people rub elbows in many gratifying ways. (Karen and I also met a number of very sweet puppies that were being walked by their respective people)

The garden is maintained and supported by the non-profit group Arlington Garden in Pasadena with generous help from local residents, Pasadena Beautiful Foundation, the Parks and Natural Resources Division of the Pasadena Public Works Department and Pasadena Water and Power.

Betty and Charles McKenney, who live in the house adjacent to the lot (in the house Karen and I were both wishing we lived in, no doubt), tend the garden.

Read more at the landscape designer's website (scroll down), including how to donate or volunteer!


Lots of great garden details!

See the whole set of photos!

The garden is open from dawn to dusk, and Karen and I are both certain that it will continue to be a charming place to visit through all the seasons. See Karen's watercolor study; it's just lovely!

Zion National Park

20080330_zion_2 Click to see this photo's flickr page

Last weekend we went to Zion National Park in Utah. It seems like forever ago already.

Zion is a smaller park and I think this is its charm. There are lots of trails to go wander about, and when you need to get back together with the rest of your group, you don't have to worry so much about any prolonged trip to get to your meeting point, like you would for the larger parks. We got in three days' worth of long hikes. Well, yeah, I got two days in, and one more mellow day to ramble and sketch. There's plenty of that climbing uphill stuff, if you're inclined to do that, and a good deal of walking along the flat, as well. We discovered an unexpected grotto and saw mule deer and wild turkey up close and personal.


More from Zion National Park Click to see this photo's flickr page

On the way back, we swung by the Grand Canyon (now that's a detour) for sunset and the next morning's sunrise. Drove back to California and stopped for a break at a marina in Needles. And then the next day, we were back at work!

More photos and sketches of red rock, here.

My plate

What's left Click to see this photo's flickr page

is full!

With life and sunny days and good food and creative friends and flowers and dusty shoes!
and pollen (achoo!)! xox -W

Santa Barbara

There's supposed to be a storm rolling in on Monday, a cold one. They're saying snow levels might dip down to about the 2000ft level. The weather guys are telling us to take along mittens and scarves! OMG! ... We'll believe it when we see it.

So, before any of that hits, we decided to enjoy whatever nice weather we might have for the long holiday weekend and drove up to Santa Barbara. We have the best luck - the views of the Channel Islands were just great. We walked from way past the pier up to Shoreline Park, and down the stairs to the beach. The tide was out, and we wandered along all these funky rock formations that we hadn't seen before, picking up pebbles and stones and sea shells.


Santa Barbara shore
Click to see the whole flickr set

So, these are all these cool things we picked up today. Nice flat rocks, long skinny ones (one will make a great "worry" stone, it fits so securely in my hand), sea shells, one really nice round one. I mean look at it, isn't it nice and round? I've been picking up one or two rocks from most of our trips to the different beaches, but today, we were both finding quite a few. As we walked back to our car to head to Tupelo Junction for lunch, I was imagining ways to organize my not-so-little rock collection. Or maybe I should go with catch-and-relocate/release. I mean, these are the ones just from today.


tumbled rocks and a sea shell from Santa Barbara

I recalled my move last April and imagined the next move, when J exclaims, "What the heck is in this little box that is so @#%&* heavy? What are we moving, ROCKS?!". And I'll have to go, very sheepishly, (say it with me) ... "Rocks. Hmmmm. Well, actually, yeeeeessss..."

Meandering Here and There

Remember, now:
No matter how warm it is, wherever you spend the holidays, what matters is that your heart is warm and full.

Click here for a few photos from the Hawaii Trip

The short of it: There are no drawings from Hawaii. I would have had to stay still for too long, and the mosquitos were just having a feast on me, as it was. The 'Scritch, Scritch, Scritching' would not have been of my pencils. Feh!

Notable: Shave Ice at Matsumoto's, Waimea Valley, University of Hawaii Warrior football, banyan trees at Kapiolani park, more burgers and fantastic shakes from Teddy's, roosters starting their crowing at 3 am in Kahaluu and that six-hour delay for our 5-1/2 hr flight back home.

And then, back home:
Did I mention that I love The Rose Parade? We went on Jan 2nd to see the floats on display in Pasadena. What a great chance to see them up-close and at a way more leisurely pace. Check out all the creative ways to use the natural materials.

Click here for a few photos from the Post-Parade Float Viewing

How can I get a job doing this?

I left my heart ...

in San Francisco...

Not!
I'm so the SoCal girl. You weren't gonna fall for that, were ya'?

I'm back from a design conference in SF. I might not have left my heart there, but did leave my cold there (yay!). And apparently my luggage felt compelled to stay for an extra day (rolling my eyes and shaking my head). I'm back home, along with my luggage. Lots of great ideas, stories and thoughts from the conference, but for right now, I have to catch up with work and grading papers. More later.

But you can at least check out the photos:


Click here to see the photos.

See? There I am!

“Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen.” -Robert Bresson

My guy at Glacier National Park

This was the quote for the day, and I was inspired to go through my photos for a few appropriate ones. You realize that without me, my guy would never have documentation of him taking photographs. The big ol' bear used to roam alone, and that's plenty of roaming. Alone. He has stacks of photographs of these great places, but none of him hiking or setting up to take photos of his landscapes.

My collection of photos of him either hiking ahead or snapping a shot has grown since the Glacier trip, over a year ago (maybe you've noticed). Someone got on my case for not actually being in very many of these photos, but if you think about it, I am in these photos that appear to be just of him, really.

I am there. In all of them.

I was looking through my files and through my Flickr sets and realized that I never posted photos from the second half of our trip to Glacier National Park, last summer (2006). Duh.


Click here for more!

They're new to you, though, right?
There are a couple of photos of the two of us, even...

Moab!

Look at all that red rock! Wow!


Click here for the Flickr set:


My first thought, at seeing the bright red rock, was, of course, the memory of my mom yelling, “You kids better wash your feet before coming in!”. There’s red dirt in Hawaii, too, very, very dusty. If you spent the afternoon running around in it, you were certain to track in little footprints of red dirt.
So once I got past that…

The formations really are other-worldy (think: Mars) and the red is really, really red. The great thing is that you can drive through the valleys, hike to arches and scenic points, really get close and experience it. I’d gone to the Grand Canyon, which is spectacular, of course, but once you’re there, the only true way to experience it is to go hiking down into it. Not-quite-back-in-shape / Lazy Wendee says, “Feh!” There’s lots of hiking, biking, 4-wheeling you can do in and around Moab and along the Colorado and Green Rivers, and you can get very up-close and personal with all of it, fairly easily.

Sadly, our trip was too short, and the winds were biting cold. There was threat of heavy rain and/or snow for our long drive back. We didn’t do as much hiking as we’d hoped. And, the thought of having to do taxes and finish cleaning my old place and go back to teaching immediately after getting back weighed pretty heavy. We’d just finished up moving me, too, so we got there pretty pooped. Still, the sights were really beautiful and inspiring – the hand of God, the artist, very evident. It’d be a great place to plunk yourself down in for a few days and hike, photograph and paint. The town seems to understand and embrace the idea of dusty, dirty visitors, too. It's worth a visit to go kick up a bit of red dirt, yourself. Wide open spaces...

Auto Show

Click to see all the photos

A few weeks ago, I went to the LA Auto show. I got entry on Media Day and into the Design Los Angeles conference, which, I have to say, was a pretty sweet perk for being an instructor back at design school. Normally, the show is a zoo; tons of people milling around, trying to get into cars and take pictures. You walk and walk and walk, get mashed into people, get separated from the rest of your group, and get really tired and hungry.

But Media Preview Day – now that’s another story!

See these photos? No people! Wow! Can this be right? I couldn’t believe it. What fun! Woo! Now that was cool.

The people in front of me trying to get photos? Professional media camera crews. You don’t feel bad waiting for them to finish up getting their shot, you know?

So I got to leisurely wander around (with my puny point-and-click goes-everywhere-with-me digital camera) and look at the shiny new batch of concept cars. I have to admit, I’m not as zealous a car fanatic as one might expect from an industrial designer, and so I’m far less methodical when I go to auto shows. I was a little pressed for time and chose not to linger too long around the trucks, larger SUV vehicles and exotic cars.

But, hey, the Mustangs.

Now, we’re talkin’ ... [Purrr]

Thanksgiving in Yosemite

She said, swinging her feet back and forth, "You know what I want to see?"
He said, "No, what?"
"I'd like to see Yosemite. With a light dusting of snow. Someday. And the Grand Canyon, too. With snow. [wistfully] Someday..."
"It'd be cold, you know."
"I know. That's what I have you for."
"Hmmm..."

Well, it was chilly, but not quite cold enough for any snow to 'stick'. The first few days were a bit grey and dreary, and the colors of the mountains and trees were just flat. It was a bit disappointing in that respect ... nothing we really felt compelled to photograph or paint, but the mild weather meant that we could spend our days outside without having to worry about being too hot or too cold. We got in one nice long hike ("No really! I think we just finished the worst part of the hike! We're almost to the lookout point!" "Hmmm. I've heard that before.."). The next afternoon we spent biking all around the valley floor, with long, long stretches of road through the trees, all to ourselves. Oh boy, how great is that?

We woke up on Thanksgiving morning, when we'd planned to drive back home, to a day that finally promised blue skies. We decided to stay another day and got in one last, perfect day. J got in his nice long hike (vertical gain), and I got to paint and ramble along (very flat), traipsing along the river, looking at the rocks in the water, the leaves, and all the gnarly trees along the way.

We'll have to cook up our Thanksgiving dinner some other time, but it was a great week to get away from it all, be outside with the conifers, say hello to all that majestic granite, and breathe in all that crisp, fresh air.

The 'light dusting of snow' ... will have to wait for another trip.



Lots of hiking and walking ...



... and a little bit of painting ...


Click this image ...

...for the rest of the photo set!

Getty Villa photos

This one is just a preview ...

Here's the link to the images from

the Getty Villa!

A fall hike

The days are supposed to be getting shorter, yet they seem endlessly full of work, commuting, stress. We got out to Mt Baldy, to enjoy the fresh air, the endlessly blue sky, the blankets of golden fallen leaves, gurgling streams.

I moved as each sunny spot I'd chosen shifted. I sat for a while and watched a wasp sun itself, clean off its legs and antennae. It would flex its wings, back and forth, as if it were a jet fighter being put through a final checkout by mechanics. It was much less organic and fluid in its motion; more mechanical than one would expect. The wasp would flit back and forth, checking its footing on the branch it had settled on, then return to its cleaning, flexing its wings up and down.

This continued for quite a while.

Ladybugs scurried back and forth, hopping over worn out strands of glistening cobwebs. The wasp continued, without distraction, seeming to enjoy its sunbath.

J got back, found me and called over, "Watch'ya doin'?"...


"... Oh, just watching this wasp ..."

Another small respite.


More photos and sketches here.

Escape

Another early morning dealing with unannounced construction guys. The details aren’t worth relaying anymore. Suffice to say, the kitchen reconstruction lingers endlessly on. Long story -> short: I went off to paint for a few hours with Karen.

We wandered (see Descanso) and settled on a spot with great views in every direction in the middle of the rose garden. It was a glorious, sunny, cloudless day, and the gardens were lush with vibrant color.



We drew and painted (smeared paint around), and caught up with each other. As the sun dropped lower and lower, the sunlight bathed the trees, the leaves and blooms with a warm, golden glow. The shadows grew longer and longer, and took on an even more lazy purple tint.



Here are my sketches and a few postcard paintings:

I started with some watercolor postcards. I want to play with the media more, to better control the intensity of the pigment and to start working on larger paper. I went back over these with w/c pencils later to work in darker colors.




I’ve been doing this modified contour-drawing thing - - if you quilt, it’s roughly in the spirit of continuous-line quilting. I’ve been playing with it for a little while, trying to get different textures to read. I think it’s starting to make a little more sense in this drawing; yet another gnarly tree!

<

This is the last sketch I did. The watercolors frustrated me a bit, and I wanted to be able to more clearly and succinctly depict some of the textures and work in some darker values to show more dramatic contrast.




Here's the updated Descanso 10-2006 flickr photos

It was a great afternoon, such a perfect escape from the insanity, even if for just a few hours. We should all remember to get out, enjoy the sunshine and all the beauty that Fall has to offer.

Another Gnarly Tree

.. this one at Descanso. Two of my sketchy-painting buddies couldn’t make the Plein Air session, and I missed them, not just because their company is always good, but also because I so enjoy seeing their work (and if you follow along closely to this blog, I trust you do, too). But, you know, these are busy, busy women! Hopefully next time, you two – I hope you’re both doing well.

And wait, how is it that I’m painting, and not working, huh? [These voices, these incessant voices. OMG, where do they come from? Do they ever stop?] Hey, sometimes, you have to do what you need to, to soothe your soul. Sometimes being artful does the trick. Sometimes, chocolate. Sometimes, a beer. And when times are tough, heck, it might take all three, and then some.

But maybe I just wanted to take some time and get in a little bit of painting.
[Yeah, that’s it]

There might have been a light shower earlier in the morning, and the skies were cloudy, threatening more rain. But the gardens were bright with blooms, and sections of the garden were decorated to celebrate a warm and vivid Fall season! We were surprised to see any flowers at all, expecting that the summer heat might have done them in. But – wow, the bountiful colors!



I’ve been playing with trying out scribbly interpretations of foliage – trying to get down shorthand gestures and outlines of the overall mass, rather than blocks of color, or individual leaves, or ... ? I’m not sure I’m at a point where any particular scribble is successful in accurately describing what kind of plant I’m drawing (I’m shooting for at least a little bit of reality), but it’s kind of fun, in a lazy, don’t-wanna-think-too-much sort of way.

I’ve started in on a Moleskine sketchbook, rather than just an un-ruled notebook. The sketchbook paper is thicker, so my hope was to do more painting work in the new book and not having to worry about the sheets curling and warping after being painted on. Alas! I’d forgotten how unfriendly the Moleskine paper can be to water-based media. Nix Moleskine Warm-up Drawing # 1. Doh!

I’ve also been carrying along some watercolor paper pads, to entice myself to play more with watercolors (both opaque and transparent). I carry around a lot of art stuff, actually, to entice myself to just do more of it. I schlep it around, but every once in a while, it’s good to have just the right thing, to settle in and play with whatever media fits my mood at that one, inspired moment. So, I finally whipped out the watercolor postcard pad and played with that a bit. It’s nice, you know, because it’s just a 3x5” card, and not a big, demanding blank sheet. I love how Karen captures the gestures of plants; it’s inspiring. So here, I’m trying to get just a little section of a larger plant grouping; so many colors, textures … You know, "Oh, just one more dab of yellow..."


And I’ve still got some of the brown cardstock with little flecks - - it’s been fun to draw on; I’ve got the gnarly tree thing down, I think. I meant to do something else other than the tree, but it was just fun. The three of us that were there commented on how great it is to look up into the leaves of a tree, to see the layers of overlapping leaves, the sky, and the sunlight. It would be great fun to do a more graphical illustration, of the leaves and overlapping shapes and colors, all on a background of sky blue. Right, so that’s what I was thinking, when I drew Gnarly Tree #2. And when I was done, I thought, “Oh great. sigh. Another gnarly tree. Gee..”

So, I was feeling inspired to capture more of what we were actually seeing and feeling and did another little postcard watercolor.

If you can’t quite make it out, it’s the sky, with not-so threatening clouds, and a bit of the tree overhead. See it now? I kind of like the idea of seeing overlapping patterns, without having to see (or draw) the whole tree. Hey, where’d those leaves come from? Does it matter? I’m having fun with this idea, so I’m thinking this is something I’m going to play with for a bit. Watch this space for more … trunkless … leaves in the sky.

My photos and the paintings from the day are here: