A relaxing Saturday at home

Going through lots of good art magazines - it's like having new ones when you've not looked at them in a while.

I admit I'm having trouble completing the colored pencil zinnia in earlier posts. Today I'm not feeling well and I don't want to mess it up, so I'm doing other things and thought I'd share my day with you. It might be rather boring to some, but to me it is ABSOLUTE BLISS!!
I completed the gouache painting below in my sketchbook last night. Not feeling quite up to par I needed something fun and funky with bright colors. I was actually inspired by the September 16 episode of "That's Clever" on HGTV. The first artist had a painting hanging over her work area that looked a little bit like this. I wish she'd been demonstrating it instead of the one she did. She paints in acrylic and then goes over it and outlines, adds details with a black marker. Check it out at http://www.hgtv.com/decorating/the-armadillo-and-the-manatee-canvas-banner/index.html

Anyway, here (below) is my sketch based on this inspiration.



I made up this soup recipe in my head yesterday on the way home from work and below is a still life I set up with some of the ingredients before I cut them all up for the soup. I plan to sketch this later.




The third picture shows the soup all put together and cooking; yum!!
I can give you the ingredient list, but I have no idea about the quantities of the spices or celery and onions. Just a dash here and there.
Here you go:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced
• 2 12 oz packages of frozen corn
• 2 15 oz cans of black beans rinsed and drained
• chopped onions and celery - I think it was about 3 1/2 stalks celery and 2 medium size sweet onions
• 2 cloves garlic (chopped in with the onions)
• a shake (?) of dried cilantro (maybe 2-3 tablespoons?)
• cayenne pepper
• chili powder
• red pepper (the spice, not the real thing)
• 2 16 oz containers of chicken broth (Swanson's in carton)
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion
• about 4 or 5 15 oz cans water
• sea salt
• black pepper
• sugar

I hope this is good. I have no idea how it might turn out. But it sounded like just the thing for my feeling "under the weather".

Now, last but not least, I want to show you this amazing tea I just made. What's better for a brochitisy bug than hot tea with honey and fresh lemon?!



This is good stuff!

AAAHHHH! Pure bliss :-)

Happy Saturday everyone !!!

More Progress

More progress - didn't get to work on it last night - this is from Monday night's session :)
Thank you all so very much for your comments. You've encouraged me so much! I do think this will be one of my favorite pieces when I'm finished. It feels so "precious". I've spent SO MUCH time on it - the most time I've spent on a piece in a long time. A great feeling of accomplishment that it's coming together. I hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday! Thank you all again for your kind words and encouragement!

Making Slow Progress

Still working on the zinnia, sporadically, in short little bursts. That is an upside to colored pencils, you can take as much time as you want on a piece. The downside is that I tend to lose enthusiasm and interest in a piece.

For the past week, I've been reading voraciously - I finished a Christian fiction novel BETRAYAL by Randall Arthur and now at the recommendation of my boss have started Thomas Wolfe's Look Homeward Angel - 662 pages!

I also purchased a book last week on hand lettering http://www.amazon.com/Hand-Lettering-Simple-Creative-Scrapbooks/dp/1600594727/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253478314&sr=8-1

While waiting in the doctor's office after my purchase, I practiced brush letting in my moleskine

This week I hope to finish the zinnia and do more with the lettering. Have a great week everybody! Right now I'm off to a friend's house to make lasagna - for the first time!

My Rare Find!

I wanted to share my rare find of the day!! An old (not sure how old) watercolor set made by J. L. Hammett Company. Surprisingly these watercolors are very responsive to rewetting and came to life instantly, as you can see from the sample underneath the pans; and then on the right is a background I created using the red, yellow, and blue - on Winsor & Newton 140 lb cold press paper. It surprises me how bright the colors are. I believe this is a student grade paint, but it responds like artist's quality.

Does anyone know about this watercolor set? Maybe how old it is and what grade paint this is?

I am so excited about it. A friend brought it to me today. I plan to use the watercolors that are in here and then reuse the palette for my good tube colors. These tins are metal and will make great travel sets.

My plan for the weekend is to take a break from posting on my blog, try to limit my computer time, and work on the colored pencil zinnia I started and posted yesterday (http://daloweartist.blogspot.com/2009/09/waxing-poetic-about-colored-pencils.html). My fibromyalgia pain has kicked in and I ache all over today, so I think limiting my time in front of a computer, sitting at a desk is a very good idea.

My daughter is having a big party at our house tomorrow night, so we'll have a yard full of 8th graders :-) That in itself should limit my time on the computer!

I hope everyone has a great weekend and please come back on Monday when I hope to have the finished zinnia in colored pencil!

Waxing Poetic about Colored Pencils

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5 x 7 colored pencil in progress

I go through phases – where I’m absolutely enamored, obsessed, and overtaken by a certain medium or technique; as is the case now with colored pencils. This versatile medium has once again caught my fancy. I began using colored pencils many years ago. I started out with Prismacolor brand and have never found one that has surpassed them in my experience. The softness is almost sensual as you lay the color down in feathery strokes. The immediacy of this medium is part of its charm. You just pick it up and draw with no mess and no preparation. That wonderful sharp point, the way the soft colored pencil feels in your hand as you apply it to the paper; it’s a meditative process – I become so engrossed in achieving the right color mix. My work in colored pencil is very realistic. I haven’t figured out how to use colored pencils any other way. That sharp point just tends to lead me to a realistic rendering of the photo before me. The control is something else that I love. I cannot achieve control like this in any other medium. I think attempting to with a brush would be very tedious – but with the pencil, the realism flows naturally – everything flows naturally.

Wet Canvas CP Monthly Challenge

I completed this colored pencil drawing today in response to the Wet Canvas CP Monthly Challenge.

My photo reference: Green Apples in Sunlight by jocelynsart http://www.wetcanvas.com/RefLib/showphoto.php?photo=65391

Hope everyone is having a Happy Labor Day today! I am enjoying time for art, housekeeping, cooking, and just being at home with my family.

Yesterday's Trek to the Labor Day Flea Market

The Labor Day Flea Market - I think I'm getting older or something, but the crowd, the dust, the walking, the crowd... oh, did I mention the crowd... I just wasn't as into it as I thought I'd be. My excitement began to wane when I got within sight and realized that I was stalled in a line of traffic a mile long. I did keep moving, inching my way along, and 25 minutes later I paid $5.00 to park and I was on my way!

Four hours later I arrived home with two handbags for my daughter and a DVD of the first season of "Golden Girls". My feet were so dirty (I wore my Crocs) that I had to jump in the shower and scrub. I did manage to get these great photos of things that inspired me. My plan is to use them as reference for my art.

"Are you still going back tomorrow?" my husband asked.

No. I DID NOT go back today. No way. I have decided that the flea market is maybe not my "cup of tea" any longer... I'd rather order off the internet and save my poor feet...

Do you think it's because I'll be 40 in less than 2 months; and maybe I've learned that $34.00 for an antique pitcher is just a bit much... I've decided it's less expensive and less cluttering to just take photos :-)

Labor Day Weekend Moly Sketches

A quick sketch Monday night 8/31/09 - dinner with my daughter.

Labor Day Weekend

Inspired by apples on the table at a dinner gathering with friends from church tonight. I just happened to have plenty of art supplies in my handbag :-)

Here's a photo of my inspiration...

I hope everyone is having a lovely Labor Day Weekend!