Red Geraniums

 

Back in June, I had a modeling job for a college class that finished at the peak of rush hour.  Rather than grind through the maddening traffic, I sat with my paints and a watercolor journal in a quiet courtyard, and let the roads open up while I splashed paint around. 

I looked through a cardboard viewfinder to frame my composition, then sketched in pencil and added watercolors from a small palette with a water brush pen.

Relaxing in the elegant space and focusing on the colors and shapes around me felt like a mini vacation.

I hope you can find little spots in your schedule to fit some art for self care!

Transatlantic Crossing Travel Journal Part II: On Board the QM2

 

We awoke in Southampton England on August 21st and looked out the window to see our ship, the Queen Mary 2, in port.  By 1 pm we were on board this magnificent ship.  As we waited in our stateroom for her to embark, we looked out our balcony (Deck 4, port in the aft) to the ships bobbing around us. 

We spent our first few days prowling around the ship, finding outdoor observation decks to watch dolphins off the bow of the ship, and 

The QM2 has the largest library on board any cruise ship, and David and I both made use of it.  Inspired by the Art Noveau style the ship is decorated in, I checked out a book of Gustav Klimt's paintings, and made a master copy of an ink sketch.

I made a copy of Cicely Mary Barker's Columbine Fairy from A Flower Fairy Alphabet, one of a set of her fairy books I bought while in Southampton.

I thought I would paint and draw more while on board the ship, but we kept busy exploring the various decks, the museum and library, watched the Captain and his crew from the bridge observation window, swam, and talked with a variety of people.  And of course, we dined on the most delicious foods three times a day. An amazing experience.

Transatlantic Crossing Travel Journal Part I: Arriving in England

This summer, my husband David and I did something we had dreamed of-- we booked a Transatlantic Crossing on Cunard's Queen Mary 2, the most romantic way to travel from England to the USA.

Before we left, I collected a small kit of art supplies: 12 Faber Castell colored pencils, Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens in black, Sakura Koi watercolors and waterbrushes, a mechanical pencil, eraser, pencil sharpener, & a little water mist sprayer. It all fit into a small zippered bag I could stow in my backpack. I worked in a Strathmore Watercolor Journal (140# cold press). I found that sketching simple scenes while waiting for a bus, or at the end of the day helped me to slow down, deepen my experience, and have a record to look back on.

  

We flew into London's Heathrow Airport, and took a bus south to Southampton, the port where we would embark on our ocean journey.

The landscape around Heathrow & along the motorway south of London showed signs of the recent heat wave and drought, with yellow, dead grass.  The fields along the roadway had recently been mown.

Our hotel room in Southampton looked right out onto the port and the cruise terminal.  Every morning,we would awake to new cruise ships docked in the port, often 4 ships at a time.

We could open our window (no screen as they had no mosquitoes or biting flies!) and let the cool sea air refresh our room.

It was lovely to have a few days to sketch gulls and recover from jet lag.

Ocean Waves on the North Atlantic

When I booked a 7-day Transatlantic Crossing on the Queen Mary 2, I thought the views of the ocean would become boring & routine.  But the waves, the sky, and the ocean creatures kept me fascinated.  I could watch the ocean for hours!

I painted this scene while on board the QM2 with Sakura Koi watercolors in a Strathmore Watercolor journal (140 lb cold press paper) from a photo. I relished exploring the variety of blues -- from deepest indigo to light cerulean and aquamarine. 

What everyday scene or element of nature would you like to explore?  I encourage you to give yourself time & space to sketch and play!

Watercolor Lessons with Yelena Lamm

I've long admired Pittsburgh area painter Yelena Lamm, and recently I've been taking watercolor painting lessons from her.  I want to learn how to paint with the intense, fresh colors I see in her work.  

Above is a sunset scene painted after my first lesson. I worked from a photo I took in May on my farm.  Yelena helped me to approach painting in a new way, focusing on the general impression of the scene, working quickly with a wet edge.  She reminds me to plan my painting before putting brush to paper.  

September always inspires me to learn something new.  If you'd like to try something new artistically, I invite you to join me for a class.  You can find my CCBC classes here. Click on "Arts."

I hope to see you in a future class!

Sphinx Moth

 My good friend Brad Silberberg has been sharing nature photos with me. I found them so inspiring, I picked up a Sharpie fine marker, made a quick sketch of this Sphinx Moth, and then touched in watercolors.  

Giving myself an art break to create with no pressure is one of my favorite forms of self-care.  Just sitting down to my art space makes me instantly feel more relaxed and happy.  

I hope you get the opportunity to create in your favorite place just for the joy of creating!

Summer Flowers Watercolor Sketch

Sometimes, I sketch a scene in pencil before painting it, but I also like the free approach of watercolor sketching.  I find the elements of a scene that most attract my artist's eye and focus on them, adding other bits as I go. In this case, I was interested in the sunlit grasses and flower stalks against the dark shadows of the background.

I don't usually use brown for a shadow color, but I liked the vintage look of brown against the green.